Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Mouse Review

Overview

 

So now the new Corsair Gaming brand is out in the wilds, they’ve rather thoughtfully sent us another RGB product for us to review. Another name many of you will be familiar with in fact, the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Mouse (CH-9000071-NA). As you might’ve guessed already, the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB is nigh on identical to last years hugely popular Corsair Vengeance M65. Both offer an instantly recognisable design, feature onboard profile storage, aluminium unibody design, adjustable weight system, selectable weight system, selectable response time, high-mass scroll wheels, sniper button, 8200 DPI Avago Gaming sensor, Omron switches and PTFE glide pads. In fact the only way they differ, is the M65 RGB has three 16.8 million colour customizable backlighting zones and it also features the new Corsair Gaming logo.

Of course, as luck would have it. We haven’t taken an in depth look at the M65, so here’s our chance to see what all the fuss is about.

 

 

 

The Corsair Gaming M65 RGB arrived at pcG in a fairly small box adorned with the styling of the new Corsair Gaming brand. That being shades of black and grey with yellow highlights and of course the new crossed swords logo in chrome. The front of the box also gives us the model name, describes the M65 RGB as a Gaming Mouse, has a large depiction of the mouse and lists the following features:

Over on the back and following the same style, we have three depictions of the M65 RGB with each of the highlighted features shown as follows:

 

 

Flipping open the box and all the attention is directed at the new RGB lighting. It shows specifically that the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Gaming mouse offers three different zones and a choice of 16.8 million different colours for the backlighting.

On the box side, we get to see a large window, behind which we get to see the M65 RGB surrounded by a bright yellow frame.

 

 

Once out of the packaging we get a much clearer look of its contents as follows:

Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Gaming Mouse

Quick Start Guide

Warranty Guide

 

At the time of writing the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Mouse is retailing directly from Corsair (CH-9000071-NA) for £62.98 or Amazon for £69.64 and offers a 2 year warranty.

 

Specifications/Features

courtesy of Corsair

‘Comfortable for Hours of Game Play
Carefully selected materials and superior ergonomics, combined with precise tracking and advanced customization, help M65 cross that point where it doesn’t feel like a mouse, but like an extension of your hand.
‘

‘High-Mass scroll wheel
The solid metal, rubberized scroll wheel doesn’t just feel great — it gives you the precision you need when selecting weapons. Precise tactile feedback and accuracy help make sure that you select the right weapon every time.‘

‘Dedicated programmable sniper button
Quickly switch sensor resolution when you need extreme accuracy in FPS games. It’s not just for when you’ve selected a long-range weapon – it’s an indispensible feature any time you need to quickly switch to ultra-precise control.‘

‘Aluminium unibody design
A unibody aluminium frame is the secret behind its low weight, high rigidity, and optimal mass distribution.‘

‘Adjustable weight system
Three adjustable tuning zones allow you to customize the weight of your M65 RGB to give it just the exact feel you want.‘

‘PTFE glide pads
The M65 RGB is designed with low-friction contact points for swift, precise movement with minimal effort.‘

Compatibility and System Requirements

PC with USB 2.0 port

Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista

An internet connection is required to download the Corsair Utility Engine software

* Additional details available here

 

First Impressions

 

Now we have it in the flesh, we can see the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB is quite a striking little beast of a mouse. Our review sample as you can see, is the white one (also available in black) and feels pretty heavy at 164g (adjustable). Which although looks great in person, is a royal pain to take photos of!

 

Obviously the first thing you notice about the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB, is the huge white gloss finish top. Although it looks great I have a little concern over how it’ll feel in the palm after a prolonged Gaming session.

With the textured black plastic of the thumb and finger rest either side, the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB has a great contrast looks even more striking. Perhaps even more so with the unusual cut-outs to the rear of the mouse.

 

 

From the right you can clearly see the unusual cut-out at the rear. This isn’t just aesthetic of course, it’s also surprisingly very comfortable to rest your curled up pinky in. Other than looking incredibly clean and sleek there is nothing else really worthy of note.

On the left we can see a slightly oversized thumb rest and just like on the right side, offers the same black texture similar to that of fine sandpaper. The Corsair Gaming M65 RGB offers a large metallic red and perfectly placed sniper button and two textured shoulder buttons which seem slightly too far forward to me, but I guess we’ll see in Game.

 

 

From the front we can see the left and right buttons (handy that! 😉 ), the High-mass scroll wheel with its textured rubber tyre tread, the DPI selectors and the ‘M’ shape at the bottom is the black brushed aluminium chassis (it kinda conjures up images of a sports car and two air scoops). The other notable feature being the nicely braided, but slightly stiff USB cable.

The back shows the off the ergonomic design of the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB. Given its contours I think it’s safe to say that the mouse is not likely to be to friendly on any left handed Gamers out there. The big thing you’ll notice is the new Corsair Gaming logo, which whilst plugged in is customizable to any of 16.8 million colours and if the K70 RGB is anything to go by, various different lighting styles.

 

 

Up above and we can see the rubber treaded ‘High-mass’ scroll wheel. In all fairness this doesn’t seem much larger than that of other Gaming mice, but does have a nice fluid action and feels good under your finger tip. Just nestled behind that lives the DPI selectors and indicator.

Given its styling the M65 RGB looks deceptively small, but taking a look underneath and suddenly you can see its size. With measurements of 114(L) x 83(W) x 32(H) mm, the M65 isn’t just large, but very wide. The main frame of the mouse is a beautiful black brushed aluminium, which gives it a lovely solid and non creaky feel. Following the shapes of the base are five good quality PTFE glide pads, while dead in the center is an 8200 DPI custom tuned Avago Gaming laser.

 

 

Something else you may have noticed are the three large silver screws. These aren’t just screws, but the weight adjust system for the M65 RGB.

 

Hardware Installation

 

The Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Gaming mouse simply plugs straight into any available USB slot.

 

Testing Methodology/Setup

 

The Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Gaming mouse was tested on the pcG Intel Test Rig, A fresh installation of Windows Home Premium 64bit (service pack 1) was performed prior to testing. The Corsair Gaming M65 RGB mouse is plug and play, but to gain the full benefits you’ll also need the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) Software available here.

 

The following games were used during testing:

• Warface
• XCOM: Enemy Within
• Survarium (BETA)
• World of Tanks

 

Hardware Performance

 

Ok, so we’ve already decided the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB is a pretty slick looking mouse, but how does it perform whilst Gaming? Oddly my stance here is a little on the fence… From a components point of view, the M65 RGB is a very good Gaming mouse. The custom tuned 8200 DPI Avago Gaming sensor is fast and precise, perfect for your favourite FPS, the Omron switches for the left and right mouse buttons have that typically satisfying click and require just the right amount of pressure, the high-mass scroll wheel also does its job perfectly and is large enough to help prevent mistakes when zooming in for the kill or switching weapons.

Like any new mouse it does take a little time to get used to though. Although I love the look of the glossy white plastic top, even now I’m not convinced of its practicality. It certainly isn’t slippery like I was expecting, in fact your palm is almost sucked to in because it’s so glossy, but personally I’d prefer something with a soft feel finish. Initially I really liked the oversized sniper button, it is perfectly placed and certainly the most useful sniper button I’ve ever used, but I also had a habit of accidentally pressing it quite often during ‘lift-off’ moments in frantic firefights. Perhaps a little more annoyingly, the M65 RGB ‘skirts’ also snag on cloth mouse mats during the same ‘lift-off’ moments. The whole mouse design feels a little confusing too, sure it looks good and performs very well, but it isn’t perfect for any particular grip style. If your a fan of the palm grip, you’ll find the DPI down shift too far back, for claw grip the front thumb button is a little too far forward, then for finger grippers the glossy plastic is too slippery for precise control.

The two big additions to the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB over the older Vengeance model are the additional two DPI settings bringing the total now up to five, then of course the customizable LED lighting. The M65 RGB offers three zones of lighting, these being the scroll wheel, DPI selector and Corsair Gaming logo area. The logo illuminates beautifully above and below and unlike many mice out there, the LED are close enough to the surface to make the lighting look solid and not washed out. The DPI shift LED is another well lit area, offering a different colour per DPI and also flashes when the sniper button is depressed. The mouse wheel is however a little disappointing. The packaging gives you the impression that the scroll wheel is fully illuminated, but it is only the surround, which means it is only really noticeable when viewed directly from the front. Another oddity in my mind, is the lack of LED lighting for the sniper button?

Despite these little foibles, I can’t ignore that the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB mouse helped me to several rounds of 20+ kills in both Survarium and Warface (if you’ve seen me play either, you’ll be as shocked as me!).

SOFTWARE

 

 

Having already familiarised myself with Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) with the utterly brilliant Corsair Gaming K70 RGB, I was expecting more or less the same, in which to some degree it is and fairly simple to use. Within the ‘Profiles’ tab we get to change all button assignments, ‘Performance’ allows you to change the DPI settingd, sniper DPI, pointer motion speed, lift height and angle snapping, then we have the ‘Lighting’. Here we can change the three lighting zones to any of 16.8 million different colours and then even add some lighting effects into the mix (more on this in a little). Within the ‘Actions editor’ we can programme Macros. ‘Lighting’ allows us to create various different lighting effects, although in truth it really is a little bit wasted on the M65 RGB and it’s three zones of LED lighting, it just doesn’t have the same visual effect as on the K70 RGB.

The final part of the software is the ‘Settings’, which gives us device information, OSD settings and support. To be fair a lot of the software within CUE is more heavily geared at the Corsair Gaming keyboards and as a result, many settings aren’t really of any use with the M65 RGB.

 

Final Thoughts

 

The new Corsair Gaming brand is gathering momentum and hot off the back of the pcG Gold award winning Corsair Gaming K70 RGB mechanical keyboard, we have the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Mouse. There’s no denying it’s a looker, but can its smooth looks matched by some slick performance?

The Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Mouse arrived at pcG in rather stylish bright yellow and black box, with a large window to show off the mouse inside. Once opened, we find the M65 RGB to be well protected with cardboard bumpers on three sides of the box to help prevent damage.

Once out of the box, we get a closer look at the M65 RGB and it is a thing of beauty to look at. The textured black sides offer a fantastic contrast to the gloss white plastic on the top. Combined with the black brushed aluminium underside and the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB is not only very well made, but one of the best looking mice I’ve ever seen.

Then we have the performance. As mentioned above, any mouse that can help get me 20+ kills in FPS games like Survarium or Warface are certainly not something to be sniffed at (not that I’m that bad a player…). The custom tuned 8200 DPI Gaming laser is fast and precise, while the ever popular Omron switches help to give exactly the right performance you’d want in a Gaming mouse.

So is the Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Mouse is the perfect Gaming mouse? Sadly no… Given its slightly unusual styling, the M65 RGB has a slight identity crisis. It isn’t quite right for anyone with a typical palm, claw or finger grip, but with a little time you become accustomed to it and its very good. The gloss white top is also something great to look at and surprisingly not slippery, but feels a little less natural when compared to a matte or soft touch coating (there is also a matte black M65 RGB available).

One feature that I’d personally have thought would be better, is the LED lighting. Whilst most of the LED are bright and reproduce any one of the 16.8 million colours on offer well, the lighting effects weren’t as flashy as I’d hoped (or perhaps I’ve just been a little spoilt with the K70 RGB 😉 ).

At the end the day and despite a few foibles here and there, Corsair Gaming have produced a very good Gaming mouse with the M65 RGB and for approximately £60.00 it’s certainly worthy of your consideration.

 

Verdict

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Many thanks to Corsair for providing this sample for review