If you’re shopping this case, know that it comes in eight mix-and-match combinations. While you’d expect to pay a bit extra for its versions with a tempered-glass face, here it’s Cougar’s freer-airflow “Mesh” version that costs $10 more; that’s because you get twin 160mm ARGB fans up front that you don’t with the glass version. The “Vision” version is what I tested; it has a 462-by-1,920-pixel digital display on the face of the lower chamber, on the left side, and that bit of bling adds $80.
Got all that? The four cases are represented as the CFV235 ($139.99, glass front, no display), CFV235 Mesh ($149.99, mesh front, no display), CFV235 Vision ($219.99, glass front, with display, my test model), and CFV235 Mesh Vision ($229.99, mesh front, with display). Not enough variety? Cougar serves up all four configurations in a choice of black or white. That makes for the eight.
Now, as for that funky two-part design. Cougar separates the motherboard chamber from the power supply chamber of the CFV235 with an air gap, using what would have been the power supply shroud to cap the bottom of the upper section, and adding something that resembles a bottom panel to the top of the lower section. The power supply mounts upside-down in this chassis, with its cover fan drawing air from vents in that top cover.
While most of the face in my Vision model consists of two glass pieces, a sheet-metal portion boxes in the space between the CFV235’s motherboard tray and the right side panel. From that perspective, the motherboard chamber is cantilevered from this structure.
The design puts the “front” ports in an unusual spot: on the lower chamber’s left side, near the front, to the right of the display panel. Up there are two Type-A USB ports and one Type-C, plus a headset combo jack and two buttons. The Type-A ports are Gen 1; the Type-C port connects via Gen 2×2 (20Gbps max); and the combo jack supports both standard headphones and single-connector headsets with integrated microphones. As for the buttons, the smaller one flips through the built-in ARGB controller’s 18 lighting modes, while the larger is the power button. It shows its power-on indicator LED through a small hole.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
The cut-out gap between the two chambers is more evident when you view the case from the rear, where a single rear panel covers both chambers’ backs. A 120mm ARGB fan is fitted to height-adjustable slots up top, the upside-down power supply bay is inset deeply down below, and the twin 120mm ARGB intake fans are faintly visible off to the side through perforations in the right panel.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
A removable dust filter is accessible via the plastic tab seen protruding from the back of the gap.
Remember what I said about the power supply being deeply inset? This extra distance adds around an inch to the required PSU power-cable length to reach your 4-pin or 8-pin CPU power connector(s) and the 24-pin main connector, and the air gap between chambers adds roughly another inch, compared with traditional tower designs. Some power supplies may not have long enough cables, and you may need to source an extension cable or cables, especially for the CPU power connector(s) on your motherboard. That would have been a thoughtful addition to the accessory kit.
A removable dual 2.5-inch drive tray is also visible near the top of the motherboard tray, viewed from the back. It covers the usual hole placed to allow access to the support plates required by some CPU coolers.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
You can mount two more 2.5-inch drives (or 3.5-inch drives) above and inside the power supply bay’s removable drive cage, but be aware that getting screws up through the top of the cage (for the second drive) requires removing the screws from the bottom of the case that hold the cage in place.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
A circuit board at the top of the case, behind the motherboard tray in a hidden spot, serves as both a six-device ARGB controller and a powered PWM six-fan hub. It passes through the PWM signal of an input cable (typically connected to a motherboard fan output), and it can also use an input signal to hand off ARGB controller functionality to another device (typically from a motherboard ARGB header).
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Though its top panel snaps off without tools, and both side panels lift off the bottom edge after unsnapping them from the top, the CFV235’s front panel is redundantly secured with screws at its outer two corners. Given here, it’s glass, probably not a bad idea.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
The top panel has dual fan-mounting patterns to position up to three 120mm fans or two 140mm fans within an approximately 440mm space. That’s enough to fit any 360mm-format radiator I can think of, but not enough for any 420mm-format unit, since the end caps of radiators usually require 30mm to 50mm of space beyond the ends of the radiator core.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
The motherboard chamber’s lower panel supports a second trio of 120mm fans on threaded (#6-32) mounting holes.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
In the middle, a knurled screw and bracket support a horizontal tab that acts as a miniature graphics card brace. You simply loosen the screw to drop it out of the way, install a card, and slide the bracket up until the rubber strip makes firm contact with the GPU cooler’s frame. A second slot allows the unit to be moved to accommodate various GPU exterior shapes and designs.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Holes around the edge of the motherboard mounting area support rear-facing motherboard connectors used in cable-hiding ATX or MicroATX boards from Asus’ Back to the Future (BTF) and MSI’s Project Zero motherboard series.
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(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
Painted black on its back side, the lower front glass pops away from four snaps to expose two screws that secure the lower side glass. The plate will slide forward for removal after those screws are out, but be aware that the port cables that feed the panel’s ports are zip-tied to the underside of the power supply chamber’s lid and to the lower edge of the motherboard tray’s back.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
A removable frame holds the side panel’s digital display against the side glass; the display’s controller is mounted to the back of that frame. Not that you have any reason to take it apart, but if you do remove the lower side glass, be aware that the display panel could fall out if handled carelessly.
(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)
