Corsair Vengeance M60

I'll be the first to admit it: first-person shooters are not my forte. My main point of contention is that everyone else always just seemed to be, well, better at them than me, particularly when it came down to aiming. Of course, some of this is due to genetic predisposition?not everyone can be blessed with incredible reflexes. But the tools at your disposal are almost equally important. Enter the Corsair Vengeance M60 ($69.99 list), a gaming mouse designed to bring out the killer in you. Designed with first-person shooters in mind, the M60 sports a dedicated sniper button that instantly lowers your DPI for maximum precision, allows for sensitivity adjustment on the fly, and boasts a cool, Blade-Runner-esque design.

Design
The M60 sports an eye-catching, futuristic look. Its contour shape resembles an alien's head, with an opening in the back that reveals a metallic frame. It's almost elegant in its simplicity. Unlike the plethora of buttons crammed onto the Mad Catz Cyborg M.M.O. 7 Gaming Mouse ($159 street, 3.5 stars), the inclusion of a dedicated "sniper" button in the thumb cradle is the M60's only embellishment beyond a standard gaming mouse. Like the pinky rest, the thumb cradle bears a slightly rougher texture than the top of the mouse to provide a better grip. Two buttons above the sniper button on the crest of the mouse come pre-configured as "forward" and "back" buttons. In between the right and left mouse-click buttons is a solid metal, rubberized tracking wheel, beneath which are two additional buttons for on-the-fly DPI adjustment. An LED light beneath the track wheel emits a blue-ish patina. Topping off the aluminum unibody is a soft-touch textured, somewhat rubbery plastic surface. The plastic texture provides an aesthetically pleasing contrast to the aluminum construction and didn't attract an inordinate amount of oil buildup after prolonged use. And, judging by how comfortably the M60 fits in the palm of your hand, there will be plenty of prolonged use, both on and off the gaming grid.

Five smooth plastic glide pads on the Vengeance M60's underside effectively minimize friction during movement, resulting in a smooth-as-butter operation, even on plastic or fabric surfaces. And while the M60 feels appreciably sturdy right out of the box, three removable weights on the underside allow you to adjust the weight depending on your preference. Still, there's no denying that the M60 feels as great as it looks.

The Vengeance M60 is a wired mouse that connects via USB 3.0. There's no wireless option, which will undoubtedly turn off those who prefer the clutter-free convenience and freedom that Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless mice offer. Still, wired mice offer a reliable precision that has yet to be guaranteed by wireless mice, and since deadly accuracy is the guiding principle behind the M60, it's a rather sensible omission. And there's no denying that the braided, tangle-free chord looks and feels better than your average wire. In the end, if wireless connectivity is an absolute must, stick with the Star Wars: The Old Republic Gaming Mouse ($139.99 list, 4 stars), though that gaming mouse is geared toward MMO's rather than first-person shooters.

Performance
When it comes down to the nitty gritty, first-person shooters reward precision and swiftly punish sloppiness. The Vengeance M60 embraces this credo. Its maximum DPI of 5,700 lets you tune it to a hyper-sensitive extreme. Moreover, its response rate is incredibly quick - our testing confirmed the advertised polling rate of 1000Hz, and in some cases it even surpassed 1,300Hz. With the downloadable software, the M60's three programmable DPI settings (for on-the-fly adjustment) can be adjusted anywhere from 100 DPI to 5,700 DPI. The sniper button is set to a default 800 DPI, though it, too, can also be adjusted to whatever DPI you prefer for the momentary accuracy necessary for that one devastating kill-shot. Although the Editors' Choice-winning Gigabyte M8000Xtreme Mouse ($59.99 list, 4.5 stars) has a greater DPI range of 90 to 6,030 DPI, the practical difference is de minimis for all intents and purposes. In addition to button reassignment, the downloadable software also lets you to create different profiles for certain choice configurations that you can swap depending on whatever game you're playing at the moment. The M60 falls short of the M8000Xtreme in terms of configurability options, though, as the latter has a slew of additional features, such as macro editing and on-the-fly profile switching.

I tested the Vengeance M60 with a few rounds of Team Fortress 2, and was pleasantly surprised by the results. Smooth sensor movement on high DPI settings allowed me to blast away at my digital foes with relative accuracy in close-range combat while the dedicated sniper button gave me a hitherto unprecedented level of precision for kill shots from a distance. Suddenly, I was Mr. First Person Shooter, firing away with much more alacrity than I'm typically accustomed to.

Ultimately, the Vengeance M60 is an excellent gaming mouse that, while good for all-around use, happens to shine brightest with first person shooters. Though it lacks a wireless option and doesn't match the overall range of features that the Gigabyte M8000Xtreme Mouse has, its comfort and killer design still make it a fine choice.

COMPARISON TABLE
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