The Bottom Line
Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing
As we mentioned when we took a look at the Cooler Master answer to this product, it was Thermaltake that championed the idea of many hexagonal holes for passively cooling the palm of your hand; they just never took it to this extreme level. In the pursuit of a lightweight device for gamers to use, much of the heel is now open, the bulk of the bottom of the mouse has been removed, and even some of the body material of the main buttons is removed, all while maximizing the structural integrity of what plastic is still there. Glorious was the first to deliver on this concept, although Cooler Master got to us first. Sadly for Glorious in this respect, because with the Cooler Master option, not only did they model their product after this, they also raised the stakes with more features.
While it may stack the chips against the Glorious PC Gaming Race mouse, which is not to say that their product is somehow out of date or lacking in features. Many of the features are similar between the two, especially when it comes to the look and feel of the mouse. However, in our latest submission, the aesthetic game is better, they have a completely different idea of what a cable should be, and a feature we love in peripherals is the ability to customize the product, without the need for drivers and software, which can be an issue when it comes to things like eSports. LOD is set very low by default, and there are four stages of DPI that can be selected with a button; the polling rate is default at max, and with combinations of buttons, you can address all lighting concerns.
The Glorious Model O is what we have in our hands, and at the time it was released, it was trendsetting with features as mentioned above, as well as the option of four surfaces to choose between. The matte finish comes in black and white, and a slightly more expensive option is to go with the glossy black and white finishes. Beyond the finish, everything about the four mice is identical, opting for a tried and proven sensor, long-life switches, all in the attempt to bring the lightest, most reliable mouse to the gaming world. As we carry on with the rest of this review, we shall see how well they accomplished their goal, and where they stand, in our mind, against other similar products.
Those over at the PC Gaming Race are not shy when it comes to the chart we found on the product page! On the left side of that chart, we are first told of the use of the PixArt PMW-3360 optical sensor. The main switches, made by Omron, deliver twenty-million clicks worth of lifespan and are two of the six buttons. The next we see is a mention of the 250 IPS tracking speed of the sensor, we then see the weight of the Model O and the even lighter Model O-. Back to the sensor, we go with the mention of 50Gs of force, the maximum DPI of 12,000, the 1000Hz polling rate, and the 0.7mm LOD. The last three things in the chart, on the left, deal with the cable. We see they call this cable the Ascended Cable, which is ultra-flexible, and covered with cloth braid. The cable is a USB 2.0 cable with a gold plated connector, and its total length is 6.5 feet.
The right side of the chart starts with the feet, where we see the G-Skates mentioned, which are made of virgin PTFE, and are 0.81mm thick. Then, we are told there is a DPI indicator, but it is on the bottom of the mouse. The DPI button cycles through the default DPI settings of 400, 800, 1600, and 3200, and the indicator under the mouse will change colors to what is shown for each. You can remap the DPI settings, but you need software to do so. There are 16.8-million colors to choose from, which can be disabled and changed without software, but there are more customizations with software. Windows, Mac, and Linux are all supported, as we mentioned, the software is optional, and you will need Windows 7 or newer to use it. The last part is a bit confusing. In this chart, we see mention of a two-year warranty, where the downloadable guide says only one-year for the warranty.
Pricing is a place where a device can be made a hero or a zero in a matter of seconds. That being said, we ran into quite a difference in pricing from the MSRP to reality! On-site, and everywhere we saw this device, the price has been touted to be $49.99 for the matte models and $59.99 for the glossy models. However, looking at Amazon, we see the most affordable listing, which has Glorious PC Gaming Race as the seller, shows us a $74.39 price point! Oddly enough, had we not paid attention, we may have clicked on the $89.95 listing, this time from Glorious PC Gaming Race, for the same matte black mouse! We do see the matte white version for roughly $50, but they are from third-party sellers, which makes even less sense to us. At $49.99, where the MSRP was set, the Model O had a terrific chance at claiming an easy win. With the price much closer to $80 in reality, that easy win will be a hard-earned battle if they can impress us that much!
Chad's Peripherals Test System Specifications
- Motherboard: ASUS Prime X299 Deluxe - Buy from Amazon
- CPU: Intel Core i9 7920X - Buy from Amazon
- Cooler: Corsair H150i Pro - Buy from Amazon
- Memory: G.Skill TridentZ RGB 3600MHz 32GB - Buy from Amazon
- Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Hybrid SLI - Buy from Amazon
- Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB - Buy from Amazon
- Case: Cooler Master Cosmos C700P - Buy from Amazon
- Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G 1050W - Buy from Amazon
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit - Buy from Amazon
Packaging, Accessories, and Documentation
The main panel on the box, while on first glance may not seem to show much, a closer look is advised. In the white area to the left, we see a foil outline of the mouse that is packed inside. On the right, the Glorious PC Gaming Race and logo are at the top, while the bottom delivers the weight and the Model O name in foil again, but uses shiny text in black under it to call it a Glorious Gaming Mouse.
The panel which was resting on the table for the last image is now in view. On it, we see that the Model O is an extremely lightweight gaming mouse; they mention the ascended cord, and the use of G-Skates mouse feet. To the right, again playing the matte against the glossy, we see the logo.
In a slightly orange-ish yellow color, at this end of the box, all we find is the Glorious PC Gaming Race name in black text.
Rather than to play blacks against each other, this time, they opted for white text, to simply deliver the word ascend.
For those that wondered where to go for more information, the user's guide, or the software, this panel covers that with the pcgamingrace.com address as the only thing on this panel.
Anything of substance, when it comes to information, is contained to the back of the box. On the left, we see an explanation of what makes the Model O so good, and ends with the phrase "prepare for ascension!" In the middle, we can see the dimensional renderings which were missing from the specifications. With a condensed list of specifications to the right, you can get a general idea. At the bottom-right is a sticker, which will denote the version inside the box, and ours shows it to be the matte black finish.
After slicing through some anti-tamper stickers at the edge of the box, we were able to lift the top of the box off. Inside we find the Model O to be seated deep inside of a plastic inner tray, keeping it in place for travels. The cable is kept separate as it rests in a tray above. Be sure to lift the tray out as well, as there are goodies to be found under it.
The goodies we found are all shown here. At top-left is a welcome to the Glorious Legion, where inside is a thank you for supporting them, the definition of ascend, and where to go for more information. To the right of it is a product catalog to show off what else they make. There is another insert that welcomes you to the Legion with more text than the previous one. There are two stickers to go anywhere you see fit, and there is the user's guide at the bottom, which shows how to change things without software.
Glorious Model O Gaming Mouse
The left side of the Model O is convex in shape, centered under the pair of side buttons, allowing the mouse to be easily gripped. Just above the buttons, on the body line is a milky-plastic trim piece that is backlit when powered, and as is descends towards the heel, it almost becomes part of the hair of the logo painted on this side.
Most of the heel of the mouse has been removed for weight reduction and a cooling effect. Only at the sides, where it may be a comfort concern, was the plastic top left alone. You can also see that the matte finish is textured, and not some form of a rubber coating that will wear off over time.
The right side of the Model O is a copy of what we found on the left, down to every detail but two. The shape and styling are identical since the form is ambidextrous, but the logo is gone this time, and we find the Glorious name at the front. The second change is the lack of side buttons, which removes them from left-hand use.
At the front, we see the cable exiting the Model O in the center, below the wide groove between the contoured main buttons.
Looking down at the front half of the Model O, we see the main buttons flanking the backlit scroll wheel with its rubber center and segmented movement. In the thinner gap behind the scroll wheel is the DPI button, which cycles through the four default settings.
At first glance, the cable seems normal for a braided cloth covered USB 2.0 cable. While there is no Velcro strap for traveling purposes, we do see an inline choke by the tag at the left, and it ends in a gold plated connection. However, inside of that cloth is the USB cable, which feels like no rubber covering is included, just five thin wires and the sleeve, that's what makes the Ascend Cable so flexible and light.
The bottom of the mouse takes on a weight loss program as well. If not structurally needed around the outside edge and around the eye of the sensor, it is gone! We like the center placement of the sensor, and while the DPI indicator is here, we tend just to keep clicking the button until the mouse "feel right" anyways, so the placement isn't a deal killer. We do like the bright white PTFE feet used, and we also like that we have four of them, rather than a couple of larger ones. Also, make a note, if you do buy this mouse, G-Skates are available for the tune of $7 to replace these should they wear out.
Inside the Model O
The rear feet need removing so that a pair of screws can be taken out to open the Model O. Once that is done, we had to remove a couple of ribbon cables to open it fully, allowing us to see inside of it. As for those ribbon cables, the cables power the RGB LED strips on the sides of the mouse, and everything else is contained in the lower half.
The left-click button is backed with a D2FC-F-7N(20M) Omron switch, but this is the first we have seen the (OF) designation. The pressure to actuate is normal compared to what we are used to, and it comes with an audible click in response.
On a vertical PCB, we find a pair of green Huano switches which back the page forward and page back buttons. These switches require less force to actuate than the Omron switches, and the report is not as audible but does click.
Thinking about what is needed to control the features of the Model O, we feel an 8-Bit MCU is all they need. And we hope this is at least that. We say this, as the BT8948-00006 painted on the IC lead us nowhere when it came to searching for its maker or specifications.
Double-checking against the specifications, we do indeed find the PixArt PMW3360DM optical sensor. Just to the right of it, we also see a third green Huano switch, this time backing the DPI button.
Back at the front of the mouse, we are now looking under the right-click button. Not only do we see the match to the Omron on the other side, but we can see that the scroll wheel click is registered with a fourth Huano green switch.
As we always do, we get a look at the mouse after applying power. The Glorious Model O may not have as many RGB LEDs as some out there, but the trim lines and the scroll wheel are enough, in our opinion. The lighting is bright and easily visible in full light conditions, and if it doesn't suit you, you can dim the illumination, and even turn it off.
The Software
After downloading and installing the software, it opens to show us what you see here. Everything you can change, modify, or address with the Model O is all here in one easy to work with window. At the bottom left, you can address which of three profiles you want to tinker with, and at the right, we see the DPI controls already opened and ready for customization.
First, we opted to check out what the buttons section did, and found it to be where you remap and reassign button functions. We opened the list to show the possibilities, and we find them nearly unlimited in what can be done with them.
Just under the button list is another small button labeled macro editor, and of course, is where you go to deal in anything Macro related. Name the Macro, start recording, enter the Macro, and stop recording; it doesn't get much more straightforward. You can modify a Macro after the fact, and there are checkboxes to the right with options, but we found no way to import or export from or to storage.
Back to the right side of the menu, we are in the lighting section now. There are eight modes of RGB LED usage, and the ninth mode is off. The modes also have changeable bits like speed and direction, and in single color mode, there is a sub-menu that offers forty preset options, a color rainbow to pick from, or you can enter RGB codes.
The mouse parameter section covers one thing, the LOD or lift-off distance. The default is 2mm by what the software shows, and sliding it to the right allows for 3mm LOD.
The section for the polling rate allows the user to change from the default 1000Hz setting. You can choose 125. 250, and 500Hz as options, but we like it where it is, at 1000.
Debounce time sounded strange to us, and it likely does to you too. The slider is set to 10ms, and it has something to do with the click rate of the switches. We feel it is best to copy from the README file from the software download, where they state, "The debounce setting is an adjustable setting in the Model O/O- software that improves the mouse click latency. The lower the mouse click latency, the higher risk of double clicking. This setting is useful for playing around with if your mouse clicks start double clicking and other advance tests."
Gaming and General Impressions
DOOM & PUBG
Gaming with the Model O in hand is much like our experience with the Cooler Master counterpart. It is light in hand, easy to swing around on the desktop, and after a while, it makes us wonder why we ever preferred heavier mice! In something like DOOM, we prefer not to lift the mouse, but rather swing around at a moments notice to slay some form of hellspawn. For us, the sweet spot was at 5000 DPI to keep some accuracy and still be able to spin 360-degrees with a few inches of movement. At first, we attempted to run PUBG with 3200 DPI, figuring it would be a "normal" range for us, but sadly our headshots got sloppy, and we were losing the scoped battles. So down we went to 1600 DPI, and while we are lifting the mouse more often, the accuracy pays off big, and to be honest, without this mouse six-kill matches were unheard of. We tended to die long before that by losing the scope on scope long-range game. Not anymore, we are finding more top-five finishes overall, and out K/D ratio has gone up, and we are slinging through missions right and left now!
Windows and Productivity
On a 4K screen, we do have to raise the DPI to 3200 DPI or more to not have to lift the mouse to swing from one side to the other, but at the desktop level, accuracy comes into play much less. Clicking around on icons, ticking in chat boxes, all of that sort of stuff works as intended, and for the time saving minded users, Macros can also help you with shortcuts and things of that nature. Where accuracy comes into play for us is in PhotoShop, editing images to remove dust and small scratches. In this aspect, still at 3200 DPI or more, we didn't run into issues until we got near 7000 DPI, and that is when we saw overshooting of intended targets. While 16,000 DPI seems to be a huge marketing point for mice right now, even with the 12,000 DPI we are offered here, we would prefer a slower, finer tracking sensor, than bragging rights, and by percentage, we get to use more of the scale with the PMW3360. As long as this mouse fits your hand, we strongly urge you to try this out, and for those with smaller hands, you may want to look into the Model O-, as we are seriously impressed with its functionality and capabilities.
Final Thoughts
At the start of this, we had super high hopes for the Model O, as it is the originator to the "put a mouse on a diet with many holes plan," and we wanted it to do well. Thankfully, we have found the Model O to be a terrific addition to our gaming, and we feel that there is something to all this ascend business! We love the form and feel, as it fits our medium-sized hands like a glove, and with its lightweight, you do soon forget it's there. The glide is smooth, the weight doesn't slow you down, and with the Ascend Cable, there is little to no drag there. All of it comes together, right out of the box, to help you win at whatever the game is you are playing! The lighting isn't as overdone as we have seen in other mice, with just enough of it for our tastes. We also dig the addition of the PC Gaming Race logo on the left side of the mouse, and it is a smart addition. As far as usability and functionality, we have no complaints whether you opt to use the software or not.
With the good comes a bit of "the other side of the fence" talk. While it may be perfectly fine to use the type of cable the Model O comes with, it raises some red flags for us. There is less to protect the individual wires, which means breakage could happen, especially for anyone that travels with this product. We also think of times we have knocked the mouse off the desk and find it hanging by the cable. While they aren't things everyone may run across, they do concern us. We could say that the DPI indicator LED could have gone at the top, but as we said, we stopped looking at that years ago, and tend to go by feel. We do wish the Macro editor was a bit more involved, but it will get most users by, and oddly, without the XY independent button ticked, the sliders and values are independent anyways. Other than these few minor details, the Model O is robust and ready to take on what you throw at it at the desktop level, or in a game.
The major sticking point is that we have compared the Model O to the Cooler Master MM710 for most of this review, and we can find that mouse for just $49.99 at any location this side of the pond, reliably. However, when it comes to the Model O, on this side of the pond, you need to pay double that, and that is direct from the manufacturer through Amazon, not some random third party! We realize that the MSRP is $9.99 and that some may have access to the Model O at that price. Sadly that is not the case for us, and to be blunt, this isn't $80 worth of mouse! If the Glorious PC Gaming Race team could do something about the pricing problem, we are confident many more would adapt to this highly praised gaming mouse. The reputation and hype that preceded the Model O's arrival are all true and worthy of your attention, just not at the price we have to pay to get it right now!
Chad's Peripherals Test System Specifications
- Motherboard: ASUS Prime X299 Deluxe - Buy from Amazon
- CPU: Intel Core i9 7920X - Buy from Amazon
- Cooler: Corsair H150i Pro - Buy from Amazon
- Memory: G.Skill TridentZ RGB 3600MHz 32GB - Buy from Amazon
- Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Hybrid SLI - Buy from Amazon
- Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB - Buy from Amazon
- Case: Cooler Master Cosmos C700P - Buy from Amazon
- Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G 1050W - Buy from Amazon
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit - Buy from Amazon
Performance |
100% |
Quality |
90% |
Features |
90% |
Value |
80% |
Overall |
90% |
The Glorious Model O hype, and much of what you read is all true! We see now why others are cloning it. However good it is, we still feel that the cost is going to turn users away, but if you can find a deal, get it, you will not be sorry you did!
What's in Chad's PC?
- CPU: Intel Core i7 13700K
- MOTHERBOARD: ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero Eva
- RAM: TEAM DDR5-7200 32GB
- GPU: ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 Eva
- SSD: addlink m.2 2TB
- OS: Windows 11 Pro
- COOLER: Fractal Lumen S36
- PSU: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 1500W
- KEYBOARD: ASUS ROG Strix Scope TKL Electro Punk
- MOUSE: ASUS ROG Strix Impact Electro Punk
- MONITOR: ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ
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