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	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
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 (-0.025mV offset)
Motherboard	Asus P8H67-M LE \| Gigabyte AERO Z690-G, bios F26 with "Instant 6 GHz" on
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Memory	G-skill 28GB DDR3 \| Corsair Vengeance 432GB DDR5 5200Mhz C40 @4000MHz
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte 970GTX Mini \| NV 1080TI FE (cap at 85%, 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	Sleepy Painter
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard	Asus TuF Gaming X570-PLUS/WIFI
Cooling	FSP Windale 6 - Passive
Memory	2x16GB F4-3600C16-16GVKC @ 16-19-21-36-58-1T
Video Card(s)	MSI RX580 8GB
Storage	2x Samsung PM963 960GB nVME RAID0, Crucial BX500 1TB SATA, WD Blue 3D 2TB SATA
Display(s)	Microboard 32" Curved 1080P 144hz VA w/ Freesync
Case	NZXT Gamma Classic Black
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar D1
Power Supply	Rosewill 1KW on 240V@60hz
Mouse	Logitech MX518 Legend
Keyboard	Red Dragon K552
Software	Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC 1809 17763.1757

System Name	Holiday Season Budget Computer (HSBC)
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
Motherboard	MSi PRO B650M-A WiFi
Cooling	be quiet! Dark Rock 4
Memory	2x 16 GB Corsair Vengeance EXPO DDR5-6000
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6500 XT 4 GB
Storage	2 TB Corsair MP600 GS, 2 TB Corsair MP600 R2, 4 + 8 TB Seagate Barracuda 3.5"
Display(s)	Dell S3422DWG, 7" Waveshare touchscreen
Case	Kolink Citadel Mesh black
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z333 2.1 speakers, AKG Y50 headphones
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime GX-750
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2S
Keyboard	Logitech G413 SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro

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-D15
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
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 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB 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
Software	Windows 10 pro 64 bit, 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	Project Kairi Mk. IV "Eternal Thunder"
Processor	13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900KS Special Edition
Motherboard	MSI MEG Z690 ACE (MS-7D27) BIOS 1G
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S + NF-F12 industrialPPC-3000 w/ Thermalright BCF and NT-H1
Memory	G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB 32GB DDR5-6800 F5-6800J3445G16GX2-TZ5RK @ 6400 MT/s 30-38-38-38-70-2
Video Card(s)	ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX™ 4080 16GB GDDR6X White OC Edition
Storage	1x WD Black SN750 500 GB NVMe + 4x WD VelociRaptor HLFS 300 GB HDDs
Display(s)	55-inch LG G3 OLED
Case	Cooler Master MasterFrame 700
Audio Device(s)	EVGA Nu Audio (classic) + Sony MDR-V7 cans
Power Supply	EVGA 1300 G2 1.3kW 80+ Gold
Mouse	Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse
Keyboard	Galax Stealth
Software	Windows 10 Enterprise 22H2
Benchmark Scores	"Speed isn't life, it just makes it go faster."

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
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Storage	Apple proprietary onboard 512GB SSD + various external HDDs
Display(s)	LG 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)
Software	macOS Sonoma 14.5 (with latest patches)
Benchmark Scores	(My Windows daily driver is a Beelink Mini S12 Pro. I'm not interested in benchmarking.)