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
Conclusion: Entering a Crowded Marketplace
Undoubtedly you've detected a certain tone of ambivalence through the course of this review. That's because I'm placed in an uncomfortable position with the Cougar Challenger. The Challenger is by no means a bad case, but the problem is that it's not a great case, either. Let's break things down.
The upsides are pretty obvious with the Challenger. The included hotswap SATA tray is a welcome feature, thermal performance is excellent, and the case is easy to build in. Easier than most, in fact. Noise is fairly middle of the road, but coupled with the thermals, it's certainly tolerable. Build quality is solid, too, if unexceptional. Cougar has managed to deliver all of these things at a reasonably competitive price point, and I actually think it's positioned right where it should be.
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So what's the problem? Unfortunately, the Challenger does very little to distinguish itself in a crowded market. They're not offering anything new, and in some places they seem to actually have regressed a bit. The placement of the screws on the removable drive cage is baffling, and while the magnetic filter on the side panel is secure enough, it feels unnecessary. The fascia and its glossy plastic seem to be relics of a bygone era, too.
Cougar needed to offer some kind of killer feature or something distinctive to make their mark on the mainstream case market, but the Challenger is an amalgam of things we've seen before arranged in a very conventional way. Case design is something that's progressing at a fairly regular rate, and there's still a lot of room for innovation and improvement. Neither of these things are present here; this is a "me too" product that lands squarely in the middle of the road.
If the Cougar Challenger appeals to you I wouldn't dissuade you from buying it. The price is appropriate and the performance is there. My only issue is that it's serving customers who have already been taken care of by established products like Corsair's Carbide 300R and the BitFenix Shinobi. If Cougar wants to start grabbing that kind of mindshare, they need to produce something more aggressive and more distinctive or risk being an "also ran."
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geniekid - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
If they were targeting the younger market, they should have at least been consistent. The front and the main body look like they're from two different cases. They should've at least made gratuitous use of non-right angles, plastic, and jagged edges on the main body if they were selling this to young children building their own rigs.Geraldo8022 - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
I like the looks of it and I might buy one. After all I almost bought a Pontiac Aztek.piroroadkill - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link
Don't knock the Aztek! The ideal vehicle for the budding meth cook..just4U - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Perhaps it's time to start sharing with these companies what are views are on a perfect case.For me I'd like something smaller along the lines of Silverstone's Temjin TJ08 but with a window to show off the build. Must have dust filters.. a removable motherboard tray would be nice (like the older lian-li's) Antec's usage (and coolermaster's) hard drive mounting system) generous space behind the motherboard for hiding wires.. Looks wise? should be more refined and tastefull. I like lighted fans but their something I prefer to put in myself if the build warrants it.
Hits in the past for me were:
Lianli PC60A
Antec Super lanBoy (original not those horrors they released last year)
Antec Sonata 1/2/3 (no .. it wasn't silent)
CoolerMaster Storm Scout
Corsair Carbite 600T
just4U - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
oh btw.. it doesn't have to have alot of fans.. front back top make them easily accessable to.piroroadkill - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link
So get a Fractal Design Define R4 with the windowed side panel. Done.piroroadkill - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link
Here, even did the work to find it on newegg for you.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
just4U - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link
lol.. there was no need. I am aware of Fractal Design's cases. We just started getting them here. The R4 is a nice case and priced fairly well but it has the door which is a star off in my opinion. I do however like their mini. It's very much on par with the Temjin from Silverstone. Both lack windows and while the silverstone does have a removable mb tray it's not really up to what some might be used to with older Lian-Li designs.eBob - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
I can only come up with one word for my reaction to this case. I didn't even bother to read the rest of the review. I can't see anyone over the age of 14 wanting this.Telset - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
Seriously are these the same people that made the cool cougar evolution case?I have the cougar evolution its awesome. But this is kinda ugly but probably looks better with 2 fans on the top to make it more uniform.