INTRODUCTION

   Just like most things related to PC systems (and not only) gaming peripherals are getting more advanced and innovative each day that goes by so currently we have numerous gaming keyboards, headsets and mice aimed at serious gamers and professionals alike that not only come with superior performance thanks to blazing fast laser, optical and LED sensors but also an abundance of features (some very useful while others not so much). Manufacturers don't stop there however so aside performance and features many models follow really strange and sometimes ergonomic design lines to separate them from the rest of the crowd. However not every gamer out there seeks to get advanced gaming peripherals and this may surprise some people but many times the reason behind that has nothing to do with the cost of such devices but rather with simplicity. A few months back COUGAR announced their gaming line from which so far we've looked at the 700M Gaming Mouse which as many of you know at the end of the day left us with a very good overall opinion. Well today we'll be taking a thorough look at its cousin the 600M Gaming Mouse.

   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!

   Compared to the 700M the 600M gaming mouse may be much simpler but it still carries the same ADNS-9800 laser sensor by Avago featuring 8200DPI resolution, 12000fps framerate, 150IPS tracking speed and up to 30G acceleration. Similarities don't end there however since COUGAR has also equipped the 600M with durable OMRON switches (5 million clicks) for the primary buttons, 8 programmable buttons in total, an onboard 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0 CPU and 512Kb of memory used for storing the 3 available profiles and a 45 degree sniper button used to slow down DPI for a more steady aim. The 600M gaming mouse also features a polling rate of 1000Hz/1ms and a 16.8 million colors LED backlit illumination system. However although the main difference between the 600M and the 700M seems to be only in design there's also something very important to note and that's the weight. So aside the 40g difference in weight these two gaming mice have (600M weighs 90g while the 700M weighs 110g) the 700M also had an adjustable weight system which could add an extra 18g to its weight. Still lighter seems to be better for most people so let's see what the 600M brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The box of the 600M has a large product image at the front right beneath the company logo and above the main product features.

Another product picture is placed on the left side of the box right over the specifications table.

The main product features are showcased on the right side of the box with the help of 5 images.

Another product picture is placed at the rear and used to point the various features.

The front of the box opens up to reveal the 600M and a list of features.

COUGAR bundles a user manual and two stickers with the 600M gaming mouse.

THE 600M

The 600M is available in two colors black and orange and measures 125mm in length, 80mm in width and 42mm in height.

Two programmable thumb buttons and the 45 degrees sniper button are placed on the left side.

The company logo and name are printed vertically at the rear end of the mouse.

A 4-stage DPI LED level indicator is placed just over the primary button while the DPI selection buttons are placed right next to it.

The scroll wheel is described by COUGAR as a gaming grade one but all i know is that it's rubber coat makes it very soft and almost inaudible when used.

The only LED light is placed beneath the primary button as you can see from the above picture.

At the base of the 600M we see 4 low friction rubber feet (two of them are very long).

The Avago ADNS-9800 sensor is placed right in the middle of the base.

A gold plated USB connector and a braided cable are the two final ingredients of the 600M.

USING THE 600M

Much like the 700M the 600M doesn't come with a driver CD so you will have to check the official COUGAR support page to download the latest available version.

The COUGAR control panel (AKA UIX system) gives plenty of freedom to the user so from here you can adjust the 4 available DPI presets, adjust the DPI for the sniper button, change the lift height (LOD), adjust the polling rate, turn angle snapping on/off, adjust the double click/scroll/pointer speeds, program all 8 buttons to the desired functions (macros included), change the illumination color and save/edit all the available profiles.

Again just like the 700M the 600M has a very limited illumination system (some will like it and others will not).

CONCLUSION

   What we all liked about the 700M (aside the adjustable aluminum frame) was its adjustable weight system since we've all used several "heavy" gaming mice in the past for very long periods of time. Unfortunately we all feel that this is the one serious downside of the 600M since 90g is simply not enough for people who have used something heavier in the past (chances are you have). So although the ADNS-9800 laser sensor by Avago is lightning fast and very accurate the very light body of the 600M makes it very hard to control. Of course we did get used to it after a couple of days but we didn't have that problem with the 700M. And then we have the primary buttons which are way too soft compared to the ones of the 700M and most gaming mice. This is not really a bad thing since you need way less force to press the primary buttons but if you've been using a gaming mouse with somewhat hard primary buttons for a long time this will not sit well with you at first. Overall however the size of the 600M and the ADNS-9800 laser sensor make up for those two drawbacks, you may just need a couple of days to get the hang of it.

   As you all know price is one of the defining factors when someone's looking to get a new gaming mouse so the 600M Gaming Mouse by COUGAR with its current price tag of USD56.69 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and around 50Euros inside the EU should have no problem attracting gamers and casual users from all over the world. Of course we do prefer the higher end 700M so if you're looking for one of the best gaming mice in the market current and price is not a problem we do recommend that over the 600M. However if price is a problem you can hardly find such a blazing fast, accurate and feature-rich gaming mouse like the 600M at around that price point and that's why it gets highly recommended by us.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design (For Some)
- Very Fast & Accurate (Avago ADNS-9800)
- 8 Programmable Buttons
- OMRON Switches
- Braided Cable & Gold Plated USB Plug
- Current Price

CONS

- Weight (For Some)
- Soft Primary Buttons
- Limited Illumination System (For Some)