A Closer Look
Upon removing the 700K from the packaging, I noticed immediately that the pictures on the package do not do this keyboard justice. The keyboard is equal parts curvy and edgy in shape and is medium in size. The build quality is superb as the keyboard feels very sturdy and well-built even with the lighter aluminum frame. The finish looks great with the brushed silver aluminum contrasted by the black plastic everywhere else.
The layout of the keys on the keyboard are typical of what you would expect of a gaming keyboard including a row of programmable keys on the left edge and profile memory keys to the upper left. COUGAR has also included keys for media control, lighting control and sound control on the upper right portion of the keyboard just above the ten-key pad. All of the characters on the keys are nice and large so finding the right key at the right moment will not be an issue, even in the middle-of-the-night dark gaming sessions. Speaking of gaming sessions, when you are showing this keyboard off at the next LAN event; no one will be able to mistake who manufactured this greatness as there is a shiny logo at the top middle of the keyboard as well as the model name at the bottom middle of the keyboard.
Removing a few of the keys reveals the famed Cherry MX switches which are known for their ultra-smooth responsiveness and feedback. Rated for approximately 50 million keystrokes apiece, they are also very reliable and willing to laugh at your abuse. On the back of the keyboard resides a pair of pass-through audio jacks for your headset as well as a pass-through USB port, which works perfect for your USB headset, flash drive, or other USB device. The underside of the keyboard has a set of four anti-slip rubber feet which will no doubt keep the keyboard in-place during those intense gaming situations. Also present are a pair of lifting feet to add even more ergonomic options to the table.
The connectors for the keyboard are of course gold-plated ensuring the perfect connection every time. The cable is braided and the cable length is also plentiful. Pretty standard and expected of any gaming keyboard these days. The palm rest is detachable, but what sets the 700K apart from other keyboards is the additional pad that is magnetic and can be placed on either end of the palm rest. So whether you are using a WASD or arrow key setup your wrist and palm will be comfortable for sure.
Now that we have taken a closer look at the 700K, let us install the supporting software and take everything for a test drive!
