A Closer Look - Inside

You have to remove both side panels to access the interior. On the main side is an additional plate onto which you may mount a 120 mm fan or radiator, alongside three hard drives. You will have to remove the plate to get to the mainboard area. Turning the bare chassis around, there is a large air vent where the PSU will be.


Take a closer look and you will find a large opening next to the air vent. It is there to give you readily available access to the cooler's backplate. Below it is a spot for a 2.5" hard drive.


The front sports a PCB on which all the I/O has been placed, and you will find another mounting position for a 92 mm fan here as well. The slimline drive is to be installed by dropping it in through the top. There are no real surprises in the rear since the layout is quite traditional. The 92 mm, 3-pin fan is nothing special. Look at the top of the frame and where the PSU will go becomes apparent - you need make sure the PSU is short enough to allow for a long GPU below it.


The fan/HDD mounting bracket can hold up to a 3.5'' and two 2.5'' drives and has a metal piece that pushes against the PSU to keep it from vibrating.


All the cables within the Cougar QBX are of the standard variety and feature black sleeving. The PSU cable is angled, and Cougar placed some graphics on the package to let you know which PSUs will be compatible. This is important as some supplies play with the plug's placement, making it impossible to plug in at such an angle.