Thought I would make a comment regarding the above as when I searched not much came up.
First things first it's going to take some getting used to, this tends to be the norm with any new input peripheral though..muscle memory gets shot and you feel like an infant handling a rattle for the first time. Despite this I have gotten rather comfortable with it much faster than I normally would a new device. Thanks no-doubt in part to the adjust-ability of the damn thing.
I left the stock low profile soft touch palm rest on, moved the thumb rest angle ever so slightly out, knocked the palm rest and thumb rest back a few notches and left the full weight in. I initially put the pinky rest on but did not like it so much. I put the stock back on but have since returned to using the pinky rest after getting to grips with the feel and fine tuning the thumb rest location. It now feels perfect and very comfortable and very stable.
The overall quality IMO is high. Some people complain about plasticity feeling but it's partly constructed of well.....plastic. Expected, no? It feels solid, the soft touch finish is perfect and the actual switching on the buttons/wheels are solid, direct and has just the right amount of feedback.
It glides as if on water with my Razer Destructor, even though the Roccat Kone it replaces has some wear so comparisons are tough...but it feels much smoother than when the Kone was new, maybe not so much as smoother....just lighter to the touch. (Side note - Roccat can sit on it and spin from now on in, no more products from them for me)
I've heard/read that it won't track on shiny/glass surfaces but that seems normal for modern laser mice anyway? Tracks perfectly on the above mentioned pad.
The software is straight forward enough if a little clunky. The macro sections look configurable enough for more funky keystrokes/actions.
The precision aims works as expected although I did have to bring the thumb-rest back perhaps a little bit further than I would like to get a good purchase on the shiny red button without it feeling awkward to depress + aim. I'm not sure how much use I will get out of it, I can see myself using it more for precision cursor work outside of games (Like Photoshop) than for sniping...maybe I just need to try it and get a feel for it. I am more of a one DPI guy and changes tend to throw me off. Perhaps I can hone the system and make myself better overall with it, who knows.
The vertical scroll wheel has soft notches and the middle click requires little force to actuate but not so little you are going to accidently click it. The back/forward buttons are solid and are probably the parts which attract the "plasticy" attention. They do click when pressed but from initial use and playing the construction looks sound.
The horizontal scroll is all metal, has a similar soft notching to it as the regular mouse wheel and my only one complaint is that it is perhaps a little low in the housing. I think if it was any higher you might run the risk of accidentally moving it in your palm, I think it's just another muscle memory/familiarisation thing. It's certainly not a pronounced an issue now as I type this as I first thought it might be when I un-boxed it.
The mode button was a little hard to push without tilting the mouse over a little but the mechanism might loosen some over time. It's the most resistant button on the mouse and this might well be by design. I certainly wont be changing modes mid-use so it's not an issue for me. Not at a speed which requires fast/easy pressing anyway. Note that it is easier to actuate with the pinky rest on, it provides a natural place to counter against while pushing. The mode button is at a near 90 degreed angle which is the reason it does not have much resistance behind when smashing.
The other downside to the mode button location is that unless you are sitting quite upright above the mouse which is below you then you are not going to easily see which mode is activated (red/blue/pink illumination). If it were down to me I would have had the DPI LEDs change to the same colour. They are on the opposite side of the mode button and easily visible.
So far, no major gripes, anything I do have a niggle about will hopefully be dispelled through usage.
To summarise:
+ Physical customisation is well worth it
+ Solid, stable feel
+ Good wheel/button feedback and solid actuation
+ Looks
+ Excellent tracking, smooth use on a proper mat and full control of the 4 DPI/precision aim settings (25 > 5600)
- Mode button is a little tricky to activate, mode might be hard to see at a glance
- If you have it and are used to using there is no mouse-wheel tilt but the additional x axis wheel can replace it's function.
- Software is not the most polished in appearance/layout/usability but the core functionality seems adequate
Tips:
Revisit customisation options after getting use to the device. What I did not like at first I did after some use.
If something does not feel quite right play with it. I fully expect to tweak where I have moved things and what options I have as I get some real usage time in my common games/apps.
First things first it's going to take some getting used to, this tends to be the norm with any new input peripheral though..muscle memory gets shot and you feel like an infant handling a rattle for the first time. Despite this I have gotten rather comfortable with it much faster than I normally would a new device. Thanks no-doubt in part to the adjust-ability of the damn thing.
I left the stock low profile soft touch palm rest on, moved the thumb rest angle ever so slightly out, knocked the palm rest and thumb rest back a few notches and left the full weight in. I initially put the pinky rest on but did not like it so much. I put the stock back on but have since returned to using the pinky rest after getting to grips with the feel and fine tuning the thumb rest location. It now feels perfect and very comfortable and very stable.
The overall quality IMO is high. Some people complain about plasticity feeling but it's partly constructed of well.....plastic. Expected, no? It feels solid, the soft touch finish is perfect and the actual switching on the buttons/wheels are solid, direct and has just the right amount of feedback.
It glides as if on water with my Razer Destructor, even though the Roccat Kone it replaces has some wear so comparisons are tough...but it feels much smoother than when the Kone was new, maybe not so much as smoother....just lighter to the touch. (Side note - Roccat can sit on it and spin from now on in, no more products from them for me)
I've heard/read that it won't track on shiny/glass surfaces but that seems normal for modern laser mice anyway? Tracks perfectly on the above mentioned pad.
The software is straight forward enough if a little clunky. The macro sections look configurable enough for more funky keystrokes/actions.
The precision aims works as expected although I did have to bring the thumb-rest back perhaps a little bit further than I would like to get a good purchase on the shiny red button without it feeling awkward to depress + aim. I'm not sure how much use I will get out of it, I can see myself using it more for precision cursor work outside of games (Like Photoshop) than for sniping...maybe I just need to try it and get a feel for it. I am more of a one DPI guy and changes tend to throw me off. Perhaps I can hone the system and make myself better overall with it, who knows.
The vertical scroll wheel has soft notches and the middle click requires little force to actuate but not so little you are going to accidently click it. The back/forward buttons are solid and are probably the parts which attract the "plasticy" attention. They do click when pressed but from initial use and playing the construction looks sound.
The horizontal scroll is all metal, has a similar soft notching to it as the regular mouse wheel and my only one complaint is that it is perhaps a little low in the housing. I think if it was any higher you might run the risk of accidentally moving it in your palm, I think it's just another muscle memory/familiarisation thing. It's certainly not a pronounced an issue now as I type this as I first thought it might be when I un-boxed it.
The mode button was a little hard to push without tilting the mouse over a little but the mechanism might loosen some over time. It's the most resistant button on the mouse and this might well be by design. I certainly wont be changing modes mid-use so it's not an issue for me. Not at a speed which requires fast/easy pressing anyway. Note that it is easier to actuate with the pinky rest on, it provides a natural place to counter against while pushing. The mode button is at a near 90 degreed angle which is the reason it does not have much resistance behind when smashing.
The other downside to the mode button location is that unless you are sitting quite upright above the mouse which is below you then you are not going to easily see which mode is activated (red/blue/pink illumination). If it were down to me I would have had the DPI LEDs change to the same colour. They are on the opposite side of the mode button and easily visible.
So far, no major gripes, anything I do have a niggle about will hopefully be dispelled through usage.
To summarise:
+ Physical customisation is well worth it
+ Solid, stable feel
+ Good wheel/button feedback and solid actuation
+ Looks
+ Excellent tracking, smooth use on a proper mat and full control of the 4 DPI/precision aim settings (25 > 5600)
- Mode button is a little tricky to activate, mode might be hard to see at a glance
- If you have it and are used to using there is no mouse-wheel tilt but the additional x axis wheel can replace it's function.
- Software is not the most polished in appearance/layout/usability but the core functionality seems adequate
Tips:
Revisit customisation options after getting use to the device. What I did not like at first I did after some use.
If something does not feel quite right play with it. I fully expect to tweak where I have moved things and what options I have as I get some real usage time in my common games/apps.
