Page 2 - A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
Compared to the SteelSeries Rival that is slightly biased towards right hand users, as reviewed earlier this year by Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Kwan, the Maurus X is accommodating for both left and right hand users. This is due to the design of the mouse, which offer contours matching the curvature of the human hand in a symmetrical fashion. Regardless of the hand the user prefers, this mouse is ergonomic and comfortable to rest on. More specifically, the Maurus X is designed towards users who prefer a palm grip over a claw grip. With additional buttons on the side of the mouse, a palm grip rather than claw allows users to reach these buttons easily.
Measuring in at 120mm length, 81mm width, and 61mm in height, the Genius GX Gaming Maurus X is not afraid to show off its size. It is wider and taller than all the mice we have reviewed at APH Networks in 2014, with the exception of Func MS-3 Revision 2. However, the MS-3 is extended outward on the right side to accommodate the last two fingers on the right hand. Compared to your run-of-the-mill mouse, the Maurus X is also a little on the heavy side. On an aside, do not describe your girlfriend or significant other in this way. It tips the scale at 178g with its built-in metal weight of 50g. However, this weight is not adjustable, and will sit on your desk -- all 178 grams -- if you so desire to have it stay there. The good thing is at this weight, it really will stay there. Based on the numbers mentioned above, we can see this mouse is built for average to larger sized hands. The purpose of the mouse can be seen through its overall size. It is built for first person shooters and real-time strategy games; sometimes bigger may actually be better.
The looks of the Maurus X itself is also very appealing in my personal opinion, but it may not be for everyone. Outlined with red accents on both side, it creates an aggressive presence for the mouse. If you look closely or from a reflection of light, you can see a grey scorpion printed on its face. Many of you may be wondering why the theme of scorpion seems to show up many times during this review. Taken from the GX Gaming website, "The Scorpion is employed as the spiritual symbol for the GX Gaming Series. The Scorpion, spawned from the frenzied flames burning throughout the underworld, has been through tremendous trials and tribulations and has risen from the burning embers as an immortal being. And so, with the GX Gaming Series, players can easily conquer all challenges that are cast their way just like the immortal Scorpion." Yeah. Anyway, both sides of the mouse are rubberized to prevent any slippage during intense mouse movement, or with sweaty hands, haha.
The GX Gaming Maurus X comes with a total of six programmable buttons. There are standard left and right buttons, clickable scroll wheel, forward and back button on the right and left side, respectively, and a DPI switch at the top. The DPI switch at the top can be used to adjust the sensitivity level in increments of 800 up to 4000 DPI. However users can also use the included software to vary DPI settings in smaller increments of, say, 100 DPI. The other buttons can be customized to the user’s liking to provide the best possible mousing experience possible.
Genius has set a rated lifetime of eight million clicks on the Maurus X. Based on the overall build quality and personal experience of the mouse, I would think this is an underestimation, and it can probably go miles beyond this rating just from my gut feeling. However, due to the nature of the review and time constraints, I cannot personally perform eight million clicks to prove my point. Regardless, the build of the mouse is solid, and the quality is excellent. The sound of both left and right clicks were very audible since day one -- in a good way -- and has not been deafened throughout the span of the review process. Button presses were very responsive with no sticky feeling whatsoever.
Like the SteelSeries Rival, the Maurus X has two independent illumination zones. These two zones are the scroll wheel and the GX Gaming logo near the bottom. Unlike the Rival’s ability to display 16.8 million different colors, the Maurus X only lights up red to match the two accents along the side of the mouse. The mouse comes with five different profiles allowing for adjustment to the intensity of the light and the light pulsation speed. After playing around with the light options, I chose to go with the medium settings for both, so I would not be distracted as I am working, while having something to stare at in my downtimes. Although the Maurus X does not light up my world like nobody else, its one color matching pulsations makes it nice to look at without taking away the purpose and functions of a mouse.
Taking a look at the bottom of the mouse, there are two separate foot pads to help the mouse glide around mousing surfaces. Peeling them off slightly reveals the screws holding the mouse together. I thought it was quite a “Genius” idea to hide the screws under the pads, and therefore reducing the drag across mousing surfaces. Of course, they are not the first ones to do so, but it is good practice anyway.
The Genius GX Gaming Maurus X is powered by an Avago ADNS3090 optical sensor with tracking resolution ranging from 800 to 4000 DPI. It claims an acceleration rate of up 20Gs with a standard 1000Hz polling rate, but can be lowered to 500Hz and even 250Hz. Custom settings for your preferences can be saved on its 32KB onboard memory. This onboard memory can prevent "game block" according to the specifications, whatever that means. The first thing I thought of was blocking my Facebook friends from sending me annoying game requests such as Farm Hero Saga, Bubble Witch 2 Saga, or Magic Kitchen, but I am pretty sure this is not the case.
A 1.8m braided cable runs from the top of the mouse via a rubber component. The rubber component prevents fraying of wires, and keeps the braided cable snugly connected to the GX Gaming Maurus X. The braided cable was a good idea on behalf of the manufacturer to make the mouse look and feel more professional, and promote longevity. On the other end of the braided cable is the gold-plated USB connector. Taken and summarized from past reviews here at APH Networks, it is important to note gold-plated USB connectors are nice to have, and it is pretty to look at, but it does not really do anything practically or electrically.
The Genius GX Gaming Maurus X has its own driver simply named “Maurus X Driver Setting”. This is completely a plug-and-play experience, as the onboard memory takes care of any changes to the settings made. We will briefly talk about this later. The main screen of the software closely matches the design of the box. I particularly like this, because it shows a flow from hardware to software even in the details of the layout and color scheme. Moving on to the actual software, there are four tabs that allows for customization with five profiles to save personalized settings. The four tabs are named Assign Buttons, Manage Macro, Advanced Setting, and Light Options. Each of those tabs offer further customization in DPI, mouse speed, sensitivity, click speed, polling rate, and scrolling speed. The option key in the Assign Buttons tab offers a wide variety of buttons that can be assigned to personal preferences, like fire rate or media playback. If users are not interested in complicating their mouse usage experience, they can simply turn off the said extra buttons. The Genius GX Gaming Maurus X can be seen as not only taking in the interest of gamers alike, but also incorporating everyday functions into their product. Lastly, the Advanced Setting panel is very user friendly, as users can hold and pull sliders to desired levels for corresponding options, or simply click to the setting they want.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
