A Closer Look - Outside

Taking a first look at the Cougar Panzer, it looks quite menacing. It may not be as "in your face" as the Panzer Max, but Cougar has done a good job of simplifying things without loosing detail. There was one annoyance though: Both glass side panels are protected with a plastic foil. Underneath the foil is a sticker that tells you how to remove it. This sticker should be on top of the plastic cover as it leaves a lot of residue on the glass itself, forcing you to find the right cleaning agents to get rid of it.


The Panzer lacks external drive bays. Instead, Cougar has placed a metal mesh piece of quite the nice shape across the entire front panel. It is good to see this level of detail instead of simply a flat surface. In the rear, everything but the PSU bay looks quite traditional. Here, you can see that the top and bottom covers add quite a bit to the overall height as the metal frame itself is much smaller.


Both side panels are made out of tempered, tinted glass and are held in place by four large thumbscrews. These flat surfaces really add to the overall look and feel thanks to the good mix of materials.


Looking closer, there is a Cougar emblem on the bottom of the front metal mesh cover. A large LED light on top will also be lit once the system is turned on.


You may remove the front cover with a firm tug, revealing the fan placements. Cougar placed a fine metal mesh dust filter that is held in place with magnetic strips here. You may install three 120 mm or two 140 mm fans behind the filter, or even a 360 mm or 280 mm radiator.


In the rear, the PSU bay is just a big square hole as Cougar ships the cover separately. Other manufacturers usually pre-mount such frames onto the chassis, but here, that step is skipped, which makes sense as you will have to remove it anyways to install a power supply. Above that are the seven motherboard expansion slots, which are protected by individual metal mesh covers. In the very top is a 120 mm exhaust fan set to push hot air out the back of the chassis.


Cougar has equipped the Panzer with a well-rounded set of I/O consisting of two USB 3.0, a pair of USB 2.0, and the usual two audio plugs. The power button is fairly big and centered, while the reset button is quite small and inconspicuous. This means you can easily find the button to turn your PC on, but are not likely to hit the reset button by mistake.


The fairly thick top cover sports the same mesh design as the front, and may also be removed to reveal additional fan-mounting holes. Here, you may install the exact same configuration as in the front, three 120 mm or two 140 mm cooling units or a 360 mm or 280 mm radiator.


Looking at the underside, there are two openings - one for the PSU and another for an additional floor-mounted 120 mm fan. Both are protected from bigger pieces of dirt by simple metal mesh covers.