Page 3 - Subjective Performance Tests
After plugging the ROCCAT Kone AIMO in and setting up the software, I drove the mouse through our series of revised standard tracking performance tests. This includes normal office usage in the Windows environment as well as gaming. Some graphics work and testing is done with Adobe Photoshop. Games used in this test include Overwatch and League of Legends. This spans multiple genres and allows us to get a feel as to how the mouse responds in different situations. All testing was completed on my XTracGear Carbonic XXL soft surface. Please note these are subjective tests, but we will attempt to make it as objective as possible with our cross reference testing methods.
The right hand shape of the ROCCAT Kone AIMO lends itself towards a hybrid of claw grip. I used a hybrid style most of the time with the Kone AIMO with enough width to support all of my fingers. Even those with larger hands should be fine. I personally found the mouse a bit too big for my hands. Weighting wise, the Kone AIMO is also too heavy for me. Obviously, this is a preference thing, but I think 130g is just too much at a base weight. I also did notice the mouse would tilt forward a bit when lifting the mouse off the table, causing me to use a bit more effort to keep hold of the mouse. It is a very small thing and probably more noticeable because of my smaller hands. As for the sensitivity range, I never went above 1600DPI despite ROCCAT allowing for up to 12000DPI. Most experienced gamers actually keep their mouse at a relatively low sensitivity, but this flexibility is nice.
As for inputs, I found buttons to be in a good placement to avoid accidental buttons presses. The audible and tactile feedback on all of the buttons were good, even when using the secondary keys. Again, I think some of the side buttons could be improved, but it is not detrimental either. None of the buttons exhibited any squeaks or abnormal sounds. I also really like the horizontal scrolling, as the wheel tilts to each side to move the screen left or right. It is not necessarily a very popular feature, but I do appreciate it.
The ROCCAT Kone AIMO is marketed for FPS and MOBA games, so it only makes sense to test it with games like Overwatch and League of Legends. Diving into the shooter, the Kone AIMO felt very similar to our other ROCCAT mice. This is not too surprising considering they share a similar sensor. Generally speaking, FPS gamers will look for mice that are easy to hold and quick to respond without having much heft. Unfortunately, I did not like the heavier build and larger shape of the Kone AIMO. I know this is preference, but I think the sweet spot for gaming mice is just under the one hundred gram mark. Otherwise, the mouse was very responsive without any flaws like spinning out. It also provided smooth tracking, especially at lower sensitivity settings. Considering all the high-end mice use this sensor and its variants, it is no surprise to see superb tracking performance. In games like League of Legends, the tracking was again top notch. The cursor did not skip or jump and I was able to control the mouse easily. Button clicks felt responsive throughout the game.
When checking for more technical flaws, the ROCCAT Kone AIMO performed well. Firstly, I did some lasso testing in Photoshop to see if the mouse was capable of selecting predetermined elements in an image. This allowed me to check for not only tracking and precision, but also for jitter while moving about. Secondly, I performed the straight line test by trying to draw a straight line with the brush. This allowed me to test for mouse prediction. Some cheaper mice will "autocorrect" itself by predicting and drawing a flat line, which hides the intended smaller movements. For the Kone AIMO, there were no issues in either tests. No signs of prediction was displayed here, though this is not too surprising. No input lag was noticed and response time was consistently excellent, even when testing at the maximum settings. There was a bit of jitter at maximum sensitivity, though this could easily just be my hand or the mouse itself. ROCCAT does recommend keeping the tracking between 400 to 3000DPI for optimal performance.
Overall, it is hard to complain about the sensor performance of the ROCCAT Kone AIMO. Gaming was made easy with accurate and smooth tracking. The Kone AIMO showed no signs of lag and handled well. I still think this mouse is too big and heavy for me, but this will vary from user to user. Even so, I think this mouse would benefit from some side grips to make the mouse easier to hold.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
