Cooler Grasp’s new MasterMouse MM520 is the claw-grip gaming mouse brother to the palm-grip MasterMouse MM530. The MM520 is billed because the successor to Cooler Grasp’s Spawn, and the similarities are evident. Whereas Cooler Grasp touts the MM520 as a 6-button, high-DPI PC gaming mouse for real-time technique video games, it proves extra versatile than Cooler Grasp has positioned it.
The MM520 prices $49 (£34, AU$59) identical to the palm-grip MM530 does, which places it in shut competitors with different severe gaming mice from Steelseries, just like the $50 (£59, AU$99) Rival 310 and Sensei 310.
That is no mild competitors for the Grasp Mouse MM520. The Sensei 310 obtained an ideal rating in our evaluate. So, let’s see how effectively the MM520 can stack up out there of mid-range gaming mice.
Design
The MM520 has the marginally extra standout design of a claw-grip mouse, with a stepped proper facet that provides the ring finger its personal help. The arch of the MM520 curves up from the again gently after which largely flattens out towards the left and proper click on. The entrance even has a form considerably paying homage to a Ferrari grill.
The left facet of the MM520 is slotted for the thumb to relaxation comfortably and simply entry the ahead and again buttons. Not like the MM530, the MM520 doesn’t embrace a rubber grip to your thumb.
A honeycomb-patterned rubber strip is included on the pinky facet, but it surely’s agency, shallow and a contact small. So, it doesn’t contribute tremendously to a stable grasp, and for bigger palms, it might require curling your pinky finger a bit further.
Curiously and sadly, the location of our pinky on the evaluate unit over only a couple weeks started to dislodge the rubber strip ever so barely. The 2-year guarantee could cowl that although.
Our preliminary experiences of the MM520 don’t encourage a lot confidence. However, even with our fingers positioned considerably awkwardly, we by no means fumble the MM520 in our prolonged playtests, and our pinkies by no means really feel overly strained holding the mouse (although anybody not used to a claw-grip could really feel extra pressure).
Other than the shiny ahead and again buttons the DPI change and the scroll wheel, the MM520’s physique is constructed with a rough, matte black PBT plastic that provides a welcome further little bit of texture for the thumb and ring finger to carry. The plastic feels hardy, although, the MM520’s design leads to some squishy areas with a little bit of undesirable flex.
Three-zone RGB lighting, supporting 16.7 million colours and number of patterns, provides a little bit of gamer aesthetic. An arc on the base of the mouse’s rear, the border across the Cooler Grasp brand and the scroll wheel all mild up.
The principle mouse buttons really feel nice. They’re satisfyingly clicky and constant. The notched scroll wheel is grippy due to the mushy rubber it’s product of, and it additionally clicks distinctly. Cooler Grasp’s selection of sturdy and responsive Omron switches is sensible.
The again and ahead buttons aren’t fairly as favorable, as each squish a tad an excessive amount of. They’re at the very least constant, clicking at across the similar level no matter the place on the button we press.
Although it makes a considerably low cost sounding clack when hit on the desk after fast actions, the MM520 has a snug heft to it at 101 grams or 135 grams with the wire weight factored in. The cable is lengthy and lightweight, not interfering with mouse actions, and its connection to the mouse is strengthened for an additional little bit of robustness.
Efficiency
Even when the MM520 doesn’t shine design-wise (although with three-zone lighting, it does actually shine), it does a superb job making up for that within the efficiency division. The MM520 makes use of Omron switches that show dependable in our testing. They’re additionally long-lasting, rated for 20 million clicks.
The place the MM520 will get actually spicy is within the PixArt 3360 sensor. It is probably not a class-leading sensor, but it surely’s not far off. It helps sensitivities as much as 12,000 counts-per-inch (CPI), and might monitor precisely even when it’s transferring 250 inches-per-second (IPS) or at 50 occasions the acceleration of gravity. This mixed with a polling charge as much as 1,000Hz provides lag-free 1:1 enter that holds up in our testing.
In our twitchy gameplay of Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege, we by no means really feel the slightest little bit of hesitation from the MM520 to trace our actions. If we miss a shot, that’s on us. Although the best CPI settings aren’t probably the most helpful on even a 1440p monitor, setting the MM520 between 2,000 and three,000 CPI provides constant monitoring for giant sweeping arm actions and refined aiming with no noticeable pixel skipping. That stated, the upper CPI settings have extra to supply on higher-resolution settings.
Cooler Grasp’s software program (which was a little bit of a hunt to search out), provides pretty deep customization. From this management panel, we will change the lighting scheme, remap the entire keys, create completely different profiles and alter the 4 important CPI presets. It even has the choice to activate angle-snapping for anybody who desires this function. The software program may assign secondary features to every button you possibly can toggle on and off.
All informed, the efficiency of the MM520 is incredible and a particular excessive level for this mouse, providing no excuses for poor gameplay.
Remaining verdict
There’s little floor to lodge any severe complaints in opposition to the MasterMouse MM520. It homes a killer sensor in a reliable if not excellent physique. If a low-cost, extremely dependable gaming mouse is what you search, the MM520 is as much as the duty.
The design of the MM520 leaves somewhat to be desired by way of grip and hand really feel, but it surely provides sufficient friction to carry it up for these temporary gameplay moments when you want to carry the mouse and reposition it. Past some fashion decisions and somewhat flex in spots, our solely actual challenge is with the rubber grip coming free, which we by no means actually discover whereas gaming.
The MM520 is unquestionably a superb mouse for the value. However, in opposition to competitors just like the Sensei 310, it fails to shine. Its claw-grip design with distinct zones for the ring and pinky fingers could supply a preferable grip for some, however the minor points add up, stopping this from being a prime choose.