A full tower gamer chassis with USB 3.0, fan control, plenty of flexibility and with looks to satisfy the enthusiast and gamer.
Product on Review: Cougar Evolution
Manufacturer: Cougar
Street Price: £80inc. VAT
COUGAR aren’t a particularly well-known brand in the UK and some of Europe but they are a child company of HEC who are responsible for computer case manufacturing in Europe. COUGAR are always present at all of the big expos around the world and are keen to showcase their wide range of power supplies, cases and cooling fans. With them slowly appearing in the UK market we will today be taking a look at our very first COUGAR product from their computer case category.
Though the Evolution is classified as a full tower on the COUGAR website on the actual packaging it’s referenced as a midi tower. Regardless of this, the Evolution is a large computer chassis with a distinct visual appearance that will please gamers whilst having a feature set that will satisfy the enthusiast.
The computer case market is a competitive playground, can COUGAR reach out with this interesting enclosure? Let’s begin our analysis of the COUGAR Evolution.
COUGAR’s take on Evolution
COUGAR extends the line to a full tower with the Evolution makes it easy to build a professional gaming system. It accommodates all sorts of high-end hardware from its spacious interior, with excellent cooling solution from the maximum 6 fans, Integrated fan speed controller, eight PCI slots provides flexibility for multiple graphics cards, and plenty of room for large, power-hungry components, the COUGAR Evolution full tower represent a new evolution for gaming spirit.
Technical Specifications
Case Type: Full Tower
Dimension (W / H / D) : 223 ( W ) x 514 ( H ) x 523 ( D ) mm
Housing material: SECC
Motherboards: ATX / Micro ATX
5.25″ Drive Bay: 6 Exposed
3.5″ Drive Bay: 4 Hidden
2.5” Drive Bay: 4 Hidden (converted from 3.5” HDD tray)
External SATA HDD/SSD dock: 3.5″/2.5″ x 1
Expansion Slots: 8
I/O Panel
USB 3.0 x 2
USB 2.0 x 2
MIC x 1
HD Audio x 1
Cooling System
Front: 120 mm fan x 1
Top: 120mm fan x 2 (optional)
Rear: 120 mm fan x 1
Bottom: 120 / 140 mm fan x 1 (optional)
Side: 140 mm fan x 1 (optional)
Side Panel: Transparent Window
PSU: Standard ATX PS2 (optional)
Maximum Compatibility
CPU cooler height limitation: 180mm
Graphic card length limitation: 305mm
Packaging & First Look
The Evolution is presented in a large eco-friendly box – being cardboard this can be recycled. The front of the box has a depiction of the Evolution case, whilst the rear of the box has various features marked out and further technical details. Inside, the Evolution is covered in a fabric sheet and held in place via polystyrene pillars.
An eco-friendly box
Bundled with the Evolution is an instructions manual, screws, fan control cables and a 5.25” to 3.5” adapter unit.
Bundle including manual, screws, fan cables and storage bracket
Removing the case from its packaging we can take our first look at the Evolution. First impressions are good, the case adopts both styles of having a sleek, professional appearance and slightly rugged, gamer style. The prominent side panel features a Perspex window with a section marked out for attaching a 140mm case fan, there is also a removable fan filter.
Over on the other side, the side panel is solid but has a large region that is convex so that more cables can be routed behind the motherboard tray.
Perspex side panel and space for attaching 140mm side fan
Convex side panel for improved cable management
Over the page we will take a closer look at the exterior features.
Exterior
The front of Evolution has a patterned mesh fascia with a mixture of plastic and steel. Though this case is classified as a midi tower it has an abundance of 5.25” bay covers. There are 6x 5.25” drive bays, these can be removed from inside the case.
Around the back at the very bottom there is an area for mounting the PSU. Above this are 8x PCI covers, each with ventilation cut-outs for better airflow. Above this we have a 120mm rear exhaust fan (COUGAR Vortex) in a vibrant orange colour. Further up there are 2x circular cut-outs that aren’t open in the default state but can easily be pushed out to allow tubing/cabling to route through.
The front and back of Evolution
Moving to the front panel connectivity there is plenty of options here and they are all presented on a superb interface. In the very centre is a wheel that controls the fan speeds and acts as a power button also and then either side we have a USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 port, headphone and microphone jack and reset button with LED. Either side of the actual fan control wheel is a button that manages certain fans that are grouped to a or b. Further back is a rubberised area with the COUGAR logo, this is the docking station flap. More on this below.
Front panel connectivity with fan control and USB 3.0
As mentioned above, further back from the front panel controls is a docking station for 2.5” and 3.5” drives. The rubberised flap is pressed down to reveal the SATA ports.
The SATA docking station for 2.5” and 3.5” drives
The top of Evolution continues the design that is present on the front fascia. Underneath there is space for dual 120mm fans. Overall, the design of the exterior is looking great.
Mesh panel with ability to install dual 120mm fans underneath
Finally on the underside of Evolution there are 4x rubberised feet to prevent any slipping. Towards the back of the underside of this case is a handle, pulling this out removes a large fan filter. This works well, the handle is easy to access and the fan filter moves out with ease.
The underside of Evolution
Over the page we will take a look at the interior of Evolution.
Interior
To remove the side panels 2x thumbscrews on either side just need to be removed. With these side panels removed we can gage just how much space is inside Evolution. Tool-less mechanisms are featured throughout for attaching storage and media devices. There are cable management cut-outs and a large CPU backplate cut-out. So far, so good.
Lots of space and tool-less mechanisms throughout
Cable management cut-outs for improved cable management
Moving in for a closer look at the various elements within Evolution we will start with the PSU area. Sadly there is no anti-vibration in this area and since the region the PSU sits in is metal and the PSU is metal, this doesn’t make for a good combination – we can expect scratching. To get the PSU in there we have a bar that can be altered depending on the size of the unit. As previously mentioned, the underside has a removable fan filter. Next to where the PSU sits we can also attached a bottom mounted 120mm fan.
The PSU mounting area – no anti-vibration
Further up, there are 8x PCI expansion slot covers each with ventilation holes for airflow and thumbscrews for each removal.
8x PCI expansion slot covers
In terms of cooling, we have just one pre-installed fan inside Evolution. This rear exhaust fan is a COUGAR Vertex 120mm. At the top of Evolution there are dual placements for 120mm fans. With just one cooling fan inside Evolution the thermal performance may take a hit, a little later we will be reporting back on the thermal performance in Evolution.
120mm rear exhaust fan and optional 120mm slots
Over the page we will cotinine looking at various elements inside Evolution.
Interior (Continued)
Continuing our tour of the interior we move over to the 5.25” area. Here we have 6x 5.25” drive bays and each of these has a quick release mechanism to quickly and easily attach devices.
Optical drive bay area with quick release mechanisms
In terms of HDD storage we have a removable cage that has 4x trays inside. These trays can accommodate both 2.5” and 3.5” drives. Behind this cage we can install a 120mm case fan to act as an intake. Sadly there isn’t one attached by default, it would be advised to install a fan here to create positive airflow.
HDD cage with 4x trays for 2.5” and 3.5” drives
Removable HDD cage
Installation
Getting kit into Evolution is very easy. In fact I had everything in and cable management complete within 30 minutes and as you can see we have a very tidy, clean looking system. I encountered no problems and it was great to be able to get the E-ATX CPU power cable routed behind the motherboard tray and up through the top.
Clean and tidy installation
Good cable management
Installing HDDs into the Evolution is simple, just attach the 2.5” or 3.5” drive to the tray. To install a 2.5” drive there are screw holes that attach to the underside of the drive/tray.
Installing a 2.5”/3.5” HDD is easy
Installation (Continued)
Continuing in our observation of the installation process we will now consider clearance. First of all the CPU cooler – here we have plenty of space for high-end air coolers. Installed inside Evolution is the Noctua NH-U12P which is 158mm in height. Evolution will easily allow bigger flagship coolers like Noctua NH-D14 and Thermalright Silver Arrow which are 160mm in height.
Good clearance for high-end air coolers
In terms of clearance for the graphics card with it sat in the top slot of an ATX motherboard it will fit into the optical drive bay and if the card is sat below this, we have up to 11.5” of clearance and if the card is any bigger the HDD cage can be removed to allow for the graphics cards but at the sacrifice of HDD storage options.
Evolution will allow for long graphics cards
Turning to water-cooling – sadly there isn’t any space for the Phobya G-Charger 240 radiator. The gap from the edge of the motherboard to the top of the case is just 2.5cm.
No space for water-cooling radiator
Lastly, behind the motherboard tray we have 1.2cm of measured clearance but there is additional space on the actual side panel because it is convex. So we have just short of 1.8cm of total clearance behind the motherboard tray. More than enough for creating good cable management.
Clearance behind the motherboard tray is good with convex side panel
Thermal Performance Testing
Inside COUGAR’s Evolution is just the one cooling fan, a 120mm rear exhaust fan. Though there is space for top and front mounted fans these are absent, to create positive airflow we should really have a front intake fan but for the purpose of testing we will be taking the Evolution as it is and observing thermal performance.
To discover the thermal performance of the Evolution I will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. I will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 30 minutes have elapsed.
System Components
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 480 AMP
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W
Conclusion
Taking a look at a new brand brings in an air of unexpectedness, with no previous experience of build quality, performance and other attributes you are left with a lack of anticipation. Thankfully though the COUGAR Evolution is an impressive chassis and should it be more widely available at retail stores it will no doubt have much success.
Aesthetically the Evolution slots right in the middle of enthusiast and gamer styling. It has some aspects that are rugged and some that are smooth and discreet but in general the overall appearance is great.
In terms of functionality Evolution can house 2.5” and 3.5” drives and all devices within are installed using tool-less/quick release systems meaning the entire installation process is achieved in a much shorter time span. The front panel features fan control that is easy to use and we even have the useful addition of a HDD docking station for 2.5” and 3.5” drives.
Cable management inside is easy to configure within Evolution thanks to the space, clearance and cut-outs on the motherboard tray. Though the case is rather tall, it was great to see that COUGAR have included a gap for the E-ATX CPU power. The only thing I would have liked to see with this feature is the addition of rubber to further improve the tidiness within.
Although I was pleased with the Evolution it does have its shortcomings. Having a single fan inside the case means that cooling isn’t really its forte. For a case to be considered good for thermal performance we need positive air pressure – intake at the front and a rear exhaust or top mounted fan. Sadly we are missing any case type of case fan at the front. The PSU area is absent of any anti-vibration resulting in metal on metal – as a consequence will lead to scratching.
In terms of pricing the Evolution is available for £80 Inc. VAT in the UK – this comes with 2x 120mm fans pre-installed. So as you will imagine, cooling will be better and for the cost the Evolution is a good buy.
The bottom line is COUGAR have impressed us with their Evolution, it looks great has all the features you could want and is affordable to most. The only thing letting it down is mediocre air cooling.
Pros
+ Looks great
+ Fan control
+ Good cable management options
+ Dust free docking station
Cons
– Poor cooling
– No anti-vibration for PSU
+ Looks great
+ Fan control
+ Good cable management options
+ Dust free docking station
Cons
– Poor cooling
– No anti-vibration for PSU
