Asus has been doing great when it comes to gaming staff. Along with its great looking and good performing graphics cards and motherboards, the company also launched its series of gaming peripherals named Asus Strix.
The Asus Strix series has a gaming keyboard, mouse and an headphone. Earlier, we reviewed Asus Strix Tactic Pro Gaming Keyboard (check it out if you haven’t already). Here, is our review of the Asus Strix Claw Gaming Mouse .
[wp-review]The Asus Strix Claw is a wired laser mouse from the company. Before we get on with more about the massive gaming mouse, lets make a quick rundown of the specs :
Specifications
- 5000 DPI high-precision, gaming-tuned optical sensor
- True 1:1 tracking and angle-snap-free capability
- Instant DPI switches with four DPI stages and additional DPI clutch
- Three independently programmable buttons
- Right-handed ergonomics
- Japanese-made Omron D2F-01F switches
- Angled braided-fiber cable
- Software and plug-and-play hardware modes
The Design — Decent, But Lacks That ‘Wow!’ Factor
Yup. While all the other peripherals in the series resembles the design of an owl, this one does not carry similar look — with its matte grey and orange tinge being the sole resemblance parameters to the overallSstrix family. Here, Asus has not altered the basic design of the humble mouse. And while the company might have had to do away with the design principles a bit, it is actually good, considering that any further extravagance in design could have resulted in discomfort while using.
But then again, for those of you who have been a fan of the other Strix peripherals, like the Gaming Keyboard we recently reviewed or the headsets which we are going to review, you’d be blatantly disappointed with Claw’s design.
Also noticeable, is Claw’s instant resemblance to Asus’ ROG Gladius. The claw though feels a bit heavier as compared to Gladius.
The overall design caters to the right-hand users and the grip is also great, if you are a palm-grip folk. However, the company claims that the mouse is designed for all grip types.
The Build – Sturdy But Too Pricey
The build quality of the mouse is good but not at par with its keyboard and hence fails to justify the price. It is made up of hard plastic, at a time when we are seeing mice with superior matte and aluminium finishes. There are also no rubberised sides to help in grip, resulting in another downer. The mouse comes in a matte black color.
Both the left and right buttons are made up Japanese Omron D2F-01F switches — which are known to give you a good clicky feel, but unlike the Gladius, they are not replaceable in the Claw. There is a scroll wheel on the mouse sitting between left and right switches and three buttons just below it. While there are three buttons, only two of them are functional, and are used to increase or decrease the DPI of the mouse.
To the left of the mouse, besides the left click, there are LED indicators for indication the DPI of the mouse. Below the scroll wheel and buttons, there is a Strix logo which illuminates when plugged into the PC — which is really cool !
Performance — Great Ergonomics With Useful Software Config.
It is evident that the company has put work on the ergonomics — which is perhaps the single biggest win away for Claw from virtually any other competition out there. On the left side, there are three curved buttons, placed at the center along with a semi-deep indentation for the thumb. On the right side of the mouse, there is nothing other than a finger rest.
Among the three buttons on the left side, the top two buttons has previous and forward pre-setting while the larger button is a “DPI Clutch” or “Sniper Mode” which is useful while playing shooting games.
At the back side of the mouse, there is a centrally positioned optical sensor. There are also three PTFE pads – two small in the top corners and one large at the bottom.
Using the mouse is very easy and feels comfy too. The ergonomics of the mouse are pretty great. It seems to be perfectly designed for the right hand users, not so sure how left-handers will fare. While using, the hand rests perfectly on the mouse and thumb on the button cluster.
Click rates and overall tactile feedbacks are impressive — which ought to be the case considering that the mouse has been particularly designed for fast-paced, hardcore gamers — the FPS shooter ones to be precise, who prefer a “Claw” grip.
The Asus Strix Claw Mouse is connected to the PC via a single USB braided-cable that is 2-meter long and has a gold-plated USB plug. It is a plug-and-play and you do not need to install drivers manually. However, if you wish to customize the mouse and its function, Asus has also made a software to do so, which you can install manually.
Using the software, you can program all the keys, including the scroll wheel as per your preference. You can also turn on or turn off the lighting of the Strix logo and scroll wheel using the software. The Asus Strix Claw has PixArt 5000 DPI optical sensor, which is said to be one of the best in the market. It has precision ratio of 1:1 and zero acceleration.
There is nothing much to complain about the mouse. It has a good build quality, if not great — considering the price range. The more noteworthy features are this mouse’s great sensor and even better ergonomics. The buttons also give a decent enough tactile feedback.
ProRev Review
ProRev ReviewWe would give the ASUS Strix Pro Mouse, an 8 out of 10 — yes, which translates to a near-perfect score and makes you re-assured that you’ve chosen just the right product.
[wp-review]Meanwhile, do you happen to own one of these beauties ? Great ! We would like to have your say in this review as well. We have incorporated a user reviewing feature in the review box above. Simply drop in the number of stars you wish to give to the Strix Tactic Pro keyboard. You can anyways drop in your comments below as well.
