frontIf years of playing MMO's and dungeon crawlers have taught me anything, it's that the world is always a better place when you've got the full set. While I probably won't get a 40% better chance of getting a magic item, having a keyboard and mouse that match looks great. Earlier this week we took a look at the Challenger Pro from Tt's new eSports line, and today I looted the UPS box to find its partner, the Black Gaming Mouse.

Product Name: Black Gaming Mouse

Review Sample Provided by: Thermaltake

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Specifications
Model : BLACK gaming mouse(MO-BLK002DT)
DPI : 400/800/2000/4000
USB data format : 16 bits
Max Acceleration : 50G
Max Speed : 90IPS
Report rate : 500 reports per second
Tuning Weight : Yes (4.5gx5)
On the move DPI : Yes/4 levels (400/800/2000/4000)
Buttons (Left / Right) : 5 million clicks
Cable length : 1.8 m braided
Feet material : Teflon
USB connector : Gold-plated



Packaging
The Black gaming mouse comes in a retail package that is very similar to the Challenger Pro, the metal design likely a consistent theme future eSports products from Thermaltake will see. A large action shot of the mouse is centered on the front as well as a few feature callouts. Like the majority of gaming mice packaging, the Black comes in a windowed box. Opening the front door reveals a feature diagram of the mouse and a specification comparison to a generic laser mouse. The plastic window that allows consumers a preview of the product also allows them to get a taste for the grip of the Black gaming mouse without opening the package.

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Inside, you'll first be greeted by a nice carrying pouch blanketing the reference material and driver disc. The Black gaming mouse rests patiently on the other side. The peripheral also comes with five 4.5g weight discs, which are already pre-installed in the mouse.

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Design
The Black gaming mouse has a nice, welcoming look to it with the majority of the surface covered in a soft, anti-slip rubber coat. In the middle of the top of the mouse is the typical scroll wheel which features a single middle click, as well as two buttons to adjust DPI on-the-fly (by default at least). The scroll wheel is a translucent plastic that allows for a red LED glow, and also features a thin strip of rigid plastic for better grip with a finger.

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The latter half of the top features that bold 'Tt' logo I didn't care so much for on the Challenger Pro, but is more bearable this time around given it is smaller, and also features a breathing glow effect as opposed to a solid. Though the glowing effect is more appealing to me, I know it isn't for everyone. Regretfully you'll have to live with either that or turn it completely off.  To the left of this logo is a DPI indicator, which will fill from zero to four red LEDs to show you which level you're currently on.

The right side of the mouse is a smooth piece with no buttons, slightly curved to better match that of your hand. The curve comes to a ridge along the top which is a great pressure point for the ring-finger to hold and help navigate the mouse.

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On the left side we see a little more action, with a large, almost two inch, single customizable button. We usually see two buttons here, but in my experience one is either too far down or too far forward to reach with the thumb without repositioning the palm. By creating a larger single button, Thermaltake has guaranteed that this button is located perfectly for any user. Under the button is a textured patch for the thumb to help guarantee control. The patch is somewhat V-shaped, and my thumb just barely catches the corner of the texture.

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The bottom of the mouse is equipped with four Teflon feet, two smaller in the front of the mouse and two larger feet surrounding the weight access door. The Philips laser eye is situated a little north of center.

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Software
The driver for the Black gaming mouse is once again similar to that of the Challenger Pro keyboard in terms of the graphical interface. It is a simple looking design, with customizable buttons calling out on a blueprint of the mouse itself. Three profile tabs line the top of the software, while the buttons at the bottom allow for lighting changes and advanced options, which are DPI and polling adjustments.

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The polling rate can be changed from 125Hz to 500Hz to 1000Hz, while DPI can be customized to the hundredths place between 100 and 4000 (such as 2100 or 3500). Four values can be selected which are then cycled on-the-fly, the mentioned DPI indicator letting you know which level is selected.

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There are more actions available to assign to programmable buttons with the Black gaming mouse than the partnering keyboard, including double-click, select all, and print options. Macros can be compiled and assigned using an identical method however, in which you must record your input instead of directly editing and arranging. The only piece of the recorded macro that can be adjusted is the time delay between key presses.

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If you read the review for the Thermaltake Challenger Pro keyboard, you know that its software suffered from unusually long load times. Rest assured that the Black gaming mouse is much better at getting you going, taking only a few seconds to complete.

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Performance
The Black gaming mouse is comfortable to hold and easy to use in extended sessions, since the soft rubber coat helps combat sweat. The scroll wheel really stood out to me as easy to access and use. The design is a good fit for all grip styles, but to me favors the claw-grip since it typically places the hand further north on the mouse, and I had a few areas (such as the thumb grip) that seemed almost out of reach.

Weight is somewhat of a touchy subject, to some it's a nice feature and to others it makes no sense. When I first opened the Black gaming mouse, I thought that perhaps our sample was missing the weights, because it was incredibly light. Even with all the weights installed, totaling 22.5g extra, the mouse feels lighter than usual.

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The Teflon feet and Philips laser eye allow for a large range of surface types, though the eye does suffer from the tracking problem we often see with the Z-axis. When the mouse is lifted and returned, even slightly, the cursor jumps to the south-east of the screen. While this may not affect everyone, there is a large group who play using quick lifting motions in-game, and you'll constantly find yourself fighting the cursor back to the center of the screen. If your gaming style favors keeping the mouse grounded, you'll likely have nothing to worry about.



Overall
The Black gaming mouse hits all the features that have become popular amongst gaming enthusiasts: customizable buttons, large range of DPI settings, and for those who have become accustomed to it, a weight system. Though the software doesn't allow any number value between 100 and 4,000 it does allow users to the hundredths place, which is going to cover the vast majority of users' preferences. The Black gaming mouse is a comfortable fit and will keep up with you in-game, and probably will look better than you as well.

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Author Bio
Lersar
Author: Lersar
Contributing Editor / Event Staff
Adam is a big proponent of LAN parties, esports and speed-running, and helps organize our semi-annual LAN events. He has covered hardware and software reviews of a wide variety, but most content these days come from event coverage, such as other LAN parties.

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Wingless92's Avatar
Wingless92 replied the topic: #16381 30 Jun 2011 20:00
Nice Adam.

I like the idea of only one button but I'm so used to having two, one for Vent and the other one to go "Back".

The back button is used so much that I don't know if I could live with out it.

I like the style of this mouse though. My G500 is pretty ugly in retrospect.

There was another mouse that you reviewed that had a turbo button mode. That would be awesome for a mouse like this. COD auto pistols, lol.
garfi3ld's Avatar
garfi3ld replied the topic: #16386 30 Jun 2011 23:10
z axis issues ftl

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