Pros
Looks nice
Comfortable in hand
Lots of options
Cons
Enormous and heavy
Awkward charging plate
Stiff buttons
Key Specifications
Review Price: £144.95
Wired and wi-fi
8,200 DPI
150ips 30g monitoring
2,000Hz polling (wired)
12 reprogrammable buttons
Omron click on switches with customisable resistance
Built-in storage
ROG Armoury software program
RGB lighting
What is the Asus ROG Spatha?
The Asus ROG Spatha is Asus’ flagship gaming mouse, providing each wired and wi-fi play, and ships underneath the agency’s Republic of Gamers sub-brand.
Embracing that flagship territory signifies that the Asus ROG Spatha additionally carries a lofty price ticket of £145. It’s a hefty mouse that gives customisability and top-end efficiency, so severe avid gamers will need to take into account it.
But the gaming mouse market is closely saturated, and Asus goes up towards formidable opponents equivalent to Razer and Logitech – two manufacturers that pour their coronary heart and soul into the peripheral enterprise. Can a computing model actually compete? And, extra importantly, can Asus justify the Spatha’s wallet-pillaging value? I’m not satisfied.
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Asus ROG Spatha – Design and Ergonomics
The Asus ROG Spatha is gigantic. Its mat-spanning chassis jogs my memory of the Roccat Nyth, an equally cumbersome unit that appears prefer it was designed for a yeti. I exploit my girlfriend as a litmus take a look at for sizing up mice, as a result of she has tiny hobbit arms. After a fast play, her verdict was that the Asus ROG Spatha is so huge it’s awkward. Sorry, Asus – you received’t flog many of those within the Shire.
Not surprisingly, the Asus ROG Spatha can be fairly heavy, weighing in at 179g. That’s way over its largest wi-fi rivals, the Razer Mamba (125g) and the Logitech G900 (107g). In my opinion, the Spatha is just too heavy to make use of comfortably.
Despite its clean, magnesium base, the Spatha seems like a chore to lug throughout even essentially the most forgiving surfaces. There’s no purpose why the Spatha needs to be so heavy when rival gadgets have managed to maintain the burden down.
On the brilliant facet, the Asus ROG Spatha has a really grippy floor, which makes it simple to carry. It additionally has an angular physique, with loads of nooks into which you’ll be able to squeeze your digits. These jagged edges give it a fearsome look, so high marks for desk enchantment.
The mixture of the massive, lengthy physique and angular type imply that you simply actually solely have one alternative of grip, and that’s palm grip. I attempted utilizing claw, and it simply doesn’t work.
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The Asus ROG Spatha has buttons aplenty: 12 reprogrammable keys adorn the mammoth chassis, together with six hotkeys on the facet and a two-level DPI switcher on the highest.
For avid gamers, essentially the most attention-grabbing keys are these on the left facet of the mouse. You’ll need to map these for varied instructions, which is a should for MMO avid gamers.
They’re specified by the form of the ROG eye brand, which means they’re completely different shapes. This is the last word double-edged sword. On the one hand, the number of shapes make it moderately simple to discern which button is which. On the opposite, it signifies that a few of the buttons are laborious to hit, as a result of they’re too small or in a bizarre place.
The two worst offenders are the bottom-centre and middle-centre keys. Worse nonetheless, all six buttons are sticky and difficult to press, which is annoying while you’re making an attempt to play fast-paced video games.
The solely different level price noting is that Asus provides the Spatha with two cables: a 1m cable and a 2m cable. You even have the choice of wi-fi play, however extra on that later.
Overall, I’ve blended emotions in regards to the ergonomics of the Asus ROG Spatha. It appears spectacular on my desk, and feels snug within the hand. But a cumbersome physique, awkward button design, and a scarcity of assist for something aside from palm-grip means it has a extra restricted viewers than it ought to.
Asus ROG Spatha – Features
In this value vary you’d count on an abundance of bonus options, and the Asus ROG Spatha doesn’t disappoint. There are extras aplenty, beginning with lighting.
Like almost all gaming mice, the Asus ROG Spatha comes geared up with an RGB lighting system. There are three unbiased lighting zones – ROG brand, scroll wheel, and facet buttons – all of which might be linked as a trio. Using the bundled Asus software program, you’ll be able to set these zones to any considered one of 16 million colors. There are additionally six completely different lighting modes: Static, Trigger, Cycling, Breathing, Random, and Battery. The latter modifications the color relying on battery life.
One of the Spatha’s extra distinctive options is customisable click on resistance. The Spatha’s right- and left-click buttons use Omron switches. The ones equipped contained in the mouse are 60gf (gram pressure), light-touch switches which might be rated for 20 million clicks.
But Asus additionally provides a second pair which have a heavier 75gf actuation, making them so much harder to press. They’re rated for just one million clicks, so it’s possible you’ll want to interchange them ultimately, however they’re arguably the higher alternative for extra managed, non-twitchy gameplay.
To aid you swap out the switches, Asus provides a star-tip screwdriver. You’ll have to take off the 4 rubber pads, after which take away 4 screws. A magnetic tip screwdriver would have been helpful, because the screws cease twisting about half a centimetre earlier than leaving the chassis. Even tipping the mouse the other way up wasn’t sufficient to jerk them out.
Once the screws are out, the highest lifts off and you may take out the switches. The proper swap comes out simply, however the left swap sits midway beneath the facet of the chassis, which makes it an actual ache to work out. Regardless, the complete switch-swapping course of took about 4 minutes the primary time I attempted it. With follow, I acquired this all the way down to a few minute-and-a-half.
Unfortunately, I’m not really satisfied any of that is notably helpful. The gentle switches are, in my view, already too powerful; the Logitech G900 has way more nice actuation. It’s partly a problem with the lengthy buttons, but in addition as a result of the switches are positioned too far up the chassis. Besides, the press isn’t notably nice, so having even heavier switches bundled appears somewhat backwards.
The third function is a charging platform, which is a neat thought – Razer affords an analogous resolution with the Mamba. I’m keen on charging platforms, and the Asus one appears cool. It options an LED battery indicator, and a kickstand that allows you to swap it from flat to upright, relying in your tastes.
The platform is magnetic, so the mouse sticks to it rather well and there’s no threat of you lacking the charging pins. But the magnets are extremely robust, primarily as a result of they must assist the mouse when it’s upright.
Unfortunately, the stand isn’t weighted sufficient, which signifies that while you attempt to pull the mouse away, it isn’t a clear detachment. About 70% of the time, you’ll find yourself dragging the platform across the mouse making an attempt to prise it off, till you’re compelled to make use of your second hand to drag it free. It’s irritating.
The ultimate function is straightforward, however efficient: the common-or-garden carry case. The case helps you to cart about all the finnicky Spatha equipment: the cables, the charging platform, the spare switches, and the screwdriver, as an illustration. If you frequent LAN events at buddies’ homes then you definately’ll get good use out of the case.
Asus ROG Spatha – Software
Like its main rivals, Asus affords its personal custom-built software program: ROG Armoury. It’s Windows-only, and also you’ll should be working not less than Windows 7, proper the way in which as much as Windows 10.
In 2016, most producers have managed to crack gaming mouse software program. Asus is not any exception; ROG Armoury is well-equipped and affords nearly all the key options you’d ever want. We’re speaking floor calibration, lighting customisation, button re-mapping, hotkey macros, and so forth.
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You may create as much as 5 profiles, every with completely different settings. You can swap between these on the fly by means of key instructions. Better nonetheless, the profiles are saved on the Spatha’s built-in flash reminiscence, so you’ll be able to take your profiles with you on the go.
There’s little to debate relating to the Asus software program. It’s superb, and on a par with rival techniques. Top marks.
Asus ROG Spatha – Performance
While the Asus ROG Spatha has a couple of points with its ergonomics, efficiency is nice.
First, it’s essential to keep in mind that the Spatha is a wi-fi mouse. That means it should carry out in another way when it’s in wired mode. Asus doesn’t give precise latency numbers, however you’ll be able to count on a number of milliseconds of delay when utilizing the Spatha in wi-fi mode, relying on the room situations and the place you place the receiver.
You’ll even be compelled to drop the polling price in wi-fi mode. Polling price is the variety of instances per second that the mouse studies its location to the pc, and it’s measured in Hertz (Hz). Asus managed an impressively excessive 2,000Hz polling price in wired mode, which is obtainable by only a few gaming mice.
In reality, it’s in all probability greater than is important for many customers, since 500Hz is mostly thought of to be sufficient for correct reporting. It’s additionally price remembering that having the next polling price places a larger load in your laptop’s processor, so that you may need to dial down the Spatha’s 2,000Hz a notch in case you have a much less highly effective machine. When in wi-fi mode, you’ll get 1,000Hz polling – which can be very spectacular, and way more sensible than 2,000Hz.
The Spatha comes geared up with a decent sensor that may monitor as much as 30g hand acceleration, and speeds of as much as 150-inches-per-second. However, that’s trumped by the rival Logitech G900, which affords 40G acceleration and 300-inches-per-second monitoring. Still, the Spatha’s monitoring is ample for high-end gaming, so don’t let this put you off.
I discovered the Spatha’s sensor to be largely dependable on a variety of surfaces, though there was some noticeable cursor jittering in wi-fi mode. I’m nonetheless unsure if that’s an issue with the sensor, or if the antenna is simply in a nasty place. Nevertheless, I discovered the Logitech G900 to have extra constant monitoring.
With the Spatha, you’re taking a look at a reasonably lofty 8,200dpi. For the unaware, dots per inch is a measure of how delicate a mouse is. The increased the DPI, the farther your cursor will transfer in relation to the mouse’s journey. So a excessive DPI means you’ll get very quick cursor actions on-screen. At 8,200dpi you’ll wrestle to regulate the mouse, until you’re both very nicely practised or utilizing a really high-resolution monitor.
Most avid gamers will settle someplace between 1,000 and 3,000dpi, however it’s good to have the added flexibility of an 8,200 most. After all, in case you have 4 4K screens linked collectively, you’ll desire a excessive DPI.
The ultimate observe is on battery life. I had no difficulty retaining the Spatha alive, and that’s due to the dock. It’s simple sufficient to interchange the Spatha on the dock when out of use, so I by no means managed to run it dry. I managed as much as six-hour periods with out killing off the Spatha, so I wouldn’t fear until you’re going actually laborious for prolonged durations of time in wi-fi mode.
Asos ROG Spatha – Gaming
The Asus ROG Spatha is a cumbersome, cumbersome mouse with loads of buttons. That places it in a distinct segment that received’t serve all avid gamers in addition to different mice may, relying in your gaming type.
For an MMO, the Spatha is in its component. The bonus buttons are helpful for binding capacity hotkeys, and the heavy measurement is much less of a problem. It’s nonetheless trumped by mega-button choices such because the Razer Naga, however it stays first rate sufficient. You’ll discover related competency from the Spatha with RPGs and action-adventure titles.
Where the Spatha is much less spectacular is with twitch gameplay. You need gentle, correct mice for shooters and MOBAs, so the heavy Spatha isn’t best.
What’s extra, all of the faff and added buttons simply complicate issues. In a shooter, you simply need to click on and kill at lightning velocity, so extra trimmed-down choices such because the Razer Mamba and Logitech G900 will serve you higher.
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Should I purchase the Asus ROG Spatha?
There’s lots that I really like in regards to the Asus ROG Spatha. It’s snug – like a giant outdated recliner that you could possibly sit in for hours. It appears cool, and the side-lighting is appropriately fierce. Plus there’s lots to play with when it comes to {hardware} and software program when you’re a tinkerer.
But the Asus ROG Spatha has some severe flaws. It’s too heavy and hulking to swimsuit all forms of gameplay. Some features of design want refining, such because the sticky and awkward-to-locate facet buttons, and the switch-swapping system. And the charging platform can usually be extra of a hindrance than a assist.
It would even be price contemplating whether or not or not you desire a wi-fi mannequin. If you’re not bothered about wi-fi play then you definately shouldn’t pay the £145 Asus is asking for. There are far cheaper wired options, such because the Razer Mamba Tournament Edition, which might be glorious.
If you’re set on a wi-fi mouse then the query is whether or not it’s higher than the Razer Mamba (2015) and the Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum. In each circumstances, I’d say no. The Razer and Logitech choices are extra constant, extra engaging, extra ergonomic, and extra versatile. They’re additionally cheaper: Amazon has the Mamba for £132, whereas Logitech sells the G900 for £135 (though Currys is doing it for £119.99 proper now).
The value of the Asus ROG Spatha places it on the very high finish of the market, which suggests it merely can’t afford to not be good. It’s not good.
Verdict
The Asus ROG Spatha sounds nice on paper, however clumsy execution leaves it feeling barely overpriced.