How does it feel?

How does it feel?

First off, some weights and dimensions. The mouse comes in at 130.3 x 65.5 x 39 (mm). This puts it just a shade larger than the recently reviewed Corsair Dark Core, and also my beloved G502 and work use Steelseries Rival 310. A quick word on grips/hand sizes first, though (something I mentioned briefly earlier on in the review). There are three well-accepted 'methods' of holding a traditionally shaped mouse. The 'Fingertip' grip, where the palm of your hand is lifted off and away from the mouse's hump, so your fingertips rest on the very edge of the primary/secondary buttons. The 'Claw' crip, where your palm is either off/on the hump (depending on mouse size) and middle + index finger are bent, pushing directly down on the primary/secondary buttons. Finally, the 'Palm' grip, when the user's entire palm is rested on the mouse's hump. Different mouse sizes suit different grips, and the size of a user's hand is paramount to what grip someone will naturally lean toward. I have bucket-sized hands (20cm), so that puts me in the sweet spot for being a fingertipped. The GM70, therefore, should be ideal.

Except, it isn't. Why? Well, without wishing to be harsh, this mouse is heavy. Up until now, my G502 was a mouse I considered fairly weighty (and I like a heavier mouse, most of the time, though recent usage of Steelseries' Rival 310 has started to shift my opinion on this). The GM70 weighs in at a massive 180g, putting it way out in front. Most gaming mice, as a reference, come in at around the 95-110g mark. 180g, though, is very heavy. General use of the mouse for desktop browsing was fine, and I even appreciated the extra heft when editing the photos you can see in this review. However, for gaming? Well, let's talk about that.

Gaming wise, credit to MSI, the switches are very good to use. They should be, as they are the near industry high-end standard, from Omron. Rated to 50 million clicks, it's fair to say you will lose the mouse or will be fairly old by the time the mechanism gives up the ghost. Good switches are vital to gaming, as you want to know instinctively how much force to use to actuate the button. MSI also claims a .33ms response time with the mouse in wired mode, and a 1ms response time in wireless mode. I would imagine even for a pro-level gamer (though one I am not), 1ms response is going to as good to use as .33ms. Response times whether wired or wireless were, without question, absolutely fine and I could perceive no difference with my mere mortal gamer reflexes. Safe to say, therefore, that neither will 99% of us.

I must, sadly, now mention actually using the mouse in-game. As you can imagine, using my traditional fingertip grip in less frantic games wasn't an issue at all. RTS games and RPGs were a fine experience indeed, and the smooth tracking enabled by the 3360 sensor was very good. Tracking was by pixel perfect, responding to very minute changes in position both quickly and smoothly. However, I also happen to like the occasional romp in Battlefield 1 or the even faster paced Titanfall 2. How did the GM70 fare? Well... in a word, not that well. This is the first mouse that I needed to change my grip for, and I ended up using a palm grip. Given my large hand size, this wasn't ideal for me at all. The GM70's sheer weight was the issue here, as I was unable to comfortably sling the mouse around using a fingertip grip like I could with my G502 or Rival 310. Once I had adjusted my grip, I was then able to throw the GM70 around without much issue. That, unfortunately, presented a further problem. Not only was my grip not ideal, but it also meant that my thumb/little finger no longer rested at all well in the wings. This was a small problem when fingertip gripping the mouse, but a palm grip  exaggerated the problem.

For the record, I genuinely hate being negative. There is a good amount to like, so far, about the GM70. It is just that my experience of it, given my hand/grip and preferred games are not a good combination. The product performed very well for me in other scenarios, and I am confident in saying that I suffered no fatigue or comfort related issues when using the mouse in my preferred fashion. This mouse, however, is not for players of games that need or require large/rapid movements, flicks, or regular liftoffs. If, however, you are a gamer but also a bit of a content creator, then this mouse, when used in wireless mode, is very good for slow, methodical movements. Whilst it hasn't replaced my daily 'Photoshop' mouse, if I had been in need of one, it would be a firm choice on the shortlist. The GM70 provides sure, accurate, and precise tracking even at very slow speeds.

Next, we will actually move onto the combined part of this review. The software.