INTRODUCTION

   Just like RGB lighting tempered glass also took the market by storm when it was first introduced into gaming and enthusiast oriented PC cases roughly 3 years ago and the rest as they say is history. So today most PC cases to get released feature at least one side panel made out of tempered glass and if you happen to be among the ones who can climb very high in terms of budget you can find massive full tower models with as many as 4 panels made out of tempered glass (like for example the View 91 TG RGB by Thermaltake which we reviewed a couple of weeks ago). Still not everyone has the budget needed for one such PC case and so some manufacturers have released mid-tower models which combine low price and at the same time offer something that looks just as good. COUGAR is one such manufacturer and today we'll be taking a very thorough look at their recently released PANZER-G Tempered Glass Gaming Mid-Tower.

   COUGAR products are designed by COUGAR GERMANY, a professional R&D engineering team and COUGAR is part of the “HEC/COMPUCASE” Group. The unique combination of the world-famous German skills of designing the best products worldwide and HEC/s power and long-time experience to produce the best high quality products created innovative masterpieces in PSU history. The PC upgrading and DIY market is changing rapidly and is growing more and more. Professional user are asking for more than only stable and silent PSU/s, they want efficient and energy saving products without compromises in quality. COUGAR GERMANY created such products! COUGAR GERMANY combines the features of innovation and evolution to create efficient, powerful and unique products like “COUGAR POWER”. The purpose of COUGAR GERMANY is the satisfaction of the customer, reaching it by creating most valuable, advanced products. COUGAR – YOUR POWER!

   The PANZER-G is a mid-tower compatible with mini-ITX, micro-ATX, ATX and CEB format mainboards featuring rugged looks (thus its name) and smoked tempered glass for all 4 of its panels (left/right/front/top). In terms of interior space the PANZER-G has enough room for up to two 3.5" and four 2.5" drives (or six 2.5" drives), up to eight 120mm fans (or four 140mm and two 120mm ones) and/or two 240/280/360mm radiators, 160mm tall CPU coolers, 425mm long graphics cards (400mm with front fans in push and pull) and 210mm long power supply units. Other features include a PSU area cover/shroud (dual compartment design), four vertical and two horizontal removable drive trays, two removable bottom air-filters, top and front removable magnetic air-filters and three pre-installed 120mm Vortex LED fans.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The PANZER-G arrived inside a plain cardboard box that has a product drawing at the front right over the main product features and next to the company logo.

COUGAR has placed the specifications table on both sides of the box beneath yet another product drawing.

Thanks to three drawings placed at the rear of the box you can see the interior of the PANZER-G.

Typically the case is wrapped inside a plastic bag (all 4 panels have plastic membranes stuck on them on both sides) and is placed between two thick foam spacers.

Inside a small cardboard box placed in the PANZER-G you will find the PSU bracket (will need to use this regardless of PSU model), 4 cable ties, product catalog and the user manual.

THE PANZER-G EXTERIOR

Measuring 565mm in height, 520mm in depth/length and 208mm in width the 10.3Kg heavy PANZER-G looks almost as rugged as its predecessors.

Most of the left side (right side is identical) is taken by a smoked tempered glass panel which has a small sticker at the top showcasing the proper removal procedure and is secured in place via small thumbscrews.

The front tempered glass panel is also smoked so it's not very easy to see the fans past it (only when they are turned on).

The I/O is located at the top of the tower and includes two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, microphone and headphones 3.5mm ports and the power on/off and reset buttons.

As usual the fascia can be easily removed so you can gain access to the three pre-installed 120mm Vortex LED fans.

The top panel is also made out of tempered glass side panel and the entire piece can be removed the same way as the fascia to gain access to the interior (the fans here are installed the same way as the front and not inside the case).

Moving at the rear we see an empty 120mm fan mount (would be much better had COUGAR used another one of their Vortex LED fans here), 7 PCI expansion slots (held in place with regular screws) and the PSU area.

Turning the case over we see two removable metallic air-filters (unfortunately they are not magnetic like the one at the top and front).

THE PANZER-G INTERIOR

The PANZER-G is not among the largest mid-towers to reach our lab but it does have good interior space.

As you can see the front magnetic filter is placed on the inside and so if you mount a radiator here you will need to leave it as is.

COUGAR has placed a 120mm intake fan mount on the base of the PANZER-G but you can only use that if you mount a radiator up to 30mm in thickness (and without any fans in push and pull).

The PSU area cover has two removable 2.5" drive trays which are held in place by regular thumbscrews and are made out of aluminum.

Other than the two openings on the PSU cover and the full opening on the right side the mainboard tray only has a large opening beneath the CPU area (for swapping of CPU coolers).

Taking a look on the other side of the mainboard tray we see the four vertical drive trays and the PSU area.

Two of them can be used for both 3.5" and 2.5" drives while the other two can only be used with 2.5" drives.

Unfortunately there isn't much room for cables on the other side of the mainboard tray so on the front end you just have roughly 33mm while on the rear end you have even less at 13mm.

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

As always the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

Even after installing a regular sized ATX mainboard there's quite a bit of empty space left in the PANZER-G.

As stated earlier you can mount up to 360mm radiators at the front with any thickness you want (however over 30mm thick and you will not be able to use the bottom 120mm intake fan mount).

You can also mount a 360mm radiator at the top (we didn't have two so we mounted a 240mm one) and since the fans are mounted on the outside you can use even 40mm thick models.

Mounting even a long graphics card like our GTX 590 (286mm long) still leaves plenty of room for extra fans in push and pull for the front radiator (you can even mount a tube reservoir between the card and the radiator).

Remember that to install the PSU you first need to mount the bracket and then push it inside the case from the rear.

NOISE LEVEL TEST

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically ontop of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one we use our own).

CONCLUSION

   COUGAR has had a successful run with their PANZER line of PC cases and thanks to its 4 tempered glass panels and rugged looks we expect the new PANZER-G to continue that success. Sure it doesn’t feature the most spacious interior we’ve ever seen with a mid-tower but it still has room for up to 6 drives (2.5/3.5”), eight fans (120/140mm) or two radiators (240/280/360mm), 160mm tall CPU coolers, 425mm long graphics cards and 210mm long power supply units so it’s not what we’d call small either. The three pre-installed Vortex LED fans also look great (and are pretty much inaudible) and although we still can’t figure out why COUGAR would “neglect” placing a rear Vortex LED fan as well (cost could be the reason but it’s a good bet that most people wouldn’t mind paying slightly more to also have an exhaust fan) it’s far better than not having any at all.

   With a current price tag set at USD134.49 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 107Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) the PANZER-G Tempered Glass Gaming Mid-Tower is priced just about right especially if you take into account its 4 smoked tempered glass panels. Once again it's rugged looks are not for everyone and it may not be the largest mid-tower in the market today but it still has plenty of room for just about anything you may ever want to place inside and since it delivers in all the areas that really matter it’s definitely worth our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design (Rugged Looks With 4 Smoked Tempered Glass Panels)
- Radiator Space (Top/Front 240/280/360mm)
- Room For Two 3.5” And Four 2.5” Drives
- 6 Removable Drive Trays
- Space For 425mm Long Graphics Cards
- Top/Front Magnetic Air Filters
- Three Vortex LED 120mm Fans

CONS

- Overall Interior Space
- Rugged Looks (For Some)