Corsair Vengeance M60 Performance FPS Laser Gaming Mouse Review

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Introduction

__ ____ __Let me start by breaking this down a bit. As an avid FPS gamer, I can say there are a few things a mouse must have to work in this sort of gaming environment. The most basics are the movement and the ability to fire and sight down the weapon. This leaves just about any mouse since somewhere in the 1970's to be on the list of answers. Over the years though, most users expect a certain level of "features" to already be thought of in the mouse before they would even consider buying it.__ ____These days Teflon feet, high DPI sensors, comfort grip contours and material choices - they are all what we "expect" to already have been thought out. But what puts a mouse over the top for me are things like on-the-fly DPI changing, a lighting scheme that doesn't resemble a Christmas tree and functionality that is easy to use. On top of that a couple extra buttons here and there and one of the "sniper" buttons popping up on all the latest mice are all just icing on the cake with our latest example.__ __We are back with Corsair again and unlike the longer and more highly appointed K90, Corsair gives the FPS gamers just what they need in a mouse, without all of the extra do-dads that made some parts of the K90 unusable to me. Here is more of a streamlined way of thinking that brought the K60 into production, the mouse we are going to be discussing shortly following in those footsteps. This product takes a shape that is very conducive to making you hand feel like it naturally should and with its smaller build design it also lends itself to work better for those who prefer a claw grip when running around trying to do the most damage possible to fellow gamers.__ __If you have been following closely, you would have noticed that I have had the full run of mice and keyboards from the Vengeance series, all except for one. That would be the Vengeance M60 Performance FPS laser gaming mouse and I really do think I may have saved my personal favorite as the last of this lineup to discuss.____Hang with me as I go through the well appointed features and list of specifications, because I think this is where Corsair made the right mouse for not only the FPS crowd, but is truly a mouse that can be used by anyone.__

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

________If you like the technology you read about being backed into the M90, you are really going to like the fact that the same components are used under the hood. The 5700 DPI laser sensor from Avago, the ADNS-9500 is adjustable in 100 DPI increments from 100 DPI at the low end to 5700 DPI on the high end and you have four settings for the DPI that can be used for various situations. This sensor can track up to 156 inches per second at 30 Gs, well more than what I could dish out in my testing. Lastly this sensor will also detect things like lift distance, the surface quality and offers angle snapping. As for the eight individually programmable buttons, only the left and right click is Omron switches that offer a long lifetime of clicks to come.______Getting into the actual materials and design of the M60, we should cover the extruded aluminum plate that has been brushed and cut with vent-like designs to give it an aggressive look even sitting still. The "body" is constructed from three separated sections, similar to the RAT design concept, just not as involved. The gives the user three different sides that aren't contoured to each other so much, so that during the heat of battle, there is no question what finger should be where, because you can't really put the wrong finger in the wrong place with the M60.____With the white logo and name on the rear of the mouse, the red sniper button on the left side and the blue glow of LED from the front and the selectable DPI buttons, the M60 looks good sitting there as well as easily matching any other products that may already be on your desk currently.____As far as getting one of these for your very own, that part is easy, they are showing stock on shelves almost everywhere as I type this review. The issue is where to get one. As I see it Corsair has set the MSRP at $69.99 and is what you will have to pay if you buy them directly from Corsair. Doing a little bit of shopping lead me to find that quite a bit of money can be saved with just two minutes of your time searching Google. I was able to find that Amazon.com asking $57.24, with free super saver shipping is the current best deal, saving you $11 off the top and we haven't included any shipping on the other price yet.____So, do a bit of homework when looking for yours. I really think that the Vengeance M60 Performance FPS laser gaming mouse is the mouse for the everyman at a really great price!__

Packaging and Contents

________Corsair uses clear plastic to surround the mouse and folded up sections of cardboard that give the packaging shape and help protect the mouse if the package should get dropped. The bright red and yellow accents behind the M60 really draw you in to have a closer look and that is just what this packaging offers.________On the back Corsair covers the DPI, the sniper button, the weight system, the aluminum construction, the tracking, the adjustable lift distance and the solid metal scroll wheel above a couple of images of the M60 showing the features listed above. The technical specification can be found at the bottom.________Both sides are identical except from the view of the M60 under the plastic. The back is built up to house the wiring and paperwork while to bottom is much taller than the mouse to take on any abuse saving the mouse from taking the first hit on impact.________Once you tear open the perforated panel on the back you are then left with the M60 stuck in the cardboard. To get it out, open the right side and slide out the tray to allow you to pass the USB 2.0 cable through the cardboard. This is also where the paperwork is shipped in the packaging.__

Corsair Vengeance M60

________Free from the confines of the packaging we can now get a glance at the shape and style of the M60 before I go into finer detail with the close up angles you are about to see the M60 from.________From the back of the M60 there is the plate that has the Corsair name and logo painted on it in white. This section may look flimsy, but I assure you it is fully supported by the aluminum under carriage in this design.________On the right there isn't much to say about the relative flat side except that there is a good texture applied to it to give the best grip possible even with sweaty hands. The aluminum is slotted to add a bit of a design element and looks pretty good versus just a plain expanse of brushed aluminum.________From the front, the design of the aluminum structure looks sort of like hood scoops on a car. The right and left click buttons are made from the same piece we say the logo painted on, but in the front it is springy to allows for the Omron switches to be pressed under them. In the middle is the same heavy and solid scroll wheel from the M90 to make weapon switching much more accurate.________Just behind the scroll wheel there are two buttons along with an LED read-out of sorts. The button closest to the wheel is to move the DPI up while the pointy one nearest you is to lower the DPI. The bit in the middle will show up to three LEDs to designate which of the three settings in the software is in use.________The left side of the M60 offers a page forward and page back button near the top with a large red sniper button in the middle for more accurate scans with the scope of a sniper rifle. Again just enough aluminum is showing to make it intriguing to look at without going over the top just for styling points.________The 1.8 meters of braided cable comes with a Velcro tie included on the end near the USB 2.0 connection. Not only does it make shipping tidy when it shows up to your door, but when you travel with it, it can be tidy as you slip it in your backpack as well and no need to look for a wire tie, its built right in.________Underneath there are five PTFE feet to help the M60 glide across any surface with ease. Dead in the center of the mouse is the Avago laser sensor peeking through the brushed aluminum. The three screws with slots that accommodate loose change are for the removable weighting system of the M60.________Once the Vengeance M60 FPS mouse is powered up there is a mellow glow of blue LED that comes out the front of the mouse.________As well as the front illuminating, the DPI buttons and the settings indicators also illuminate with the glow of blue LEDs from inside the mouse.__

Paperwork and Software

________As with all the others, the M60 also comes with a Quick Start Guide for this mouse's installation. These four panels talk about the warranty where to go for questions, the "STOP!" warning and of course the cover page can be seen on this side when unfolded.________On the reverse there is an image of the mouse along with the three basic steps to getting under way with the Vengeance M60 once connected and the driver gets installed.________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.____ ____I know this isn't paperwork, nor is it software, but I needed a place to show off the weights and screws used with the M60 mouse. Weighing the weights showed me that these are 4.3 gram weights and with the screws total 5 grams of weight per each of the three places. In all the testing I did with the M60, I ended up with all three back in the mouse to give me the best feel.________Once you have gone to corsair.com/vengeanceM60 and grabbed the drivers and allowed them to install, the application opens to the Assign Buttons tab I have here. With the ability to set various profiles you can reconfigure the M60's eight buttons to do anything you want. With the lack of profile buttons on the mouse that is something you may want to think about adding. As far as the macros possibilities, they are pretty endless with the advanced pages and delays feature.________Managing Performance holds all of the setting to set the three DPI settings and the DPI of the sniper button. You can also do things here like disable angle snapping, add independent X and Y DPI settings, test the gaming surface and adjust the lift height and response time.________Under Managing Profiles, it where you can address naming of the profiles and exactly what you want to do with them here. You can click in and create your own profile at the top or with help from other users, get profiles and import them, or export them so you can share your creations with your friends. You can keep a full assortment of them on a removable media or somewhere on a drive in the PC, but when you want them to be in the mouse you need to select the profile and "Save to M60" before they are fully functional.__

Final Thoughts

____As much as I liked the mouse during the review process, I did run into quite a significant issue. That was whenever the mouse lost power, it also lost the defined Lift Distance of the mouse and it would default to the lowest setting, rendering the mouse sort of dead in the water. Because the Lift Distance is set that low, the mouse would think it was off the surface therefore all movement and tracking of the mouse were gone. To make sure the Lift Distance was at fault, I plugged in another mouse and went into the Corsair control panel and reset the Lift Distance to its highest setting, and the mouse would return to action. That is until the mouse lost power again, and who wants to deal with that sort of nonsense?____%5Bgooglead%5D=&tag=twea-20