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, Stock
My misgivings about the Cougar Challenger's somewhat garish aesthetic and abnormally staid internal design culminated around one central thought during the entire assembly process: "I really hope this case performs." So far Cougar hasn't offered a case that's actually bad (assuming the looks don't bother you), but they haven't offered anything that's really exceptional either. Yet there's promise in the cooling design, with the beefy 200mm intake fan. As it turns out, that promise is mostly fulfilled.
Ambient temperature during testing was between 22C and 23C; Indian Summer and fall are duking it out here in California.
Thermal performance at stock settings was actually very good. The Challenger produces very low temperatures on both the CPU and the graphics card, easily competitive with the best mainstream cases we've tested.
Fan speeds tell the same story. Airflow is not a problem with the Cougar Challenger, as the CPU and graphics card fans don't have to work too hard to keep their components cool.
Unfortunately, this is where you see the sacrifices. Thermal performance is great, but the Challenger isn't the quietest case in the shop. That front fan is basically running full bore the whole time, and though the copious ventilation is great for temperatures, it's lousy for containing noise.
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C'DaleRider - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
From the article-- "...these smaller companies are often very hungry for your business and are typically willing to take risks. The result is that oftentimes you can find diamonds in the rough and bring to light a product that people might otherwise miss."I don't think this hideous monstrosity is anything close to a diamond, in the rough or not, and certainly wouldn't be missed by anyone.
Hideous.
j thomas - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
The mobo area and rear panel look like the exact same parts as a 300R. They should have copied the rest too.ajemm - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
This thing beyond hideous.Bonesdad - Monday, October 29, 2012 - link
REALLY?How does a case like this even find it's way to getting a review on Anandtech? Someone needs to preview these reviews and just say "Ah, no....we aren't running with this."
This thing is an embarrassment to Transformers everywhere.
Just stop doing reviews on crap like this, you should know it when you see it by now.
Wellsoul2 - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link
I like this case. It looks different and retro.buzznut - Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - link
I was actually waiting to see what the reviewer said about the aesthetics. There's being politically correct, and then there's simply stating the obvious. Most of us would not want this anywhere near our desk.I happen to like flashy gaming cases, I'm a modder and I really dig a unique look. I fail to see what they were going for here though, even the different parts don't really seem to go together.
Its sorta like someone came along a stack of disparate parts and told his R&D team, "See if you can make something out of this stuff. You got two hours."
WT - Thursday, November 1, 2012 - link
And they said my Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow was ugly ?? C'mon man, this redefines fugly.bauper - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
1. Orange is my favorite color. This case looks cool. Like a hot Euro-Trash Babe. Almost full tower size this casi is BIG for a mid tower. Takes the new 280mm Liquid coolers in push pull and plenty of room. takes up to 400 mm video card and still hold hd drives and 5.25 bays. I love it. Comment. A. As the song says, "Make an ugly womean your wife". B- whats ugly to one is sexy to another.SKZdman - Saturday, April 26, 2014 - link
I have this case, and I think it's fantastic. Yes, it's a little 'aggressive' shall we say(!), but it's quiet, cool and really easy to keep tidy.I also cannot believe that you've not mentioned the most salient point - The three possible configurations of the central drive bay to fit 3.5", 2.5" or no drives whatsoever (and thereby allow more space for a longer graphics card). This is a feature I cannot fault.
SKZdman - Saturday, April 26, 2014 - link
Like this:http://www.cougar-world.com/uploads/pics/case_deta...