Cougar 600K & 500K Gaming Keyboard Reviews

Pure Overclock just recently had the pleasure of reviewing Cougar’s flagship 700K Mechanical gaming keyboard. This keyboard received many accolades along with some of the highest awards from the industry for its beautiful aluminum construction and customized software. While the price tag is on the high side for the 700K models, some can justify spending that kind of money. So Cougar also launched an alternative itself; Cougar 600K & 500K Gaming Keyboard.

We all know the term, “you get what you pay for,” but some of us are simply looking for the best bang for your buck. Plus, with the abundance of today’s gamers making comments like, “we don’t always use all the features” that are available on those more expensive keyboards, folks are looking for alternatives.

So today, I get to put both these very affordable keyboards to the test to see how they match up with today’s competition and Cougar’s own 700K model.

Cougar 600K & 500K Gaming Keyboard

Closer Look 500K

At first glance, the layout of its keyboards is like many standard keyboards you will find today. However, I do have some unique features to the 500K like the 5 macro or programmable keys just to the left side. There is a 6th macro/programmable button but it’s located at the space bar. As you can see from the photo, the space bar is broken into 2 keys. Now… this can be a good thing, or it can be a very bad thing. It’s really going to depend on the user type, but I will go into this a bit more later.

At the top of our keyboard, I find a nice gold-plated logo at the top center with the Cougar logo. This is a great touch here for a little bit of flare and also nice branding by Cougar.

Taking a closer look at the key set, while this keyboard is a membrane keyboard, it does mimic the look and feel of a mechanical keyboard. This is a nice little touch here by Cougar to give you the feeling of a high-end keyboard without spending the big bucks. The keys are also made from hard plastic with a soft rubber coating that feels great to the touch. This reminded us of the Mat Cats Striker 3/5 keyboard.

The 500K also offers an attachable palm rest, which is another common feature I find with many of today’s keyboards. Cougar has done something a little extra here which I will cover in just a minute.

One of the few things that really set this keyboard apart from the more expensive 700K model is that rather than being constructed from aluminum, I find that the 500K is made primarily from a plastic housing instead. While this isn’t necessarily a drawback, I can see that this is where Cougar cut production costs to make it more affordable.

I mentioned earlier that the keyboard offers a backlight feature. Here I have our keyboard plugged into our test system and I have a nice orange glow that is evenly lit. Unfortunately, no other colors are available with the backlight, but I do like the fact that Cougar stuck to its traditional color of orange.

Now that I have covered the Cougar 500K, let’s move on and take a closer look at the 600K.

Closer Look 600K

Now to jump into the Cougar 600K mechanical keyboard. At first glance, I have to say that I really enjoyed the aesthetics of the brushed aluminum top plate that holds this keyboard together. This is the same build quality that I saw with the 700K models. In fact, the 600K is pretty identical to the 700K minus some of the extra bells and whistles of the macro / programmable keys.

Depending on your needs, the 600K may be better for those who don’t really use macros or programmable keys, but just want to stick to a more simple mechanical keyboard. When it comes to the layout, the 600K uses the same standard layout as the 700K and 500K models with the obvious missing macro keys as I pointed out.

As for the key sets, the 600K offers a more refined plastic that sits on top of its Cherry MX Mechanical switches. This is much like the 700K, and its design, fit, and feel are solid and sturdy.

Without the macro keys to the far left (like I saw on the 500K), the 600K is shortened just a bit. Cougar finishes off the construction with an attractive aluminum top plate and gold-colored hardware. Since the 600K keyboard doesn’t have Memory profiles, in place of those buttons they have included the repeat rate buttons rather than on the F keys like I saw on the 500K.

To the right side of the keyboard, (just like the 500K), I have our multimedia key sets. I have the play/pause, stop, fast forward, and rewind features. Just above the 10 key number pad, I have my volume adjustments and mute button.

Also at the top, you’ll find the LED backlight button. This will allow you to adjust the LED brightness to your liking. The 600K features a 5-step brightness which is nice for those who may be in dark or bright environments. Here you will also find the windows lock key again.

As for the key sets, the 600K offers a more refined plastic that sits on top of its Cherry MX Mechanical switches. This is much like the 700K, and its design, fit, and feel are solid and sturdy.

The 600K I have today for testing offers the Cheery MX Blue switches which are popular among typists. As I show you here, Cougar does a great job with its layout, and removing the keys was easy if you are looking to customize some keys. Most standard mechanical keyboard keystones should be able to fit and are interchangeable. However, you do so at our own risk as there are many keystone accessories out there that are slightly different.

As I talked about with the 500K, the 600K also offers the same style and type of palm rest. You will also find the FPS palm rest that is magnetically attached.

Now that I have taken a closer look at both keyboards, let’s move forward and look at the software that Cougar offers with the 500K keyboard.

If you want to know more about Coughar products then we are also provided with our other article on Cougar 600M Gaming Mouse.

Cougar Software UIX & Fusion

While the 600K keyboard I just touched on doesn’t need any software and is completely plug-and-play, the Cougar 500K does require a driver and software system in order to take advantage of all its bells and whistles.

For the 500K, Cougar developed The UIX System which is a combined driver and configuration application solution that takes advantage of the 32-bit ARM processor and built-in memory found in the 500K.

During the initial installation, the application will check for the most up-to-date product firmware. Once the installation has finished, the UIX opens to the Performance tab, which displays polling rate, key rollover, repeat delay, or repeat rate acceleration, and mode sync switches. Everything in this screen can be altered on the fly using various key combinations. Some can even be altered using a single key. You also will find 3 profile modes that can be selected on the side.

Next up, I have the key assignment tab is where most of the configuration time will be spent. The G-keys can have quick assignment keys selected by using the drop down menu then dragging and dropping. You can also set up macro settings if you like in this area.

The 500K offers plenty of lighting options on this tap. The lighting key can be altered by removing settings that will not be used. All backlighting can be disabled and adjusted. However, the 500K doesn’t offer individual key adjustments as I saw with the 700K software.

Now that I have taken a look at the driver and software support, let’s move forward and give you our testing impressions.

Testing Impressions

First, let’s talk about our Cougar 500K experience. I am going to break it down in 3 sections: aesthetics, ease of use, and performance impressions for gaming, typist, and day-to-day use. So let’s get started.

Aesthetics: In this arena, I feel that Cougar did a great job with the 500K. The layout, design, as well as fit, and feel resemble the higher-end 700K model with some key changes to make this more affordable. Cougar decide to take away the aluminum construction and used mostly plastic to help bring down costs. This isn’t a huge takeback, as the 500K does still feel very solid and the final fit and finish are still very good in terms of quality.

The detachable palm rest is a great addition, and while it’s nothing over-the-top fancy, it does add a sleek look. The additional FPS palm rest also adds a bit of contrast to the design. I do like the fact that it’s attached magnetically so if you don’t need it you can remove it and store it away.

To add some additional aesthetics to the 500k, it does offer a full backlit keyboard. This is great for those that are in dark environments. With 5 levels of backlight adjustments, there is a setting for everyone. For the overall fit and feel, I would give the 500K a 9/10 score.

• Ease of use: The 500K can be your typical plug-and-play keyboard if you wanted it to be, however… you won’t be able to take advantage of any of the extra bells and whistles it offers. Out of the box, Cougar doesn’t include any software disc, so you will need to make sure you have the internet to be able to go to Cougar’s site to download the latest drivers and software. This is not a big issue since I would always recommend that you do this anyways.
• Performance Impressions: In terms of performance, I really liked the 500K; while it’s not a true mechanical keyboard, the way the membrane was designed really mimics a close resemblance. The layout is pretty spot on, and I didn’t feel any discomfort while using this for Gaming, Typing or doing your average daily work. Setting up the programmable keys was easy to do with the software once you download it.
• The software added with the features of the 500K add up to a great experience. For someone coming from using full mechanical keyboards on a daily basis, it did take us a little getting use to the down pressure since there are some differences. Despite this, the over-all feel is very close.
• Moving onto the 600K, let’s break it down by sections as well.
• Aesthetics: When it came to the aesthetics of the 600K, I enjoyed the aluminum finish much better than the plastic feel from the 500K. While the layout and design is very close to the 500K and the 700K, it does offer a more simple look without the macro keys. I also like the brushed aluminum finish like I saw on the 700K. Like the 500K, the 600K offers a detachable palm rest along with the magnetic FPS pad for comfort. It does adds the same sleek appeal like the 500K.

In additional to the overall fit and feel, the 600K felt to be a lighter keyboard overall. Due to the aluminum construction, it took away the bulky plastic weight making it much easier to move around. The fit and feel on the 600K is just as solid, but the aluminum housing does add a bit more flare to its aesthetics. The 600K also does offer back lit keys, but it’s only limited to the WASD and arrow keys as I pointed out. While this isn’t a huge issue for us, those looking for a fully back-lit keyboard might be disappointed in the 600K. Overall, the 600K has all the right aesthetics out of the box.

Ease of use: When it came to the 600K, I really like the fact that it didn’t need any software or additional drivers. The 600K can function right out of the box. Without all the extra bells and whistles, the keyboard is recognized in Windows and works just as it is. Cougar does offer firmware updates on its website, but in our case I didn’t need to do anything since the keyboard was already current and updated.

Performance Impressions: In terms of performance, the 600K I got for review uses the Cherry MX Blue Keys. Cougar does offer 4 different key sets available which are, Black, Red, Blue, and Brown. One thing to keep in mind in reading this review is that everyone’s preference for the type of Cherry MX key can be subjective. Everyone uses their keyboard in a very different manner.

So with that said, in terms of performance, during normal use and typing activities I feel that the 600K was outstanding; the feedback and feel are much like other keyboards I have used in the past with Cherry MX blues. The Cherry MX blue keys are pretty common for your typist and data workers; however, when it came to gaming, the fast movement of keys made the blue keys feel a little too loud.

I expected this, as this is a pretty common complaint among Cherry MX blue key users. However, since Cougar does offer 4 different key sets, I’d say pick your poison. If I had to put a close comparison on feedback, I’d say this ranks up there to our DAS Keyboard with Cherry MX blue switches.

When it came to comfort, the 600K was just as comfortable as our 500K, but for our personal preference, I opted not to use the FPS palm rest as it didn’t work well for our needs. All in all, the 600K performed to our expectations and with the more simplified approach, I really liked the 600K.

Now that I have covered our testing impressions, let’s wrap things up.

Summary

So to wrap things up, let’s go back to the Cougar 600K & 500K and talk about the Cougar 500K keyboard first. When it came to the fit and feel of the 500K, I really like its aesthetics. While Cougar did use plastic in place of the aluminum construction and replaced the mechanical key set for a membrane to cut production costs, I feel they did a great job overall. The 500K priced at $79.99 is almost half the price of the 700K. So if you are not crazy about having true mechanical keys and can deal with a membrane that can mimic a close resemblance of a mechanical keyboard, the 500K hit the spot.

The 500K offers 90% of what the 700K offers: including software and programmable keys. It’s a hard deal to beat. If I had to set a side-by-side comparison with other competitors, I’d say the 500K has Logitech’s G110 or G15 beat in terms of quality, fit, and feel. Another comparison would be the Mad Cats Striker 3/5 keyboard. I would put the 500k into that arena in terms of performance.

Now… Moving onto the Cougar 600K keyboard, I really enjoyed the keyboard’s more simplified approach. Without the macro or programmable keys, it made the 600k more desirable out of the box since I don’t need to install any fancy software to get it working. The 600K is completely plugged and play which was a big plus for us. Its aluminum construction was also much more desirable and made the keyboard lightweight. Overall, the 600k has earned a spot on my desk and replaced my Razor Black Widow.

The 600K comes in a $139.99 currently on newegg.com. While it is a bit on the high side, it is still cheaper than the 700k. So if you don’t need all the fancy bells and whistle of the 700K, but want the same full tactical feel of Cherry MX blue keys, the 600K is a great alternative. If I had to make any side-by-side comparisons, this is at the top of our list with Ducky and DAS Keyboards with Cherry MX blue keys.

I have to say that Cougar did a great job with both the 500K and 600K keyboards. They have a great selection for this very diverse market and I think they hit the right spots. With the 500K coming in a $79.99, it is a very affordable and capable product in its market segment. Additionally, the 600K at $139.99 is a top-notch product as well. I Honor both the Cougar 500K and 600K keyboards with the Editor’s Choice award for their respective consumer targets!