Cougar Challenger Case Review: Is Competitive Performance Enough?
by Dustin Sklavos on October 29, 2012 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Cougar
- ATX
Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Given that the Cougar Challenger offers excellent thermal performance at a noise level that I still consider pretty reasonable when using stock components, I'm fairly optimistic that it'll continue to acquit itself well with our overclocked testbed. Cases that focus more on dampening noise and less on ventilation tend to wind up hurting the most here, when airflow becomes much more important. I expect the Cougar's middling acoustics to seem less harsh.
Thermal performance continues to be strongly competitive, though the Challenger does slip a little bit. Its main competitor turns out to be Corsair's budget-oriented Carbide 300R. That's bad news for Cougar, because the Carbide is hanging out at roughly the same price tag with a window in place and a good $10 cheaper without.
Fan speeds are essentially competitive. The Challenger holds a negligible lead on the Carbide 300R, mostly within the margin of error.
Idle noise is among the worst we've tested, but load noise is comparatively not so bad. This is one place where the Challenger does boast a substantial lead on Corsair's Carbide 300R; load noise is a good 3dB lower for roughly the same performance.
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DanNeely - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
If noone bought these monstrosities the companies who designed them would've gone bust years ago?Perhaps the Cthulu cult is going hightech.
bigfire - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Hah, yeah. It's quiet ugly.mattgmann - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Please review some cases that an adult might actually consider purchasing. This may be the ugliest thing I've ever seen.Kepe - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/tag/casecoolingpsusLucian2244 - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
This must have looked well on paper because i can't explain how a design like this was chosen.Will you review the 200R ?
piroroadkill - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
That is the ugliest case I've ever seen. It's worse than your average 90s beige tower with bulbous plastic fronts. What the hell?jabber - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
...dragons or girls holding big guns on it.Good Grud that's awful.
DanNeely - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
"the USB 3.0 header cable actually includes an alternate USB 2.0 header built into it, both convenient features."Every case maker in the world needs to copy this feature ASAP instead of copping out with 2x3.0 and 2x2.0 ports on the front that are going to become a liability in a few years when even your USB Christmas tree us designed to use 3.0.
Kiste - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
This case is ugly. In fact, it's so ugly that it's probably gonna give me nightmares. It's a horrible monstrosity and an abomination and it needs to die.Orvtrebor - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
An 8yr old would love this case.I'm not being sarcastic, throw on a healthy dose of led's and you've got a gaming case that a kid would truly be proud of.
Not every case is meant to be used in a professional office environment or a tastefully done den/gaming room.