Corsair M55 RGB PRO Mouse Review: You’re Paying for the Name
Retail Price: $39.99
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When I got this Corsair mouse in the mail to review, I was pretty excited. Up until now, I’ve really only used budget mice. Of course, I absolutely loved my Havit mouse with a whole side panel of programmable buttons, and I was happy with the cheap NPET mouse I eventually had to replace it with. However, there’s always something exciting about getting tech from top brands. Unfortunately, I wasn’t impressed with the Corsair M55 RGB PRO mouse at all. Let me tell you why.
Look and Feel
In terms of looks, this mouse isn’t anything special. It’s cut like your average gaming mouse, perhaps even a little more conservatively. This is okay though, as sometimes the crazy designs sacrifice comfort (talking about you, D.Va mouse). It does have RGB lights, but I can hardly see this as a selling point considering it only applies to the small Corsair logo on the base of the mouse. You can also change the color of the DPI indicator for each DPI setting you create, but it won’t have any special effects like the logo does. While you do have a relatively decent range of effects to choose from, some of them look very similar. Furthermore, when you use the mouse, the RGB logo is covered by your hand, so you won’t be able to see these effects anyway. I wish that Corsair had been a little more creative and maybe left the mouse wheel clear so that you could see the RGB through there or perhaps had a line of RGB going around the body of the mouse. As it stands, it’s just kind of boring.
Though there’s nothing special about the way this mouse looks, I will admit that it feels nice in the hand. The plastic is slightly textured which is pleasant to the touch, and I prefer this over mice that are smooth or rubbery. It fits my hand well and is comfortable to use. It’s decently weighted which makes it feel sturdy rather than cheap. When it comes to the overall feel of this mouse, I have no complaints. It’s also nice that it’s ambidextrous, so it doesn’t matter if you’re right or left-handed. I can imagine left-handed folks have difficulty finding mice made for them.
Programmability
This mouse is marketed as having eight programmable buttons, but I would argue that this isn’t true. The mouse does have a total of eight buttons, but you’re really only going to reprogram four of them. The eight buttons include two on the left side and two on the right, the scroll click, left click, right click, and the DPI button.
My dominant hand is my right hand, which means I cannot use the buttons on the right side of the mouse. When I first started using the M55, I was clicking those buttons on accident all the time. It would have been a nightmare if they were programmed. I still occasionally click them on accident. The main issue, though, is that they’re difficult to click on purpose. If you try to press them with your ring finger, it’s pretty awkward. I could see maybe being able to manage the front button, but the back one is nearly impossible. Programming these buttons just isn’t realistic.
The four buttons I could see you programming would be the two on the side closest to the thumb, the scroll click, and the DPI button. Of these, the DPI button is also awkward to reach. Even though you could use it, the space between it and the scroll wheel is too far, making it difficult for your pointer finger to click. The two buttons on the side are fine, but I wish one of them was textured. The crease separating the two is barely noticeable with the thumb, so I sometimes have trouble figuring out which one I’m pressing, which slows down my gameplay.
Finally, I don’t understand how this mouse doesn’t have onboard storage. To be more clear, Corsair’s website claims that it does, that it can hold one profile onboard, but I can’t figure out how to save a profile to the mouse. Since I have a Corsair keyboard, I’m not unfamiliar with how to use iCue to save a profile to a device. For keyboards, there is a section in iCue dedicated to doing just that. That section isn’t present for this mouse, though. Therefore, every time I close iCue, the mouse goes back to default settings. Considering the list price of this mouse is $40, that’s pretty disappointing. I have a $12 programmable mouse from Amazon that works better. After saving a profile and closing the software, the keybinds I set still work. I don’t understand how a name brand mouse costing triple the amount doesn’t offer the same functionality.
Problems With iCue
My relationship with iCue deteriorates more and more the longer I have to use it. I’ve had several problems with iCue in regards to the Corsair K70 RGB MK.2 Low Profile keyboard, and iCue has stayed true to form with this M55 Pro mouse as well.
Though I haven’t had as many problems with the mouse, I have had to reprogram the side buttons I use twice within the month or so that I’ve tested this thing. This may not seem like a lot, but considering I’ve never been forced to reprogram the buttons on my $12 mouse, I don’t think Corsair deserves any slack here. They need to get their shit together with iCue stat.
The Verdict: It’s Overpriced
It feels like Corsair is robbing people with this mouse, and I genuinely think you’re paying for the name here. The only good thing about the M55 is that it is comfortable in the hand and fires without delay. Otherwise, it’s pretty disappointing that you can’t use it without iCue open. Maybe that’s my fault for not being able to figure out how to save my settings to the supposed onboard memory this mouse has, but doesn’t that also reflect poorly on iCue’s UI? Shouldn’t it be straightforward? I just don’t get how a $12 mouse from some no-name brand on Amazon is easier to program than a $40 mouse from a tech giant. I guess that just goes to show that you don’t always get what you pay for.
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Seri
A writer by day and gamer by night, Seri’s most prized possession is her computer. In fact, she built her desktop PC herself and repaired her college laptop with nothing but Google, Reddit, and determination to guide her. This do-it-yourself attitude was born from frugalness, so if you see Seri raving about something, it’s probably worth the price.