INTRODUCTION

   I've yet to meet a gamer who wouldn't want to have the best gaming gear available in the market but let’s face it not everyone can afford (or wants) to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars/euros on a not so "important" hobby (especially nowadays). Because of that consumers naturally turn towards lower cost peripherals which can offer similar gaming experience but at a fraction of the price. Of course some "aspects" do take a hit and most noticeably the number of features (followed by build quality) but as of late there are some manufacturers in the market doing their best to fill that gap. COUGAR started offering their very own gaming peripherals not too long ago and aside the top of the line 700k gaming keyboard and 700k gaming mouse (two peripherals aimed towards serious gamers) they also offer more "balanced" solutions like the 500k gaming keyboard which we have here with us today.

   COUGAR products are designed by COUGAR GERMANY, a professional R&D engineering team and COUGAR is part of the “HEC/COMPUCASE” Group. The unique combination of the world-famous German skills of designing the best products worldwide and HEC/s power and long-time experience to produce the best high quality products created innovative masterpieces in PSU history. The PC upgrading and DIY market is changing rapidly and is growing more and more. Professional user are asking for more than only stable and silent PSU/s, they want efficient and energy saving products without compromises in quality. COUGAR GERMANY created such products! COUGAR GERMANY combines the features of innovation and evolution to create efficient, powerful and unique products like “COUGAR POWER”. The purpose of COUGAR GERMANY is the satisfaction of the customer, reaching it by creating most valuable, advanced products. COUGAR – YOUR POWER!

   The 500k Gaming Keyboard may not be on par with the top of the line 700k model or its brother the 600k since it's primarily made out of hard plastic and wears membrane switches instead of the far more durable mechanical ones but still thanks to a 32-bit ARM cortex M0 processor paired with onboard memory it packs quite a few interesting features such as 6-key/N-key rollover, full key backlight (single color), 1000Hz polling rate, 3 on the fly mode selection keys, FPS detachable palm rest, six programmable keys, repeat rate adjustment (1/2/4/8x) and a pass-through USB port. Needless to say you can control most of these features directly from the keyboard but for some you will need to use the UIX control system software by COUGAR. So let's find out what the 500k has to offer to gamers around the world.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Most of the product features are listed at the front of the box right next to a large product image and the company logo.

A small specifications list is placed at the bottom of the box.

Several pictures at the rear are used to showcase the product features which in turn are printed in 9 languages.

COUGAR has placed the keyboard inside a formed piece of black Styrofoam.

Along with the 500k gaming keyboard you will also get 4 case stickers and the user manual.

THE 500K

The plastic body of the 500k features a black and gray color combination and measures 487mm long, 170mm wide and 40mm thick (weighs just under a kilo).

Membrane switches have improved over the years but still can't compete with mechanical ones in terms of durability and feedback (both tactile and audible).

COUGAR has placed its logo at the top center.

The space bar is cut in half so the other half is now a fully programmable key.

5 extra fully programmable keys are placed on the far left.

You can swap between the 3 available modes on-the-fly by using these keys.

The keyboard illumination can be controlled from the button with the light printed on it while the Windows keys can be enabled / disabled from the key with the lock on it (obviously).

The play/pause, stop, backwards and forward multimedia keys are placed on the upper right corner.

Via the F1 through F4 keys you can control the keyboard repeat rate.

You can select the 6-key or N-Key Rollover from these two keys right next to the print screen one.

3 volume control keys are placed right to them and right beneath the previously mentioned multimedia keys.

A powered USB port is placed on the front right corner of the keyboard.

Turning over the keyboard we see nothing flashy just two rubber coated legs.

These legs keep the front end of the keyboard 10mm of the desktop.

The 500k ships with a 1.8m braided cable and two gold plated USB connectors (1 is to provide extra juice for the connector at the front).

With the removable palm-rest attached the 500k becomes 230mm wide.

COUGAR UIX System

Once again since there's no software CD present in the box (just like with the 700k) you will need to download the latest drivers from their support page as seen above.

The driver package will automatically perform a firmware update which will take less than a minute to complete.

Via the UIX system you can switch between 6-KEY and N-KEY rollover, adjust the polling rate, set repeat delay, set the repeat rate acceleration, switch between the available profiles, program the keys (can swap keys and/or assign specific commands), and you can also adjust the 5 steps of the backlight system.

We took three shots showcasing the backlight system (max, min, off).

CONCLUSION

   When we received the 700k mechanical gaming keyboard by COUGAR a few months ago we were quite impressed, if not with the cherry MX mechanical keys (many have used them so they are not something new) then with the how good the first attempt by COUGAR to enter the gaming peripherals market was. Well the 500k can't really compete with the 700k not only because of its build quality (plastic vs aluminum) but also because it uses membrane switches (instead of mechanical ones) and lacks a couple of features found in the 700k. Still we did like using it and i personally found its weight (or lack of since it weighs less than a kilo) to be very good if you want a keyboard which can be easily moved around your desk. Unfortunately the others here felt that consumers may come to think that its weight could reflect on a bad build quality and although I’d probably think the same having used it for a couple of weeks nonstop i really doubt anyone will have a problem with it for years to come. The small "issue" some people may have is with the lack of tactile and audible feedback since unlike the S.T.R.I.K.E.7 by MadCatz and its "custom" membrane switches the ones used in the 500k are too soft. However if you haven't used a mechanical gaming keyboard in the past this will most likely go unnoticed.

   Overall the 500k gaming keyboard by COUGAR is a very good product aimed at casual gamers but leaving aside everything else how well does it do in terms of cost? Well it actually costs roughly half of what its brother the 700k does and that's a really good thing if you don't want or simply can't afford to spend much on a good gaming keyboard. To be more specific as we finish our review the 500k retails for USD79.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 84.48Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). The only downside with this is that there are quite a few mechanical gaming keyboards in the market just a few bucks/euros away and so serious gamers will most likely look that way instead. However for casual users and gamers the 500k offers a much more familiar experience which is why it comes highly recommended by us.

PROS

- Design
- 5-Step Backlight Illumination
- 6-Key/N-Key Rollover
- Repeat Rate Adjustment
- UIX Software
- Powered USB Port
- Braided Cable / Gold Plated Plugs

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Membrane Switches (For Some)
- Short Feet (For Some)