Cougar MX660 T RGB - thoughts?

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BenN

BenN

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  • #1
    I'm getting my first ever gaming PC in the next month or so (thinking about this one); as a long-time Maclot, I'm not going to build it myself, but I'm considering all the components.

    The case appears to be a mid-tower ATX MX660 T RGB; I've had a look at one in person, and it appears to be OK, but I've no idea about real-world cooling performance with this case.

    Any thoughts? Even if you don't have direct experience with this case, I'd appreciate any advice before I pull the trigger. :)
     
    continuum

    continuum

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  • #2
    www.kitguru.net

    Cougar MX660 Mesh RGB Review - KitGuru

    The Cougar MX660 Mesh RGB is a case that offers all the important features we require, including a f
    www.kitguru.net www.kitguru.net

    No direct experience, wish Kitguru was more consistent their test configurations (they're extremely frustrating that way, sigh)... but looks decent enough?

    As far as the rest of the system hopefully it's decent, the memory is oddly a bit slow (DDR5-4800?) given that Raptor Lake supports DDR5-6000 and up but assuming the price is right I would say it's not worth stressing over.
     
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    Deathmonkey

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  • #3
    Cougar cases are fine but are definitely budget cases. As long as the system builder is pricing it like one it should be fine.

    The pictures of the cases seem to show a much finer mesh on the iiyama vs. the stock cougar one. Cooling could be improved if there is still a dust filter behind the front mesh panel on the iiyama version. If it is there, removing it would get better air flow at the expense of more dust, but not much given how fine the mesh looks.
     
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    BigLan

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  • #4
    Watch out if the system had vertical GPU mounting - there needs to be some gap between the card and the glass side for the fans to 'breathe', and the 3+ slot coolers of modern cards don't leave a lot of room. Regular mounting plus a support might be a better option.

    Otherwise, Cougar cases are budget but not terrible. Plastics don't feel as nice as Corsair or Fractal, but they don't have any sharp edges and feels sturdy. The front USB ports have felt loose in the 2 cases I've had, and front audio stopped working on one of them. RMA was easy enough and they quickly sent a replacement part. Both cases are 5+ years old now and I think the USB ports are broken on one of them now - it's my kids PC and it's had a lot of controllers plugged in over the years.
     
    BenN

    BenN

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  • #6
    Thanks a lot for the responses!

    The retailer (I guess you can call them an SI?) has brick & mortar outlets too throughout Japan, so I visited my local one in Osaka this afternoon to have a look in person; this store is in the Osaka equivalent of Akihabara, called Den-Den Town, so full of otaku and maid cafes.

    Anyway, I saw the case in question, and it looks to have a plastic (acrylic) panel on the front, instead of a mesh. Is this OK cooling wise? The store staff assured me that it was, but anyway...... Pics attached (it looks like a display model; no GPU etc fitted inside)

    IMG_7839.jpegIMG_7840.jpegIMG_7842.jpeg

    Regarding the memory, from this vendor faster memory isn't available, so I'm planning to get some later on if I feel I need it.

    The GPU is mounted conventionally, so I'm not planning to vertically mount it.

    Here's a dumb question - do you use dust mesh screens all the time? My gut reaction is to only fit them when I'm not using the PC, to maximise air flow, but is this the wrong thing to do?

    Thanks from a PC newb! :flail:
     
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    Deathmonkey

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  • #7
    BenN said:
    Thanks a lot for the responses!

    Anyway, I saw the case in question, and it looks to have a plastic (acrylic) panel on the front, instead of a mesh. Is this OK cooling wise? The store staff assured me that it was, but anyway...... Pics attached (it looks like a display model; no GPU etc fitted inside)

    View attachment 63353View attachment 63354View attachment 63355

    Regarding the memory, from this vendor faster memory isn't available, so I'm planning to get some later on if I feel I need it.


    Here's a dumb question - do you use dust mesh screens all the time? My gut reaction is to only fit them when I'm not using the PC, to maximise air flow, but is this the wrong thing to do?

    Thanks from a PC newb! :flail:
    Click to expand...

    Well that's disappointing. I guess the fine mesh I saw on the PC-Koubou product page you linked to is just the dust filter behind a solid plexiglass front panel. Going by the product shots on Cougar's site there doesn't seem to be even a attempt to get some airflow through the front, its solid on the sides of the front panel too.

    This is bad for cooling performance with no room for interpretation, despite what the store staff said (and it makes the dust filter behind it just plain silly). If you are drawn to this specific Iiyama model because its a fantastic deal, I would contact Cougar and see if you can purchase a "replacement" Cougar MX660 Mesh front panel. Otherwise I would seek out a model that has some air flow.

    As for removable dust filters. You do get better air flow without them, but I've got dogs, so I have to use them.
     
    BenN

    BenN

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  • #9
    Thanks! I've contacted Cougar, but if they don't respond, I may resort to buying a Mesh case in its entirety to swap out the front panel.

    The reason why I like this particular model is that, at least here in the Japan market as far as I can tell, it offers good value for money, as far as the internal components are concerned. I want i7 13 gen Intel, an RTX 4080, current gen m/b (this has a Z790), DDR5, and liquid cooling. And I confess I'm a sucker for RGB.....

    Many major SI brands (Corsair, Origin etc) do have sales channels here, but the offerings are severely limited compared to what is available in markets like the US. Few models, and a lot of old gen components (11 & 12 series Intel, 2** & 30** series RTX) at current gen price points. Other brands (Lenovo, HP) are not bad, but they are significantly more expensive.

    Other local SIs try to skimp on the internals, despite having pretty cases. In my research I've found a lot of models with i7 13 and 4070 Ti or 4080, but DDR4 memory (and m/b that only supports DDR 4), and current gen prices.
     
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    Deathmonkey

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  • #10
    BenN said:
    Thanks! I've contacted Cougar, but if they don't respond, I may resort to buying a Mesh case in its entirety to swap out the front panel.

    Other local SIs try to skimp on the internals, despite having pretty cases. In my research I've found a lot of models with i7 13 and 4070 Ti or 4080, but DDR4 memory (and m/b that only supports DDR 4), and current gen prices.
    Click to expand...

    It might take some time for Cougar to get back to you ... if they do at all.
    As an alternative, if the MX660 mesh is a common enough case at your local shops, check to see if there are any ding/dent or outright damaged and unsalable models with an intact front panel. Tempered glass is fragile after all.
     
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    Saikaici

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  • #11
    I'm personally a big fan of the COUGAR brand. I like their configuration options, and typically they're not overpriced. That's kind of irrelevant when buying from a system builder.

    ¥412,800 is about $2800 USD. Compared to US prices, that feels a little expensive, but it does have a 4080 ($1200). The rest of the components are overpriced though. 16GB of RAM and only a 1TB SSD in this market are very cheap.

    For the price, the RAM feels underpowered. I'd see if you can manually XMP that up, or buy 32GB of RAM for a few hundred dollars.

    If you wanted to try to build a machine yourself, you could try https://jp.pcpartpicker.com/ . Not sure how well it does for sourcing components in-country. It may be OK at looking at JP Amazon. PCPartPicker does a great job of checking compatibility, but isn't perfect. Edit: I see now that you don't want to build. Still might be useful for buying some RAM. TBH, a 4080 in a machine with only 16GB of RAM seems like a travesty.
     
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    BenN

    BenN

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  • #12
    Thanks for all the advice! I'm now reconsidering this case; its a bunch of money for something which might run really hot. Looking around the prebuilt market here, it's quite surprising how many cases appear to have very poor ventilation.

    So I'm thinking about alternatives; one of them is an HP Omen 40L (this one). It's got a 4070 Ti, not 4080, but the price is significantly cheaper, and the case appears to have better airflow compared to the Cougar. It's got i7-13700K, Z790 chipset, Kingston FURY 32GB (16GB×2) DDR5-5200MHz RGB memory, 800W PSU. I doesn't have top fans, but I would add them later.

    It has AIO liquid cooling (Cooler Master RGB 120mm), which brings me to my next question - is 120mm OK for cooling an i7-13700K? The PC I linked to in the opening post has a 360mm cooler.
     
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