By: Jonathan Kwan
November 11, 2016
If you have lived long enough to witness the dawn of the internet era, give yourself a pat on your back: You are now an internet veteran. As an internet veteran, you have probably witnessed the fundamental shifts in the ways we do open communications. It started with simple message boards, which evolved onto internet forums, followed by the rise of social media. But what has not changed is the importance of winning debates on the internet. As you would know, winning internet debates is serious business. Those who win will be allowed to elevate their e-ego for five minutes in front of that twenty people or so who are following that thread, while those who lose are relegated to shame by the warriors of the internet sitting behind a computer monitor and -- if you are against the professionals -- a mechanical keyboard and a gaming mouse. Recently, I was arguing with a member of another forum. After proving a DC motor does indeed produce 100% of the torque from 0 RPM by showing mathematical formulas, physical implications, and system output graphs, my opponent still was not convinced. "I have been an electrician for three decades, and this is not true," he explained. After facepalming in real life for about two minutes, I decided to fire back. "I am doing a PhD in Electrical Engineering. My proofs are sufficient and you are wrong." I think that was a mic drop moment as I watched the flurry of support come in from other internet users over the next few minutes. All I can say is, there is nothing that beats the satisfaction of creaming your opponent by both logic and credibility. I mean, why else do people pursue a PhD other than for the sole purpose of winning arguments on the internet? Okay, this is not the actual reason why I decided to do my graduate studies, haha. In reality, if you possess adequate knowledge in any subject, combined with good logic and decent strategies (This example aside), you will probably win the debate. Similarly, when you buy computer peripherals, how do you evaluate what is adequate for the task? Is a $100 mouse an overkill for your needs, and can a $30 mouse have all the right elements to consistently deliver headshots to your virtual enemies? Read on to see if Corsair Gaming's Harpoon RGB will be the new weapon of choice for the professional internet warrior on a budget.
Interestingly, despite being in the industry for over ten years and having worked with almost major computer manufacturer at this point, we have never covered a product from Corsair before. This is the first product we have ever received from the company, and to celebrate this occasion, I decided to review it myself -- despite the fact I do not cover peripherals all that often compared to storage. This is not to mention I only got just over a week between receiving this product and meeting the deadline to coincide with the product release, and I normally take a full month, haha. Anyway, our review unit of the Corsair Gaming Harpoon RGB arrived in a small, brown corrugated cardboard box from the company's American headquarters in Hayward, California, USA. Using UPS Express, everything arrived quickly and in almost perfect condition to us here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for our review today.
By "almost perfect condition", I mean the packaging of the Corsair Gaming Harpoon RGB was slightly dented on the right side when I took it out. Fortunately, the damage was nowhere near significant, and as such, nothing to worry about. I personally have not owned a Corsair product for nearly a decade -- the last time I did was when DDR-400 was still the thing -- but the retail box design for Corsair Gaming's Harpoon RGB mouse is immediately recognizable to anyone who has seen peripherals from the company at the local computer shop in the last little while. The predominantly black color scheme is accentuated by yellow strips on the side, contrasted by the white text on the darker shades, and black text on the lighter shades. The mouse itself at 3/4 angle occupies majority of the real estate in front. At the top, you will find Corsair's logo and an array of three icons depicting its 6000 dpi sensor, 85g weight, and multi-color backlighting, respectively. The name of the mouse is printed at the bottom. Two short product highlights in English and French is located adjacent to the picture of the Harpoon RGB. Further feature highlights and miscellaneous product information such as package contents and system requirements can be found on the remaining sides of the box.
Before we move on, let us take a look at the specifications of the Corsair Gaming Harpoon RGB, as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
Sensor: Pixart PMW3320 gaming optical sensor
Sensor Resolution: 5 Way Adjustable 250 – 6000 DPI
Color: Black
Backlight: 1 Zone RGB
Buttons: 6
Report Rate: Selectable 1000/500/250/125 Hz (USB)
On-Board Memory: Yes
Dimensions: 111.5(L) x 68.3(W) x 40.4(H) mm / 4.38” (L) x 2.68” (W) x 1.59” (H)
Weight: 85g / 0.19 lbs.
Mouse Feet: Extra Large PTFE
CUE: Enabled
Warranty: 2 Years
Out of the box, you will receive the Corsair Gaming Harpoon RGB mouse placed in a polyethylene terephthalate shell, along with a quick start guide and a warranty guide. The software can be downloaded from Corsair' website. The file size of the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) is 124MB, but I am willing to bet a vast majority of the users who are interested in this mouse will have a reasonably fast internet connection at home. It should not take more than a minute or so in download time given it is 2016 after all, and if you already have other peripherals from the company, you do not need to install anything new.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
