ROCCAT Savu Optical Gaming Mouse Review

Introduction

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Here I am again with another product from ROCCAT; I must say that meeting with them at CES is really paying off big as far as getting to look at their entire current lineup of peripherals. Some of these products have laser sensors while others have optical, some have lights down the sides and some have lights in other places. As far as just mice go, all of them have been ergonomic and comfortable to hold and use. They all have been delivered to me backed with some of the best software on the market to use and customize your mouse with. Most importantly I have never had any issues with their products as far as firmware issues, DOA products or any sort of long-term failures with the products I have used from ROCCAT to this point.

Since I have seen all angles of design from ROCCAT on what they currently offer, the bar is set really high for them to make something that will make potential buyers drool over a new mouse. I really think that they have added a couple of things in our latest sample that will entice buyers to look at their newest product. I don't want to give too much away right now, but I will say this latest submission currently holds the crown for having the world's fastest optical sensor on board and they added a bit to the software that is just for fun, competitiveness and an e-peen ranking against any other owners of this latest mouse. Oh I almost forgot. For the LED lovers, this mouse offers 16.8 million color choices for the lighting section.

If that isn't enough to peek you interest, I suggest you check your pulse. On top of all of the features in the ROCCAT Savu we are going to be looking at today, you get this and a lot more packed into a medium sized mouse that I find very easy to use and surprisingly more accurate and responsive feeling than the 8200 DPI mouse I just looked at. What really tops off the package in my mind, is even though the Savu isn't designated with a [+] behind it, the EasyShift[+] system is still employed with the Savu as well.

There is really too much to talk about that goes into the ROCCAT Savu and I think images are worth a thousand words. Let's get through the specifications so I can show you all the cool tricks that go into Savu and let you decide for yourself if this optical gaming mouse should make your short list.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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On the outside of the Savu you find a rubberized center section with side sections that are textured and ROCCAT calls this their No-Sweat Side Grips. The rubberized section contains the right and left click buttons with a scroll wheel with a very tactile feel to the moves made with it. On the left side there is the Savu name at the front edge of the mouse with a well defined indent for your thumb. Between this side and the top and the page forward and EasyShift[+] buttons left in shiny black lactic. In fact the entire Savu mouse is black, except for the lit area at the heel of the mouse that give you 16.8 million choices of what color this area can be.

Inside the mouse uses a 4000 DPI Pro-Optic R3 sensor to handle the 60 IPS of travel at up to 20Gs of force. This is the fastest optical sensor currently in any mice and if you are an optical sensor purist, this is the best of the best that money can buy at the time of writing. The DPI can be selected in four levels; with the software you will have the choice of 400, 800, 1600 or 4000 DPI. You also have control of angle snapping which also relies on the optical sensor. For a longer life and more clicks to be had, the buttons in this mouse are backed with Omron switches to not only offer something high-end, but to deliver the customer a long time of use.

Currently in the US I am only finding two listings for the ROCCAT Savu, but I think with a bit more time they should fill more e-tailers shelves. One listing has the Savu priced at $79.99, while the Amazon listing is set to $99.99. Any smart shopper knows to find the best deal and if I can have this mouse $20 cheaper, it doesn't take long to know where my money is going. Either way you look at it, $79.99 is a bit pricey, but seems to be the going rate for most mice of this caliber.

Remember you aren't just buying a mouse here; you are buying the combination of some well established software that makes the mouse more complex and thus more enjoyable to use. Given this mouse can handle all of this with just four buttons and a scroll wheel just makes things that much easier to use versus some of the monsters out there with over a dozen additional buttons to do the same job that the Savu can offer.

Packaging

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The basic shape of the black packaging is similar to the other mice we have seen from ROCCAT in the past. This time a view of the Savu takes the bulk of the panel with small notes to the features listed to the left and below it.

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The right side keeps the angle we are used to seeing, but this time doesn't open to expose the Savu as others did. It does offer the name of the mouse along with the notation that this is a mid-size hybrid gaming mouse.

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On the back ROCCAT starts by pointing out all of the external features found on the Savu. It then moves in to a features list with it being translated nine times below the initial list.

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On the left side of the package we get four views of the Savu from different angles and ROCCAT points out the lighting in the last image. That is followed below with a list of contents, technical specifications and requirements.

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Cutting the tamperproof sticker on either the top or bottom of the box allows you to slide out the plastic inner packaging. This is a two piece shell with the mouse protected and secure between them. The paperwork and cable sit underneath of this.

ROCCAT Savu Optical Gaming Mouse

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Here is the Savu fresh out of the packaging. Even with multiple textures, the colouring matches well across all three sides of this right handed, ergonomic design.

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On the left of the mouse, it is textured through the thumb area down into the back to assure a grip on the mouse even on the hottest days of battle. At the front is the Savu name applied in grey and the forward and EasyShift[+] buttons are near the top in easy reach.

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Looking at the Savu from the back it has a gentle curve in both directions, with no peeks or ridges as some mice have. Under the center rubberized section of the mouse is the part of the mouse that will illuminate with one of 16.8 million colors.

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On the right, the Savu gives you the ROCCAT name carved into the right click button and more of the No-Sweat Grip for this side, too. The rubberized part at the front between them is a rest for your ring finger, not another button.

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The front of the Savu has the cloth braded cable centered in the design with the right and left click buttons flanking the precise scroll wheel in the middle.

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Under the Savu we see the mouse is supported with two large PTFE feet, one in the front and one in the rear. In the middle you can see the optical sensor surrounded by the product sticker. The Savu is resting on the 1.8mm cable that uses a cloth braid covering and has the ROCCAT shaped USB connection.

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The Savu is made of four pieces. The top held in place with four screws, the bottom containing the sensor and hardware and the side pieces the lock the top and bottom together with tabs around their edges.

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Under the right and left buttons there are in fact Omron switches used with the Savu.

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The main PCB that holds the switches, scroll wheel, Pro-Optic R3 sensor and the power delivery system is a tight fit. The switches that back the forward and EasyShift[+] buttons are actually held in the left side piece rather than being directly mounted to the PCB like the LED color and power delivery system is at the back.

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With the Savu back in its original form I plugged it in and allowed for the basic driver to install. Once the Savu powers up, it starts to pulse a rainbow of colors. It just so happens that this purple color in the LEDs looked the best in the images. Remember, there are 16,799,999 other colors as well to pick from in your selection.

Accessories, Documentation and Extras

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Every ROCCAT, whether mouse or keyboard, has come with this flat black folder with the ROCCAT logo sticking out due to the shine used there. This is where you will find the paperwork and registration card.

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Folded up and just slid into the envelope is the quick installation guide seen on the left. On the right is your product registration card. I have removed a few of the numbers, but this card is what will be needed when registering the product with ROCCAT.

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Inside of the guide you will find that it shows the default settings of the button layouts in both the standard and EasyShift[+] modes of use. On the right it explains why more functionality is better and that they hope you go to town with the use of their Macro system.

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On the right side of this fold out you get a couple of ideas of how the EasyShift[+] can help in games with the pre-loaded profiles that come with the software like WoW, Counter Strike, multimedia, or browser controls, too.

Software

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Once the ROCCAT software is installed that you download from their support page, under the Main Controls tab, this is what you can change. Sensitivity can either changed by the slider or the drop box. Scroll wheel speed, the speed of the tilt wheel moving the page, the four DPI settings, the pointer speeds and the double click speed are also changed on this page. At the bottom of this and every page are the five profiles that you may choose to set up various settings to.

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Under the button assignment tab you can change the activity of both the default, as well as the EasyShift[+] assignments. So with both sides set, the Savu mouse offers up to 13 customizable functions for each profile. In the middle there is the Macro Manager section of the software and of course is where you either use pre-defined Macros or create your own.

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Under Advanced Controls you can set the sensitivity to both the X and Y axis movements to the mouse as well as change the polling rate of the Savu. At the bottom you can choose from one of the 16 pre-set color choices, or you can use the custom color bar and find one of over sixteen million specific colors. On the right you have the option to pick or turn off the voice over that announces the changes of various options and the ability to reset the driver if needed.

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The ROCCAR R.A.D. tab offers a bit of competition with an award system for milestones in the use of the Savu. If I read it correctly the more clicks and travel time of the Savu, the more awards or bragging rights you have to show your friends or to compete against other Savu users. The reset button says when clicked that it will erase the stats shown here, but won't pull any trophies you may have received.

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The Update/Support tab offers exactly that. On the left you can check the status of both the driver and the firmware against the latest ROCCAT has to offer. On the right side there are three options for support of your ROCCAT product. If you click on the Online Support you go to www.roccat,com/SUPPORT/ which will give you both of the lower options like the recommended support forum or via e-mail submissions.

Final Thoughts

First off I found my time using a 4000 DPI optical sensor to actually be more specific, accurate, precise, whatever you want to call it, to even the 8200 DPI laser offered in the CM Storm Sentinel Advance II we saw not too long ago. It is lighter and feels more agile in your hands and the simplicity of the one light in the back is something that looks really good as it sits there awaiting the game to load. In fact, the simplicity of its design is what makes me think that this mouse could be appreciated by anyone, as long as they don't have huge hands. As stated by ROCCAT, this is a medium sized mouse, unlike the Sentinel we just looked at, the Savu has a much smaller footprint.

I did have a couple of things that I needed to cover from my own personal experience with the ROCCAT Savu. I was sold on the EasyShift[+] software the first time I ever tried it a while ago, it does make the day to day usage very easy and handy to have all of that control with the right hand never leaving the mouse. I do however wish this mouse had a DPI and profile selector set as the default EasyShift[+] commands. You can always go into the software and set them up, for the various profiles, but even then you have to give up at least one of the default settings to just get the profile up and down selections, so any other profile used must have them as well limiting the amount of overall buttons being able to be used in the Macro manager or in the multimedia settings. I mean really, who wants to have to open the software to change DPI or swap profiles?

Even with the slightly limited functionality of the EasyShift[+] system with this specific mouse, I still ended up liking it, even if just slightly too small for my hand. It glides effortlessly along the large PTFE feet allowing some of the best control I have seen in a few mice - laser or optical sensor driven. The No-Sweat Grips along with the rubberized coating do in fact give you a very secure and comfortable grip on the Savu as you game in even the warmest conditions.

If your hand isn't too big and you are a right hander, the ROCCAT Savu offers you a high-end optical solution that has the potential to crush the competition. With the asking price of $79.99, it is priced on average with the others in its league, but with this sensor in play, ROCCAT may have stepped into a league of their own.