COUGAR DarkBlader X7 Midnight Green Case Review

Complete System

The Cougar DarkBlader X7 is actually a lot bigger than I even realised. Looking at the spec, it said it’ll support long graphics cards, as well as an E-ATX motherboard. However, as you can see, an E-ATX motherboard barely made a dent, and even the GTX 1080 Ti looks tiny in here. Alas, if you’re using some of the biggest motherboards out there, it’s not going to be an issue. Of course, even a mighty RTX 3090 will fit in here with room to spare.

CPU cooler clearance is excellent, and even more so at the top of the case, where you’ll find ample room for additional fans, a radiator, or some combination of the two.

Cable routing around the motherboard is excellent, with large cut-outs allow for multiple bulky cables to go where you need them, while hiding unwanted excess.

There’s no vertical GPU power cable pass-through, which is a shame.

However, with the GPU in the vertical mount, you can hide the cable anyway, and just route it from below the motherboard.

There are no front fans on this model, but really it’s perfect for those putting a 240/360mm radiator in their case. If you’re putting an AIO (or custom) on your CPU, just fit it right up in the front, as there’s clearly enough space for it!

The SSD mounts can be used in the front, however, if you’re using the GPU in the vertical mount, you’ll need that space to install your riser cable. Of course, you still get the SSD mounts behind the motherboard, so at least you have options.

I finally noticed that I forgot to hook up the SATA power cable for the RGB, and hey, doesn’t that look better!

Tap the button on the front I/O and it’ll cycle through colours and effects.

However, if you pin it into your motherboard, you can sync it with whatever software you tend to use, so long as it’s a 5V DRGB header.

There’s an RGB LED strip tucked into the front panel, which as you can see, syncs up with the fan in the rear.

Static colours, blinking lights, fades, and even this nice rainbow wave, you’ve certainly got plenty of options here.