By: Aaron Lai
March 29, 2024
Last year, for my girlfriend's birthday, I got her a Lego set of Captain Rex's helmet. As she is a big fan of both Star Wars and especially this character, I knew she would appreciate the final finished product. I also enjoy building Lego with her because we both contribute in our own ways. At first, I let her connect everything while I picked up all the necessary bricks for her next step. In the middle of the build, we would swap roles, so we would both have the fun of assembling things. I think she also enjoys doing it, as we have built one or two other things together, including some succulent plants and a trio of pandas. I have some ideas for the next Lego sets to build, but I will have to keep it a secret in case she reads this review, haha. In the case of Captain Rex, we both agreed we would make time to build it with each other, but unfortunately, we both were busy at different times. It was not until over eight months later, we finally finished it. The old saying of "better late than never" still holds true, as I did enjoy the whole process even if it was delayed. In a similar thought, last year, we received the Cooler Master MM712, which is a wireless optical mouse. I have been using it since as my daily driver, but there were murmurs among the community about a wired variant coming out. It is not until now, ten months after my review, that we finally have the Cooler Master MM712 Wired. Boasting the same great shape, is the MM712 Wired worth the wait, or has it been surpassed by other products during our wait? Let us read on to find out!
Today's review unit of the Cooler Master MM712 Wired did not ship from Cooler Master's American offices, but rather through their European distributor offices in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. You might be wondering why it did not arrive from Cooler Master USA, and this is because the MM712 Wired is only planned for release in Europe at the time of review. Traveling with UPS and their Saver service, this corrugated cardboard box arrived to our offices here in Calgary, Alberta. Arriving from the same nation as racing phenomenon, Max Verstappen, the box came in pretty quick fashion and was delivered within two days of shipping. It might not be "F1 fast", but I was still impressed. Unfortunately, the box arrived with notable dents and bruising throughout. Without drawing further connections to Verstappen and his rocky childhood, I can at least say everything inside was still safe. Cooler Master protected the product inside with a bit of packaging material to absorb some of the shock of transit.
Out of the box, you can see the Cooler Master MM712 Wired arrived in excellent condition. You can see the resemblance this mouse carries in terms of its packaging, as it uses the same Cooler Master aesthetic with a mix of teal to purple gradients plus a lot of branding seen around the box. The mouse is displayed scaled down in the middle of the front panel, while the product name is shown down the right side. As you can see, Cooler Master sent us their black finish as this seems to be the only color it comes in. Underneath, there is a longer tagline of "Master your game with lightweight design, rapid input, and exceptional performance". Above it is another line that says "Wired for Victory", which is pretty self-explanatory. Otherwise, at the bottom, there are some highlighted specifications, including its RGB LED lighting, MasterPlus+ compatibility, a 50g weight, 26k DPI, and primary switches with a 70M click endurance. Around the box, we have some more features highlighted, but there is not much else.
Before we continue, I have grabbed the specifications from the manufacturer's website for your reading pleasure:
Product Number: MM-712-KKOL1
Mouse Grip Type: Claw, Palm, Fingertip
Mouse Material: ABS Plastic
Mouse Feet: PTFE
Mouse Color: Black
Mouse LEDs: Yes, RGB on logo
Mouse Sensor: PixArt PWM3395
CPI / DPI: 400-800-1200(Default)-1600-3200-8000-26000
Mouse Tracking Speed: 650 ips
Mouse Lift Off Distance: < ~2mm
Mouse Polling Rate: 1000Hz
Angle Snapping: Yes
Mouse acceleration: 50g
On-board Memory: 512KB
Mouse Lifespan (L/R switches): Optical Switches, 70 Million
Mouse Buttons: 6
Software: Yes, Cooler Master MasterPlus+ Support
Mouse Cable Length: Fixed Ultraweave cable, 1.8m
Mouse Dimensions: 116.5 x 62.4 x 38.3 mm / 4.587 x 2.457 x 1.508 inches (L x W x H)
Mouse Weight: < 50g
Similar to the unboxing experience of other Cooler Master mice, the MM712 Wired comes in a white Styrofoam bag with its cable bundled beside it. A white cardboard shell holds the mouse in place so it does not rattle around and is protected while in transit. Included with the MM712 Wired is another set of PTFE feet, set of grip tape, and an alcohol wipe to clean your mouse before applying the tape. A small manual is also included to specify quick start usage and to talk about warranty. As expected, this mouse comes with a standard 2-year warranty. One thing I did notice was Cooler Master mentioned a USB adapter being included out of the box, but I did not receive one. Whether this is an issue with the review samples or a mislabel on the early boxes, hopefully this will be resolved for those looking to buy one.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
