I previously used a Corsair M65 RGB, which was an okay mouse, but it creaked a bit and had a minor issue of sometimes misinterpreting left click as a right click, the shape wasn't too comfortable over long periods of use, and the laser sensor isn't great, and so I decided to buy an optical mouse, and after looking through all the recommended mice I determined this was the best fit for my needs.
I'm happy to report that this mouse is perfect for me, the size is right for my hand size and for the way I hold a mouse, which is a relaxed claw grip; my hand size when my fingers are together straight out is 19cm from tip of my middle finger to the wrist joint, and 10cm from tip of thumb to the knuckle of my little finger, so if your hands are larger or smaller it may not fit as well for you, and if you have wider hands than mine then definitely avoid this one as it could cause cramps.
The super light weight construction feels weird if you're used to heavier mice, but once you get used to it anything heavier feels unpleasant, but it's that sensor that makes it feel special, I don't use the full range of speed, as a matter of fact I keep it fixed at 1800dpi which is well below its rated 16000dpi, but that speed gives me the best balance between fast movement and accuracy, and boy does that sensor feel beautiful in use, no angle snapping, no acceleration unless enabled, and no interpolation, it moves where I tell it to, and at the speed I dictate it should, just like a quality mice should. The sensor is a variant of a PixArt PMW3389, which is one of the highest regarded sensors available, the Roccat OwlEye name they give it just marketing fluff, so if you're comparing mice then bear that in mind.
There is no creaking when squeezing the mouse, the scroll wheel feels just incredible, I thought Corsairs felt good, but this one is just exceptional, the right amount of stepping but smooth enough for fast scroll should I want it, and the buttons are so satisfying to click, fast, but not hair trigger sensitive either and no detectable bounce which my old mouse had. The feet of the mice are silky smooth, and even better is that Roccat seems to use standard sizing on all their Kone series mice, so replacements should be readily available which makes keeping it at its best much easier.
The only downside is the cable, it's not as premium as other mice have, but if it bothers you then getting a cable bungee is recommended or a wireless mouse might be better suited to your needs, however it doesn't cause me any issues so I'm happy to use it as is.
The RGB lighting is subdued compared to other mice, and is limited to the back of the mouse with the Roccat logo, so if you want a mouse with more lighting then look elsewhere, however the single lighting zone has a range of effects and colours that made it easy to match with the colour scheme of my system, which is purple.
The price might seem a bit steep, but it's significantly cheaper than an equivalent Logitech mouse, and is competitive with CoolerMaster's ultra light weight mice, but without the hideous holes that theirs have.
There's no dedicated driver for this mouse on Roccat's website, so you have to use their swarm software, but once you download that it will download the latest firmware and give you access to lighting controls, dpi settings and more, the software is a bit bloated at a ~128MB download compared to the Kone Pure driver which is only ~28MB, but it doesn't seem to use much resources once running, about 34MB of RAM and 0% CPU time (Although I do have a Ryzen 9 3950x and 32GB of RAM so bear that in mind)
All in all, I'm very happy with this mouse, and is well worth the money for me, but measure your hand size before buying and if your hands are bigger than mine then absolutely avoid, it won't be a nice experience for you.
| Brand | Roccat |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 11.5 x 7 x 3.9 cm; 66 Grams |
| Item model number | ROC-11-730 |
| Manufacturer | Roccat |
| Color | Black |
| Hardware Platform | Not Machine Specific |
| Are Batteries Included | No |
| Item Weight | 66 g |
