German PC components manufacturer Cougar has brought its latest micro-ATX mini-tower PC chassis to the UK. The "high-end mini gaming tower PC case," is compatible with the popular smaller micro-ATX motherboards and despite its small size can easily fit graphics cards up to 330mm in length. In contrast to its "high-end" description, as penned by the firm's PR department, the Cougar Spike will retail at a recommended £26.99 or thereabouts.
Looking at the chassis from the front presents users an angular thick outlined edge facia. It looks like chunky black plastic with a similarly chunky honeycomb air-intake dominating the lower front panel. Higher up you have a pair of 5.5-inch bays and a 3.5-inch bay for externally accessible drives or PC I/O accessories. Between the bays and air intake Cougar has situated a USB3.0, a USB2.0, Mic x1, Audio x1 and the power and reset buttons.
Niceties of the Spike, that Cougar particularly wants to point out, include; the use of black paint in the interior of the chassis to provide a sleek overall look, a screwless access design and the USB 3.0 port conveniently located in the front I/O panel.
The key specifications of the Cougar Spike are as follows:
|
Case Type |
Mini Gaming Tower |
|
Motherboard Type |
Micro ATX |
|
Dimension(WxHxD) |
7.09x14.57x16.73( inch ) |
|
External 5.25" Drive Bays |
2 |
|
External 3.5" Drive Bay |
1 |
|
Internal 3.5" Drive Bays |
2 |
|
Internal 2.5" Drive Bay |
1 (at bottom cover) |
|
I/O Panel |
USB3.0 x1 & USB2.0 x1, Mic x1, Audio x1 |
|
Cooling System |
Front 80/90/120mm Fan x1pcs (optional) |
|
COUGAR 120mm Fan (rear) |
1 (pre-install) |
|
Expansion Slots |
4 |
|
Maximum Graphics Card Length |
330mm |
|
Power Supply |
Standard ATX PS2 (optional) |
As you can see from the above you get one fan pre-installed and as long as you don't have too many drives or expansion cards beyond the common or garden graphics/sound add-ins you should be OK with this chassis for a basic PC build.
The Cougar Spike has been available in other countries for quite some time and it seems to have gained plenty of favourable reviews. For instance both Legit Reviews and Hardware Heaven have reviewed this chassis and bestowed it with their 'Value' Awards. The Spike is said to cover all the PC chassis necessities in a minimalist kind of way, with no glaring errors in construction or layout. That might be just what you are looking for at the kind of price it is available for.
