Gaming mice are a dime a dozen these days, with models ranging from $10 all the way to $200 dollars, so it takes technical knowhow and something… special to make a new mouse stand out from the crowd. They are a key component to a PC gamer’s arsenal and can give someone a leg up on the competition depending on its features. Corsair has been making gaming mice for a long while and we finally got the chance to try out their M65 RGB Ultra Wireless Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse. It is said to feature a blazing-fast Corsair Slipstream wireless technology, gesture controls, tunable weights, and much more. Will the M65 RGB Ultra Wireless Tunable Gaming Mouse live up to its potential? Will it really provide a lag-free wireless experience? Is there a place in gaming for tilt-based gesture control? All of these questions and more will be answered. Read on, dear reader!
The Corsair M65 RGB Ultra Wireless Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse features the “Marksman” optical sensor with a maximum DPI of 26,000! That’s a great deal more sensitivity than I think any human can really use – at least anyone I know. However, what that means is that you have a huge range of flexibility when it comes to how much sensitivity you want in your gaming mouse. Having bounced around from laser to optical sensors throughout my gaming career, I have to say the Marksman sensor is crisp and precise. There was not an ounce of acceleration effect here, it provided consistent mouse response our testing.
Initially, I never really understood the need for making a mouse heavier or lighter. As I matured as a gamer, so did my understanding and experience. That’s when I realized that a heavier mouse can provide a smoother, less jumpy experience. However, some gamers like to be able to fling their mice about – mostly in those fast/twitch movement based games – at the end of the day, it’s all about preference. So, the M65 RGB Ultra Wireless Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse features six removable weights which allow you not only to make the mouse heavier overall (110-128g heavier) but also adjust its center of gravity by intentionally placing more or less weight at one of the three weight tuning areas of the mouse. This makes it extremely customizable for your needs. The weights are extremely easy to insert and remove from the underside of the mouse, and I found I liked the mouse a bit on the heavier side – again, your mileage may vary based on preference.
Wirelessly connecting the M65 RGB ULTRA WIRELESS Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse to your PC can be done in two ways – the first is via the Corsair Slipstream dongle. This proprietary technology offers up to 2,000Hz hyper-polling and touts a lag-free experience. It can also connect via Bluetooth and, while Bluetooth is not as gamer-focused of a technology, it is widely adopted and can allow the M65 to be used with systems that otherwise might not be able to do so. As mentioned earlier, this mouse was super-responsive and I never experienced any signal interruption or lag while utilizing the Corsair Slipstream dongle. Additionally, it had amazing battery life. The specs say up to 90 hours of continuous use while in Slipstream mode! In practice, my M.O. is to charge the mouse at the end of each day. With this mouse, I would instead feel comfortable doing that every few days.
The mouse also features something I have never seen in another gaming mouse – tilt-based gesture control. Inside the mouse is a 6-axis gyroscope that allows you to program various tilt gestures to mean whatever command you desire via the iCUE software. I personally liked having my right-tilt gesture set to the letter “R” which would reload my weapon in the FPS title I have been playing, but you can also set the gestures to macros instead of one key clicks. Corsair’s iCUE software provides you the ability to adjust and customize the mouse’s various functions and settings. Initially, iCUE was a software suite I had reservations about but, it has become an exceptional peripheral control suite that I enjoy using to setup my mouse and keyboard. It has, perhaps, the most full-featured mouse configuration toolset I have ever seen.
Now… For some things that could have been better in my experience with the mouse. First is that it seems to be designed for a “claw” gamer, meaning someone who grips the mouse with more of a claw like hand position. I am a “palm” gamer, meaning I prefer to set the palm of my hand on the mouse when using it. The mouse is a little smaller than I would like for a palm style mouse – it lends itself a lot better to the claw gaming experience. Of course, it depends on the size of your hands as well, and mine are fairly average in size. Also, if you are a fan of a lot of RGB lighting in your peripherals, you’ll probably be disappointed in the M65 RGB Ultra. Despite having “RGB” in its title, there is really just one point of RGB in the mouse and that is in the Corsair logo that your hand covers up while in use. I don’t know if this was done to squeeze out even more battery life from an already-impressive amount or what – but its worth noting.
Overall, Corsair’s M65 RGB ULTRA WIRELESS Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse is an outstanding performer for those gamers out there needing a responsive, claw-grip mouse. The mouse is available now for $129.99 at Corsair’s official website.
