INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   The how much popular games like Battlefield and Call of Duty are is very easy to see just by checking their online following or even their sales numbers so as expected from two so successful series of video games there are many people out there who'd really like to have peripherals and components in general that look the part. Now although in the past several manufacturers did their best to cater to the needs of that particular segment of the market lately things haven't been as good so we haven't really seen many gaming peripherals and components in general designed with the military in mind. Still thanks to manufacturers like COUGAR this may actually change sooner rather than later since they recently released a very promising full tower which they named Panzer Max.

   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!

   The Panzer Max obviously took its name from the German word Panzer which means armor but in all likelihood most of you will know it from the Panzer tanks Germany rolled out during World War II. Because of that and its very high build quality the case looks and feels a lot like an armored vehicle although the curved corners dressed with carbon fiber seem a bit off (still it's a nice touch). The Panzer Max has enough room inside for E-ATX/L-ATX/CEB/ATX/Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX sized motherboards, up to four 390mm long graphics cards, 170mm tall CPU Coolers, 8 fans and/or 4 radiators and a total of six 2.5" inch drives (or four 2.5" and two 3.5" ones). Other features include a 3-speed fan controller, headphone hook/holder (you need to mount this) and a top area designed in such a way that you can mount your keyboard inside when not in use (of course not all keyboards can fit there). So the time has come for us to check and see whether or not the latest Panzer Max full tower is "the ultimate computer case" like COUGAR markets it.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 COUGAR ships the Panzer Max inside a plain cardboard box that has a product drawing at the front along with the main product features.

 

 

The specifications table is placed on both sides right beneath another product drawing.

 

 

Three product drawings placed at the rear are used to showcase the product features.

 

 

The case is placed inside a cloth cover and between two thick pieces of foam.

 

 

Inside a box mounted at the rear of the case you will find the headphone hook, three rubber covers for the rear water cooling holes, two single to tri-fan adapters, 4 cable ties, PCI cover/shield and nine plastic bags with all the necessary screws, spacers and washers needed to build a system.

 

 

THE PANZER MAX EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Panzer Max measures 612mm in height, 266mm in width and 556mm in depth.

 

 

Most area of the right side panel is taken by a tinted acrylic window.

 

 

The panel features a release latch which feels quite sturdy and should last long.

 

 

All four corners of the chassis feature a nice looking carbon fiber coating (the headphone hook gets placed right beneath this corner or the one on the other side).

 

 

The fascia is actually almost completely perforated and has a total of two 5.25" optical bays.

 

 

At the top I/O we find two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, power and reset buttons, power and HDD activity LEDs and the three-speed fan controller.

 

 

The fascia features a quick-release mechanism much like the one we saw with the 900D long ago.

 

 

Installed behind the mesh cover are two 120mm fans which you can replace with two 140mm ones or a 240/280mm radiator (you can also mount a 3rd fan here or a 360mm radiator if you remove the 5.25" bays).

 

 

At the top you can either mount two 140mm or three 120mm fans or a 240/280/360mm radiator.

 

 

The top also features a quick-release mechanism just like the fascia (it's actually two sections).

 

 

There are 8 PCI expansion slots at the rear of the Panzer Max along with a 120mm fan and three holes used to route water cooling tubes.

 

 

Just like the right side panel the left also has a release latch.

 

 

Most of the chassis bottom is covered with a removable air-filter (uses small magnets to attach to the base).

 

 

THE PANZER MAX INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 COUGAR has placed a PSU area cover inside the Panzer Max and because of that interior space looks somewhat limited.

 

 

Both 5.25" optical bays feature tool-free lock mechanisms and can be removed entirely if you want to place a 360mm radiator at the front.

 

 

Along with the PSU area cover COUGAR has also placed another piece of plastic (also removable) which redirects air towards the rear end of the mainboard tray.

 

 

The mainboard tray has 4 large rubber coated holes for cable management (one is placed inside the PSU area) and one huge hole beneath the CPU area for swaping of backplates.

 

 

All PCI expansion slots are held in place with regular thumbscrews.

 

 

Removing the PSU area cover may not be the easiest thing at first.

 

 

You will first need to access the rear of the mainboard tray and here you'll see the four 2.5" drive trays placed right beneath the 5.25" bays.

 

 

COUGAR has also placed two 2.5"/3.5" drive trays right beneath the PSU area (all trays are held in place with single thumbscrews).

 

 

All drive trays are made out of plastic and are quite sturdy.

 

 

To remove the PSU area cover you will first need to remove a thumbscrew from the rear and then push the front towards the mainboard tray.

 

 

As long as you use a regular sized PSU there's also room for a 140/120mm fan or an 140/120mm radiator.

 

 

Taking a look from the interior and as you can see there's plenty of room at the top for even a 360mm radiator.

 

 

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

If you remove the PSU area cover using a standard ATX mainboard doesn't seem to take too much space (since this case can accommodate even E-ATX mainboards that was expected).

 

 

COUGAR has made it possible to mount CPU Coolers up to 170mm in height so that means 99% of all of them in the market.

 

 

You also have enough space to mount four 390mm long graphics cards and as you can see the GeForce GTX 590 leaves quite a bit of free space.

 

 

Using a very long PSU will cover up both fan areas at the bottom of the case.

 

 

The PSU cover can help hide some of the cables and it does improve the looks of the interior.

 

 

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 (if the case doesn't have one we use our own).

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   With the Panzer Max COUGAR aims to cover every single user out there who’d like a rugged tower made like it was taken right out of the military and we think they’ve succeeded in doing so. Certainly if you’re a fan of the classic desert, sea and/or jungle camo you will be disappointed since this case features none of those but its dark color, tinted side window and the carbon fiber dressed corners look great and do remind me of Call of Duty Black Ops. By adding quick-release mechanisms for the fascia and the left, right and top panels COUGAR has made it extremely easy for people to gain access to the interior and clean components. Now I can’t say that the “keyboard mount area” impressed any of us here since it’s basically the space between the top of the case and the handles but it may come handy to some people (if they own a regular sized keyboard). With enough space for up to 4 radiators, 4 graphics cards up to 390mm in length and 170mm tall CPU coolers the Panzer Max is not also ideal for overclockers and enthusiasts alike but also for modders who may want to test their skills on a large PC case. Strangely enough however although most marketing pictures by COUGAR include LED fans the Panzer Max comes with 3 regular 120mm models so do keep that in mind just in case you heard otherwise.

   The time has finally come for us to check and see just how much COUGAR asks for the brand new Panzer Max full tower. Well with a current price tag set at USD159.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 124.80Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) we feel that COUGAR doesn’t ask for much although they could had done slightly better (price will probably drop once availability gets higher however). Overall the Panzer Max is a very sturdy full tower with plenty of interior space and a good number of features but because of its somewhat “special” military design it’s obviously aimed towards a specific segment of the market. Still we did like it a lot and that’s more than enough for us to give it our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- Rugged/Military Design
- Room For Up To 8 Fans or Four 240/280/360mm Radiators
- 3 Pre-Installed Fans
- 8 Fan and/or 4 Radiator Mounts
- Removable 5.25” Optical Drive Cage
- Air Filters
- Top I/O With 4 USB Ports & 3-Speed Fan Controller
- Room For Up To 4 390mm Long Graphics Cards & 170mm Tall CPU Coolers
- Quick Release Panel Mechanisms
- Headphone Hook

 

CONS

- Availability
- Noise Levels (Almost 45dBA At Full Speed)
- Bulky Design (For Some)