Asus ROG Gladius III gaming mouse review: Swappable switches galore
Asus ROG Gladius III instant
MSRP $119.00
"Asus' Gladius III is an attractive, underappreciated gem of a mouse that bodes peculiarly well for informal gaming because of its comfy, tactile design."
execs
Cons
Even the top of the line gaming mice aren't usually generic for consolation. That's a disgrace, considering not all and sundry are solely enjoying twitchy shooter video games the entire time.
these days, we're having a glance at Asus' Gladius III instant mouse, which guarantees each marvelous efficiency and a extra ergonomic design.
though it's no longer the most premium choice within the line — that's the ROG Chakram — the Gladius III isn't cheap. It's priced at $119 for the wireless version. happily, the Gladius III justifies its fee with person-replaceable switches, a superb sensor, and a comfortable grip.
Design & comfort
The Gladius III's design is one which's clearly optimized for comfort, with a large, bulbous body that presses neatly into the palm of your hand. This larger dimension, paired with the appropriate-surpassed design, makes it among the extra comfortable mice I've confirmed. It's now not intended to be claw-gripped or finger-tipped as plenty, but this may make a more fit alternative than something like Razer's Orochi V2 and Logitech's G professional X Superlight.
so far as comfort goes, the closest healthy I even have discovered to Asus' pointer is Razer's professional click on, and although that isn't strictly a gaming mouse — as is obvious by using its lack of RGB — it's form of a wolf in sheep's apparel, because it does pack solid switches and a pretty good sensor.
Razer's mouse has a much better standard shape, even though. The pear shape with the larger bottom of the Gladius requires you to fully grip the mouse; grabbing it slightly decrease as a fingertip mouse may have it pointed just a little to the left.
Niels Broekhuijsen/Digital tendencies comfort aside, the Gladius III doesn't latest itself with a bunch of top class substances. The plastic is smooth, and the debossed art on the left and correct aspects acts sufficiently as grips for picking out the mouse up.
At simply 89 grams, it's additionally gentle. That's not tremendous-easy territory, but — at under one hundred grams for a big consolation-oriented pointer corresponding to this one — it's respectable.
RGB illumination is also present in three zones: the main brand, the scroll wheel, and thumb rest art. Connectivity is equipped through an blanketed 2.4GHz dongle, Bluetooth, and USB-C.
under the hood
Popping beneath the mouse's hood — this time not metaphorically — we discover a handful of entertaining elements. First-off, the mouse's main sensor is one which tracks at as much as 19,000 DPI, though it does have a tune to 26,000 — rated to music precisely at up to four hundred inches per 2d at as much as 50 g optimum acceleration. I don't have the testing device to verify these numbers, however i will be able to attest to correct monitoring in additional severe gaming sessions.
there is a more compelling rationale to get the Gladius III although: that you would be able to, rather literally, take off its exact shell — the hood — and exchange bits internally.
Niels Broekhuijsen/Digital trends To eliminate the proper, you simply eradicate two rubber gaskets from the backside, undo two screws, and pull off the hood. From right here, the mouse's internals are thoroughly uncovered, although the simplest factor you're meant to do here is to substitute the simple switches.
The Gladius III comes with Asus' own ROG three-pin Micro-switches preinstalled from the manufacturing facility, however it also ships with a collection of 5-pin Omron D2FP-FN switches. the previous are mechanical, but the latter are optical — hence the added pins — putting off the deserve to account for debounce and theoretically resulting in sooner efficiency.
Niels Broekhuijsen/Digital traits In follow, I discover that the change is frequently all the way down to the press motion. The default ROG switches aren't unhealthy, however the optical Omron switches absolutely consider and sound superior. The click on is a smidge lighter, actually extra diverse, and sounds much less dampened.
The capture is that they're pingy of their sound, which may get annoying.
once I reverted to the ROG switches, I discovered them feeling a bit soft and delicate, so I'm holding the Omron's on to savor their sharpness. The scroll wheel is also pleasantly notchy, so they suit neatly.
The proven fact that the mouse helps hot-swappable switches in any respect, although, is giant. For the most half, Asus is the handiest enterprise doing this. Most mice cannot be opened up to start with, and if you do, the switches need to be desoldered to swap.
Asus additionally comprises a group of four alternative go with the flow pads for the mouse, which assist lengthen the mouse's provider life. Being this easy to open up, i will also think about that replacing the battery is additionally viable, supplied you find a compatible replacement if you want it.
Gaming efficiencystart into a game, and the Gladius III immediately shines, too. I performed a fair volume of competitive Insurgency Sandstorm on this mouse, as well as a few hours of Mass effect Legendary edition, and the Gladius III instant turned into a comfortable companion the whole time.
Niels Broekhuijsen/Digital trends That being stated, there is a purpose most gaming mice aren't sculpted for consolation: competitive gaming performance. youngsters i used to be nonetheless respectable at Insurgency Sandstorm when the use of the Gladius III, I wasn't as good as when the use of my previous all-time-favourite, the Logitech G seasoned X Superlight, and i consider that's right down to the shape and weight. The Logitech has a shape that calls for a more aggressive grip, and it's plenty lighter at sixty three grams as an alternative of 89 grams.
It's now not a massive exchange, but this does make a great difference in competitive video games: I didn't feel somewhat as in manage.
besides the fact that children, once I switched to Mass impact Legendary edition, this performance disparity between both mice immediately disappeared. during this greater story-focused online game, I vastly preferred the Asus mouse – my sensitive hands thanked me for taking a spoil from the G professional X. I didn't suppose hampered via the mouse the way I did in a aggressive video game.
Our takeThe Asus ROG Gladius III wireless is a brilliant gaming mouse that's evidently geared toward use with greater casual games and toward gamers who put in long hours in virtual worlds with a mouse that received't punish them for it. I'll go so far as saying that it's eighty% as comfortable as a very ergonomic mouse, such as the MX master three, while being ninety% as constructive in-video game because the G pro X Superlight. in case you basically play single-participant titles, the Gladius III is certainly a mouse to accept as true with.
Tack that onto it being a serviceable and tunable mouse with consumer-replaceable switches, and that i ask yourself, "Why isn't this clicker extra accepted?" The Gladius III is, in my publication, an underappreciated gem.
Are there any alternate options?if you're trying to find a mouse with a proper and bulgy ergonomic form, the handiest real choice that involves intellect is the Razer pro click. It's $20 cheaper but doesn't have RGB or sizzling-swappable switches, and it's simplest attainable in white. other ergonomic mice equivalent to Logitech's G502 Lightspeed or Razer's Basilisk are too slender and aggressively sculpted to suit the Asus for consolation.
How lengthy will it closing?constantly, I won't say that a mouse lasts past three to five years, however with replaceable constituents, I could see the Gladius III lasting well into a decade. whether you'll nonetheless be using it then is a different question.
should you purchase it?fully. in case your leading focal point is story-based mostly gaming, and you make long hours at the computing device, your correct hand will thanks for the use of one of the vital comfy gaming mice with a palm grip.
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