Cougar Challenger Mid-Tower Chassis Review

So now that I have it out of the box and all the plastic covers removed, it’s easy to see why this caused such a stir on our Facebook page. One thing’s for certain, this chassis really stands out and while I really like the design its immediately obvious that this colour scheme and style isn’t going to be to everyones taste.

Aside for the stunning colour scheme we have 3 x 5.25″ drive bays and room for either card reader device below that. Each of the drive covers comes ventilated and filters and the huge bulge at the bottom covers a massive 200mm red LED intake fan.

One of my favourite features is at the top of the front panel, where not only will you find an external SATA dock for either a 3.5″ or 2.5″ HDD, USB 3.0 ports and audio input and output sockets, but a missile style flip cover that houses the power and reset buttons. It’s a simple feature but one that makes powering the device on that little bit more entertaining.

Further along the top of the chassis there are a twin set of fan mounts with room for either 2 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm or of course one of each size. You can also see the side panel fan mount here, which we’ll take a better look at next.

The fan mount on the side panel window comes with a magnetic dust filter cover that is quick and easy to remove, this allows you to clean the filter without removing the full side panel, a big time saver. The side panel also comes cut with a custom shape acrylic window, which offers a great view of the inside of your system.

The reverse side of the system is what I like to call the quiet side of this chassis, with a simple yet functional plain panel fitted with quick release thumb screws.

Taking a look at the back edge of the front panel you can see that there are little design touches all over the place on this chassis, with the fins supporting the oversized front panel wings.

Around the back we can see the system comes with a bottom mounted PSU layout, a large ventilated area to the right of the 7 expansion slot cover, which are also individually ventilated. Above all that we have 3 x cable/watercooling routing holes and a pre-installed 120mm fan with bright orange fan blades, its a nice high quality fan too, which is always a welcome addition.

Flipping the chassis on its side you can see that it has a large dust filter across the bottom, which will help provide a clean airflow to any base mounted fans and the PSU air intake. A full set of rubber feet also provide good clearance under the chassis and help reduce any chassis vibrations.