Cougar Intros Cratus Open-Air Frame Chassis

btarunr · Oct 3, 2022

Cougar today introduced Cratus, an open-air frame chassis. Shaped like an inward-curved rollcage, The case features a steel frame to which several key case surfaces are hung, including two tinted tempered-glass panels. The motherboard tray is angled such that its rear points upward, which should favor most air- or passively-cooled components. The case features an E-ATX motherboard tray with room for graphics cards up to 46 cm in length; and mounts for two 3.5-inch and three 2.5-inch drives on the other side. Just below this main chamber is a smaller one exclusive to the PSU.

Cooling options in the Cougar Cratus include two 360 mm radiator mounts—one along the top, and one along the motherboard tray itself; and a 240 mm mount along the front. The top- and tray mounts can also hold 280 mm radiators. Front-panel connectivity include a USB 3.1 type-C, four USB 3.1 type-A, a 4-pole headset jack, and a button to cycle among the presets of an included ARGB controller. The case measures 283 mm x 636 mm x 635 mm (WxDxH).

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

Dirt Chip · Oct 3, 2022

This is beyond ugly.

Crackong · Oct 3, 2022

Maybe they should make car roll cages instead of PC case.

Their QBX lineup was nice and cheap, just need a bit of modernization and can slot right into the empty gap of ncase m1

LabRat 891 · Oct 3, 2022

First reaction:
DAYUM that's ugly!

A moment later, after realizing my own past 'tastes':
ehhhh, aight. I can see someone thinking this was hot shit.

AusWolf · Oct 3, 2022

I can see where the design comes from.

Unfortunately, this doesn't make the final product look good.

TheDeeGee · Oct 3, 2022

Looks like someone threw a perfectly straight case of a building and, said "this looks good".

bonehead123 · Oct 3, 2022

barf..
puke....
yUk........

looks moar like a prehistoric-transformers-abortion-gone-really-really-bad than a pc case....

AsRock · Oct 3, 2022

The case that requires scaffolding.

ModEl4 · Oct 3, 2022

It certainly isn't pretty!
Past efforts in design was a bit better, even in controversial designs like the Conquer.

defaultluser · Oct 3, 2022

luckily the QBX still owns all!

Dr. Dro · Oct 3, 2022

These transformer-like cases are certainly an acquired taste. But, I may be biased. I like open frame cases as much as I like somber workstation-type chassis (e.g. O11 Air).

cvaldes · Oct 3, 2022

De gustibus non est disputandum.

Oh well, someone will love this case. And likely some people here...

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550 AORUS Elite V2
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 16GB DDR4-3200
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 4070 Ti EX
Storage	Samsung 990 1TB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Dirt Sheep \| Silent Sheep
Processor	i5-2400 \| 13900K (-0.02mV offset)
Motherboard	Asus P8H67-M LE \| Gigabyte AERO Z690-G, bios F29e Intel baseline
Cooling	Scythe Katana Type 1 \| Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black
Memory	G-skill 28GB DDR3 \| Corsair Vengeance 432GB DDR5 5200Mhz C40 @4000MHz
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte 970GTX Mini \| NV 1080TI FE (cap at 50%, 800mV)
Storage	2SN850 1TB, 230S 4TB, 840EVO 128GB, WD green 2TB HDD, IronWolf 6TB, 2HC550 18TB in RAID1
Display(s)	LG 21` FHD W2261VP \| Lenovo 27` 4K Qreator 27
Case	Thermaltake V3 Black\|Define 7 Solid, stock 314 fans+ 212 front&buttom+ out 1*8 (on expansion slot)
Audio Device(s)	Beyerdynamic DT 990 (or the screen speakers when I'm too lazy)
Power Supply	Enermax Pro82+ 525W \| Corsair RM650x (2021)
Mouse	Logitech Master 3
Keyboard	Roccat Isku FX
VR HMD	Nop.
Software	WIN 10 \| WIN 11
Benchmark Scores	CB23 SC: i5-2400=641 \| i9-13900k=2325-2281 MC: i5-2400=i9 13900k SC \| i9-13900k=37240-35500

System Name	Personal Gaming Rig
Processor	Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSI X670E Carbon
Cooling	MO-RA 3 420
Memory	32GB 6000MHz
Video Card(s)	RTX 4090 ICHILL FROSTBITE ULTRA
Storage	4x 2TB Nvme
Display(s)	Samsung G8 OLED
Case	Silverstone FT04

System Name	Metalia
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard	Asus TuF Gaming X570-PLUS
Cooling	ID Cooling 280mm AIO w/ Arctic P14s
Memory	2x32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 9070 XT
Storage	Optane P5801X 400GB, Samsung 990Pro 2TB
Display(s)	LG ‎32GS95UV 32" OLED 240/480hz 4K/1080P Dual Mode
Case	Geometric Future M8 Dharma
Audio Device(s)	Xonar Essence STX
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-1000 Gold
Mouse	Attack Shark R3 Magnesium - White
Keyboard	Keychron K8 Pro - White - Tactile Brown Switch
Software	Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021

System Name	My second and third PCs are Intel + Nvidia
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSi Pro B650M-A Wifi
Cooling	be quiet! Dark Rock 4
Memory	2x 24 GB Corsair Vengeance EXPO DDR5-6000 CL36
Video Card(s)	PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 XT
Storage	2 TB Corsair MP600 GS, 4 TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	Dell S3422DWG 34" 1440 UW 144 Hz
Case	Kolink Citadel Mesh
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z333 2.1 speakers, AKG Y50 headphones
Power Supply	750 W Seasonic Prime GX
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2S
Keyboard	Logitech G413 SE
Software	Bazzite (Fedora Linux) KDE Plasma

Cougar Intros Cratus Open-Air Frame Chassis

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

Dirt Chip

Crackong

LabRat 891

AusWolf

TheDeeGee

bonehead123

AsRock

TPU addict

ModEl4

defaultluser

Dr. Dro

cvaldes

System Name	TheDeeGee's PC
Processor	Intel Core i7-11700
Motherboard	ASRock Z590 Steel Legend
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S
Memory	Crucial Ballistix 3200/C16 32GB
Video Card(s)	Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti 12GB
Storage	Crucial P5 Plus 2TB / Crucial P3 Plus 2TB / Crucial P3 Plus 4TB
Display(s)	EIZO CX240
Case	Lian-Li O11 Dynamic Evo XL / Noctua NF-A12x25 fans
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster ZXR / AKG K601 Headphones
Power Supply	Seasonic PRIME Fanless TX-700
Mouse	Logitech G500S
Keyboard	Keychron Q6
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
Benchmark Scores	None, as long as my games runs smooth.

System Name	The Little One
Processor	i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard	AZW SEI
Cooling	Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory	64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s)	Iris XE
Storage	WD Black SN850X 8TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 8TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s)	2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case	Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply	65w brick
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard	Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
VR HMD	Whahdatiz ???
Software	Windows 10 pro, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores	PDQ

Processor	AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard	ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling	D15
Memory	Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s)	eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage	Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s)	Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case	Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 \Paradigm 7se MKII, Paradigm 5SE MK1 , Blue Yeti
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard	Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores	Meh benchmarks.

System Name	"Icy Resurrection"
Processor	13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900KS
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S upgraded with 2x NF-F12 iPPC-3000 fans and Honeywell PTM7950 TIM
Memory	32 GB G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB F5-6800J3445G16GX2-TZ5RK @ 7600 MT/s 36-44-44-52-96 1.4V
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA RTX A2000 (5090 shipping to me soon™)
Storage	500 GB WD Black SN750 SE NVMe SSD + 4 TB WD Red Plus WD40EFPX HDD
Display(s)	55-inch LG G3 OLED
Case	Pichau Mancer CV500 White Edition
Audio Device(s)	Sony MDR-V7 connected through Apple USB-C
Power Supply	EVGA 1300 G2 1.3kW 80+ Gold
Mouse	Microsoft Classic IntelliMouse (2017)
Keyboard	IBM Model M type 1391405
Software	Windows 10 Pro 22H2
Benchmark Scores	I pulled a Qiqi~

System Name	daily driver Mac mini M2 Pro
Processor	Apple proprietary M2 Pro (6 p-cores, 4 e-cores)
Motherboard	Apple proprietary
Cooling	Apple proprietary
Memory	Apple proprietary 16GB LPDDR5 unified memory
Video Card(s)	Apple proprietary M2 Pro (16-core GPU)
Storage	Apple proprietary onboard 512GB SSD + various external HDDs
Display(s)	LG UltraFine 27UL850W (4K@60Hz IPS)
Case	Apple proprietary
Audio Device(s)	Apple proprietary
Power Supply	Apple proprietary
Mouse	Apple Magic Trackpad 2
Keyboard	Keychron K1 tenkeyless (Gateron Reds)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S (hosted on a different PC)
Software	macOS Sonoma 14.7
Benchmark Scores	(My Windows daily driver is a Beelink Mini S12 Pro. I'm not interested in benchmarking.)