INTRODUCTION

   I may have said it numerous times in the past but the search for the perfect gaming peripherals is still not over and although some people say that there's no such thing as the "perfect" keyboard, mouse, headset or chair (since each person looks for and wants different things) i hope i can prove them wrong. Of course due to the sheer number of gaming peripherals getting released each year it may take a while for that to happen but as you know lately we've been focusing our efforts in reviewing as many keyboards, mice, headsets and chairs as we can get our hands on so anything's possible. COUGAR recently released their latest mid-end gaming mouse called the MINOS X3 and as expected it didn't take long for it to find its way to our lab.

   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!

   Just like the HyperX Pulsefire FPS the COUGAR MINOS X3 is also based around the Pixart PMW3310DH-AWQT IR-LED sensor which delivers a resolution of up to 3200DPI (dots per inch) via four preset settings (400/800/1600/3200DPI) with a frame rate of up to 6500fps, speed of up to 130IPS (inches per second) and up to 30g acceleration. The MINOS X3 also features a total of 6 buttons, OMRON switches for the primary buttons (10 million clicks), 3-zone (not individually adjusted) LED backlight with a total of 8 colors (static, breathing and rainbow effects) and dual switches on its base for DPI and Polling rate on-the-fly adjustment (driverless). Sounds interesting right?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

At the front of the small black box COUGAR has placed a large product picture right over the main product features.

Both the product features and specifications are printed on the sides.

A large product picture is placed at the rear and is used to showcase the product features which in turn are listed underneath it in 12 languages.

Don't expect much in terms of bundle since aside the MINOS X3 you are only getting the user manual.

THE MINOS X3

 
The MINOS X3 is a small to medium sized gaming mouse since its 94g heavy housing measures 122mm in length, 67mm in width and 40mm in height.

Most of the left side is rubberized and has two buttons.

COUGAR has placed their logo at the rear of the housing (this is also part of the 3-Zone LED backlight).

A large rubberized section is also present on the right side.

The backlight adjustment button is placed were we usually find the DPI selection button.

The clickable scroll wheel is rubber coated and also the 3rd LED backlight zone.

Turning the MINOX X3 over we see two large PTFE feet, the LED IR sensor, two switches (DPI/Polling rate) and the primary LED backlight zone.

The 1.8 meter long rubber cable of the MINOS X3 has a regular USB plug on its end.

Before you actually use the MINOS X3 i strongly recommend grabbing the latest firmware update from the COUGAR support page and install it as seen above.

Orange is the first LED color you will see once you plug the device into your computer.

The partial ring that surrounds the base of the MINOS X3 looks great.

Light blue, green, purple, red, deep blue, yellow and white are the colors you can choose for the 3-Zone LED backlight.

CONCLUSION

   The COUGAR MINOS X3 is very much alike the HyperX Pulsefire FPS gaming mouse since both models feature the same PMW3310DH-AWQT IR-LED sensor configured a 3200DPI (same DPI presets) along with a very similar housing. However that's where their similarities pretty much end and you see that we're talking about two entirely different products. So the MINOS X3 also has 8 different colors for its LED backlight system with 3 effects (basically – COUGAR counts colors as effects) and dual switches on its base for DPI and polling rate control. Unfortunately however the MINOS X3 has a single design flaw and that's the partial LED ring on its base which makes it very hard to use on textured surfaces (too much friction gives you the feeling that there are small rocks underneath the mouse). On the other hand using a sleek (low-friction) mouse pad makes it move extremely fast and that takes getting used to a while. Obviously we recommend avoid using the MINOS X3 with a high-friction mouse pad especially aluminum ones like the ones we used during our tests (3 out of 4 mouse pads we use to test gaming mice are aluminum ones). After getting used to the MINOS X3 on a sleek low-friction mouse pad however i can say that it's almost as good (fast and accurate) as the Pulsefire FPS by HyperX.

   What “saves” the MINOS X3 Gaming Mouse by COUGAR is its price tag since it currently retails for just USD31.20 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for just 27.48Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Yes it’s far from the perfect gaming mouse especially if you’re using a high-friction mouse pad but because of its very good grip, overall performance, 3-zone backlight and extremely tempting price tag it’s a really honest proposal by COUGAR and that’s why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Grip
- Very Accurate & Fast (Pixart PMW3310 IR LED Optical Sensor)
- 3 Zone LED Backlight With 8 Colors And 3 Effects
- DPI And Polling Rate Selection Switches
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Performance On High Friction Surfaces (Base Ring)
- No Control Panel