I was so impressed by the Cougar Airface ECO RGB case that I ditched my Thermaltake Tower 600 and didn't even consider the Cougar OmnyX case worthy of replacing the Airface. Not that those cases are bad in any way, but the ease of building and the accessibility are far superior. Cougar recently released yet another mid-tower called the CFV235, which, although it boasts a traditional mid-tower design but has its main area and the PSU shroud separated.
Cougar calls it a True Free-Floating structural separation that separates both chambers to increase the airflow from the bottom. The case is available in four different versions, featuring options to choose between a glass panel, a meshed panel, and a dedicated LCD monitor at the base. Today, we will take a closer look at the CFV235 Mesh Vision, which offers both the mesh panel and an LCD display at the bottom. Will try to build inside it to see how good it is in terms of component compatibility, assembly process, and features as advertised by the company.
Technical Specifications
| Product Name | CFV235 / CFV235 (White) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Form Factor | Mid Tower | ||
| Motherboard Type | Mini ITX / Micro ATX / ATX / CEB | ||
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 235 x 493 x 460 (mm) 9.3 x 19.4 x 18.1 (in) | ||
| I/O Panel | USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C x 1, USB 3.0 Type-A x 2, 4 Pole Headset Audio Jack x 1, RGB Button | ||
| 3.5" Drive Bay | 2 | ||
| 2.5" Drive Bay | 2+2 (converted from 3.5" drive bays) | ||
| Expansion Slots | 7 | ||
| Cooling Fan Support | Top | 120mm x 3 / 140mm x 3 | |
| M/B Side | 120mm x 2 | ||
| Bottom | 120mm x 3 | ||
| Rear | 120mm x 1 | ||
| Pre-installed Fans | M/B Side | Unity 240 ARGB PWM Reversed fan x 1 | |
| Rear | 120mm ARGB PWM fan x 1 | ||
| Speed | Unity 240 ARGB PWM Reversed fan: 700-1600 RPM ±10% 120mm ARGB PWM fan: 500-1400 ± 10% RPM | ||
| Connector | 5V 3 Pin (ARGB) / 4 Pin PWM (Fan) | ||
| Maximun Number of Fans | 9 | ||
| Water Cooling Support | Top | 360mm / 280mm / 240mm / 140mm / 120mm | |
| Rear | 120mm | ||
| Aurora LED Strip | Yes | ||
| PWM and RGB hub Sync with M/B | Yes | ||
| Max. Graphics Card Length | 430 (mm) / 16.9 (in) | ||
| Max. CPU Cooler Height | 175 (mm) / 6.9 (in) | ||
| Max. PSU Length | 200 (mm) / 7.9 (in) | ||
A Close Look at the Design
The CFV235 boasts two chambers, separating its PSU chamber from the main area to allow a floating-style design. The interior is quite spacious, and if you have taken a look at the specs, it can accommodate long graphics cards and has sufficient width for tall CPU coolers.
The chassis features a large, tempered glass side panel that is tool-free. To open it, one has to simply detach it from the top left corner, and the same mechanism is available for the other side panel. The second panel is, however, fully metal and one of the sturdiest you will find. It's uses a 1.5mm-thick steel frame, which doesn't wobble and is attached to the case much more firmly than the Airface ECO RGB. Plus, it has a ventilated area that allows more airflow.
The motherboard tray isn't your traditional one, but has a lot of cutouts, which you probably think are for wiring and stuff. However, the case supports motherboards with connectors at the back such as ASUS BTF boards, allowing compatibility for both regular and reverse connector motherboards. So, essentially, it can hide almost all the cables from sight for a nice and neat build.
As you can see from the images, the case comes with 6x pre-installed fans, offering 2x 160 mm ARGB PWM fans at the front, 3x 120 mm ARGB PWM fans at the bottom, and one at the rear. That's more fans than the Airface ECO RGB or Omnyx, and almost eliminates the need to buy chassis fans separately, except if you want to populate the top panel as well. For users who will opt for an AIO cooler, the top side can be used for the radiator instead.
You can find a dust filter in most places, including the front, under the base of the top chamber, and one at the top of the PSU chamber, and also at the top panel of the case. All these filters are magnetic, but unlike the Airface ECO RGB case, the front dust filter is at the back of the front fans, and you need to remove the side panel to access it. In Airface, it was hassle-free since you can easily remove it without accessing the interior or removing the front panel. Still, it's not a big issue, but it's more of a convenience for a lazy person like me.
The bottom chamber, which hosts the PSU area and the HDD bay is separated from the top chamber by roughly one inch. This area offers plenty of clearance for the fans to intake cool air and throw it at the GPU and the rest of the components. I think this is an excellent feature for GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition owners, assuming they are using an AIO for their CPUs, so as not to block the airflow. The PSU area is quite large, and there is so much room to fit the cable mess inside it.
That said, this case only allows you to install the PSU with the fan facing up, so that it can exhaust hot air from the top and it's much less prone to accumulating dust over time. Moving on to the back, we have a big hub for ARGB devices and chassis fans that can be powered by a SATA connector from the PSU. There are plenty of connectors available even after powering pre-installed fans.
Cable management is also excellent here, offering several velcro straps to secure cables together and a big cover plate that neatly hides the ATX cable and other front-panel I/O cables like USB 3.0, USB Type C, and Audio headers. The same cover also boasts a GPU bracket that can support long GPUs, avoiding any sag. And of course, multiple routing holes are available throughout the case to easily route or manage the cables for a neat build.
The bottom chamber that has the LCD panel also has a few I/O connectors beside it, including two USB Type A and a Type C connector, as well as a 3.5 mm audio jack. Then there is the big Power button and a small ARGB button to control the lighting effects on the fans.
Lastly, we have the L-shaped ARGB light strip that goes under the bottom of the top chamber. It's magnetic and easily sticks to the case, and a dedicated routing hole is available to get the cable to the fan/ARGB hub at the back.
The Building Process
This time I used my backup PC, which is quite old now, but you will get an idea of how does the assembly process will usually go with the Cougar CFV235. I started by installing the power supply and then proceeded with the motherboard installation. Here, you will have to remove the bottom chassis fans in order to get your motherboard in place. All three fans are secured inside a single frame and utilize just four long screws in total, which doesn't take much time to install/uninstall.
The wiring process was fairly straightforward. Everything was already in place and all I had to do is connect the PSU cables to the motherboard and components. After connecting all the casbles, I used the velcro straps to get the cables together.
Lastly, I installed the GPU, put back the fans at the bottom, and attached the L-shaped ARGB strip at the bottom, and it was ready to rock. I didn't face a single trouble building the PC, and there is quite a good amount of clearance at the top for AIO installation as well. I think this is just a perfect case that speeds up the assembly process.
Here is the final result when you turn on the PC. While the ARGB fans can be controlled out of the box, you need to install the Cougar LCD editor to customize the LCD at the bottom.
The software is quite versatile, but can be laggy at times. Nonetheless, you can customize the background, enable any hardware parameter you want in your favorite font, color, or size. You can save multiple profiles and select whatever you like. This was definitely my favorite part of all.
The Verdict
Cougar's CFV235 impressed me even more than the Airface, and it's hard to even point out minor flaws in this one. Of course, there will always be some limitations, but for most users, building a high-end rig with CFV235 is going to be hassle-free. Its spacious interior and dual-chamber design offer an excellent view, while allowing cool intake of airflow from both the front and bottom. The case is packed with features and components that allow reverse connector motherboards, and also ensure a neat build with excellent cable management.
The fan/RGB hub can take care of the entire cooling system of the case, and can be controlled via software or the onboard button. Lastly, the CFV235 offers an incredible LCD customization that monitors your hardware in real time and lets you change the background, parameters, and data according to your requirements.
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