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Benchmarks & Final Analysis
The Panzer Max performs similarly to the CR1280 at full fan speed, which is a good thing since both of these cases sell for around the same price. The $160 CR1280 was previously priced at $140, and the $160 Panzer Max is currently discounted to $140, but I’m calling them both $160 cases.
The Panzer Max is slightly quieter at full fans and slightly noisier at low fans than the CR1280. Corsair has thus far set the high mark in cooling and noise suppression, and (spoiler) also does so in price.
The pricey Corsair 760T moves like a wrecking ball through the cooling-to-noise calculation, laying waste to the Panzer Max and CR1280. Fortunately for Cougar, its rubble ended up on top of that remaining pile.
Fun with numbers: At low fan speed, the $190 760T matches the Panzer Max’s high mark in price-per-performance. The Panzer Max, however, reaches its value zenith at full fan speed.
The Panzer Max is a superior value over the CR1280, if we don’t include the CR1280’s RGB controller in those calculations. And the worth of the RGB controller would have been the only excuse to give the CR1280 any award at the time.
Meanwhile, the Panzer Max at $160 still can’t outpace the $190 760T in value. We’d think it difficult not to beat the performance-to-price ratio of a case with such a high price, but neither the currently-considered Panzer Max nor the formerly-evaluated CR1280 could do so.
And yet, the Panzer Max has a few design considerations that will certainly give it appeal to buyers who don’t care about awards. The push-latched top and front panels, the handle-latched sides, and the excessive ventilation within the cavernous space behind the motherboard tray all come to mind.
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