Corsair Harpoon RGB gaming mouse

Corsair produces excellent, high-end gaming peripherals but it knows not everyone will want to spend £70 on a mouse or £150 on a keyboard. Enter the Corsair Harpoon RGB- this mouse comes with the multi-coloured lighting of high-end gaming peripherals, without the monstrous price tag. At just £28, the Harpoon is one of the cheaper gaming rodents we have reviewed this year and yet it still comes with a 6,000 DPI optical sensor under the hood, back end software and remappable buttons. It may be an entry level gaming mouse, but there are enough boxes ticked with the Harpoon that I am quite optimistic about the performance. Of course to find out for sure we will need to put it through its paces, so let us see how it fares. DPI: 250 dpi - 6000 dpi. Sensor: Optical, Pixart PMW3320. Mouse Backlighting: 1 Zone RGB. Programmable Buttons: six. Report Rate: 1000Hz/500Hz/250Hz/125Hz. Weight: 85g. Mouse Feet: PTFE. Software: Corsair Utility Engine Cable: 1.8m. Dimensions: 111.5mm x 68.3mm x 40.4mm. Despite being an entry-level gaming mouse, the Corsair Harpoon does actually arrive in an attractive package. The box is neat and compact and has some good product shots to help break down the important features. The back goes into even more detail, showing you individual aspects of the mouse that you will particularly like. No accessories which is not too surprising considering the sub-£30 price tag, but you do get a short set up guide and a warranty leaflet should something go wrong. The Corsair Harpoon is a compact, ergonomic gaming mouse with a typical matt black paint job and hard-plastic body. It has a lightly textured surface which should be good for maintaining grip during exciting, perspiring moments mid-game. The overall build feels solid and does not creak when pressed or flexed. Buttons are relatively well held and do not rattle. While you would be hard pressed to trick someone into thinking this was a super high-end mouse, it definitely does not look like the budget option it really is. The sides are similar, though not identical. This is not an ambidextrous mouse and so while it would likely work for a left-handed gamer, it is not recommended. The left hand side features a panel-long rubber grip, which should cater to all sorts of hand shapes, sizes and grip types. There are also the usual two forward/back buttons, which are placed at a slight angle so can be actuated with a thumb-rock, rather than a lift and press. In contrast the right hand side only features the rubber grip. It too is long and covers the whole panel, which is nice to see. There is also a slight ridge to rest your fingers on, though this is not like the mice with full hand-platforms, it is quite subtle. Looking at the front end, we have the typical left/right mouse buttons, as well as a rubber-coated central scroll wheel. Behind that is the DPI selector, which is a cycle switch, rather than a pair of up/down buttons. Not my favourite method for DPI switching, but it does reduce the complexity of the mouse build. Notice too that the cable is off centre and has a rubber protector at its base, to resist damage and cable shearing after long term use. The only lighting option with this mouse is located in the palm rest and is the classic Corsair logo. When switched off it is a translucent white. Flipping the mouse over, we can see that it uses unbranded Teflon (PTFE) for the feet and has four of them located at the corners of the design. The optical sensor is located in the dead centre. The cable is silicon, with a custom USB header that is nickel plated. For some reason the website lists the cable as "braided-fibre," but this feels exactly like a rubber cable. It was also rather stubborn at maintaining its shape after unwinding. Several days later it still sticks out at odd angles. Methodology To test the Corsair Harpoon gaming mouse, I used it for a period of one week as my main office mouse for general web browsing, photo-editing and office tasks. I also put it through its paces with a number of different games from a variety of genres, from FPS, to strategy and puzzlers, all in the aid of seeing how well it performs under certain conditions. During testing I factored in its accuracy and smoothness, overall comfort and the abilities of its back end software. Gaming Although affordable, the Corsair Harpoon is a relatively effective gaming mouse. With a sensitivity as high as 6,000 DPI and a reasonably accurate optical sensor (Pixart PMW3320), it is good for use in shooters, strategies, MOBA's and puzzlers. I found it just as capable of selecting items and menus in Day of the Tentacle, as I did in gunning down zombies in Left 4 Dead 2. I felt more comfortable using it for faster movements than I did slower, smaller ones - it seemed more accurate with those somehow. Personally I kept it at 4,000 DPI, rather than the maximum of 6,000, as that just feels excessive on a 1080P screen. There is probably an argument for it on 4K displays or when you have multiple high-resolution monitors, but there is plenty of scope with this mouse for whatever environment you are using. Switching DPI changes the colour of the rear-logo LED lighting. It is a nice touch, but a bit redundant when your palm covers it up entirely. Although there is button remapping in the CUE software and a couple of programmable buttons on the side of this mouse, I would not think it best for MMO gamers - unless you have macro-able buttons elsewhere - though it will of course function perfectly well with more general tasks in-game. Regardless of the game though, the PTFE (unbranded Teflon) feet are smooth across multiple surfaces and surprisingly, the optical sensor works just as well on my desk surface as it does on most pads. General usage General web browsing and office tasks - invoice preparation, navigating a CMS etc. - were perfectly handled by the Corsair Harpoon RGB and due to its low cost, would likely be a good choice of upgrade for an office mouse, for any managers looking to improve worker efficiency through faster mouse movements. The Corsair Utility Engine software is as professional as ever and the new look is much easier to navigate That said, I did again find some difficulty with the accuracy of the mouse for very small movements, particularly during photo editing where accuracy is paramount. The problem stems from the sensor seeming to not pick up the smallest of movements very well. Often I would find myself trying to move over a few pixels on an image and finding it not registering until several had been passed, at which point it would overshoot what I was trying to highlight. It did not seem to take place every time, but did happened irrespective of DPI and before the back-end software was even installed, so seems unlikely to be software related. That said, we have reached out to Corsair to find out its thoughts on the matter and will update this piece as and when we receive a response. Comfort The Corsair Harpoon is a reasonably comfortable mouse, offering a well shaped body for claw, finger and palm grips should you so wish. I liked the use of rubber grips on the sides for keeping your digits in touch with the mouse at all times and that helps prevent issues with perspiration. Although the Harpoon does not have a tonne of options, the ones that are there are well presented and simple to use The overall weighting of the mouse is good too. I did however feel that I would have liked a deeper/wide shelf for my fingers to rest on. Although there is a small one with this mouse, there was not really anywhere for my little finger to go. Considering I have quite small hands too, my concern is that those with larger digits would see even more of an issue. Making a mouse that has enough features that it is worth upgrading from a bog standard mouse, without breaking the bank, is the difficulty faced by all entry-level gaming mouse makers. That said, I feel confident in saying that the Harpoon is a solid entry level gaming mouse and it has a lot going for it. It has a capable sensor with a decent range of sensitivities, as well as the ability to minutely customise them in the back end software. The lighting, although basic is there and the overall shape, build and feel of the mouse are good. I did have some difficulties with the Corsair Harpoon when it came to fine movements at the extreme low level, but other than that it performed flawlessly in all testing and showed itself capable of hanging with much more expensive rodents in the gaming space. We have also made sure to reach out to Corsair to see if it has any comments on my findings. I would have liked to have seen some extra support for ring and little fingers on the side, and the lighting feels a little redundant under the palm, but for what the Harpoon offers, it is a pretty tidy package for less than £30. I could argue it is worth spending around £10 more to get something a little higher quality although for those keeping their budget under £30, the Harpoon is one of the best options there is. While there are likely to be some features that those used to higher-end hardware would miss, if you are looking to grab your kid a decent gaming mouse for Christmas that will not cost the Earth, the Corsair Harpoon is a solid choice. You can buy the Corsair Harpoon RGB from Overclockers UK for £27.95 inc vat HERE. Pros Decent for gaming and most office tasks. Compact, lightweight. Very affordable. Lighting, back end software and customisation all strong. Comfortable over long periods with all grip types. Cons Struggled a little at minute movements. Finger shelf is too narrow. Cable remained stubbornly kinked for several days. KitGuru Says: For an entry level gaming mouse, the Corsair Harpoon RGB ticks enough boxes that it is arguably one of the best options for anyone looking to upgrade from stock, without breaking the bank.

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Corsair Harpoon RGB gaming mouse

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