That's one of the bigger selling points, as it means budget builders can allocate more of their funds toward other hardware, such as a better video card, a faster CPU, or more RAM. On the more expensive end, the high end Silverstone and Lian Li cases have some of the best build quality I've seen. So today we are putting the QBX to the test to see for ourselves where the new case excels and where it falls short. Yes, the QBX is aimed at gamers, primarily because it can fit a full-size graphics card, but Cougar didn't cater to the gamer stereotype with a flashy design that demands attention. I also changed the direction of the radiator fan so that it was drawing cooler air across the radiator from the outside into the case, where convection removed the heat via the top fan.

The RAM blocks easy access to the SATA and motherboard power ports, however, so I plugged those in first before slotting in the RAM. A manual with instructions and all screws required to fully use the case, including some long 3mm screws for radiator attachment. while we want to stay away from that PSU mounting frames, the next problem is "do we have enough clearance to the rear case fan? Initially I plan to upgrade to Asrock Phantom Gaming Z390 ITX/ac also to future proofing, but found that there is someone have problem with the NH-C14S on old motherboard inside QBX, and it makes the guy cut the heatsink to fit in there. I'm clueless about how to work with radiators in QBX as I'm kind of an air cooler guy, never experienced holding a liquid cooler with my hand.It doesn't have to be perfect, but even a task as simple as putting back in place the metal slab holding the drive cage can take extra effort depending on your cable routing—the SATA and power cables that plug into the drives squish against the top of the PSU. Doing this would give the H67 motherboard more compatibility with aftermarket coolers such as the Noctua C12P. I tried a few different fan configurations, but I found that the following config was the most quiet and provided the most cooling: 120mm fans 2-bottom, 1-top blowing out from the case, with the liquid-cooling radiator drawing inward, and the front/rear vents left open with no fans.

I've purchased two of these cases so far just because they're so beautiful to look at and I've gotten quite accustomed to working on them. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. One other tidbit: the top panel of the case is removable, and you can fit two more 120mm fans up there.This was one of the hardest components to install because I already had the graphics card in place, making it hard to fit my hands into the case. One cool benefit of this design is that the chassis has good ground clearance for airflow and there is a large slide-out and washable dust filter to help provide clean airflow to your components. COUGAR QBX comes here to conquer the world with three big weapons within its compact body: Its dimensions, its expansion potential and its unrivaled cooling.