INTRODUCTION

   One of the things every single one of us likes about the computer industry in its entirety is that as time goes by once expensive enthusiast grade hardware eventually always becomes mainstream and I’m not only talking about old products. Take SSDs for example, 3-4 years ago only enthusiasts and professionals could afford them while now you can find incredibly fast models for as low as USD80/80Euros not to mention that most PC systems (desktop and notebook) come with at least one pre-installed. The same also applies for power supply units so although a while back you needed to invest quite a bit on a good model now you can find very good ones for a lot less. Cougar may not be one of the most well-known PSU manufacturers (still it’s a sister company to the very well-known HEC/Compucase brand) but in the somewhat short time they've been around their products have managed to secure many awards by media around the world and for good reason since they offer both performance and quality. Today’s review is about one of their latest PSUs to hit the market the CMX V.3 850W model.

   COUGAR is particularly targeting enthusiast gamers who not only demand state-of-the-art PC chassis and highly efficient power supplies, but also want to express their dynamic gaming life style with reliable quality products. COUGAR therefore wants to provide these enthusiasts with best-in-class innovative and cutting-edge gaming products. COUGAR was founded in 2007 by a group of enthusiastic and professional people in Germany who felt PC hardware had changed very little over the past 20 years, most cases and PSU models remaining rectangular boxes, having the same boring looks and an internal layout with endlessly uncreative cosmetic variations and poor quality. Therefore, COUGAR wanted to provide gamers more stylish product concepts meeting strictest quality requirements. Now, COUGAR has developed into a global brand manufacturer bringing innovative, high-performance and high-quality components to the PC gaming market. With utmost passion COUGAR is keen to provide most innovative solutions that 100% meet customer needs. Thinking differently and adopting new trends while constantly focusing on functionality and user-oriented product improvements, that is our foremost corporate culture. COUGAR is always striving to satisfy demanding gamers with innovative and technological leadership.

   The CMX V.3 850W power supply unit is primarily aimed towards gamers and for that you obviously don't need the best possible efficiency which is why Cougar chose to go with an 80 Plus Bronze certified model and not with something better and more expensive (those are obviously targeted towards enthusiasts, overclockers and professionals). The really unique design (looks like a sports car if you ask me) of the CMX V.3 range is also because of that but that aside Cougar also decided to give it a semi-modular cabling design, dual +12V rails, DC-DC converters, compatibility with the new Haswell processors, Japanese capacitors and an ultra-quiet 140mm cooling fan. Specification sheets however don't always agree with our conclusion so once again we are here to find out exactly how the product at hand performs in real world use.