INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Choosing the right PC Case for both my test rigs or for the systems i sometimes build for close friends is really the very last thing on my mind since naturally i need to have all the hardware components laid out in front of me prior to that (when you have an for example an very long GPU like the GeForce GTX 690 or an XL-ATX mainboard you can't/shouldn't squeeze them inside a small/midi tower). Now for good or bad the market is currently filled with all sorts of PC cases ment to cover all tastes and requirements (space and features wise) so the possibility of not finding a suitable one is almost nonexistent something which i can't say for even just a decade ago. Personally as some of you know i always like to use full tower PC Cases because they offer enough interior space to mount even the largest hardware components without having to spend much time in the process and that's why i can't wait until the latest Obsidian 900D by Corsair reaches our doorstep in a couple of weeks. However for people who care not about having a PC case with lots of interior space and are not willing to spend much cash for one the latest Challenger Midi Tower by Cougar might just be the ideal solution.

 

   COUGAR products are designed by COUGAR GERMANY, a professional R&D engineering team and COUGAR is part of the “HEC/COMPUCASE” Group. The unique combination of the world-famous German skills of designing the best products worldwide and HEC/s power and long-time experience to produce the best high quality products created innovative masterpieces in PSU history. The PC upgrading and DIY market is changing rapidly and is growing more and more. Professional user are asking for more than only stable and silent PSU/s, they want efficient and energy saving products without compromises in quality. COUGAR GERMANY created such products! COUGAR GERMANY combines the features of innovation and evolution to create efficient, powerful and unique products like “COUGAR POWER”. The purpose of COUGAR GERMANY is the satisfaction of the customer, reaching it by creating most valuable, advanced products. COUGAR – YOUR POWER!

 

   Cougar is relatively new in the PC Case industry but they have already designed and manufactured one of last year’s best sellers the Evolution Full Tower PC Case which needless to say was reviewed by us upon launch and thanks to its looks, build quality and features it managed to walk away with our Golden Award. The brand new Challenger aims to continue that success and so although smaller than the Evolution it shares the same level of quality and features including one of the best designs we've seen in a while, space for up to 7 fans, top 2.5"/3.5" HDD SATA III docking station, removable HDD cage side for installation of larger graphics cards and plenty of space between the mainboard tray and the right side panel for cable management. Since a single picture is worth 1000 words let's keep moving to see exactly what Cougar has put on the table with the Challenger Midi Tower.

 

  

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tower arrived inside a plain cardboard box with a drawing of the its Fascia at the front.

 

 

The specifications list is placed on the right side beneath an drawing of the tower.

 

 

At the rear we have 3 drawings used to showcase the main features.

 

 

As usual the tower is placed inside a plastic bag and between two Styrofoam spacers.

 

 

The bundle box is placed inside the tower and contains a 120/140mm side air filter, 3 rubber grommets, three 2.5" drive trays, the users manual and a small plastic bag with all the mounting screws.

 

 

THE CHALLENGER EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Cougar ever makes a full tower version of the Challenger it will house one of our test rigs for certain, that's how much we all liked the design and build quality.

 

 

The left side panel has a large meshed area and a small opening right next to it.

 

 

Here you can use the bundled air filter along with an 120mm/140mm intake fan of your choosing.

 

 

Thanks to the design and piano black parts the front of the Challenger is nothing short of impressive.

 

 

The Challenger has a total of three 5.25" optical drive bays and a small 1.44" floppy disk drive bay right beneath them. All four covers are perforated and feature air filters.

 

 

The Cougar logo is placed twice on the lower end of the perforated front fascia.

 

 

 

Behind this perforated section Cougar has placed a 200mm LED intake fan which you can replace if you want with two 120mm/140mm fans.

 

 

Flight simulator fans will certainly love the missile launch safety cover above the power/reset buttons.

 

 

The I/O is not the richest one but the two USB 3.0 ports and the usual headphones/microphone jacks should suffice.

 

 

One of the most important features the Challenger has is the top SATA III docking station.

 

 

Most of the top is meshed and has room for either two 120mm/140mm or one 180mm/200mm intake fan.

 

 

Naturally the rear is also black matte.

 

 

Here we see a 120mm fan spot (ours was empty although the Challenger does come with a pre-installed 120mm exhaust fan), 3 holes used for water cooling (you will need to place the bundled rubber covers here), 7 PC expansion slots and the PSU space.

 

 

At the bottom of the Challenger we see 4 rubber feet and a large removable air filter.

 

 

 

THE CHALLENGER INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a midi tower the black interior seems quite spacious.

 

 

The 3 optical drive bays feature tool-less locking mechanisms.

 

 

Right beneath we see the 1.44" FDD bay and a total of 7 drive trays inside two cages.

 

 

The drive trays are made by flexible plastic and thus are not very sturdy.

 

 

If you need to use a GPU longer than the default 300mm you can remove the side of the top cage and either move it further to the front and attach it onto the 1.44" FDD space to get a total of 330mm (you will have to use the bundled 2.5" trays if you do that) or remove it entirely giving you a total of 410mm.

 

 

There are a total of 4 rubber coated holes on the mainboard tray and a very large opening under the CPU area allowing you to switch backplates without removing the mainboard.

 

 

All of the 7 PCI expansion slots are secured in place with the use of normal screws.

 

 

At the bottom you can mount yet another 120mm/140mm fan and as you can see although there are no rubber pads for the PSU to sit on Cougar has placed an piece of metal to increase its stability (useful for people who attend LAN parties).

 

 

Cougar has also given plenty of space between the mainboard tray and the right side panel so even the thickest cables should fit just fine.

 

  

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always the purpose of this section is not to build a fully working system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

The Challenger offers enough interior space to accommodate full ATX sized mainboards (some EATX may fit as well).

 

 

There's also enough space for even the largest CPU cooler (although you should have no problem placing a 240mm radiator at the top).

 

 

Without removing the top drive cage you can use any graphics card up to 300mm long which is not bad at all.

 

 

There's also plenty of room for even the largest PSU (however if you use a very long PSU you will lose half of the bottom cable routing hole).

 

 

NOISE LEVEL TEST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically ontop of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller. Please do take into account that our Challenger sample lacks the rear 120mm exhaust fan and although we don't think that would change anything we will try to get that fan and update our measurements need be.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Thanks to its front fascia design and the large number of features the Challenger Midi Tower is without doubt one of the most impressive and complete midi towers currently in the market in the sub USD100/110Euro category. So not only are you getting an midi tower with a great design but you are also getting a power on/off button that resembles the missile launch button found in attack fighters, plenty of airflow thanks to the pre-installed 200mm/140mm fans, even greater airflow potential due to the extra available 120mm/140mm/180mm/200mm fan spots (top/bottom/side), top 240mm radiator space, adjustable/removable drive cage and plenty of room for even the longest graphics cards (400mm). Of course another plus is that the Challenger is currently available in 7 different colors (as seen above) although would be even nicer if the entire case was the same color.

 

   As we speak the Challenger midi tower by Cougar retails for a price tag of USD92.32 inside the USA (Purchase Directly from Amazon.com) and 105Euros inside the EU (Purchase Directly from Amazon.co.uk) which places it right next to other best sellers in the market such as the Anidees AI-06, the Prominent 5 by Nexus and the Deep Silence 2 by Nanoxia. That's also the single drawback of the Challenger since it may look great and have a good number of features but it lacks any kind of noise-dampening coating on both its side panels unlike some of the towers we mentioned. In the end each person gets what they like the most based on their needs and taste but at least we are certain that the Challenger will obviously appeal to flight simulator fans such us ourselves (especially if Cougar lowers the price just a bit). Design, build quality, features, available colors and a relatively good price tag are the reasons as to why the Challenger gets our Golden Award.

 

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Missile Launch Power On/Off Button
- Can Accommodate Up To 7 Fans
- Air Filters (Rear Fan Excluded)
- Adjustable/Removable Top Drive Cage
- Top Radiator Space
- Available Colors
- PSU Lock 

 

 

CONS

- Price (Compared To Similarly Priced Towers)