Asus has been one of the more well known peripheral manufacturers for a while now. With Asus being on top of all of the trends and needs of gamers, Asus has a good idea on how to target certain gamers. Earlier this year, Asus announced their Strix Impact and Evolve mouse. Today, we have their Strix Impact mouse that aims to cater MOBA gamers for good. Coming in at RM299 in Malaysia or US $49 in the US, is Asus’s offering even worth it with such fierce competition? Let’s find out.
01|Design & Build Quality
Taking a look at the Strix Impact gaming mouse reveals that the mouse is made for gamers with small hands. The Strix Impact gaming mouse comes with an excellent shape that’s going to be suited towards MOBA gamers. However, CS:GO gamers or gamers who are used to binding keys to their mouse buttons should look elsewhere. On the top of the mouse we could find the right and left-click buttons flanked by a DPI switch that allows you to change your DPI on the fly. Over here towards the bottom you’ll find Asus’s classic ROG logo that’s RGB compliant for those who want to sync it up with Asus’s Aura Sync or choose a custom RGB color for the logo.
Taking a look at both sides of the mouse, you’ll find that both sides of the mouse carry a symmetrical shape along with what Asus calls “Mayan-patterned rear flanks”. While it may be okay for some, Auss has not implemented rubber grips on the mouse except for the scroll wheel on top. By now we could get an idea of who Asus is targeting here other than just MOBA gamers.
Taking a look at the bottom of the mouse, you’ll find some excellent feet that allow the mouse to glide freely. During our testing, we found that the mouse glides excellently on cloth surfaces. This is partly due to the light-weight of the mouse along with the excellent feet attached to the bottom of the mouse.
If we have a look at the cable that’s attached to the mouse, we could find that the cable that Asus has used with the Strix Impact is actually well-braided and could be used for quite a while before fraying. Not only does it look stealthy but the wire overall looks pretty clean.
Taking a look at the build quality of the mouse and it is certain that Asus isn’t cutting out on many corners when it comes to the build quality of the mouse itself. You have an excellent cable along with a solidly built body to carry the internals in. Alongside that, you also get the assurance of 50M clicks on each of the left and right-click buttons thanks to the ultra-durable OMRON switches underneath it.
02| The User/Gaming Experience
The Asus Strix Impact Gaming mouse fared well during our testing. Coming in with a 5000 DPI optical sensor along with a 121g light-weight body, I personally think the mouse could be an excellent performer for those who aren’t into competitive gaming. Using the mouse for general tasks under Windows was as good enough as other mice are. However, in gaming, I had to get used to the small form-factor of the mouse and start clicking for keys on my keyboard as the mouse I use personally has extra buttons on the side that I use frequently during my gaming sessions.
Now while 5000 DPI may be too high or impractical to some, Asus’s simple software allows you to sync up the lights and adjust your DPI.
Tracking was fine but not perfect. Jitter is definitely noticable at DPIs over 1600-2000. However, I do think that for the casual gamer it isn’t going to be noticeable.
03| Pricing and Conclusion
The Asus Strix Impact Gaming mouse is a great mouse but it does come with its fair share of cons. Personally, being a user who has been gaming on some of the top dogs out there, I was able to notice where Asus has cut corners, but hey, at this price you should pretty much expect that. However, I do think that other mice that are trying to cater the same target audience are doing a bit better for around the same price as the Strix Impact. However, this mouse isn’t bad at all in itself and I could definitely see some gamers actually liking it. But for competitive gamers, you may wanna fork out a bit more. Coming in at RM229 or $49.99 in the US, Asus has stuck their mouse in such a market where the competition is very dense. I think lowering the price would increase its chances of being picked up by new gamers. Overall, it is a great mouse indeed.
