Cougar 500K Keyboard Review

Cougar UIX Software

Overall the construction of the keyboard is solid and once you create your own custom key commands to fix the issue with the split spacebar, it functions properly. I am a bit torn about having to download the software and fight the urge to yell at the keyboard every time I would think I was spacing between words only to find out that the right side of the spacebar sometimes acts as the backspace key, which can only be fixed by making a custom profile in the UIX software. I found this odd since by default the right side of the spacebar does not have a function assigned to it and is treated as a dead key.

The first thing that needs to be done out of the box with the 500K is to download the UIX software and make sure you set your custom profiles which are controlled by keys MR, M1, M2 and M3 which are located at the upper left corner of the keyboard.

When in the UIX software you can customize each of the profiles by selecting the different Mode options located at the upper the left of the application window.

Under each profile you have the options to change the performance of the keyboard. This options allows you to change the overall sensitivity of the keyboard and choose between the 6-Key and N-Key feature. What does this mean? Well 6-Key roll over means that that the keyboard will register up to six keys at once when pressed in unison, where as N-Key means it will attempt to register all keys pressed in unison.

Under the Key Assignment tab you have the ability to assign certain keys, like the spacebar I mentioned earlier to serve as a different function. This is also where you would set up your macros.

And the final tab is the Lighting Control tab which as the name suggest is where you control the different lighting effects the 500K has to offer. Now unlike some of Cougars mice, the 500K does not feature the million color profile setting and will just adjust to different brightness levels of orange.