COUGAR 700K Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

In the market for a new mechanical keyboard, but want all the bells and whistles to go with it? COUGAR may have you covered with its 700K, a gaming-focused mechanical with a selection of CHERRY MX keys and a comprehensive list of extras, including a turbo function. The real question is, how does the software hold up?

Mechanical keyboards at this point shouldn’t really need an introduction, thanks in part to their growing availability and lowering prices. The majority of such keyboards are modified typist keyboards, offering very few of the expected features that gamers demand, such as backlighting and customization in the form of macros. As mechanical keys have become cheaper, the savings can be put into more features, sparking new generations of mechanical keyboards with all the bells and whistles of a gaming keyboard. The COUGAR 700K is such a keyboard.

Offering the usual assortment of features of a gaming keyboard such as full independent key backlighting, aggressive styling and N-Key rollover, there are now dedicated macro buttons, profile modes, on-the-fly profile switching, and an assortment of media keys for audio control. There are also one or two unique software features we’ll get into a little later.

The four main types of CHERRY MX keys that are available are Blue, Brown, Red and Black – the sample under review makes use of the Red keys, i.e. linear, low actuation force with no feedback. All keys, bar the media and special feature keys, are mechanical, so the entire F row and even the G keys on the left are mechanical. The keys that are not mechanical come in two varieties. The profile and macro selector set, media control, backlight and win-key lock selectors all use low actuation tactile push-buttons, the kind found on mice. The volume control set uses rubber dome keys.

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