Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Stunning RGB lighting that lights up the entire prime part
- The Owl-Eye sensor is very correct and {powerful}
- The 15 buttons could be personalized with as much as 29 features
Cons
- The button structure could be complicated earlier than you get the grasp of it
- Some players could not just like the daring RGB
- The supporting Swarm software program may do with an replace
Our Verdict
The Roccat Kone XP is a robust, correct, and extremely customizable wired gaming mouse that additionally takes the RGB expertise to new heights.
Price When Reviewed
74.99
Best Prices Today: ROCCAT Kone XP
$89.99
Free
The wired Roccat Kone XP resembles the acquainted Roccat Kone AIMO Remastered however packs in a stack of helpful {hardware} upgrades. Among these upgrades is a 15 button structure which is configurable to a whopping 29 features – greater than any MMO, RPG and RTS gamer may probably want for. It’s additionally quick and correct due to a really succesful 19,000 DPI sensor and fast optical switches.
While the PCWorld staff had been followers of the XP’s daring and colourful RGB lighting, admittedly it might not be to everybody’s style. Regardless, for its sheer flashiness it wins factors for initially. It additionally makes a pleasant dialog starter when gaming with mates.
Note: This assessment is a part of our roundup of best gaming mice. Go there for particulars on competing merchandise and the way we examined them.
Roccat Kone XP: Design and construct
Out of the field the XP appears to be like distinctive. It sports activities opaque plastic sides and a clear plastic prime that comes adorned with Roccat’s iconic big-cat emblem. My assessment unit was the Arctic White model, however the XP additionally is available in an equally enticing Ash Black.
But it’s the RGB that basically stands out. Instead of minor trim across the mouse’s periphery, as provided by some gaming mice, there are eight inner lighting “pipelines” powered by 22 LEDs that diffuse mild via the entire translucent plastic prime.
It makes for a stunning show, and can brighten up any gaming den with pops of colour and bursts of sunshine. Obviously, that received’t be to everybody’s style, however players searching for most RGB-ness will likely be properly impressed.
The Roccat Kone XP sports activities eight inner RGB ‘pipelines’ lit by 22 LEDs.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
The Kone XP’s inspiration comes from its predecessor the Kone AIMO Remastered, displaying off the identical iconic right-handed curves and a gradient that slopes downwards left-to-right. Its chiseled physique suits your hand like a glove. Although, it’s not the identical measurement or weight because the AIMO: At 4.9 x 1.5 x 2.9 inches it’s a little bit slimmer, shaving 0.4 off on the heart. It’s additionally 26 grams lighter, weighing simply 104 grams whole.
You can comfortably use the XP with any of the three essential grip varieties, though it’s extra suited to palm grippers who will get a little bit extra help from its excessive, slanted prime. That goes for the buttons too, since they’re pretty properly unfold out over the mouse’s physique. Apart from the 2 essential clicks on the entrance, the button configuration is as follows: on the far left-side is a 4 button grid accessible by your thumb. Beneath your thumb sits a bigger button referred to as the Roccat Easy-Shift [+] set off (whose perform I’ll deal with under). Additionally, there are two small buttons for switching between DPI settings on the far left aspect of the primary left button.
The mouse’s Krystal 4D scroll wheel takes up 5 of your remaining button depend, offering left and proper lateral clicks, a center click on and up and down scrolling features which, since they’re additionally customizable, account for 2 buttons. Last however not least, a button is positioned behind the scroll wheel. Pressing this button toggles via the default RBG colour combos on show.
I felt like a child in a sweet retailer assigning instructions to all 15, since I primarily use a six-button mouse and have a tendency to shortly exhaust my choices in MMOs and RPGs. You can think about my delight, then, find out that I may virtually double the instructions to 29 with Roccat Easy-Shift [+]. Once I programmed further features for every button within the mouse’s software program app I may merely set off the Easy-Shift [+] button in video games to activate a button’s various perform.
Using this function was on the entire an enormous boon to my gameplay, nevertheless it additionally precipitated one other small concern: Rather than having too few instructions, I discovered I had too many, making it a little bit troublesome to recollect which of the 15 buttons I had assigned to do what.
The Roccat Kone XP’s 15 buttons could be personalized with as much as 29 features with ROCCAT Easy-Shift [+].
Dominic Bayley / IDG
If I needed to nit-pick one level in regards to the XP’s design, it’s that as beneficiant because the button configuration is, it requires a little bit of apply to realize a excessive stage of precision. I discovered that out within the first three hours of play when it appeared a little bit too simple to mis-click on the 4 buttons above my thumb, which had been all fairly small.
Another mis-click offender was the Easy-Shift [+] button. It turned a drag once I assigned a second command to the left essential clicker—I tended to press them each collectively at occasions. Still, the XP’s buttons are much less grouped collectively than in rivals just like the 18 button SteelSeries Aerox 9 or the 19 button Razer Naga Pro, and, after a little bit of getting used to, I discovered my mis click on price fell to virtually zero.
Roccat Kone XP: Software help
Tweaks to the Kone XP’s settings could be made within the Roccat Swarm app, together with any adjustments to the button task, DPI calibration, and AIMO RGB. You may also set and calibrate the XP’s lift-off distance. Up to 5 profiles could be saved to the XP’s onboard reminiscence, which freed up plenty of time between my video games.
Being in a position to change the debounce timing to drag-click was particularly helpful for sandbox RPGs and survival video games the place I needed to do plenty of constructing—the debounce timing being the time it takes on your mouse to register a second click on after a primary one. Dropping the debounce down from 10 to 2 milliseconds, for instance, allowed me to considerably improve my clicks per second and construct bridges in Minecraft at a fraction of the time it will usually take me.
Changing the XP’s debounce time in Swarm could make drag-clicking simpler in video games the place constructing is required.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
All in all, Swarm has loads to supply each informal and aggressive players, however the record of video games in its Macros supervisor is a tad old-fashioned compared to some rivals’ apps. Wading via advanced menus additionally provides further time to what needs to be easy settings adjustments—one thing that may very well be fastened with an app rejig.
To its credit score, although, Roccat is regularly including new performance to Swarm for its units—together with for the XP, although the mouse has been out for some time now. This yr, for instance, current additions embrace “Mute microphone” as a typical perform throughout the button task and a brand new photon impact for the XP’s RGB. You may also add macros to the XP’s scroll-wheel perform—which you couldn’t do earlier than.
It’s value noting too that the Kone XP can also be one in all just a few gaming mice that help Nvidia Reflex Analyzer, which is a performance-orientated instrument for aggressive players in some Nvidia G-Sync shows. Reflex permits gamers to research click-to-display latency throughout their mouse, PC, and show, and tweak settings if they don’t seem to be up to the mark.
For instance, the Reflex Analyzer can detect clicks coming out of your mouse and measure the time for the pixels in your gun’s muzzle flash to vary on display screen, thereby offering you with a extra full image of your mouse’s general efficiency. It’s a pleasant little compatibility instrument that can undoubtedly rating the XP massive factors with the intense tinkerers amongst us.
Roccat Kone XP: Performance
The Kone XP’s 19,000 DPI Owl-Eye Optical sensor relies on the PixArt PMW3370, which tracks motion at 400 inches per second and has an acceleration of 50g. It additionally sports activities a polling price of as much as 1000ms, which is normal in most high-performance gaming mice as of late.
The PMW3370 has a status for being a flawless, low-latency sensor and having a comparatively low lift-off distance—in different phrases, it’s preferrred for maintaining with the form of fast-paced motion you get in AAA-grade RPGs and MMOs. Unsurprisingly, the Kone XP’s Owl-Eye model carried out equally properly, monitoring easily and with a low latency in each of my play check video games: Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077.
Two further issues stood out within the efficiency stakes. One is that compared to some mice, the sensor’s accuracy remained constant for aiming at greater DPI settings, the place I typically see it drop down significantly.
The second is the excessive responsiveness of the XP’s scroll wheel. I depend myself fortunate as of late once I get a scroll wheel that feels sturdy but in addition responds in a heartbeat, and never ike it’s spinning in jelly for half a second earlier than something occurs. The XP’s 4D wheel is simply preferrred, feeling safe and wobble free, and extra importantly, responding in a snap.
Swarm help for the scroll wheel can also be very respectable, letting you tweak the horizontal tilt and vertical scroll speeds. If you play video games that rely closely on a lean perform, like Rainbow Six Siege, Far Cry 6, or Escape from Tarkov, optimizing these parameters may give you an enormous tactical benefit.
Praise must also be heaped on the XP’s buttons that use Titan Optical switches, which felt very quick and clicky in my testing. Roccat says the switches actuate in 0.2ms—quicker than mechanical switches. They’re additionally rated for 70 million clicks, which is reassuring if, like me, you want getting as a lot put on out of them as doable.
I additionally preferred how the 2 essential clicks made noticeably completely different sounds, the left sounding loads greater pitched than the best. This gave me a slight tactical benefit in Gloria Victis, the place hanging with the left and blocking with the best is a precision artwork that requires your senses to be working extra time.
In Swarm you’ll be able to change the XP’s horizonal tilt pace to optimize leaning in video games like Rainbow Six Siege.
Dominic Bayley / IDG
Considering how good it feels, I might be remiss to not additionally point out the XP’s motion, which was {smooth} on nearly each floor. That’s largely due to the ergonomic form that fills up your hand, offering exact management from method again at your wrist. But it’s additionally due to the silky-smooth PTFE toes on the XP’s underside which might be heat-treated to offer only a tad extra glide than you’ll discover in some gaming mice.
Bottom line
The Roccat Kone XP would possibly appear to be the predecessor Roccat Kone AIMO Remastered, however its more-powerful sensor and quicker optical switches elevate efficiency ranges to new heights. With 15 buttons— programmable to 29 instructions—the XP additionally has extra customization choices than MMO, RPG, or RTS players may ever want.
While the XP’s dazzling RGB lighting is undoubtedly polarizing for players, it’s nonetheless a sight to behold and one which RGB followers will certainly wish to expertise.