Cougar 700M Mouse
- 8200 DPI ADNS-9800 laser sensor.
- Aluminum framing structure with “Muzzle Break” cord-control.
- Multi-color profile backlight (16.8 million colors).
- 32 bit ARM Cortex-M0 processor and 512KB on-board memory.
- 45 degree Sniper Button and additional ergonomic Fire Button.
- Weight adjustment for up to 14 additional grams.
- Tool-less palm rest adjustment with interchangeable palm rests.
- Unique anti-slip design.
Cougar Gaming Mouse Pad (Speed-L)
- High-Definition Texture Surface (provides swiftness and smoothness).
- Optimized 4mm thickness.
- Right angle wave structure with anti-slip rubber base (provides better stability).
- Edge heated process increases durability and brings a tidy fringe quality.
Specifications
| Product Name | Cougar 700M | Product Name | Cougar Speed-L | |
| Laser Sensor / DPI | ADNS-9800 / 8200 | Width (mm / inch) | 450 / 17.7 | |
| Polling Rate | 1000Hz / 1ms | Length (mm / inch) | 400 / 15.7 | |
| Omron Switches | 8 | Thickness (mm / inch) | 4 / 0.16 | |
| Frame Rate | 12000 FPS | Surface Material | Polyester Fabric | |
| Max Track Speed | 150 IPS | Surface Color | Black | |
| Max Acceleration | 30G | Base Material | Rubber | |
| Cable length | 1.8m braided | Base Color | COUGAR Orange | |
| Dimension | 127x83x38mm | |||
| Weight | 130g | . . |
The mouse was delivered in a rather flashy faux-Plexiglass type of enclosure that slid gracefully apart from the back. Concealed within the special chamber below the 700M was all of the accessories neatly displayed in a hard foam. As for the Cougar Speed-L mouse pad, it came tightly rolled up in standard packing.
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The left profile shows off a sniper button mounted at a 45 degree angle, exactly where your thumb would naturally rest. Immediately above, the standard forward and back keys are also ergonomically designed. Both the left and right sides are coated in a cross-weave pattern of thick rubber, providing a small shelf to rest the pinky finger.
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The first top down view gives a better look at the auxiliary fire button, which is mounted at such an angle to provide a comfortable transition for the main pointer finger. The four stage DPI profile indicator provides a superb visual representation in vivid Cougar Orange. An important thing to note is that all 8 micro-switches (including DPI and mouse wheel) are Omron quality. Moving onto the scroll wheel, it is definitely of gaming-grade material, embracing an ALPS encoder and heavy rubber (under an aluminum wheel) which provides accurate tactile feedback with smooth, deliberate, soft-indented scrolling. Right below the scroll wheel is the multi-colored profile backlight, which can be changed independently between the three user profiles. It’s surprisingly bright and acts like a tiny headlight beaming out between the front orange metal brackets.
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The bottom reveals how the aluminum chassis design is employed, anodized in bright Cougar Orange. Underneath the silver palm rest is the thumb screw which adjusts the height of the palm rest itself. From this angle it is possible to take a good look at Cougar’s cord management system, called the Muzzle Brake SR. This is essentially an extended metal tube which lends durability to the mouse cable. Instead of deploying tiny thin circles for mouse feet pads, the 700M deploys rather larger squares, with an additional huge pad under the thumb. The next side profile illustrates that depressing the black textured square on the palm rest, it is able to slide off the mouse for an easy swap with the smaller format (all black) palm rest.
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Dead center, between the DPI button and the adjustable palm rest, is the weight receptacle. With all four weights (two on each side) an additional 18 grams of weight may be added. Note that for all testing purposes all weights were used. The entire weight system is a no-nonsense affair being straightforward and easy to operate.
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Moving on to the Cougar Gaming Mouse Pad Speed-L series, this is one seriously huge mouse mat, measuring in at approximately 17 x 15″. Its base is thick rubber (Cougar Orange) with the surface material being a dense cross weave of polyester fabric. Heavier then the average mouse pad, the Cougar Speed-L is definitely not moving, even with extreme thrashing.
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From the first impressions, the high-tech elements and solid feel of the Cougar 700M is rounding out favorably. Keep in mind that there is two models of the 700M, the other being all matt black with gold accents on the Muzzle Brake and scroll wheel. As for the mouse pad, it is available in 3 different sizes to fit your needs.
The drivers for the Cougar need to be downloaded from their site and once loaded appear quick in changing or saving settings (for many mice tend to use slower flash memory and waiting 3 seconds every time an adjustment needs to be made should not be happening). The Performance panel shows the game profile management (there is three) with 4 levels of DPI, a separate DPI selector for the sniper button, polling rate, angle snapping, lift height, pointer and click speeds. The Key Assignment panel gets a lot more in depth with basic, advance, and macro tabs added (for total customization of all buttons).
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When entering the Advance mode, a plethora of presets become available for those extra buttons including: DPI switch, sniper, launching programs, and media functions. If none of those suit your needs, there is a macro panel to program the 700M’s buttons to whatever you may desire.
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The lighting control boasts displaying 16.8 million colors available in two modes: breathing or a steady on. The single light can be used as an indicator of what profile the user is on or turned off entirely. When the settings are all configured, the Game Profile Management tab (located at top left corner of panel) lets you export, import, and edit the settings.
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An undocumented feature was discovered when left clicking on the Cougar UIX System control icon on the windows bar: confirmation of the driver and firmware with appropriate update links. This is not an automated update; however, and manual installation of the drivers is required. 
Overall the 700M control panel interface was very streamlined and kept simple (menus where not layered deeper then one level). This approach really goes a long way to ease of use and accessibility to everyone.
Testing Methodology
The Cougar 700M was tested over a period exceeding 70 hours. The main programs and games used during testing consisted of: Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Sniper Elite V2, and Wolfenstein: The New Order. The supplied Cougar Speed-L mouse pad was used for all testing.
Test System
- Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z77-HD4
- Processor: Intel i5 3570K (Ivy Bridge)
- System Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600 MHz
- Video: Gigabyte Windforce GTX 670 TI (2GB)
- Audio: HT Omega Claro Plus
- PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro M700 (Gold)
- Monitor: LG 27EA83-D 27″ 5ms IPS @ 2560 x1440
- Operating System: Windows 7 (64 bit)
Results
The Cougar 700M has the ability to change polling rates per the three profiles to 125, 250, 500, and 1000Hz. The maximum polling rate of 1000Hz was used for all tests. According to two separate polling tools, Direct Input Mouse Rate (for DirectX) and Mouse Rate Checker, the Cougar 700M exceeded the peak advertised polling rate. 
Desktop Applications: Using a native resolution of 2560×1440 the DPI setting mostly used was 4000 for the all the applications with the sniper button set at 2400. The high end laser provided a jitter free experience and the “angle snapping” feature actually worked (so it doesn’t matter if you hold the mouse at an angle, it still tracks properly on the X and Y axis). The sniper button was a joy to use in Photoshop; the instant drop in sensitivity made airbrushing and fine detail work so easy (when zoomed up). As for the auxiliary fire button, this was assigned to the media player functions for one touch operations. The two extra buttons so convenient and comfortable to use, it felt natural.
Gaming: One thing that is highly noticeable about this mouse, is the definite tactile feedback from the buttons. Thanks to having all Omron micro-switches, it is an easier acclimation when all fingers require the same amount of pressure to activate the buttons. As for gaming itself, the Cougar 700M shines! The precise scroll wheel rotation prevented over-correction when selecting weapons in Wolfenstein (this has occasionally been an issue with other gaming mice). As for sniping, the 700M is just not a tool, it’s a serious weapon. Always desiring a good snipe game and normally being frustrated by them, the Cougar 700M brought scoping and aiming skills to much a higher level. Over all a fantastic gaming mouse that is highly precise and comfortable.
In passing the Cougar 700M just seems like a jack-of-all-trades gaming mouse, but in fact, it is the attention to the detailed engineering and execution that makes it a cut above the rest. This results in a highly ergonomic tool at almost every possible level, with special attention given to the palm rest (height and width). As for the Cougar Speed-L mouse pad, it is durable and suitable match for this mouse (or any mouse for that matter). Performing as expected, there was nothing extraordinary to make it stand out (besides being Cougar Orange on the bottom); but more importantly, there was no detracting characteristics either.
One thing to comment on; however, is the profile lighting system located under the scroll wheel. It claims possessing 16.8 million colors, when in reality it was closer to a few hues of white. A purely cosmetic anomaly, yet it would have been useful to see what profile it’s on (as advertised).
Conclusion
The Cougar 700M provides extraordinary performance by utilizing the latest laser sensor. Granted that many mice use the same sensor, but Cougar goes the extra mile in their drivers by tweaking the angle snapping option, creating a much more viable feature to use.
Aesthetically, the 700M strikes the right balance for an understated high-tech look. The Cougar Orange accenting is easy on the eyes and the medium glow of the DPI indicators are a visual treat. Overall, this aspect of design seemed to be taken seriously with excellent results.
As for construction and quality, the Cougar 700M takes a top tier score. From the aluminum skeleton, to the positive tactile-feedback Omron micro-switches, this is a mouse built to last and designed for a thrashing. Even the mouse cord received special attention due to the Muzzle Break SR system, preventing kinking and fraying.
Functionality wise, with the additions of the sniper and axillary fire button (both mounted at 45 degree angles), the 700M becomes so much more. Coupled with advanced key assignments and macros really speeds up productivity or grants more of an edge in your game.
As of October(2014) the Cougar 700M can be found online for $73.21 (Amazon). The Cougar Speed-L mouse pad is priced at $19.99 and should be available online shortly. In this price range the features the 700M provides far exceeds similar high-end gaming mice listing between $90-$120, a superb value.
Pro’s:
+ Well thought out in terms of ergonomics.
+ Superior construction ensuring durability.
+ Omron micro-switches used in everything.
+ Over sized mouse wheel using a sophisticated encoder.
+ Additional buttons actually useful and comfortable.
Con’s:
– Color profiler indicator not accurate in color reproduction.
Ratings:
- Performance: 9.5
- Appearance: 9.0
- Construction: 9.5
- Functionality: 9.0
- Value: 9.0
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