Cougar Panzer Max Ultimate Full Tower Gaming Case

As a career engineer whom used to design gaming motherboards for Intel (from 2007-2011), I can confidently say this is a fantastic case. The case was big enough to have ample room inside for all my components and very tidy wiring for lots of air flow, yet the case was lighter than the steel case I had my gaming PC guts crammed into previously. There are so many options for large fan placement that you can either load it up with LOTS of fans, or take your pick with ~3 fans and be optimal about air flow.I also really appreciated how the case has a fan speed switch right on the outside that I can choose to make use of or not. If I plug into the motherboard 3or4 wire fan headers I'm letting the motherboard decide fan speed. Or I can use the adapters and the case-switch to make my own choices of fan speed. There are definitely times I would rather make the decision myself based on what I know I'll be doing or where I am. So for instance I'm going to do a 1 min skype chat and I need to make my fans shut up for just a min... etc.All the hard drives just snapped/clicked into place without having to do the line-up-screw-holes-while-balance-a-screw-on-the-tip-of-your-screwdriver balancing act. You've all been there, you know what I mean. Click.. done.The power supply is tucked nicely into a little wind tunnel at the bottom and cables pop through nice little rubber gromits to the backside for neat cable management. This is a case to show off your leet style.The only extra effort I needed was I had to extend the 2x4 pin 12v CPU power supply cable so it would reach all the way to the socket on my board. Being an Engineer I just cut the cable and soldered up an extra 6". But For most of you, I recommend either making sure your 2x4 CPU power cable is pretty long or consider buying an adapter to extend it 3-6 inches when you buy this case. At the end of that step I clearly consider it worth the effort because now the power supply and all it's generated heat it kept away from my precious CPU and Video card etc.There is tons of room inside for lighting effects, huge video cards, cooling systems, and maybe a token to bring you back to the real world from 3 levels deep. The window just begs me to put SOMETHING cool looking in there. Blinky DRAM sticks for the win!Final note, Whomever designed this case was obviously a gamer because the handles are well positioned and sturdy for carrying your beast to the LAN party for mad props. Additionally the headphone hanger is a nice touch and adds that touch of class during your LAN-fest. If you see a dude with this at the next PAX BYOC section, say Hi! It might be me.

When I decided to build a computer. I took the time and energy to research the parts i was going to use thoroughly and after painstakingly finding a case I liked. I choose this one instead when it popped up on the similar items list of the case I was going to get. This case is well constructed plenty of space for upgrades and has some nice air flow capabilities going on.Lets break it down a little.Case visual design - 5/5 When I first look at it reminds of a cargo crate or even a ammo box. The case is obviously inspired by the military/industrial train of thought with its riveted and construction yard type of look. I actually really like this design as it works well for my taste and gives a the case a more menacing and hefty look and feel as opposed to a super stream lined case. Its a box and makes sure you know it. The plastic Window is also a nice flourish too Case design - 4.5/5 As I already mentioned it is heavily inspired by the military/construction yard line of thinking. This line of thinking translates really well to the case it self as it is almost fully modular. going from the outside in we have press catch releases for the top and front panels which are a nice touch as it allows for easy cleaning of the wire airflow mesh. Both sides with the main one having a nice big window are easily removed using a latch system as opposed to thumb screws once again allowing easy access. the bottom is actually elevated allowing for good airflow to a bottom fed PSU with a nice mag mesh filter to keep it clean. Its also has some handles on the top which are functional allowing you to easily carry it around. however iam not to sure how they would handle when fully loaded. To top it all it has two 5.25" bays for internal mounting and four front usb two of which are 3.0 along with a fan control if you want to use the inbuilt one. I do have to take a half point because the window it self is a type of plastic and I would prefer it to be tempered glass.Internal - 4.5/5 This is a full size tower so the inside of the case is a cave with plenty of room. It has several slots and holes for cable management and with rubber grommets which i like as I don't like bare metal for my cable management. It also has a nice shroud for the PSU which is removable and even allows for a isolated air tunnel form the fans. It has this air scoop again removable for cooling the back side of the case as well though Iam not sure how that would work out yet. It has room for mounting two 3.5" HHD and four 2.5"SSDs ( and additional two if you convert the 3.5" slots) all the drive slots are on the back which is a nice touch as it keeps them out of sight out of mind.A coupe of the downsides are its front panel does have room for 3 fans 120/140 mm but you loose a fan slot if you choose to use the 5.25 bay slots for anything. Second is yes most of the parts come apart allowing it to be modular some of the thumb screws and catches holding them in place are tricky to get to and replace if need be. Another is if using water cooling it may be necessary to remove the air scoop/power shroud and drive bay cage if you use a large rad and reservoir/pumpAir Flow - 4/5 Now here is where it gets interesting the front panel allows for up to 360mm fans and similar sized Rads. Though it may be necessary to remove the shroud or air scoop. the back does 120 and does also fit a 120 rad though it would be a real tight squeeze. The top is where it falls short It does allow up to 360 and with rads but unless you get a super thin one you are most likely going to have to remove the top panels for it to fit.That all being said this is a impressive case and I highly recommend it. Aside from small grievances which I have listed it is a solid choice