Cougar QBX Ultra Compact Pro Gaming Mini-ITX Case Review - Review 2022

Don't beat yourself upwards if you're unfamiliar with the Cougar make. Cougar is a relatively young PC-gaming-gear maker based in Germany, and it has ramped up its efforts in the United States only recently. The company'south roots were planted in 2007, the same yr Apple tree released its original iPhone model, so it entered the DIY scene just as the mobile movement was getting ready to explode.

There'south a reason this is important. Some of the more recognizable PC-instance makers have been around much longer, and their attempts at offering small-form-factor (SFF) cases for the mod oversupply seem influenced by an era in which bigger was considered better. In Win, for example, has been around since the mid-1980s, and its D-Frame Mini, while uniquely pleasing, is pretty big for a instance that supports only mini-ITX motherboards. The same is true of Corsair's Graphite Series 380T, the popular, colorful "Igloo libation" chassis.

Both are good options, though Cougar's QBX Ultra-Compact Pro Gaming enclosure (only "QBX" from here on out) is a $69.99-MSRP mini-ITX case that actually has a small footprint. The case measures xi.5x7x15.1 inches, a gnat compared to the D-Frame Mini at 16x9.1x19.1 inches and the Graphite 380T at 14x11.5x15.five inches.

While the QBX just plays overnice with mini-ITX motherboards, information technology's willing to mingle with some standard-size components. In fact, you can shove an elongated graphics card up to thirteen.seven inches long inside the QBX. Every bit a point of reference, Nvidia'south super-bulky GeForce GTX Titan 10 is 10.5 inches long, and so even with a top-of-the-line carte du jour, there's room to spare.

You tin besides fit water-cooling solutions, a standard ATX power supply, and an optical disc drive inside the QBX, though every bit nosotros'll discuss a bit afterward, there are caveats to certain component selections due to the size of the case. None of them is a deal killer, though they are reminders that there are inevitable merchandise-offs when building within a case this small.

Cougar QBX

Non only is the QBX a meaty enclosure, it's lightweight, almost to a fault. Information technology'south not that we bemoan a lightweight chassis, but Cougar used a generous amount of cheap plastic in its construction. Specifically, the panels on the sides, summit, and forepart of the case are all fabricated of flimsy plastic that flex without too much effort. This is exacerbated by the lack of a handle or any sturdy nooks to grab hold of the example when transporting information technology; carrying the QBX from the bottom is the but safety manner to movement it from betoken A to signal B once yous've congenital a rig inside it.

To be fair, the QBX's cheap structure is reflected in its price tag. It only costs around $lx (the list toll is $65.99), making information technology 1 of the well-nigh affordable SFF cases with full-length video bill of fare support, and, actually, cheap for a example of whatever size. That's one of the bigger selling points, equally it means budget builders can allocate more of their funds toward other hardware, such as a meliorate video card, a faster CPU, or more RAM. That's good news to anyone looking to build a high-finish mini-ITX system, a goal that'due south entirely possible with the bachelor options that are out at that place.

Design and Features

Cougar markets the QBX as a meaty case for gamers, and that's certainly viable. Its small size makes it a candidate for a abode brewed Steam Machine, and it would also work well in a dorm-room setting, a cramped flat, or anywhere else where space is a premium commodity. However, there'south no reason to rule out other applications, as well.

There aren't whatever flashing LEDs or other design choices that scream, "Hey, expect at me…I'one thousand a gaming PC!" Unlike attending-seeking cases that either put on a light show or flex ambitious angles or curves in unnecessary places, the QBX looks rather refined, especially for a $sixty instance.

Though the panels are fabricated of plastic, they expect similar brushed aluminum, as you tin see hither…

Cougar QBX (Panels

There's likewise a nice contrast between the lighter shade of black used on the top and front panels versus the darker side panels and steel underneath…

Cougar QBX (Top

You could hands get away with placing the QBX in a professional person setting where a louder aesthetic wouldn't be appropriate. It would also look right at domicile in a loftier-end home theater setup. At a glance, nobody would peg the QBX for a mere $sixty chassis.

The front of the case has a Cougar badge practical towards the bottom, which is nearly the only piece of bling y'all'll find on this thing, if you want to phone call it that. There's an bending at the superlative that, along with the horizontal faux-brushed-aluminum strokes, gives the case a natural-looking catamenia to the top. Typically, this is where we'd similar to come across case's front-panel ports, but in this example, the various holes for USB ports and audio inputs would have sullied the highbrow aesthetic.

Instead, the ports are located, somewhat stealthily, on the side and slightly backside the front console toward the lesser…

Cougar QBX (Ports

From elevation to lesser, there's a power button with an integrated LED, a drive-activeness LED, two blue color-coded USB 3.0 ports, and separate headphone and microphone inputs.

The elevation plastic panel continues the brushed-aluminum motif. Information technology slides dorsum virtually half an inch to reveal a slim optical-drive bay, for a laptop-style slimline optical bulldoze just (non the big, ordinary kind that goes into a desktop 5.25-inch bay). If you don't plan to install a drive here, you can install a black rubber strip Cougar has included, to mask having an obvious cutout in the top of the case…

Cougar QBX (ODD Strip

SFF cases are inherently at a disadvantage when information technology comes to cooling. To account for that, both side panels on the QBX sport big cutouts, only instead of side windows, each console sports a large mesh grille…

Cougar QBX (Mesh

This allows the case to breathe, so to speak, though it also means things can get a fleck noisy. While the QBX is not technically an open up-air design, the side panels don't practise much to dampen noise.

It's a welcome merchandise-off, considering Cougar includes merely a unmarried fan: a 92mm rear exhaust, visible here...

Cougar QBX (Fan

If you discover that yous need more cooling, yous tin can install an 80mm fan in the front, two 120mm fans on the height and lesser, and a 120mm fan or liquid-cooling system on the left side.

For liquid-cooling setups, you have the pick of installing a 240mm radiator or a 120mm radiator, though if you do get with the bigger of the two, you'll accept to sacrifice a fan and compromise cooling functioning. In that location's only plenty room for a single 120mm fan, even when installing a 240mm radiator—rats!

How much additional cooling you lot need will depend, ultimately, on your particular setup and how much time and try you expend on cable management. A few different cable cutouts are available that you lot can take reward of, and also a bit of space behind the motherboard tray to hibernate excess wires. Information technology can accept some force to put the side panel back on once you lot've tucked a bunch of wires out of sight, though.

Cougar QBX (Cutouts

It isn't much of an issue if you're using integrated graphics, every bit you tin can use the space that would ordinarily exist occupied by a discrete graphics bill of fare for cables, also. But if you accept video card installed, it can get tight behind that console.

Installation

Edifice a PC within an SFF case is a different experience than piecing together a rig in a mid-tower or full-belfry enclosure. In that location, yous often have plenty of room to wield a screwdriver, and the order of component installation doesn't matter much. The level of difficulty goes up a notch in SFF, and information technology requires more patience to finagle parts into place. This is especially true of the QBX, both because of its unique internal design and its poor instructions.

Cougar'southward documentation is really just a large drawing of the example with descriptions for each of the private pieces, simply it doesn't tell y'all how they work. For example, the top console is removable, as the folded paper document states, but information technology's up to you to figure out how. It's piece of cake to assume that the sliding height slab of plastic can somehow be maneuvered off the example. Nope! The metallic part that it slides on is the actual height panel, and to remove information technology, there's a pair of screws in the back of the case. One time y'all do that, the whole affair slides back and off the case with ease. That took some figuring on our finish, though.

It's necessary to remove the summit panel in social club to secure the power supply unit (PSU), every bit it sits at the tiptop, toward the forepart of the instance—a major divergence from the norm. This brings up another claiming. The example supports ATX power supplies, but they can't exist any deeper front end to back than 140mm. That negated the OCZ ModXStream 750-watter that we've been using to test cases of late. Yous tin actually force a slightly longer PSU similar the ModXStream (which is 150mm deep) into the chassis, just it won't sit on the designated back up lip, and information technology will prevent y'all from being able to install a discrete graphics carte du jour. Y'all're as well likely to leave scratch marks on the PSU in the grade of forcing it in.

Size is not the only restriction—y'all take to pay mind to the PSU's plug orientation. With the fan facing upward, the ground slot of the power plug has to be on the elevation, right, or left. If it's oriented then that the ground slot is underneath the neutral and hot holes—the horizontal slits—and then it'due south technically not compatible with the QBX. That'south because there's an extension cord that plugs into the PSU and runs to the dorsum of the case, like and so…

Cougar QBX (PSU Extension

However, we however managed to become it to work with an incompatible PSU, a Thermaltake TR2 420W. The trick is to plug the extension cord into the PSU before sliding the PSU into identify inside the case. Afterward you practise that, you'll need to bend the finish of the extension cord and tuck part of it where the slim optical drive would normally become…

Cougar QBX (PSU Extension 2

However, this might not work if yous're installing an optical drive, which is a bummer considering as information technology turns out, finding the correct size PSU with a compatible plug orientation isn't easy, especially if you rule out generic (read: low-quality) units.

When yous pop off the left-side panel, you'll see a slab of metal blocking admission to the motherboard tray…

Cougar QBX (Slab

This holds a bulldoze cage that tin can fit a single 3.5-inch difficult drive and two ii.v-inch solid-state drives (SSDs) or hard drives at the same time, as well as a 120mm liquid cooler, all suspended in air. It flips upward, and is fully removable. Here it is with a couple of SSDs attached…

Cougar QBX (Slab With SSDs

If you lot don't install a 3.5-inch hard drive, you can use the infinite for a 240mm radiator, though equally previously mentioned, you can employ simply 1 120mm fan to cool it. That restriction bated, it's a clever design that maximizes the available space.

Storage is further expandable with a 2.5-inch bay hidden backside the motherboard tray, and yous can also install an SSD in place of a slim optical bulldoze. That gives you a total of upwardly to four SSDs and one full-size hard drive. One manner to brand the most use of the options in a high-end setup would be to configure a pair of SSDs in RAID 0 for fast performance, install a massive hard drive for storage duties, and popular a slim Blu-ray burner into the optical-drive bay. And that would yet leave you with a 2.5-inch bay to spare.

Installing the motherboard is the easiest part, though take our advice and plug in the front end-panel case connectors and whatsoever other cabling (SATA, for instance) that would get into the correct side of the lath before dropping in a power supply. Why? The motherboard sits nearly flush against the PSU, and it can exist challenging trying to negotiate wires into position at that point…

Cougar QBX (Tight

Information technology'south quite the tight fit over there, equally you can see.

We tested the QBX with a mini-ITX Asus AM11-A motherboard, an AMD Sempron 3850 processor, the stock AM1 CPU cooler, 4GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM, 2 480GB Intel 730 Serial SSDs, and a technically incompatible Thermaltake TR2 480W PSU. Our motherboard lacks a PCI Express x16 slot, so we weren't able to install a high-end graphics card. Even and so, we took the fourth dimension to route cables behind the motherboard tray rather than leave them in the wide open space at the bottom. The results…

Cougar QBX (Finished Build Cougar QBX (Finished 2

What we learned from this build? Cable management is a necessity, not a luxury, in the QBX. It doesn't take to be perfect, but even a task as simple as putting dorsum in identify the metal slab belongings the bulldoze cage can take extra effort depending on your cablevision routing—the SATA and power cables that plug into the drives squish against the acme of the PSU. It helps to spread them out as much as you can.

Cougar QBX

Conclusion

The QBX is a wonderfully tight, and semi-frustrating, mini-ITX enclosure. On 1 hand, the stringent PSU requirements, poor documentation, and unique design that tin can make fitting parts into place a challenge will examination your patience. Notwithstanding, there's a light at the finish of the tunnel, and if you lot accept your time (and possibly make some concessions), you lot'll terminate upwards with a mini-ITX build that'southward actually about as mini as you tin can make it, if you max out the parts.

Information technology's also good looking—non gaudy or tacky. Yes, the QBX is aimed at gamers, primarily because information technology can fit a total-size graphics card, only Cougar didn't cater to the gamer stereotype with a flashy design that demands attention. That's either a good affair or a bad matter, depending on what you're looking for. We tend to like how information technology looks.

What's fifty-fifty more impressive is the price. At $60, the QBX costs much less than you might guess at a glance. The spell of savings is broken once y'all affect the case and realize that what you lot thought was brushed aluminum is actually plastic. But similar buying a suit at Walmart, but those intimately familiar with the product will know you didn't spend much more.