Verdict

Pros

• Smooth tracking
• Highly responsive
• RGB looks great
• Excellent software

Cons

• Limited customisability
• No weight adjustment
• Relatively expensive

What is the Corsair Glaive RGB?

The Glaive RGB from Corsair is a gaming mouse that aims to appeal to all gamers. Allowing for the user to quickly hot-swap different side pieces, the Glaive is a highly versatile mouse that gamers can adapt to suit their hands and play style.

But while performance is excellent, and it’s well suited to games of all genres, I can’t help but feel that Corsair should have implemented more features to truly make the Glaive a mouse for everyone.

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Corsair Glave RGB – Design, Build and Features

The Glaive is larger than the average-sized mouse, with a fairly long and narrow structure. Its design fits in nicely with the rest of mice in Corsair’s range, with a large RGB-equipped Corsair logo standing proud against the Glaive’s matte-black finish. It’s mainly made from plastic, but an aluminium bar can be found along the top of the mouse. It’s available in two colour options: jet black and aluminium (tested).

In the center you’ll find five LED indicators that detail the current DPI stage, a DPI toggle switch, scroll-wheel and click buttons. The scroll-wheel is grippy and flows nicely in use – although, sadly, it isn’t illuminated. The left and right clicks use Omron switches with a short travel distance, and Corsair claims that each can last for 50 million clicks. Note that these aren’t user-replaceable as with Asus’ Gladius II, however.

The right of the mouse has a rubberised finish to aid with grip, although it’s the left side of the mouse that makes the Glaive stand out from the crowd. Here sit the usual backwards and forwards buttons, but below them are a series of magnets and grooves, both of which allow for the easy installation of the included side grips.

Three are provided, each with differing characteristics that will suit different types of player. Two are similarly shaped, without any real extrusion from the mouse’s edge. One has a smooth moulded coating, while the other opts for a similar rubber finish as found on right of the mouse. The third grip is almost fin-like in shape, with a grippy rubber pad that allows for easier thumb resting.

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While it’s true that each grip is indeed different, none seem to completely change the ergonomics of the mouse. This is slightly odd, because if Corsair had included swappable top and side covers, it would have felt like a truly personalised mouse to each new buyer.

The overall feel of the Glaive RGB is very comfortable in the hand, and while it won’t suit everyone, I found that it took a very short time to adjust accordingly. It lacks any special buttons such as the ‘sniper’ seen on the M65 Pro RGB, though, so if you’re looking for additional functionality then you may be disappointed here.

The underside of the mouse houses the 16,000 DPI optical sensor, and five Teflon pads for smooth gliding over surfaces. A 1.8m braided cable is attached to the mouse – but unfortunately, it can’t be removed by the user. There’s also no weight adjustment.

Corsair Glaive RGB – Performance

Using the Glaive has been a pleasure from start to finish. Whether it’s gaming, working, or anything in between, I’ve found the device glides smoothly with elegant precision. Tracking is excellent, without any trace anomalies or other undesired behaviour. The technical numbers are high here, with a 1000Hz polling rate and 16,000 DPI maximum. In the real world, you’re very unlikely to use anything close to that 16,000 DPI figure, but at the more sensible setting of 2000, the sensor performed admirably in all scenarios.

Most of my gaming has been with Bethesda’s Prey –  a sci-fi first-person shooter. The Glaive allowed for accurate traversal across Talos 1 with pinpoint accuracy, with the sensor responding to my movements quickly and easily. Lifting the mouse for flick shots has proved slightly trickier than on a smaller mouse such as the Qpad DX-20, for example, but it’s far from impossible to become happily acquainted to the Glaive’s weight and shape.

If you’re more of a competitive gamer, then you’ll also be pleased to know that I was able to have many successful games of Gears of War 4 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Each click feels snappy and responsive, and while I’d personally still rather have a mouse such as the Corsair M65 or Gladius II for their ‘sniper’ buttons – which lower the DPI while pressed – I can’t fault the Glaive’s gaming performance.

Corsair Glaive RGB – Software and RGB

The Glaive uses Corsair’s CUE software for performance adjustments and lighting control. It’s easy to use, and puts rivals from Cooler Master and Asus to shame. It’s simple to calibrate the mouse against your surface, and DPI settings can be narrowed down by a single digit – which is very impressive.

The RGB lighting is bright and vivid, and does a good job of jazzing up your desk. Effects can be customised and synced with other peripherals, with highlights including a rainbow effect, and ‘Visor’, which sees a pulse of colour traverse along my K95 Platinum to ping across to the Glaive. This behaviour will require the additional Corsair peripherals, so if you’ve already invested in the Razer or Logitech ecosystem for instance, you may want to take this into consideration.

Should I buy the Corsair Glaive RGB?

The Glaive is a technically excellent product. It’s well built, has a superb sensor, and is ideal for games of all genres. My main issue is with the level of customisability – in all honesty, I expected more. If Corsair had implemented a greater number of modules, weight adjustment and perhaps swappable buttons and switches, it would be hard to find any fault.

This would have added additional cost, of course, and at the RRP of £69.99, the Glaive is already a slightly higher priced mouse. If you value performance, don’t need an excessive feature set, and you like the design on offer – you’ll certainly appreciate your time with the Glaive.

Verdict

A brilliant gaming mouse – but it doesn’t quite live up to it’s full enthusiast potential.  

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