Cougar shrinks its unconventional Conquer case for compact builds

Couger is releasing a smaller version of its Conquer case for users who want to dress up their small form factor (SFF) system in something unique. They will be able to do that in the Conquer Essence, a compact case with room inside for a micro-ATX or mini-ITX motherboard.

One look is all it takes to discern that this isn't your typical rectangle enclosure. For one, it's not a rectangle. And secondly, it's a somewhat open design with tempered glass side panels that are pushed out from the frame. As for the main part of the case, Courage says it's all CNC-milled aluminum without any plastic panels.

"Apart from being extremely attractive in itself, the open design is especially suitable for building powerful RGB lighting systems that shine unobstructed in all their glory. This is not only a beautiful case, but it's also one that can also act as a showcase for users' creativity," Cougar says.

The compact chassis measures 233 x 480 x 522 mm (9.17 x 18.89 x 20.55 inches). It has three 2.5-inch drive bays that can also accommodate 3.5-inch drives, plus a pair of 3.5-inch bays.

Cougar doesn't say how many fans come with the case, if any. However, there are fan slots to install two 120mm fans in the front and two more up stop. Those same sections can hold up to a 240mm liquid cooling radiator.

There's also room in the case to install up to two graphics cards up to 350mm (13.78 inches) in length. To put that into perspective, Gigabyte's GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming OC card with three cooling fans is around 280 mm (11.02 inches).

While the Cougar Essence is a smaller sized case, it has a relatively big price tag—it will be available later this month for $229 (MSRP).

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

Latest in PC Cases
NZXT H7 Flow PC case being built into
NZXT H7 Flow review (2024 Edition)
Hyte's Persona 3 Reload Y70 Case
Hyte has announced another Persona-themed gaming PC case, and as a Persona die-hard, even I think it's a bit much
A gaming PC build using the Be Quiet Shadow Base 800 FX chassis, an Intel Core Ultra CPU and an RX 7900 XT GPU.
Be Quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX review
Fractal Design Era 2 PC case from different angles and different stages of the build process
Fractal Design Era 2 review
A foldable Mini-ITX Flamingo model case design from Geometric Future, partially unfolded.
I love the look of this foldable 'backpack class' Mini-ITX case but it still looks like something I'd screw up at the last minute
Hyte Y40 PC case in various states of the PC building process.
Hyte Y40 review
Latest in News
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened