Acer Predator Gaming Mouse – Hardware Review
With Acer’s Predator headset still imprinted in our mind, we already have another piece of their Predator lineup, which was also created in correspondence with SteelSeries. Together with a separately available mouse pad, these three items are the complete peripheral setup that Acer has released upon the world. Even though the headset proved to be a fun item, with a few minor remarks, we wondered if the mouse would blow us away, or prove to be another lukewarm drop in the bucket where many brands and models compete to be average, rather than innovating.
Design
At first glance the Predator looks like a rather standard mouse, without too many whistles and bells and the buttons have a small inclination towards the right-hand side. Other than that, the device comes in a matte black finish, with gridded padding on the left and right sides of the device, and a red colored bottom and a few red accents on the backside. The Predator logo and name are neatly presented with LED lights, which are customizable with the software, and below it is the SteelSeries logo and brand name, which looks a bit cheaply done. That being said, the SteelSeries plate can actually be replaced with one of your own choosing.
Overall, even with its rather simple look, the device looks neat, tidy, classy and sturdy, while the latter probably has to do with the size of the mouse, seeing it’s quite large compared to many other devices on the market. The matte finish makes the Predator look less like a piece of plastic, and more like something which a lot of effort has been placed into, and the red finishing touches break the otherwise too bland color palette, making it look just the right amount ‘badass’.
Comfort
Acer’s Predator is actually quite comfortable, even though those with smaller hands might need some time adapting to the feel of the mouse. The soft rubberized padding, which causes the matte finish, is quite soft, giving the mouse a pleasant feel. Whilst this feeling is rather amusing and comfortable, it also comes with the downside that it will show traces of fingerprints and other dirt a lot easier, and it also makes the mouse a lot harder to clean or to keep its brand-new look and feeling.
Overall the positions of all the buttons feel right, and the curved design makes it easy to rest your hand properly. Only the button that switches between your two dpi profiles has been placed on an annoying to reach spot, forcing you to adjust your entire hand, in order to reach it properly.
Specs
- Up to 6500 dpi
- Numerous color illumination settings
- Right-handed ergonomic grip
Overview
Just like many gaming peripherals nowadays, the Predator is a plug and play device, making sure you can get started in a matter of moments. If you are happy with the basic settings, you’re good to go, if not, you’ll have to download SteelSeries’ software, which works with all SteelSeries devices, thus if you’re thinking of buying multiple products from their library, you can breathe easily.
The software itself is rather straightforward, allowing you to change the bindings for each of the keys of the mouse, and perhaps most importantly change the dpi setting for both profiles that can be stored on the mouse itself. As this device can go up to 6500 dpi, you’ll find that is has more than sufficient options for all of your gaming needs, but some might argue that the otherwise simple design of the Predator doesn’t call for such dpi options. It’s actually sad that the Predator doesn’t allow you to save more profiles, or even have a few extra buttons, as it would have made the device that much stronger if it had those options.
As mentioned earlier, you can also change the color settings for the Predator logo and name, but also the mouse wheel, with the same software that handles the key binding and dpi settings. To keep things easy, you can simply drag and drop your cursor on the color you’d like, save your preference and you’re ready to go. While the box stated it has a few million color options, in reality the mouse doesn’t really register very small changes, or we must have missed them. Nonetheless, the color options are very varied and there’s ample choice in finding the proper color that suits your gaming style. That being said, not every color looks spiffy with the red accents on the backside of the mouse.
Conclusion
Acer’s Predator Gaming Mouse is a great asset to your gaming collection, albeit a rather simple one in terms of buttons and extra options. The dpi settings and the soft feeling of the device will certainly make your longer gaming sessions a lot more pleasant, as well as hardcore, thus if you’re looking for something classy yet decent, this Predator might sneak up on you.
Acer Predator Gaming Mouse - Hardware Review,
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