About Cougar
Cougar was founded in 2007, and used to be known for having an orange flair on many of its products. They also make other computer peripherals such as keyboards, power supplies, computer cases, and even streaming equipment like microphones and video capture equipment.
I’ve previously reviewed their air and liquid coolers on this site and on Tom’s Hardware, like the Forza 135 dual tower air cooler. Today we’ll be taking a quick look at their latest Polar X2 1200W PSU which features 12 VHPWR, a 10 year warranty, and a 80 Plus Platinum rating. This is an overview, not a review, as I don’t have the tools necessary for a proper PSU analysis.
Introducing the Polar X2 1200W – True ATX 3.0 High Efficiency PSU
The Polar X2 is the latest power supply from cougar, this unit features a 1200W Power Supply. Cougar generously sent this unit to me for use in one of my CPU Cooling testing systems. As I mentioned earlier, this article is an overview of it’s features and a quick summary of my experience with it having used it for about 4 weeks now.
Unboxing
Opening the box reveals the unit protected by a mesh cover and molded foam. On the right side are the cables of the unit, protected by plastic and cardboard.
Included in the box are the 1200W PSU, Power Cables – including a 12VHPWR connection, a cable management strap, screws, a PCI-e connection guide, and the user manual.
Features of Cougar’s Polar X2 Power Supply
Designed to handle spikes of TWICE the rated capacity
12VHPWR Support
Cougar’s Polar X2 features support of the latest 12VHPWR standard, ensuring compatibility with the latest and next generation graphics cards.
Designed to be used in extreme heat
Cougar’s Polar X2 is designed to work flawlessly even in ambient environments of 50 degrees Celsius (122F!).
Up to 93% Energy Efficiency
The Polar X2 is designed to be energy efficient, and features up to 93% energy conversion efficiency.
Zero Noise Output from loads under 480W
While I can’t offer a full fledged review of this unit because I lack the tools necessary to do so, this is one feature I can say I’ve fully tested. In loads of less than ~480W (sometimes a little higher) the fans of the Polar X2 do not engage, offering complete and total silence. On my AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + Intel ARC A7700 system, I wasn’t able to get the fans to engage no matter how heavy a load I threw at it!
The PSU is cooled by a 135mm HDB Cougar fans. Cougar advertises that these fans are “silent” and have a minimum lifetime rated at 150,000+ hours which is longer than many of it’s competitors. The frame supporting the fan is sturdy, designed to reduce noise levels.
Durable, long lifespan Japanese capacitors
Fully Modular Power Supply
The Polar X2 is fully modular, allowing you to use only the cables you need – preventing clutter from unused power connections.
Final Thoughts
I can’t offer a in-depth review of this unit, but I’ve been using this power supply for my Ryzen CPU Cooler testing rig for a bit over a month now and it’s worked well for me. Because my system rarely uses over 400W, the fans of the power supply never engage – providing perfectly silent operation. 12VHPWR support ensures compatibility with high end RTX 4000 series GPUs and future GPUs from Nvidia, Radeon, and Intel.
