I by no means anticipated to love the brand new Roccat Kone XP. Particularly not as a lot as I do. With better considerations over environmental change, pandemics, and rising inflation, information of yet one more over-the-top RGB gaming mouse from Roccat isn’t precisely what I believe the world actually wants proper now.
Gosh darn it although, Roccat has managed to make the most effective gaming mice you should purchase and thanks to a couple methods, it is also an awesome productiveness mouse too.
Let’s begin with the value—$75 (£80, AU$150) classifies the Kone XP as a mid-range mouse however I can guarantee you there’s rather more to this mouse than its absurdly cool 3D RGB lighting. Roccat has managed to craft one of the ergonomic rodents I’ve ever used. Granted, that actually is determined by the scale of your mitts and grip model however for me at the very least, nothing has felt this good in hand for a really very long time.
I discovered that whether or not I take advantage of a claw or palm grip when taking part in Future 2 or mindlessly scrolling Twitter, the Kone XP feels excellent. At 102g, it is from light-weight however the general really feel in hand is gentle sufficient for fast flicks however heavy sufficient for exact actions exterior of gaming. The Kone XP’s again arches simply excessive sufficient to fill out the cradle of your palm whereas the textured thumb nicely and its flared-out “Straightforward-Shift” paddle provides the correct assist.
The Kone Professional has loads of buttons—15 to be actual they usually’re all programmable. There are 4 thumb buttons positioned completely the place I don’t must contort my thumb painfully simply to make use of them. The identical goes for the 2 DPI buttons embedded into the left mouse button that are surprisingly straightforward to make use of and probably extra so than the thumb buttons.
The brilliantly lit and tactile Krystal 4D Wheel is translucent, which is nice for RGB but additionally lets you click on it left, proper, or down for extra capabilities. Behind the wheel is a profile change to cycle by way of the customized profiles you’ve created and saved within the Roccat Swarm software program. Lastly, and most significantly, are the primary left and proper mouse buttons that sit on high of Roccat’s Titan Optical switches. They’re crisp, clicky, and responsive with no distracting key wobble.
Roccat Kone XP specs
DPI: 19,000
Sensor: Roccat Eye-Owl
Interface: USB
Buttons: 11
Ergonomic: Proper-handed
Weight: 102g
Worth: $75 (opens in new tab) | £80 (opens in new tab) | AU$150 (opens in new tab)
Roccat says you’ll be able to map 29 attainable capabilities to the Kone XP and that’s largely because of the Straightforward-Shift performance. Press your thumb down on the paddle and it acts as a shift key that doubles all of the button capabilities.
It is actually as much as your creativeness the way you set this up and the Swarm software program makes it very straightforward to do. I beloved having my media controls accessible on Straightforward-Shift in order that scrolling adjusted quantity, clicking skipped tracks, and the DPI buttons on the entrance made fast work of copy and paste. It’s no Logitech MX Grasp 3 however with persistence, you may get the Kone XP nearly there.
Complimenting the versatile button performance is a wonderful 19K DPI Roccat Owl-Eye optical sensor with 50G acceleration. It’s not the best quantity within the mouse world right now, however let’s be actual, can you actually inform the distinction? I definitely can’t. The PTFE toes on the underside let the mouse glide effortlessly on most surfaces whereas the light-weight PhantomFlex cable by no means will get in the best way of speedy flicks and swipes.
However after all, the most important showstopper of the Kone XP is certainly the 3D RGB AIMO Lighting. The entire high of the shell is product of translucent plastic which is ideal for exhibiting off what the insane 22 particular person LEDs can do. These are grouped into 8 tips, 4 on both sides, permitting for some actually mesmerizing RGB gentle exhibits. I’ve seen a whole lot of gaming mice however nothing comes remotely shut.
Whereas the lighting is likely to be a bit a lot for some, you’ll be able to at all times change issues up within the Swarm software program however you don’t have too many choices and you’ll’t create your personal results from scratch. That stated, no matter you select, the lighting is daring and vivid because of the endless energy provide out of your PC or laptop computer.
Placing all of it collectively, the Roccat Kone XP is a improbable wired gaming mouse and a straightforward advice. It ever so barely bests the Razer Basilisk V3 (opens in new tab) however undoubtedly trumps it within the RGB division. It is nice for fast-paced shooters or advanced MOBA whereas nonetheless being excellent for productiveness work.
The construct high quality is great and the 3D RGB lighting seems to be manner higher in particular person than you’d assume. There’s just one motive why you shouldn’t purchase it and that is the brand new wi-fi Kone XP Air. Nonetheless, in case you don’t need the hassle of dongles, battery lives, and the added weight, then this wired Kone XP is tough to beat.
