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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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...