Corsair Vengeance M90 Performance MMO and RTS Gaming Mouse Review

Introduction

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Since the inception of the first point and click device for computers, there has been someone sitting in a corner thinking to themselves "what can I do to make this better and more useful?" Over many years of evolution we went from mice with just one button on them, to mice with a pair of buttons and a scroll wheel. For many users this is more than enough to deal with as far as their point and click needs go for emails or finding a recipe for Peking duck for the next family gathering. For me, I prefer a mouse to have as many buttons on it as comfortably possible. By this I mean that if given enough buttons to my mice, I prefer to set my gun swap there, grenades, knife, even the push to talk for whatever application I am on at the time I am gaming. The latter part is the biggest concern to me and that is giving me what I want in options without having an odd shape or having to contort my hands in painful ways to utilize all of the buttons.

Corsair matches the K90 keyboard we just looked at with a gaming mate in the Vengeance series. This compatriot in action will allow users to not only have functionality for MMO and RTS games, but the ability it offers the FPS gamers isn't so shabby either. In the evolution of mice, a lot of us prefer a page forward, page back and selectable DPI on the fly is also something that most of us are getting used to by now. What most of us aren't used to in mice is the sleek and attractive package that this newest submission has incorporated into this design from Corsair. Things like an aluminum frame and the blue and white LEDs are things that lend it to be the perfect mate to sit alongside the K90 as you will soon see for yourself.

Corsair has delivered the Vengeance M90 laser gaming mouse for us to have a look at today. Keeping things as simple as possible you can easily tell which mouse and keyboard are designed to go together and look the best as a pair. At this point I suggest you get comfortable as you continue on with the review.

The Corsair M90 has a lot to offer in both the way the mouse is laid out and its functionality on its own, but once the software is thrown into the equation, the combination of the K90 we just looked at and the M90 mouse you are about to see can really make you an unstoppable force in any gaming situation that requires a mouse and keyboard to deliver the punishment you always wanted to inflict on others in the server, but up to now lacked the correct device to do so.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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The Vengeance M90 laser gaming mouse is based off of an Avago Technologies ADNS-9500 LaserStream gaming sensor that delivers up to 5700 DPI for super fast ninja-like movement. Around the outside of this plastic and aluminum mouse you will find fifteen programmable buttons within easy reach. There are the normal left and right click buttons on the top surrounding a weighted scroll wheel with a rubber coating for accurate weapon switching. Just behind the scroll wheel is a button that lights up, but out of the box has no set function, along with a pair of DPI selection buttons on the extreme left edge of the left click on top. On the left side of the mouse is where all of the action happens. There are nine buttons found here that only have five programmed out of the box. So on top of the "sniper" button and profile up and down and the page forward and back, you can add function to all of the other buttons as you see fit.

What makes the M90 simple to get to your specific needs is the software. With things like on the fly DPI switching, adjustable polling rates, lighting of the mouse and macro setting ability it takes some good software to make all of this seem flawless in use once things are set to your liking. Inside of the control panel you have access to quite a few other features as well. Things like a surface quality scanner to let you know what surface is the best to track on. There is also angle snapping control and an adjustable lift height, so when you make long passes over the horizon line, the mouse will try to keep movement straight and level, but also in the need to lift the mouse, it will kill any movement until the mouse is back within the distance you set in the control panel. Since the mouse has on-board memory, you can create up to 50 profiles and store them on the mouse for plug and play action anywhere, set to your specific needs, or you can swap profiles with friends once you set the mouse profiles and put it onto a sharable media.

Don't think I skipped over the looks like this is some sort of ugly duckling, in fact, I just saved the best for last. On its own, the M90 with its aluminum base plate and all black top that has just the right around of LED lighting coming from the logo in white and three places that deliver blue LED around the front and left side. If you are in the market for the set, both keyboard and mouse, the M90 look great next to the K90, the styling and choice of materials makes this a great pair both sitting at your desk looking sexy while you are away and delivering the utmost in control and programmability.

Just like with the K90, the Vengeance M90 has a handful of lesser known e-tailers that will beat the Corsair pricing, but on the whole, the best deal is to go directly through Corsair for $79.99 to get yourself your very own Vengeance M90 Performance MMO and RTS laser gaming mouse.

Packaging and Contents

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The Vengeance M90 comes shipped in a sealed plastic package. This minimalistic packaging is great for two things, it protects the product pretty well and it offers Corsair the ability to put the M90 mouse right out in the open for everyone to see. Near the bottom Corsair describes the M90 as being "designed for performance gaming" and cover three features including the sensor used, the fifteen programmable buttons and the aluminium construction.

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On the back, a cardboard insert is slide behind the mouse so you don't see the cabling, but offers information on seven features of the M90. Under the image of the mouse, in the grey area, you can find the list of specifications and it covers fifteen components to that list.

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This angle was to show two things. One, there is little information other than the Vengeance M90 to be seen on the sides. The second bit is that you need to realize this inner packaging will need persuaded to give up the cord and paperwork stored inside of it.

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One step closer to being able to fell, plug in and play around with the M90 from Corsair. To open this packaging you simple peel away at the top left corner of the back and the perforated panel will tear off, so no need to cut the thermally sealed edge of the plastic to gain access.

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I removed the M90 to show how this inner packaging works. The side of the inner packaging will open up and there is a plastic tray inside holding the USB cable that was run through the hole under where the M90 used to sit. There is some paperwork here as well, but that will be covered later in the review.

Corsair Vengeance M90

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Looking at the M90 from the back you can see it is contoured to drop off to the right and comes to almost a point closest to you in the image to allow your hand to naturally assume a comfortable position as you place it over the Corsair sails logo and their name.

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The right side offers a textured plastic surface to allow your pinky and ring fingers to nestle the mouse while still offering a slight indent near the front that again just sort of naturally fits the way one would position their hand on the M90.

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Moving around to the front of the M90 we get to see six of the buttons available to use. The right and left click buttons have a smooth touch coating and they flank both sides of the weighted metal scroll where that has a rubber coating for grip. Off to the right in this image is the pair of buttons that out of the box controls the on the fly DPI, either up or down depending on the situation.

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Here is where the fun begins! The left side of the M90 offers nine buttons all within an intuitive range of your thumb. Now there is the profile up and down buttons (two furthest right buttons) and the "sniper" button (button closest to the aluminum plate on the left) set in the mouse as it arrives. These as well as all the others can be reprogrammed or rearranged to cater to your specific desires.

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As you can now see, there are two pieces of aluminum making up the strength and weight of the M90. There is the inner plate that surrounds the laser sensor and holds the front and rear PTFE feet. The outer plate is what you see from the top and under the M90 it houses the side feet and is kicked up in the rear to lessen any drag in that direction.

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I did manage to remove the center plate so I could see the 5700 DPI Avago Technologies ADNS-9500 LaserStream gaming sensor. Without the plate covering it you can now see both the laser transmitter and the CMOS reader above it.

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Just like with my Corsair headset and keyboard, the M90 mouse comes with a bound together braided cable with a Velcro strap to keep the USB 2.0 lead tidy when you have to pack it up to travel with it. Unfolded, the wire is just shy of two meters long making it plenty long enough to run across my desk and to the top of my TJ11!

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I wanted to show off the illumination of the M90 here. Out of focus to the right is the six blue profile lights to designate which profile you are using at a quick glance and the logo and Corsair name illuminate white, but it's tough to see with this much light.

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At the front of the M90, under the scroll wheel illuminates blue along with the arrows on the DPI buttons and the slit across the front of the button behind the wheel also shows up blue.

Paperwork and Software

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With the M90 laser mouse you get a fold out Quick Start guide and the warranty guide covering what to and what not to do to your M90 so it will stay covered under said warranty.

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Once the M90 is unboxed, power up the PC, plug in the USB 2.0 connection into the PC and then you need to go to corsair.com/vengeanceM90 to get the software to fully utilize Corsair's offering in this mouse.

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The warranty information gives a brief summary of terms at the top followed by a section explaining what they offer if there is any issues that need remedied. For obsolete of discontinued goods, Corsair will offer something of equal value to replace it with if the warranty and RMA apply. At the bottom there is a list with seven things that will definitely get you a denial if things go wrong with this product.

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The same software utility used for the K90 is where you can address any changes that are to be made to the M90. Under the assign buttons tab at the top of the suite you now have the opportunity to reset or rearrange any of the functionality of the fifteen buttons on the mouse. These can be simple commands like clicks and page forward and such, but with the use of different profiles, you can set any macro combination to each of the buttons via the larger section at the right.

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The manage performance tab brings you to this page allowing you do set the DPI for each of the three levels and for the sniper button (800 DPI) at the top, under which is a check box to get separate X and Y DPI adjustments and a box to turn on or off the angle snapping. Below these there is a test that can be run to establish the surface quality of the mouse pad (mine is shown) and the lift height at which the sensor stops working and returns to action when the M90 needs lifted. That just leaves us the adjustable polling rate section at the right and we have covered this page.

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The last tab at the top is to manage the profiles stored on the M90. By clicking on the "new" button at the bottom you can insert a profile as I did with BF3 and at that point is where you click in and name the profile. Once the profile is set, you then return to the assign buttons page and complete the profile. Once completed you can save the profile either to the mouse itself or send the information to a place on your system drive or portable media to share with others. Once you have the configuration just the way you want it, the M90 is ready for just about anything you can throw at it.

Final Thoughts

There are so many things I like about the M90! The LED lighting is well placed and just enough to look classy without distracting you in your peripheral vision. I like the grip on the right and the sunken in area on the left that allows you to get a good grasp on this mouse as you swing it around in the heat of battle. I was able to map the buttons to all sorts of things in the game and the macro functionality was as easy to go through as it was with the keyboard.

This software is very intuitive and it makes things easy for someone like me who never used macros until I reviewed devices that had that feature. Lastly, with the on-board memory and the fifty profile potential on the mouse, I like that I can take it over to a friend's house and have my settings go right along with me, so I don't ruin my KDR learning someone else's products.

There is one major issue with the M90 for me personally and that is the fit of my hand to the mouse. I don't have enormous hands (7.5" from wrist to the tip of my middle finger) but most mice seem to fit in my hand pretty well. With the M90 it was a two-fold issue. In order to get my thumb to reach all of the buttons on the left side of the M90, my fingers had to hang a full digit over the front of the mouse. That in itself wasn't so bad and I could deal with that if I needed to, or could. The issue was in order to keep may hand in that placement, my arm had to be raised, because the slope of the back of the M90 sort of forces your hand to slide downward on the back and this makes the buttons on the side about half to three quarters of an inch too far forward to be comfortably functional in a gaming situation where speed and gut reaction time is what makes the difference between a kill and losing a set of dog tags. I was able to shift the functionality of the main features of the mouse back into a reachable area for me, so at least it wasn't a complete wash, but I did not end up using two buttons on the side.

Even with the fact that it wasn't a perfect fit for me personally, there are many sizes of hands out there, I am just warning those with a short span across their hands this mouse may not be what you are looking for. For those of you who like a well designed mouse with a bit of weight to it and of course the really sleek look of aluminum and LEDs done just right without getting gaudy, this mouse is for you.

To be honest, even with the irregular fit to my hand, I found myself gaming on it for two solid weeks and that is saying something! I have plenty of other mice around the house to use and to continue using something for its functionality over a perfect for me lends so well to the superior design and effortless use you have when the Vengeance M90 Performance MMO and RTS laser gaming mouse is plugged into your PC. For the asking price of near $80, I have had other mice that have come and gone that fit my hand much better and for a guy who couldn't keep his hand on the mouse correctly to still enjoy its use and somewhat limited functionality due to my short thumb, totally proves that even if not exactly for everyone, Corsair still did a terrific job with this mouse.