Cougar Cratus: Exotic Tempered Glass Case, and Lots of Tubes

Cougar Cratus
(Image credit: Cougar)

Cougar has released a new exotic tempered glass computer chassis known as the Cratus. This case offers a very striking case architecture, employing the use of tubular runs for the case's structural foundation. This along with an open air design give the case a striking look of performance and aggression - akin to that of a muscle car.

The design, combined with tempered glass covers on the front, top and sides of the case, show off as much of the internals as possible. At the same time, airflow is completely unimpeded, largely due to the numerous gaping holes surrounding the chassis. So any high end internals should keep their cool even under high performance.

The case supports the largest computer hardware you can think of in the computer industry today, including E-ATX motherboards and 460mm graphics cards (which should include Nvidia's upcoming RTX 4090.) If storage is a concern, the case offers a selection slots / spaces for up to three 2.5 inch and two 3.5 inch drives.

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Motherboard SupportMini ITX / Micro ATX / ATX / CEB / E-ATX
I/O Panel Type C 3.1 x 1, USB 3.0 x 4, 4 Pole Headset Audio Jack x1, RGB Button
Drive Bays2 x 3.5 Inch
Row 3 - Cell 0 3 x 2.5 Inch
Max. Graphics Card Length 460 (mm) / 18.1 (in) without fans and radiator at M/B side
Row 5 - Cell 0 325 (mm) / 12.8 (in) with fans and radiator at M/B side
Max. CPU Cooler Height 190 (mm)
Air Cooling SupportRow 7 - Cell 1
Front120mm x 2 / 140mm x 2 (120mm ARGB fan x 2 pre-installed)
Top120mm x 3 / 140mm x 2
M/B Side 120mm x 3
Rear120mm x 1 (120mm ARGB fan x 1 pre-installed)
Maximun Number of Fans 9
Water Cooling SupportRow 13 - Cell 1
Front280mm / 240mm / 140mm / 120mm
Top360mm / 280mm / 240mm / 140mm / 120mm
M/B Side360mm / 240mm / 120mm
Dimensions (WxHxD) 283 x 636 x 635 (mm)

Cooling is key for any PC, and the case also features a plethora of radiator options, including radiator sizes of up to 360mm at the top, up to 280mm in the front, and up to 360mm radiators on the side. This large array of radiator support also applies to fans, with support for three 120mm fans on the sides and top, and up to two 120mm fans on the front. Plus one rear 120mm fan. Alternatively the front and top mounts can also house twin 140mm fans if needed.  The case comes with three RGB fans to compliment the tempered glass side panels

If RGB is your thing, then you are well catered for as Cratus features an integrated RGB light bar installed at the top of the case, right next to the front I/O. Mix that with the RGB fans and you have your own desktop based Aurora Borealis. 

In many regards, Cougar's Cratus is very similar to its other exotic designs, such as the Conqueror, but the new case features a different design language. The most conspicuous part of the case is its tubular construction - paired to metal supports and finished in a dark metallic color, which gives the case its muscle car vibe.

Pricing and availability are unknown at this time.

Aaron Klotz
Freelance News Writer

Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

  • Droidfreak
    Am I the only one not getting which environment those "open air" cases are designed for? My ROG Helios case is not open air, also it sports 3 dust filters and I do clean my apartment, no BS! However when I use my electric dust blower after several months of PC usage, I see that no filter is 100% effective. I can only imagine how dusty those open air cases will get in real life...
    Reply
  • Tom Sunday
    Droidfreak said:
    Am I the only one not getting which environment those "open air" cases are designed for?

    Yes indeed…another new COUGAR exotic tempered glass enclosure. Reminds me of an earlier much more conservative looking Panzer EVO RGB ATX edition which also sported tempered glass cladding all the way around. One of my friends owned such a Cougar Panzer case and found it to be of poor quality and especially with all of the case interiors, fans & controls, cabling, shrouds, cable management access, etc. Value engineering at its best! He admitted though that he initially purchased the Panzer solely based on its looks. That was how I met my blond girlfriend as well. Putting insult to injury my friend finally wound-up in permanently removing the front and top tempered glass panels to dramatically improving airflow. WTF! I am not convinced if Cougar has changed since then in their lower quality (interior) case manufacturing processes and keeps on being more concerned about looks than actual function. As to the ‘Cratus’ and its ‘funky design’ it will most likely not appeal to the mainstream but rather to a very limited market segment! But then again what do I know about marketing driving a forklift on the third-shift and drinking entirely too much Mountain Dew!
    Reply
  • RichardtST
    I usually like the unusual cases... but this one... it's like a mullet... all "robo-cop" in the front and "doggy-style" in the back. I mean, c'mon, those tubes look like legs, and that rear fan... Lol! And now you can't un-see it either, can you?
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    Droidfreak said:
    Am I the only one not getting which environment those "open air" cases are designed for?
    are you not running a clean room with multiple filtration devices and recirculating air?

    but ya any normal person these make no sense.
    Reply
  • Warrior24_7
    Droidfreak said:
    Am I the only one not getting which environment those "open air" cases are designed for? My ROG Helios case is not open air, also it sports 3 dust filters and I do clean my apartment, no BS! However when I use my electric dust blower after several months of PC usage, I see that no filter is 100% effective. I can only imagine how dusty those open air cases will get in real life...

    Yes, you are. By “environment” what do you mean? Dust gets into any computer. The more fans that you have, the more they’ll attract dust. All I can say is clean it up, as you seem to do every so often.
    Reply
  • Warrior24_7
    Admin said:
    Cougar has released another exotic open-air computer chassis, but this time featuring a tubular design language.

    Cougar Cratus: Exotic Tempered Glass Case, and Lots of Tubes : Read more

    Nice case! Hopefully it’s more refined then their last open air model. A couple things that set it apart just looking at it, are its forward lean, and the carry handle with the light bar in it. I don’t particularly care for the light bar, but it looks a lot better than other open air designs on the market!
    Reply