A small input based on initial impressions of M95

[LukeWarm]

Hello!

 

Part One:

This is a review of Corsair Vengeance M95. It represents my own personal views and opinions and I intend to maintain as neutral view as possible. when it comes to both criticism and praise. I received this mouse earlier today (12/10/2013)and wanted to share some of my experiences using it in both gaming and normal working. Hopefully this will be helpful especially when designing new products targeted at enthusiast gamers. Note that this is going to be lengthy, bear with me please.

 

Before this I had Logitech MX518, it still works and I use it as a backup. I also have Cyborg r.a.t. 9, it was very comfortable during the 3 years I used it but I had to replace it 2 times because it wasn't very durable, the buttons became kind of loose after a while and so I decided to switch brand.

 

That brings us to M95. It's a rather new product with high-end sensor and I figured out that since I'm satisfied to their Obsidian 450d case I should also buy their mouse. I have the "arctic" model, I like the white theme with blue leds inside.

 

It feels good, the buttons (except for the scroll wheel) work effortlessly and the chassis is very stable on my desktop table. It could be a little bit lighter but it glides well so that is basically non-issue. One major flaw however is the placement of the scroll wheel button. I happen to use it often in many RTS-type games (League of Legends, StarCraft II, Company of Heroes..) and having tested this mouse with those games I feel they could've placed the wheel more towards the front of the mouse. I use the palm grip. As a result I have to bend my middle finger a lot to be able to press middle mouse button quickly, which isn't comfortable at all considering it requires noticeably more force. Note that the actual scrolling is OK.

 

 

If I adjusted my grip backwards, I would have to control the mouse with fingertips only and I couldn't reach some of the macro buttons with my thumb(they're feel great btw).

http://i.imgur.com/DM56pQ4.png

 

Now I know I should've tested it properly in a store first but I didn't pay attention to that part at first. I live in Nordic so I had to wait this product a while after ordering it and I grew impatient. I just decided it looks great, fits under my hand well and it has nice features on paper, so it may seem like nitpicking to you but I feel I'd have a 10/10 product right now if not for this minor issue.

 

Part Two:

Before purchasing this mouse I noted some stirring on these forums considering the tracking problems. It was quickly addressed with an update. After unboxing this mouse I connected the usb-cable to the PC and then immediately flashed the firmware. I have encountered no problems with tracking or input lag. My M95 feels as responsive as my previous wireless mouse, that is very good.

 

Now that the physical/hardware part has been dealt with, I've looked into the mouse configuration software. As you know, Vengeance M90 and M95 are been advertised as RTS mice for demanding gamers who want to take advantage of its macro capabilities. That was also the major selling point for me, so let's see how well it can handle my needs.

 

Now excuse me for being blunt here, but I have to say I was quite disappointed. It's literally impossible to import my previous macros I'm accustomed to use.. Let me rephrase it; I love all these buttons but there's no way I can program them the way I want and am accustomed to use them in games/apps.

 

It's not nearly advanced enough for what it should be. With it I can assign only either one single command, or a string of keystrokes. What the hell? I need to record both keystrokes AND mouse buttons presses of varying lengths and to be assigned for each thumb button. That's what they're for! This is nowhere near acceptable level of a software this mouse deserves. I know there are people out there who may not realize the hidden potential with macros so they either settle for less or do not use them at all.

http://i.imgur.com/htIkOFX.jpg

:confused: I could already do those things within a couple of seconds or less. I do appreciate that it tries to warn me if I try to configure left or right mouse button with another function.

 

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/ZPwjkpd.png

Here is a screenshot of programming features of one rather old mouse I own (another brand). Now this should be the minimum standard what you can expect to be able to do with macro features. First of, there's a separate event for pressing, holding down (repeat) and releasing a macro button. Pressing keys down and releasing up is separate too. You can copy, edit and paste several commands at once; can't do that with Corsair. Then you can record mouse functions including scrolling up and down. Unfortunately I can't use this particular software anymore because it's not compatible with M95.

 

Conclusion

Now this is not yet final, but I think I have to contact to the customer support or tech rep to figure out if they're going to address the shortcomings of the drivers. The mouse itself is pretty okay, I can live with the little awkward scroll wheel. But the software side needs a lot of work before I can recommend this mouse to others and see those 9 thumb buttons become useful.

[Amos_Keeto]

Considering the amount of tracking issues people have had with this mouse, could you possibly keep us posted regarding your experience?

 

Not that I'm saying it's going to give out, nor am I wishing that upon you, I'm just asking for feedback of your experience.

[LukeWarm]

Considering the amount of tracking issues people have had with this mouse, could you possibly keep us posted regarding your experience?

 

Not that I'm saying it's going to give out, nor am I wishing that upon you, I'm just asking for feedback of your experience.

 

I modified my first post to address your concerns plus added some more criticism :[pouts:. I'd also like some more feedback from admins maybe? Shameless bump