Once downloaded and installed, the drivers will update the firmware on your keyboard to the latest available version. This took less than 20 seconds for us, which is a very reasonable length of time to update the firmware.
After opening up the software, you can set up profiles based on different games or events. We chose to go for a Vortez profile, with the logo chosen. First impressions with the software weren't great, with us struggling to get to grips with certain areas and finding it very unintuitive. Dragging and dropping effects into the sections and being unable to set the keyboard to one colour, without selecting each key individually, seem to be two massive features lacking. The software almost feels as though it's still in beta. An ability to scale the UI would be handy for users with higher resolution monitors; we tested this on a 3440 x 1440 (34") monitor and found it difficult to read at its native size.
Updating the onboard memory in the keyboard seems to be an incredibly slow process, taking upwards of two to three minutes if many changes were made. We understand that the keyboard will only hold a small processing capability, but this could surely be streamlined. The keyboard can store 3 profiles, each with 3 backlighting effects; alongside the profiles, the memory can also store up to 30 macros.
The performance page offers some basic options, including a Polling Rate choice of 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz or 1000Hz and the ability to change from 6-Key to N-Key input, there's also the ability to change the input using the FN + Scroll Lock/Pause Break keys.
Key assignment is the next page within Cougar's UiX software; within here you can assign macros and change keys around, dependant on software or gaming requirements.
If, like us, you're most excited about tweaking the lighting, you'll find this in Lighting Control. Options here aren't lacking, basic options are available, along side the Advanced tab, which allows keys to have individual effects and colours applied. Again this is another area that could see some large improvements; the ability to change the colour of several keys at the same time and some keyboard shortcuts would be a god-send. Changing 104 keys, one at a time, without any shortcuts, is a long, drawn-out process.
After opening up the software, you can set up profiles based on different games or events. We chose to go for a Vortez profile, with the logo chosen. First impressions with the software weren't great, with us struggling to get to grips with certain areas and finding it very unintuitive. Dragging and dropping effects into the sections and being unable to set the keyboard to one colour, without selecting each key individually, seem to be two massive features lacking. The software almost feels as though it's still in beta. An ability to scale the UI would be handy for users with higher resolution monitors; we tested this on a 3440 x 1440 (34") monitor and found it difficult to read at its native size.
Updating the onboard memory in the keyboard seems to be an incredibly slow process, taking upwards of two to three minutes if many changes were made. We understand that the keyboard will only hold a small processing capability, but this could surely be streamlined. The keyboard can store 3 profiles, each with 3 backlighting effects; alongside the profiles, the memory can also store up to 30 macros.
The performance page offers some basic options, including a Polling Rate choice of 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz or 1000Hz and the ability to change from 6-Key to N-Key input, there's also the ability to change the input using the FN + Scroll Lock/Pause Break keys.
Key assignment is the next page within Cougar's UiX software; within here you can assign macros and change keys around, dependant on software or gaming requirements.
If, like us, you're most excited about tweaking the lighting, you'll find this in Lighting Control. Options here aren't lacking, basic options are available, along side the Advanced tab, which allows keys to have individual effects and colours applied. Again this is another area that could see some large improvements; the ability to change the colour of several keys at the same time and some keyboard shortcuts would be a god-send. Changing 104 keys, one at a time, without any shortcuts, is a long, drawn-out process.
