Performance
So now that we know what the 700K is all about, how well did it perform in my testing? Well to start off it took a little adjustment to get used to the unique design. The split spacebar helped me relize right away that I use my right thumb to hit the spacebar every time. With that side being a programmable key everythingItypedwasmissingaspace. I quickly fixed that by setting the right half to also be a spacebar in the software. This was a little disappointing because I really thought I might be able to use it for a special use in game with it being easier to reach than the other programmable keys. I wasn’t able to just use the left side of the spacebar for this because in game I use my left hand on the spacebar because my right hand is on the mouse. Additionally even when typing day to day the split and shorter overall length of the spacebar caused me some trouble as well, bumping my thumb in between the two keys would be offputting.
Other than that typing on the 700K went well. The backspace and a few of the other keys with stabilizers were noticeably noisy for the first few days of use. I think Cougar should lube these better from the factory. The red Chery MX keys were nice otherwise. The ABS keycaps were thick enough that they didn’t add additional noise. The programmable keys on the left aren’t something I normally use but I did like the angled keycaps, they helped make those keys easier to press when I did use them.
The wrist rest worked out better than I expected when not using the FPS pad. The PFS pad was actually really nice to use when in game but I would typically forget to take it off or put it on. Typing with the PFS pad on one side was not comfortable at all but again if the entire wrist rest was this material and thickness I would like it a lot more.
The backlighting was a nice color and different from other manufactures. Going with RGB backlighting would not let you replicate this deep orange/red color from my previous experience with RGB keyboards so if you like the backlighting color this is your only option.
