Cougar is a company well known for their cases and PSUs and as a player in the PC gaming market, Cougar has set out to offer gamers more than just cases and cooling accessories. The company has announced earlier in the year its line of gaming peripherals and with the releases in full swing Cougar is not holding back with expanding its port folio to cover the full spectrum of gamers in every budget segment. For the mainstream audience, we’re going to take a look at Cougar’s offering in this segment and specifically their Cougar 600M Gaming Mouse for this review. The Cougar 600M is targeted at the wider upper-entry to mainstream level markets and should set the pace on how Cougar is received by the majority of the eSports scene. While they grow their audience, let’s take a closer look at it is right now and how Cougar looks to dive into the gaming peripheral market. Read on!
We’ve had Cougar a couple of times in the labs mostly with their cases and its really a surprise when we heard they were venturing out in the peripherals market last year. Earlier this year we saw a glimpse of their prototypes and somewhere around mid-year that the first Cougar 700K and 700M keyboard and mouse we’re announced. Following that is what we have today: the Cougar 600M gaming mouse.
Features & Specifications
Closer Look
Cougar’s art department should really be proud of themselves as the full-color boxart of the Cougar 600M is just gorgeous. The front of the box has glamour shot of the 600M with the large model name in front. The back of the box shows off the 600M’s features and highlights. Once you’re done oogling on the front and back you can appreciate the 600M itself by lifting the front flap. The 600M comes in both black and orange.
Inside the package is the Cougar 600M gaming mouse and a documentation insert which also contains…
Cougar logo stickers!
The Cougar 600M employs an ergonomic design with a low and wide design. The thumb rest is extended and forms a wing of sorts with an extra button comfortably located in that region. Many will notice that the design is heavily reminiscent of the MAD CATZ Â RAT series and that may be a true but COUGAR seems to have taken a step back in the more discrete direction, giving the COUGAR 600M a more streamline look. Cougar employes an ornate array of teflon feet on the 600M to distribute the glide of the mouse.
Another touch of premium quality is the braided USB cable capped off by a gold-plated connector. The cable is firm so its advisable to keep the length nearing to mouse to be a bit longer to prevent the mouse from pushing against you in more cramped desks.
Reminiscent of the 700M, the cable leads off the mouse from the left, extended side. The rear of the mouse is quite streamlined and allows the palm to easily slide off without any edges or weird contours.
Checking out the sides of the Cougar 600M, we see the extra buttons resting on the thumb rest. Two side buttons and an extra unused button serve as customizable keys for your gaming needs.
Plugging in the Cougar 600M, we get to see its lighting option. A customizable LED glow highlights the left mouse button and can be tailored via the software to change glow, and switch between steady lighting and breathing glow. The DPI switcher is also located below the large scroll wheel which gives easy access as well as intuitive on-the-fly switching when the need calls for it. An array of light bars highlight the currently selected DPI profile.
Out of the box, the thumb button isn’t defined so you have the option of setting it to whatever you desire. We particularly like the ability of the DPI shift button allowing us to drop the sensitivity to lower (or higher) settings when held, giving us precision sniping or twitch swiping capabilities without toggling up and down on the DPI profiles allowing gamers of fast-paced FPS titles to swing back and forth between a scoped main weapon and a sidearm with deadly accuracy.
Software – Cougar UIX System
Cougar employes a unified configuration architecture and calls it the Cougar UIX system. For the 600M, we have 3 tabs for Performance, Key Assignments and Lighting Control. Also available are 3 profiles for different schemes for different occasions. The in the performance tab we have the various settings for DPIs, click speed, scroll speed, etc. Tons of other options are present including the Sniper DPI which drops (or raises) the DPI while held.
The UIX system key assignment tab gives us option to change which buttons are which. You have a total of 5 extra buttons but you can remap all buttons to fit your needs.
The Lighting Control tab allows changing of the LED glow.
One of the most noteworthy feature we see in the Cougar UIX system is the macro recorder. While it functions as any programmable macro recorder we’ve seen, the option of allowing relative and absolute coordinate recording is a great feature and opens up a ton of flexibility for those who know how to use it.
Conclusion
Let’s break it down for the Cougar 600M for our verdict.
In terms of performance, the Cougar 600M’s 8200 DPI sensor is great and offers excellent tracking and sensitivity. Complemented by the rich performance options, we have a smooth mouse than can go from precise to twitch at the drop of a hat. The buttons are responsive and actuate easily providing a good foundation for APM-hungry games like Starcraft II.
With its ergonomic design, the Cougar 600M fits most gripping style with ease so anyone can easily pick the mouse up and use it. The slanted design feels great and also looks great which should please anyone who wants something that is both functionally stable and looks the part as well. And at only 90g, the Cougar 600M requires basically no effort to move around allowing even finger-grip gamers maximum control of their game.
There is still some room for improvement though but these are mostly nitpicks and desires rather than actual flaws. First off, the cable is a bit stiff. While that is no problem for most people, we do feel like a lighter material would’ve complemented the otherwise premium feel of the Cougar 600M. Also, a slight lengthening of the right button would make it more ideal for people with larger hands that tend to use the palm-grip style of using their mouse (as depicted in the image above.)
Ultimately though, the Cougar 600M is an excellent all-rounder, featuring great compatibility with your game of choice. Be it FPS or RTS, you can tailor the 600M to your tastes with the Cougar UIX system software. The Sniper DPI is a nice touch and should be a good tool for FPS fanatics that demand improved accuracy. All this in a nice 90g package coated in a premium soft-touch matte finish, bearing a LED glow of the color of your choice, and you have a well-rounded gaming mouse that is all for $60. At this price point, it competes with other new mouse in the game like the Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury or the more mature Corsair M65 RGB. We’ve said it before, this is the price point where you want to be at and brands like SteelSeries, Roccat and Logitech can overprice their products all they want but the real fight is at the $60 mark where most mainstream consumers’ peripheral budget lies.
If you want an affordable and light gaming mouse that can hold its ground in whatever games you like, the Cougar 600M gives you the option of tailoring it to your needs.
Cougar backs the 600M with a 1-year warranty. We give the Cougar 600M Gaming Mouse our B2G Recommended Award and B2G Bronze Award.