Too often with PCs, an Elite or Pro version of a case means a metal side panel was converted to glass or RGB lighting was added to the fans. That's not the case with Cougar's Duoface Pro RGB. The Duoface Pro RGB isn’t just an upsized version of the Duoface RGB, either. Cougar has done a complete makeover of the design and made multiple quality-of-life upgrades that fix almost every issue I had with the original Duoface RGB case. So, take a second to refresh yourself on our Duoface RGB review, then read on to see how Cougar took a great case and made it even better.
Specifications
- Suggested MSRP: $99.99 (Cougar)
- Form Factor: Mid Tower
- Dimensions: 240 mm x 498mm x 460mm (9.4in x 19.6in x18.1in)
- Motherboard Type: Mini ITX, Micro ATX, ATX, CEB, E-ATX
- I/O Panel: USB Type-C x1, USB 3.0 x2, USB 2.0 x1, 4 Pole Headset Audio Jack, Reset/RGB Button
- Drive Bays: 3.5” x2, 2.5” SSD trays x2
- Cooling Fan Support
- Front: 120mm x3 / 140mm x2 (120mm ARGB Cougar CR-120 x3 installed)
- Top: 120mm x3 / 140mm x2
- Rear: 120mm/140mm x1 (120mm ARGB Cougar CR-120 x1 installed)
- Water Cooling Support
- Front: 360 / 280 / 240 / 120mm
- Top: 360 / 280 / 240 / 120mm
- Rear: 140 / 120mm
- Max Graphics Card Length: 390mm (15.3in)
- Max CPU Cooler Height: 190mm (7.7in)
The Design
Aesthetically, the Duoface Pro is practically identical to the original Duoface RGB with a few minor tweaks. The case is larger overall, measuring 240mm wide by 496mm high by 465mm deep versus the original’s 230 x 491 x 386mm. The extra width and height aren’t significant, but the extra depth can accommodate up to three 120mm fans or a 360mm radiator. On the front of the case, you will find slight changes to the double-layer design of a front panel backed by a separate filter. The light bar has been altered slightly and the bezel and filter extend closer to the bottom of the case to fit a third 120mm fan. To show off the extra fan space, a mesh screen has also replaced the hard metal filter. This allows more RGB lighting to shine through the front of the case, especially when the glass panel is in use.
While the rear and right panels of the case haven’t changed, both the top and left sides received some upgrades. The tempered glass side panel, which used to begin at the top of the PSU shroud, now goes all the way to the bottom of the case, and the top dust filter is now encased in a plastic frame with four small magnets to hold it in place. Other than the plastic edging on the top filter adding a bit of durability, neither of these changes provides any functional advantage to the Duoface Pro. However, both upgrades result in a sleeker, more refined appearance that gives the exterior of the Duoface Pro a high-quality look and feel. Add to that the addition of a USB Type C port to the I/O panel, and the exterior of the Duoface Pro is the perfect example of making changes where it makes sense while leaving everything else alone.
Like the exterior of the Duoface Pro, the internal upgrades are small but impactful. As already mentioned, the overall size is slightly larger to accommodate a triple fan design. While you can only mount up to a 280mm radiator (or two 140mm fans) in the front or top of the original Duoface, the enlarged design of the Duoface Pro extends your cooling choice to a triple 120mm fan setup.
Along with the extra fan space, Cougar made a couple of tweaks to make fan and radiator installation even more accessible than it was before. For starters, the top panel of the case can be removed. The top panel is held in place by two screws hidden behind the tempered glass side panel. With the screws removed, the fan-mounting section of the top panel slides out for easy fan mounting. Cougar was wise enough to leave a 32mm wide strip of the top panel - the portion containing the I/O ports - attached to the case frame, so there’s no issue with wires getting ripped out when you take the top panel apart.
Along with the top panel improvements, the front of the case is now equipped with a removable fan mounting bracket that can be pulled out when the top panel is removed. There is enough room to mount fans on the exterior of the frame, leaving enough space inside the case to mount a radiator and still squeeze in even the longest graphics cards on the market (at least for now).
With the extra space of the Duoface Pro, up to a 360mm radiator can now be mounted along the top or front of the case. It should be noted that about one-third of the bottom fan in the front mounting position extends below the power supply shroud, and the cutout in the shroud isn’t large enough for a push-pull fan setup on a 360mm radiator. There is still enough space to easily mount a radiator with a push-pull fan setup along the top of the case. For anyone hoping they could cram two 360mm radiators into the Duoface Pro, it just isn’t going to happen; one radiator or the other will have to be a smaller option.
Another new feature for the Duoface Pro is the fan mounting spots on the PSU shroud. These two mounting spots give the case a total of nine fan mounts. This is only possible with the GPU in the normal horizontal position, as the fans would occupy the space needed for a vertical mount. I don't particularly like the look of having the fans mounted there, and the fan closest to the rear of the case barely created any airflow due to it being blocked by the PSU directly beneath it. Even with the power cables tucked inside the PSU shroud restricting airflow, the other fan could pull some air in through the bottom of the case. And although we didn’t run this configuration through the entire suite of tests, it did drop the GPU temp by one degree in a torture test with a front-mounted radiator. More options are always better than fewer, so it's up to you whether the extra fans would be worth experimenting with.
Cougar has stepped up their game with the Duoface Pro. One of my original gripes was that a single cutout on the PSU shroud left too much cabling visible along the bottom of the motherboard. With the Duoface Pro, Cougar has added a second cutout towards the rear of the shroud. The pair of large cutouts are perfect for routing and minimal visibility of cables.
Cougar also took a page from the NZXT handbook and added a cable management bar along the right side of the motherboard. The bar sits close to the edge of an ATX motherboard and has an alternate mounting spot about three-quarters of an inch to the right if you want a little extra room. And by removing the bar completely, you can still fit an E-ATX board inside the Duoface Pro.
To help with graphics card droop, the cable management bar also has a built-in adjustable GPU holder. The holder can be adjusted vertically to accommodate thick GPUs. Unfortunately, you can’t adjust the holder horizontally, so it may interfere with your GPU’s fans as it did with mine. The holder can be rotated in place, and by turning it 90 degrees, I could still use it with my GPU.
Switching to the back of the motherboard tray, we see a very familiar picture. Cougar has made good use of the extra space, though. Sticking with just two SSD trays (do people use more than that anyway?), Cougar used the extra room to add a cable guide for better cable management. The ARGB controller has also been moved away from the main cable run (something I complained about on the original Duoface), so getting everything tidied up for a clean look was easy.
The Thermals
To test thermals, we ran several synthetic tests to push the unit to the max, then tested out a few games to check some real-world results. Our system specs are as follows:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen R7 3700X, all cores set to 4.0GHz
- GPU: ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080, core clock +120MHz, memory _100MHz, 80% fan speed (2140rpm)
- Memory: 2x16GB GSkill Ripjaw V @ 3200MHz
- Storage: Gigabyte Aorus NVME Gen4 1TB
- PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 850W
- CPU AIO Cooler: Cougar Poseidon 360GT
- CPU Air Cooler: Cougar Forza 135 Dual Tower
During testing, the included case fans were run at their maximum speed of 1000rpm. The AIO cooler was tested in front and top-mounted positions with three Cougar MHP-120mm fans spinning at 1500rpm. The Forza 135 uses two fans, Cougar’s MPH120 on the front and an MPH140-A in between the fin stacks, both set at 1500rpm.
Like the original Duoface, these tests show the price you pay by limiting airflow with a solid front panel. However, the extra fan in the front of the case and the option to use a 360mm radiator keep things cool regardless of the panel type.
Cougar's case fans continue to underwhelm me, though. The Duoface Pro ships with four fans: three 120mm RGB fans installed in the front and one 120mm RGB fan in the rear. Although they look nice, Cougar has once again gone with fans capable of a maximum of 1000rpm. I would much rather have the flexibility of higher-speed fans that allowed for increased airflow into the case. The case fans already run quietly enough to be drowned out by the whir of my GPU and radiator fans, so the option to bump the case fans up a couple of hundred rpm would probably not affect the case’s sound profile.
Final Thoughts
The Duoface Pro RGB is an excellent upgrade to its predecessor, which was a solid case in its own right. Every gripe I had in my review of the Duoface RGB has been corrected, and then some. The removable top panel and front fan mount make working in the roomy case even more manageable, and the extra additions on the cable management side of things are all positives in my book. Even simple changes like the full-length glass side panel and plastic frame around the top mesh panel are minor tweaks that enhance the case's overall looks. Is it perfect? No, faster fans and the ability to pack in two 360mm radiators are on the short list of improvements. But at the current MSRP of $99, just $20 more than the current price of the Duoface RGB, it is a small price to pay for what is darn near a perfect case.
