Although the Cougar Conquer Essence is sleek, stylish and has very good thermal performance, there are just too many things wrong with this chassis to recommend it at this price.

Looking for an open-air micro-ATX case that is stylish, easy to mod and stands out from the crowd right out of the box? Cougar's Conquer Essence might be right up your alley, if you can stomach all the dirt, dust and pet hair that will likely fall into the case and the price tag.

This chassis is essentially a smaller version of the Cougar Conquer chassis. The design is similar, but not only is the Conquer Essence smaller, a number of features have been removed, retooled and / or completely redesigned from the Conquer. The overall look is much more spartan than the full-sized Conquer chassis.