Can COUGAR justify the $500 price tag of its Cratus open-frame PC case?

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If you’ve not heard of COUGAR, you’re not alone. The niche brand has been in the PC case and other peripheral space for a while, but it’s been a bit since they’ve been really in the spotlight. Well, that’s changing with the Cratus mid-tower case from COUGAR, which was announced last October but is finally available for purchase. Designed to be a top-tier and premium case, the Cratus comes loaded with RGB, features an open-frame design and has room for both E-ATX motherboards and up to 460mm long graphics cards. Plus, there’s tempered glass for days. Sound interesting? At $500, it might be pricy, but head below for a full feature breakdown to see if this is the case for you.

Is $500 for a PC case just too expensive?

The Cratus is centered around a steel tube frame that provides “incredible strength and stability” to your PC build. The exoskeleton design is unique and something that we don’t often see in PC cases. There are four tempered glass side panels as well, allowing you to see the premium build encased in this unique case.

But what makes this a $500 case? COUGAR has done what they say is an “industry-first revolutionary innovation” here as the company “has applied the principles of heat convection to engineer optimal thermal performance.” This comes from the angled interior layout, which, we have to admit, is pretty unique.

Basically, the motherboard sits at a slight upward angle, with the rear I/O being located higher than the front of the board. This is something we typically don’t see in a build and adds a unique aesthetic to your build for sure.

COUGAR has also built in quite a lot of cooling capabilities with this case, which comes pretty bare-bones. You’ll find that there’s support for up to two 360mm radiators and an additional up to 280mm radiator on the front. There’s space for up to nine fans as well, which all combine to deliver an impressive cooling experience, should you want to put the money into a high-end water-cooling setup.

On top of the cooling support, you’ll find a lightbar that goes across the top of the front of the case, which can be customized either through the built-in LED controller or connected to your motherboard’s 5V ARGB connection for integrating the case with the rest of your system’s lighting setup.

However, while some more premium cases, like the HZXT H1, which costs $350, include things like coolers and power supplies, the COUGAR Cratus comes with the case and case alone alongside what looks to be three RGB fans.

At $500 for the case on Newegg and over $600 after shipping is factored in at Amazon, the COUGAR Cratus is a premium case for sure.

gadgetnewsonline’ Take

I really wish the COUGAR Cratus had a little more to offer for its extreme price point. For comparison, you could choose to spend $500 for a case or another $99 to pick up the just-released RTX 4070. What would benefit your PC more? One could argue that those spending $500 on a case aren’t looking at mid-range graphics cards, and that person would likely be right. But, at the same time, COUGAR’s claim to fame with the Cratus is just that their angular design and open-frame build helps to keep your PC cooler, which is likely true, but is it worth spending more than any modern processor on? In the end, that’s up to you to decide, but this writer surely won’t be dropping half a grand on a PC case anytime soon.