COUGAR, a renowned gaming hardware brand known for its PC cases, peripherals, and power supplies, has sent us its latest ATX 3.1 PSU—the GLE 1000W. Featuring native 12V-2×6 connectors and multiple PCIe outputs, the GLE 1000W is built to handle modern GPUs and demanding multi-GPU configurations with ease.
Product Name: GLE 1000W
Manufacturer: COUGAR
MSRP: US$169 / €169.90 / £149
COUGAR, a renowned gaming hardware brand known for its PC cases, peripherals, and power supplies, has sent us its latest ATX 3.1 PSU—the GLE 1000W. Featuring native 12V-2×6 connectors and multiple PCIe outputs, the GLE 1000W is built to handle modern GPUs and demanding multi-GPU configurations with ease. The COUGAR GLE Series features 80PLUS Gold and Cybenetics Platinum certifications, one of the higher-end Gold-rated ATX 3.1 offerings from COUGAR’s power supply lineup today.
COUGAR GLE 1000/1200
The COUGAR GLE 1000 features a fully modular cable design and native 12V-2×6 power connectors for the latest NVIDIA RTX graphics cards. The COUGAR GLE series boasts high-quality 80 PLUS Gold certification, achieving up to 91% conversion efficiency. Utilizing a native PCIe 12V-2X6 connector design, this power supply delivers power to next-gen graphics cards through a single 12+4-pin cable, bringing them into compliance with Intel’s ATX 3.1 standard. With flawless power delivery in 40°C environments, it saves energy, reduces electricity costs, and provides stable power to all components.
COUGAR’s ATX 3.1 PSU Lineup
Like many PSU makers this year, COUGAR has refreshed its lineup with ATX 3.1–certified models. At the top sits the POLAR X2 Series, a refined version of the original POLAR lineup, now featuring 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency.
For the Gold-rated ATX 3.1 range, COUGAR introduced several new series including the GR, GLE, GEX (2024), GES, and GST. The GR and GLE Series debuted last year, with broader availability rolling out this year. While both share 80 PLUS Gold certification, the GLE Series stands above the GR with more connectors and additional Cybenetics certifications. Interestingly, the GLE uses a 135mm FDB fan, slightly smaller than the 140mm fan in the GR. The GLE Series is currently available in select regions across Asia, Eastern Europe, and Australia, with a U.S. and U.K. release expected soon. COUGAR also has Bronze-rated ATX 3.1 PSUs with the ATLAS Series – added to their lineup late last year.
Moving forward, we are given the opportunity to review the GLE 1000W before it hits the United States and United Kingdom. This aims to help builders and users that plan to upgrade their PSU or build a new PC soon.
Features and Specifications
Features• Supports PCI Express 5.1 Graphics Cards with 12+4 Pin Connector for true 200% power excursion dynamic outputs.
• 80 PLUS Gold Certified for up to 91% efficiency in power conversion, reducing electricity bills.
• Durable HDB Fan with an integrated stabilizing ring lets you experience noiseless gaming.
• 100% Refined Japanese Capacitors for outstanding component longevity in the PSU.
• Fully Modular Power Supply Unit allows you to connect only the cables you need, reducing clutter and improving airflow.
• Compatible with the Latest PC Technology, designed for users with current and next-generation multi-core CPU platforms.
• Powerful performance even at 40°C ambient temperature.
• Platinum Cybenetics rating for efficiency. (GLE 1000W only)
• A- Cybenetics rating for noise level. (GLE 1000W only)
• 80 PLUS Gold Certified for up to 91% efficiency in power conversion, reducing electricity bills.
• Durable HDB Fan with an integrated stabilizing ring lets you experience noiseless gaming.
• 100% Refined Japanese Capacitors for outstanding component longevity in the PSU.
• Fully Modular Power Supply Unit allows you to connect only the cables you need, reducing clutter and improving airflow.
• Compatible with the Latest PC Technology, designed for users with current and next-generation multi-core CPU platforms.
• Powerful performance even at 40°C ambient temperature.
• Platinum Cybenetics rating for efficiency. (GLE 1000W only)
• A- Cybenetics rating for noise level. (GLE 1000W only)
Specifications
Dimensions (L*W*H)
150 x 150 x 86 (mm)
The GLE 1000 is manufactured by CE-Link, an OEM known for producing power supplies for several well-known brands, including Thermaltake’s Toughpower GF A3 and Toughpower SFX series and DeepCool’s Gamer Storm Series PSUs. The COUGAR GLE 1000W boasts a Cybenetics Platinum efficiency rating and an A- noise certification, achievements not shared by the GLE 1200, making the GLE 1000 model the superior option when it comes to official performance and acoustic certifications.
Packaging, Bundle, and Cables
The COUGAR GLE 1000 comes in a coloured box, certifications and key features are highlighted on the upper-right side of the box.
Important information about the power supply unit can be found at the back including the efficiency graphs for both 230V and 115V standard residential voltages.
More information are found on the side including the included cables and DC output information.
Opening the box, COUGAR secured the power supply with recycled cardboard. The PSU itself is protected by a fabric bag. Along with the PSU are two sealed plastic bags that contain the cables.
Inside the box are two paper inserts — a user manual and a PCIe cable connection guide printed in large, easy-to-read text that immediately catches your attention. While novice builders might overlook the manual, the connection guide is hard to ignore and serves as an essential reference to ensure proper GPU power delivery — especially important for high-end graphics cards with heavy power demands.
All the cables are in a large sealed plastic bag while the power cord is in smaller plastic bag.
Cables
The COUGAR GLE 1000 has a single 600mm 12V-2×6 power cable for NVIDIA RTX graphics cards and three PCIe cables offering six 8(6+2)pin PCIe connectors.
The COUGAR GLE 1000 comes with embossed black cables, similar to the cables of the ENERMAX REVOLUTION III 850W PSU.
Compared to flat black cables, the embossed black cables do look and feel more premium – mimicking the look and feel of sleeved cables. The COUGAR GLE 1000’s 12V-2×6 power cable is rated up to 600W.
The GLE 1000W includes the following cables:
1x 24Pin Motherboard ATX (600mm)
2x 8Pin (4+4Pin) EPS (650mm)
1x 16Pin PCIe 5.1 12V-2×6 (600mm)
3x 8Pin (6+2Pin) +8Pin (6+2Pin) PCIe (650mm)
3x 4xSATA (500mm+150mm+150mm+150mm)
1x 4xPATA (500mm+150mm+150mm+150mm)
2x 8Pin (4+4Pin) EPS (650mm)
1x 16Pin PCIe 5.1 12V-2×6 (600mm)
3x 8Pin (6+2Pin) +8Pin (6+2Pin) PCIe (650mm)
3x 4xSATA (500mm+150mm+150mm+150mm)
1x 4xPATA (500mm+150mm+150mm+150mm)
Closer Look (External)
The COUGAR GLE 1000 comes equipped with a 135mm FDB fan with a relatively aesthetic fan grille.
The modular cable connectors are clearly labeled for easy identification, featuring five PCIe and CPU ports in total. Unlike some PSUs, the EPS power connectors are not daisy-chained, meaning users will need to use two separate EPS cables to power motherboards with dual 8-pin inputs — a design choice that prioritizes safety and stable power delivery.
Product information for the GLE 1000 is placed on the side of the PSU housing, a placement I find more practical than having it on the top panel. In most gaming cases with a bottom-mounted PSU layout, this side is typically hidden from view, even in chassis designs without a PSU shroud, keeping the build looking clean. At the rear of the PSU is the power input socket and power switch.
The top panel of the PSU housing has a clean design, featuring only a small sticker in the corner that displays the barcode and serial number for easy identification without disrupting the overall aesthetic.
Closer Look (Internal)
The COUGAR GLE 1000 comes equipped with a 135mm FDB (fluid dynamic bearing) fan. With this fan, the COUGAR GLE 100 acquired Cybenetic’s Lambda A- certification which means the PSU operates at less than or equal to 25 dB(A) and less than 30 dB(A) noise levels. See Cybenetics certification here.The 135mm fan equipped on the COUGAR GLE 1000 is a Martech DF1352512FDMN model which doesn’t reveal anything in the internet other than a 135mm Cooler Master fan that shares the same model name “DF1352512FDMN” which we can’t confirm if they are the same. The fan is a non-PWM fan and runs at all times.
The COUGAR GLE 1000 features high-quality Japanese capacitors.
It comes equipped with a Nippon Chemi-con snap-in KHE Series 420V 730uF 105°C aluminium electrolytic capacitor as the primary capacitor.
The secondary capacitors of the GLE 1000 are a mixture of Nippon Chemi-con and Rubycon capacitors, both brands recognized as first-tier Japanese capacitor brands.
Testing Methodologies & Results
15-Day Usage
The COUGAR GLE 1000 has been in our PC for more than 15 days, used for casual use, work, and gaming. During this period, I’ve played a couple of games including Battlefield 6. Still, the most strenuous load for the PSU done on this period would still be the mixed workload test – a mixture and/or combination of several benchmarking tools including 3DMark benchmarks, Unigene Valley, Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, CINEBENCH and others. Hence, there are no abnormalities experienced in terms of power supplied to the computer by the GLE 1000 PSU.
The test computer’s configuration is as follows below which is on an open-frame testbench. Our testing is done using 230V household voltage.
CPU: Intel Core i7-13700K (5.3GHz)
Cooling: Noctua NH-D15 G2
Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS EXTREME X
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 EAGLE OC / COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Memory: ADATA XPG Lancer DDR5-8000 32GB Kit
Storage: ADATA Legend 960 Max 1TB / 2TB Seagate SkyHawk 5900 RPM
Cooling: Noctua NH-D15 G2
Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS EXTREME X
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 EAGLE OC / COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Memory: ADATA XPG Lancer DDR5-8000 32GB Kit
Storage: ADATA Legend 960 Max 1TB / 2TB Seagate SkyHawk 5900 RPM
Voltage Regulation Testing
We test PSU voltage regulation using a multimeter alongside a high-precision wattmeter and power analyser connected to the +12V, +5V, and +3.3V output rails. Three +12V lines are measured separately: one from the PCIe cable, one from the EPS cable, and one from the peripherals cable. A system-wide wattmeter is also used to record total power draw. A combination of different software and additional hardware, like cooling fans, has been used to generate different wattage loads. Our current testing setup reached a peak load of 635W.
Results
Voltage Regulation
The COUGAR GLE 1000 demonstrated excellent voltage regulation, maintaining fluctuations within roughly 1% across varying loads. Our test system, powered by the Intel Core i7-13700K, is notably demanding—drawing around 250W at full load. While a slight voltage sag was observed on the EPS rail at around 60% system load (~635W), it remained well within the normal regulation range, reflecting the PSU’s solid electrical stability under stress.
Acoustics
The COUGAR GLE 1000 is equipped with a 135 mm fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) fan that operates continuously for consistent cooling. Using a sound meter, the PSU registered a modest 47 dBA, which is about the same as the ambient noise level in a quiet room. In practical use, the GLE 1000 is virtually inaudible within a gaming setup, especially when paired with a triple-fan graphics card, which easily becomes the dominant source of system noise. Also, the GLE 1000 features Cybenetic’s Lamdba certification wherein it scored a A-, meaning it operates at less than or equal to 25 dB(A) & <30 dB(A) noise levels.
Conclusion
The COUGAR GLE 1000 is on the brand’s upper-tier Gold-certified ATX 3.1 power supply units in its current active PSU lineup. It boasts an impressive set of certifications including 80PLUS Gold and Cybenetics Platinum efficiency certifications. It also achieved a Cybenetics Lambda A- acoustics certification in which, based on our experience with the PSU, it does operate silently.
Aside from providing native 12V-2×6 connectors, the COUGAR GLE 1000 has three sets of PCIe 8(6+2) cables giving a total of 6 PCIe connectors. If you are building a multi-graphics card setup for content creation, a workstation build, the COUGAR GLE 1000 would be suitable for such application. COUGAR designed the GLE 1000 to meet both 80 PLUS and Cybenetics certification standards, reflecting the brand’s confidence in the series and highlighting its commitment to build quality, efficiency, and reliable performance.
The COUGAR GLE 1000 shares similar certifications with the FSP VITA GM 1000W, including 80 PLUS Gold and Cybenetics Lambda A- noise ratings. However, the GLE 1000 goes a step further with a superior Cybenetics Platinum efficiency certification, giving it an edge in performance validation. Priced at a suggested retail of $169.99, it’s about $20 more expensive than the FSP model, but this falls within the typical range for 1000W PSUs offering similar features and certifications, making it a fairly priced option for what it delivers. Unfortunately, availability is still limited to select regions, including Australia, parts of Asia, and Europe. COUGAR has yet to release the GLE 1000 in the United States and United Kingdom, so builders in those regions may have to wait a bit longer before it becomes accessible.
Pros
+ Japanese capacitors
+ Tight voltage regulation
+ Fully modular cable design
+ Embossed cables look and feel premium
+ 10-year warranty
Cons
– Limited availability as of this writing
+ Japanese capacitors
+ Tight voltage regulation
+ Fully modular cable design
+ Embossed cables look and feel premium
+ 10-year warranty
Cons
– Limited availability as of this writing
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