Cougar Unveils MX330-G PRO Mid-tower Case with Provision for 5.25-inch Drive Bays

[btarunr]

Cougar today unveiled the MX330-G PRO, an ATX mid-tower case with provision for up to two 5.25-inch drives, and an airy mesh front panel. The 5.25-inch bays are designed to offer minimal intrusion into the case, with just a stub for the front screws of 5.25-inch drives on their left side, and with the right side integrated with the motherboard tray for the entire row of screws. This metal stub can be removed to enable installation of large 360 mm radiators along the front panel, where the 5.25-inch bay covers retain the mesh surface of the rest of the front panel.

The MX330-G PRO features a conventional horizontally-partitioned layout, with the motherboard tray serving up room for graphics cards up to 38.5 cm in length, and CPU coolers up to 16 cm in height. Fan mounts include three 140/120 mm front intakes, either three 120 mm or two 140 mm top exhausts, and a 120 mm rear exhaust. Radiator mounting options include up to 360 mm along the front, up to 360 mm along the top, and a 120 mm along the rear panel. Besides the two 5.25-inch drive bays, you get two 3.5-inch trays, and up to three 2.5-inch drive mounts. Front panel connectivity includes a USB 3.2 type-C with 20 Gbps capability (20-pin key-A header), two USB 3.1 type-A, one USB 2.0 type-A, and a 4-pole headset jack. The case measures 209 mm x 495 mm x 475 mm (WxHxD). The company didn't reveal pricing.



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[Courier 6]

Nice case, at least at first look

 

[Chaitanya]

Other than stupid HDD cage, that case look pretty decent and IO in particular is great with 1x USB 2.0 A port to connect random reciever.

 

[Redwoodz]

Back to the Future? I swear I have seen this years ago.

 

[s3thra]

Back to the Future? I swear I have seen this years ago.

It appears to be a revision of this, their old MX330 case.

 

[Aleksandar_038]

This actually looks like decent case. Proper front ports, ability for 5.25" bay if needed, mesh front panel... If quality is decent and price is OK, this is good choice.

 

[docnorth]

It's wider than the older version, but 10-15mm extra width could be extremely useful. 160mm clearance for CPU cooler is somehow restrictive. On the other hand it's nice to see some new cases with full height 5,25 bay, at least for me, I need it at the office.

 

[neatfeatguy]

Nice to see a tower that still makes room for a 5.25 bay, or two.

 

[HairyLobsters]

Nice to see a tower that still makes room for a 5.25 bay, or two.

Don't necessarily understand the second 5.25" drive bay.

 

[Fergutor]

You can't go for 5.25" bays and forget HDDs...! At least 3 HDDs and possibility to put more in an unconventional fashion too (vertical somewhere, or under the GPU, etc)

 

[neatfeatguy]

Don't necessarily understand the second 5.25" drive bay.

Can use two drives there to copy disc to disc. I've got two drives, DVD burner and bluray drive. I don't copy from disc to disc anymore, but I didn't feel like spending the money on a bluray burner drive. Got my bluray drive for around $35, getting one that lets you burn discs was about twice that and I don't plan on burning to bluray so it seemed like a waste of money since I already have a DVD burner and a stack of blank DVDS still.

Or you can utilize the bay for other functionality such as getting a fan controller or you can buy mounting brackets for 5.25" bays to put HDDs/SSDs. I actually did that in my last tower (Fractal Design Arc XL). I was able to completely remove the HDD cages, mount the HDDs in the 5.25" bay - thus completely opening up the case without the cages restricting airflow.

It's just nice to have options. Removal of the 5.25" bays doesn't bother some people, but there are still some of us that like making use of them.

 

[Minus Infinity]

Do my eye's decieve me? Is that 2 USB 3, 1 USB 2 and 1 USB C port on the top panel? Not too shabby.

 

[TechLurker]

Don't necessarily understand the second 5.25" drive bay.

A second or even third 5.25 bay are still useful for either adding in a multi-card reader or hot-swappable storage solutions for a basic HomeServer solution. Notably, Icybox gets in on this with 2 bay and 3 bay options for HDDs and SSDs, but there are a few manufacturers out there still manufacturing 5.25 bay drive racks for hot-swap capabilities, and you can buy some older or salvaged 2 or 3 bay HDD stack options that aren't hot-swappable from eBay to fill them in too if that's someone's thing.

Even Level1Tech mentioned how he loved older cases with multiple 5.25 bays for the ability to either create a disc cloner, or retrofit with hot-swap bays for a starter home server, and recommends them as an option if one can get them reasonably cheap for an upgradeable home server/storage solution.

Ultimately though, it's a niche thing for a niche purpose.

 

[darkbreeze]

Don't necessarily understand the second 5.25" drive bay.

According to the actual product page for this case on Cougar's website, it DOESN'T have a second 2.25" external drive bay. It only has one.

Advanced support for up to 385mm long graphics cards, one 5.25”ODD, two 3.5” HDD, and three 2.5” SSD, allows you to enjoy the latest games at optimum performance settings.

COUGAR MX330-G PRO - Mid Tower Case - COUGAR

The MX330-G Pro is a mid-tower PC case designed for excellent airflow and build visibility: a full front mesh keeps the interior well ventilated, and a massive tempered glass left panel allows you to show off a clean view of your build. With a genuine high-speed Gen2 Type-C port for the latest...

cougargaming.com