Cougar GX-F Aurum 550w Power Supply Review

A Closer Look

The first thing that grabs your attention about this power supply is undoubtedly the colour. The black and gold look absolutely fantastic and it’s certainly an eye-catching aesthetic.

It’s hard to describe, and perhaps the pictures don’t do it enough justice, but this isn’t a dull gold, it’s deep. Combined with the black trim, this is one of the best looking power supplies I’ve seen in years!

The front fan is hidden behind an octagon style grill covering that, again, really adds to the overall look of the power supply.

The main modular power bank is well presented with nice clear indications as to which cables go where. With the piggy-back style insertion method, this also means that putting cables in (and taking them out) is very easy!

We were a little surprised to see such a small ventilation area. Usually, these cover the entire rear panel of a power supply. While this shouldn’t prove to be an issue, it will be interesting to see how the fan operates.

Finally, we get to the side where a sticker lists the technical specifications in regards to the wattage output per rail. A little unusually, this doesn’t list the wattages for the +5Vsb and -12v rails, but this (as a whole) is information that the vast majority of consumers would never need to know about!

Cabling

The cabling for the Cougar GX-F Aurum is all contained within a sturdy cardboard box that itself lodges neatly in the main packaging.

With a sleek black design, the cables look excellent and should provide you with some excellent protection. My only mild criticism is the length. Ranging between 60cm-70cm, I would’ve perhaps liked them to be a little longer. On the whole, however, I have no complaints.

Internals – A Look Inside!

Internally, at first glance it seems pretty clear that Cougar has designed the GF-X Aurum exceptionally well. Everything looks clean, tidy and well-spaced which is exactly what you want to see from any power supply!

A closer look at the fan finds that it’s a Cougar own design featuring hydro-dynamic bearings. This should, all going well, result in both a quiet and reliable performance from it.

A closer look at the PBC shows that all of the main power supply components have been really well placed within the design. Everything is well-spaced, nothing is cramped and, overall, this should provide some excellent temperature control.

A final look at the main capacitor shows that it is a ‘Chemi-Con’ design. Being a Japanese brand, this is about as good as it gets and this is a capacitor we see used in many of the best power supplies currently on the market.

Overall Thoughts!

So, both internally and externally, the Cougar GX-F Aurum looks excellent. If this is anything to go by, this is going to smash our testing methodology.

Let’s take a look!