Corsair M65 RGB Elite Gaming Mouse Review
Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.The Corsair M65 RGB Elite Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse is the follow-up to the Corsair M65 Pro RGB that we looked at and liked last year. Like its predecessor, the M65 RGB Elite (See it at Amazon) is designed for FPS gamers and offers solid build quality and a weight tuning system for the price of $59.99.Compared to its predecessor, the Elite ups the accuracy of the optical sensor and drops some weight, while also offering a redesigned and improved layout of the side buttons. Do these additions make the M65 RGB Elite a suitable replacement for last year’s M65 Pro RGB? I put it through its paces to find out.
Corsair M65 RGB Elite – Design and Features
At first glance, the M65 RGB Elite looks identical to the M65 Pro RGB. Both feature two-zone RGB lighting, a long-and-narrow shape best suited for right-handed claw grips, and eight programmable buttons. Underneath, both mice feature an aluminum frame and three removable weights and five glide pads. Upon closer inspection, however, you see that the LED indicator between the top buttons is no longer a target icon, and the Corsair branding has been removed from the left mouse button. And on the thumb side of the mouse, the plastic cover does not go all the way to the front of the mouse but stops abruptly just past the side buttons to expose the aluminum frame underneath.These three differences are purely cosmetic, but there are three details that change how the mouse feels and performs.
First, the M65 RGB Elite is lighter than its predecessor. Using the weights, it ranges from 97 grams to 115 grams. By comparison, the M65 Pro RGB weighs 115 grams at its lightest and goes up to 135.5 grams by employing its three weights. As with the Pro model last year, the M65 RGB Elite features three removable screws and weights on its bottom panel to get the exact weight and feel you desire.
Second, the M65 RGB Elite ups the sensitivity.
It boasts an 18,000dpi optical sensor, which is 50-percent more precise than the M65 Pro RGB and its 12,000dpi sensor. Big-screen, high-resolution gamers will appreciate the added sensitivity, though in reality nobody really needs 18,000dpi.
The tighter grouping of these three buttons offers an improved layout.
Third, the side buttons have been redesigned. The forward and back thumb buttons are larger on the M65 RGB Elite, making them easier to engage, and the gap between the forward side button and sniper button below has been eliminated. The top of the sniper button now touches the bottom of the forward button. The tighter grouping of these three buttons offers an improved layout because your thumb does not need to reach as far to seek out the sniper button, allowing you to locate and engage it quicker.
The M65 RGB Elite boasts a durable aluminum frame that is covered by a plastic top piece that comes in two color choices: black or white. The sides are a textured plastic and gray in color.
The shape is designed for right-handed, claw-grip gamers. I found the shape and the weight (at its max with all three weights on board) comfortable, but the bottom panel’s five small glide pads didn’t afford as smooth a gliding action as the large Corsair Ironclaw RGB mouse and its four huge glide pads (review coming soon).
The shape is designed for right-handed, claw-grip gamers.
The M65 RGB Elite features eight programmable buttons. The presence of the eighth (sniper) button makes it best suited for FPS games. It has the standard right- and left-click buttons and a clickable scroll wheel. Behind the scroll wheel are DPI-up and -down buttons. On the left side are the forward and back buttons and the sniper button. The sniper button lowers the DPI setting when it’s held down and is separate from the five DPI settings you can cycle through by using the two DPI buttons next to the scroll wheel.
Corsair M65 RGB Elite – Software
Corsair’s iCUE software works across all the company’s products that support software control.
It’s well designed and easy to use. The first stop you should make is DPI settings. The two buttons next to the scroll wheel let you cycle through up to five DPI settings, from 100dpi to 18,000dpi. For each, you can program a color for the light between the DPI buttons so you can keep track of which setting is active. Separate from these settings is a Sniper setting, designed to be set at a super-low DPI for precise, slow movements when lining up a kill shot through a sniper scope.
Elsewhere in iCUE, you can create macros and other actions, perform surface calibration (to help improve tracking and aiming) and enable angle snapping (to help you track in a straight line), and customize the lighting effects. There are two lighting zones — the scroll wheel and the Corsair logo — and you can set a color or pattern for each. You can also create and save multiple profiles in iCUE. The mouse has onboard storage so you can take one profile of your macros, lighting and other settings with you without needing to install iCUE on another PC.
Corsair M65 RGB Elite – Gaming
To test the mouse, I fired up to two FPS staples: CS:GO and Overwatch. The Corsair M65 RGB Elite proved to be supremely accurate and responsive with both games. With its impressively wide DPI range, I was able to set the mouse to the exact level of sensitivity to fit my setup. In fact, unless you have multiple monitors, you are unlikely to need the 18,000dpi max. At that setting, my cursor moved too fast to keep it under control.
The layout of the eight buttons felt natural. I particularly enjoyed having the sniper button sitting at the edge of my thumb. I ended up resting the tip of my thumb against its back edge and needed only to slide up ever so slightly to press it to line up a sniper shot.The left and right mouse buttons provided a satisfying click and felt fast. I also liked the grippy, textured side panels, which created a slip-free grip for my thumb and pinky. The left side flares out a bit along the button and provided a comfortable nook for my thumb to rest.
My only complaint is that Corsair made the mouse too light. It claims it did so in response to reviews and user feedback in making it 15 percent lighter than the R65 RGB Pro. I played around with the weights and determined that the best feel for my claw grip was leaving all weights onboard and using it at its max weight of 115 grams. Of course, the weight and feel of a mouse is entirely subjective and you may prefer a lighter mouse.
Purchasing Guide
The Corsair M65 RGB Elite Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse has an MSRP of $59.99, and since it recently launched it’s the same price online.
Corsair M65 Elite Gaming Mouse
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Verdict
With its 18,000dpi sensor, eight programmable buttons, three weights, two lighting zones, and two color options, the Corsair M65 RGB Elite has a lot of useful features, and is a great mouse for FPS gaming.
Corsair M65 RGB Elite review
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Beautiful, fast, and easy on the wallet
Editor’s Choice
TechRadar Verdict
Perfect for shooters and nearly flawless for everything else, the Corsair M65 RGB Elite is one of the best gaming mice out there.
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When we go out to buy a gaming mouse, we usually measure aesthetics, performance and value equally. On the rare occasion that a gaming mouse manages to hit the nail on the head in all three categories, it really is cause for celebration. The Corsair M65 RGB Elite, then, should be celebrated for years to come.
At $59 (£59, about AU$80), the Corsair M65 RGB Elite costs about the same as a new AAA game, and with all the features, performance and the attractive RGB lighting, it’s going to be one of the best gaming mice you can buy period.
It’s a bit lighter than we like, but that’ll ultimately boil down to personal preference, and it didn’t sour the overall experience.
- Corsair M65 RGB Elite (Black) at Amazon for $31.99
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While we got sent the white Corsair M65 RGB Elite, you can pick it up in black too, if that’s more your aesthetic. And, usually we would go for a black color option, as we don’t like how dirty white peripherals can get. At least, that’s the way we thought before we got our hands on this mouse.
It’s absolutely gorgeous, the white chassis perfectly complements the gray side panels and mouse wheel. And, the way that the RGB shines through the slots in the back of the mouse, creating a lighting pattern beneath it. Seriously, this is some next-level mouse design and it impressive how modern it feels despite largely sticking to the same look as the original M65 RGB, released in September 2014.
There are two zones of RGB illumination, controllable by Corsair’s proprietary iCue software, love it or hate it.
We happen to be fans of the freedom it gives you, but there are plenty of people that would prefer something more simple like Razer’s Synapse software.
The mouse also feels great in-hand. Now, we get that this will be subjective, as everyone has different sized hands, but the Corsair M65 RGB Elite felt great in our hands, though if you have larger hands, your mileage may vary. However, it is extremely lightweight – even with all the removable weights installed it maxes out at only 115 grams. So users that prefer a more heavyweight mouse might take some adjustment.
Speaking of the weights, there are three of them, and they’re not quite as easy to remove as other tunable gaming mice. Where you’d usually be able to just pop out the weights on other mice, there are three large covers you have to unscrew and remove to access the weights.
And, even after removing these screws, it might take a good shake for them to actually drop out – one came out really easily, but we actually had to get a pen to pry out the other two.
However, this is likely just due to it being new, and they’ll loosen up over time.
However, if you want a mouse that’s light as a feather, getting these fussy weights out can bring the weight down to a measly 97g. Or, you can just remove a few of them to change the center of gravity.
The Corsair M65 RGB Elite thankfully takes it easy when it comes to the amount of buttons included, keeping it down to a manageable eight, including a sniper button on the left hand side of the mouse, below the back and forward buttons. The buttons themselves are packing Omron switches, which are tactile and responsive and rated for a lifespan of 50 million clicks.
This reviewer has never played with a mouse with a dedicated sniper button before, and we have to say it was a revelation. This button completely changed the way we played Battlefield V, improving our aim significantly.
Performance
No matter how pretty a gaming mouse might be, it doesn’t mean much if it can’t perform well.
And, we’re happy to report that the Corsair M65 RGB Elite is an absolute beast of a gaming mouse.
The sensor on the Corsair M65 RGB Elite is rated at 18,000 DPI, and through the iCue software you can adjust it in 1 DPI steps, meaning you can dial in the mouse’s sensitivity to a level that’s perfect for you. We already mentioned the buttons in the previous segment, but they’re incredibly responsive, eliminating any lag between clicks and in-game actions.
We tested the Corsair M65 RGB Elite in Battlefield V, with a bit of time spent in Monster Hunter World, when we were too tired from Christmas dinner to find our controller. In both games, the M65 RGB Elite absolutely shined, the sensor picked up all of our movements perfectly – with that dedicated sniper button helping us pull off some shots that we really shouldn’t have been capable of.
We’re having trouble thinking of a single moment in the week we spent with this mouse where we noticed a single problem with the mouse’s performance.
Final verdict
If you’re looking for a fantastic gaming mouse that won’t break the bank, it’s hard to think of something better than the Corsair M65 RGB Elite. We would have liked the ability to make it a bit heavier, but the more lightweight design was easy to get used to. This mouse, with its 18,000 DPI sensor, dedicated sniper button and reliable Omron switches makes it an easy recommendation for any shooter fans out there.
And, with the customizable RGB lighting and absolutely gorgeous design, it’s easy to see why this is one of the best gaming mice on the market.
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Corsair M65 RGB Elite: Price Comparison
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Bill Thomas (Twitter) is TechRadar’s computing editor. They are fat, queer and extremely online. Computers are the devil, but they just happen to be a satanist. If you need to know anything about computing components, PC gaming or the best laptop on the market, don’t be afraid to drop them a line on Twitter or through email.
Corsair M65 Elite mouse review. Alternative opinion
The Corsair M65 model is not going through its first iteration in the production cycle, but this is the first time such a device has come into my hands. And on paper, this mouse is a work of art. There is an ergonomic shape, and additional things like a sniper button, an interesting aluminum case, and even the ability to adjust the weight is available. And yet there is also a filling that Corsair has never skimped on: powerful optics, reliable buttons, and all this in an absolutely incredible form that violates all generally accepted canons of mouse building.
In my memory, only Mad Catz allowed themselves something like this, but they had some kind of integral vision of the product and certain goals, such as lightening the mass to the maximum. Corsair’s mouse is more like a collection of great ideas that were never completed. I want to believe that this will not happen with the M65.
As usual, in the box there is only the device itself and papers, and the same mass adjustment system immediately hangs on the mouse. That is, from below it has 3 weights screwed on special screws, and these screws are easily unscrewed with a ruble coin or something similar. Otherwise, the Corsair M65 Elite resembles a regular mouse: ergonomic shape, 8 buttons, interesting appearance, beautiful RGB lighting oozing from the wheel and back. In terms of body kit, this model is simply top: the optical sensor Pixart 3391 supporting native resolution up to 18000 dpi at 450 ips and 50 g; under the main buttons – Omron for 50 million clicks, weight without weights and cable – 97 grams.
Consider it almost an esports top. Moreover, it comes with Corsair iCUE branded software.
Externally, prior to plugging the M65 Elite into a USB port, the device looks relatively austere, but fragmented, as the entire mouse appears to be made up of panels neatly attached to one another. Here and there, especially at the bottom and in the front, an aluminum case comes out from under the plastic body kit, which has a perforated sidewall, and in general, this model is more like a gaming device with aggressive notes in its appearance. And when you connect the mouse to a PC, the RGB lighting seems to pierce it all over and in the back it looks especially amazing, which makes the device more like a spaceship. The top panel of the mouse is finished with smooth soft-touch plastic, and on the sides – with matte paint, which also has a slightly rough texture, somewhat reminiscent of modern counterparts from Razer.
But if the appearance only attracts the eye, then it feels like the shape of the M65 Elite is somehow quite wonderful.
And the biggest problem is that for a comfortable girth here you need to really try. Try to find that grip. It would seem that the mouse is sloping and wide, it should fit well into the palm, but here the fragmentation played against ergonomics. If you try to just put your palm down, then the ring finger and little finger will be uncomfortable. If you pick up your fingers, you will certainly bump into the sniper button, which also does not have the most thoughtful location. If you rotate the device 30 degrees, then the thumb moves forward and grabs the articulation between plastic and metal, but in general this is also not the most comfortable grip. In general, as you want, so choose. And this isn’t the first time Corsair hasn’t been able to get the shape right, which is where they’re having all the trouble.
Moreover, the back part in most of these grips somehow incomprehensibly rests on the palm. So after a lot of experimenting with the shape, I came to the conclusion that the best grip for the M65 Elite is with your fingers, when the back does not rest against the palm.
For an average hand, this will be just right: the mouse is gentle, the mass is small, it is a pleasure to control it in this way, and the sniper button will only be on the verge of a finger, so you won’t accidentally press it. If you shoot a little, then you can somehow grab the device with a palm-claw grip, but then the thumb will have to find a compromise. For a full palm or claw grip, this model is definitely not suitable, but … Here everyone can have their own opinion, since everyone holds the mouse in their own way, and its shape is really specific.
Moving on to the tactile part, we get another batch of ambiguities, since both the location of the controls and their response require some skill. The main buttons are pressed softly and briefly, which is why it is not always possible to immediately understand that a trigger has occurred – the buttons clearly lack feedback. The side buttons are generally located in such a way that you can’t feel them intuitively.
And their location will greatly depend on the grip, as well as the method of pressing. However, in almost any case, they will have to be deliberately sought out in order to press and at the same time not touch the sniper button. For competent implementation, here you can put “five” only on the wheel on a mechanical encoder, which spins almost silently, and has soft step-by-step cutoffs.
Separately, the highlight of the mouse is a big advantage, but this is rather a pleasant bonus, and not the main function of the device. The next point is the system of weights, which is also peculiar. How often do you use them, change them, rebalance your mouse with them? I think very rarely. The only joke is that the bottom of the device looks like the face of Darth Vader, and this is the only good news. If only because the weights after extraction have nowhere to go. Lost once – that’s it, write wasted. But it’s definitely better without them, so in my case, the weights immediately went to the box.
In fairness, it should be noted that Corsair made a flexible weight setting system: you can remove the weight, and screw the screw back, thereby finding your weight standard. Below are five legs made of rather hard but slippery Teflon. The whole thing is completed by a braided cable, which, due to its oakiness, will only compete with devices from Roccat. In other words, such clumsy cables have not been installed in mice for three years, so I was surprised. Not in the best way. And without weights, the impact of the cable on the M65 Elite is a little more noticeable.
But the Corsair iCUE software was a success. However, if you have already seen this software somewhere, for example, in keyboards, then nothing has changed since then. As always, you can remap buttons on the mouse, create macros, assign whatever your heart desires to the buttons, and you can also adjust the backlight, sensor sensitivity, and so on – in this regard, the Corsair M65 Elite has very flexible settings.
You can also slightly correct the sensor, but I would not do this – the angular binding has never brought accuracy to the process of its operation. And in the calibration section, you can calibrate the mouse for a specific type of surface. The only downside is that you cannot set the lift-off distance from the surface yourself, but this model has a very low default, so you are unlikely to need to change it.
In the game run, the M65 Elite showed its best side, so I did not observe any technical problems associated with the sensor. But all the questions that were posed point-blank throughout the review, starting with the form and ending with the cable, were not resolved during testing. That is, I could not adapt to the shape in order to feel it as my own: in a couple of days I went through it this way and that, and found some kind of compromise in which it was more convenient for me to hold the mouse than in all other positions. However, in the overall account, I did not find such a position as to take it once and calm down.
And compared to the form, all other things like soft clicks generally seem like an insignificant trifle, since the most important question remains precisely with the form of the device. And then either it will come in or not, and the choice of preference will depend only on your experience in owning other rodents. I will say this: if it comes in, then a completely deadly eSports weapon will go hand in hand with you.
Corsair has once again created a highly controversial gaming mouse. Everything seems to be just fine with her, but at the same time, something is missing to become a hit. And it’s a shame, because technically we have the most perfect and very reliable model in front of us. She is good at literally everything: from materials and those. parts to lighting and software, but the most important thing about the M65 Elite is its shape. And if you don’t like it, then you don’t like the whole device. It’s not the first time Corsair’s engineers have missed this axiom.
So this model is amazing in terms of assembly and execution, and completely unpredictable in terms of form. There is no clear selection criterion here, by which it would be possible to say for sure whether it will come to someone or not, so you should either look for similar analogues and focus on your experience, or try to feel it live.
Corsair M65 RGB Elite gaming mouse review
Corsair calls the M65 RGB Elite the ultimate gaming mouse in the FPS genre. It is obvious that the most daring and successful ideas of the developers are implemented in this device. It’s a clear high-end with a wealth of options for fine-tuning and personalization.
If you get rid of three “ weights” , the weight of the device will decrease to 97 g.
0094 weights for adjusting the weight of the manipulator, special sniper button , as well as the original shape of the body. Each chip needs to be discussed separately.
The basis of the Corsair M65 RGB Elite is a durable aluminum body, on which a kind of plastic shell is applied, it is with it that the owner’s palm contacts. There are no branded rubber inserts for a tight grip, however, the mouse lies perfectly in the hand.
The quintuple seems to cover the mouse, the fingers are not crooked (the palm is the main control link). As a result, the brush does not get tired in the process of protracted battles.
| Corsair M65 RGB Elite | |
|---|---|
| Sensor | PMW3391 Optical |
| Switches | Omron, 50 million clicks |
| DPI | 18000 |
| Polling rate | 1000/500/250/125 Hz |
| Programmable keys | 9 |
| iCUE support | Yes |
| Wire length | 1.8 m |
| Weight | 97 g |
High-precision sensor equally well perceives a plastic mat, wooden table, fabric chair, etc.
Therefore, you can play on any surface, there are no problems with accuracy.
A few words about the most important feature of the Corsair M65 RGB Elite. Three profile holes are visible on the reverse side of the metal base, the same weights . Using a straight screwdriver, the fixing washers can be unscrewed and weights removed. They are designed to fine-tune the weight of the manipulator to suit you.
If you get rid of three weights , the weight of the device will decrease to 97 g. We did not think that in the nominal format the Corsair M65 RGB Elite is an extremely heavy manipulator, but we should not forget about capricious gamers for whom an additional (or extra) 10 g decide a lot.
Finally, the third feature of the Corsair M65 RGB Elite is the high-precision sniper button. It sits right under the thumb. We first encountered the ‘s -like innovation while testing the Corsair Dark Core RGB SE. The key (in the clamped position) helps to instantly reduce the sensitivity of the sensor in the process of aiming.
The function is useful for fans of camping .
Due to the fact that the aforementioned sniper button literally rests on the thumb, two additional keys, slightly higher, are left out of business. Every time there is a desire to press exactly on red button , as a result, you will have to get used to the profile layout.
All the keys on the Corsair M65 RGB Elite (all of which are programmable, by the way) have a fairly soft and short travel (ideal for multiplayer shooters).
iCUE software
Corsair branded peripheral software is a must-have for the discerning gamer. Everything in the program is translated into Russian, several tabs present the functions necessary for adjustment (DPI layers, calibration, macros, backlight, etc.).
Everything is standard (if you have ever dealt with Corsair manipulators) and professional. Changes are applied instantly, the sense of experimentation is noticeable immediately.
Conclusion
The Corsair M65 RGB Elite is perhaps one of the best and original FPS mice.