ROCCAT Kone Pure Optical Gaming Mouse & Raivo Gaming Surface Review

2:23 PM gaming , mouse , review , roccat 0 Comments

ROCCAT Raivo

• Hard-type gaming surface
• Dimensions: 350 x 270 x 2mm 

REVIEW

     Let's start off the post by first covering the Kone Pure Optical. The packaging is very solid without making the mouse too hard to retrieve from it. Anyway, one could check out the mouse too from the little flip cover that seems to be featured on almost every gaming mice's packaging. Well, enough of the box talk, let's get down to what matters which is the mouse itself.

     We start off by first looking at the cabling of the mouse. The Kone Pure Optical features a braided cable which allows those who frequently bring their mouse along to untangle the cables without much effort. Personally, I think braided cables are a great addition to gaming mice and it looks nice too, but some claim that the resistance it adds interferes with their gaming experience. To be honest, till this day, no braided cable has ever interfered with my gaming experience; how about you? What's your experience with braided cables? Do leave a comment down below. Getting back on track, the mouse also comes with a detachable velcro strap to ease cable management if users eventually decide to bring along the mouse. The USB header on the other has a cool little design on it, making it easier to identify if you ever need to plug it out from messy cable management.


     The Kone Pure Optical has a smaller footprint compared than that of the original Kone, making it much more suitable for people with medium-sized hands to palm grip it. For me, the mouse is indeed easier to handle. To expand on that, the mouse features a soft-touch surface, which makes the mouse even more comfortable to use for long sessions of gaming. Even the sides are using a softer finish compared than that of other gaming mice in the market. While it is certainly comfortable to rest my thumbs on, I prefer a rougher surface for the side grips. The soft-touch rubber finish also seems to be much more resistant to accidental scratches.

     Since we are looking at the sides, let's talk about the side buttons. The Kone Pure Optical, like its predecessors, features 2 side buttons. The button to the left (in the picture) is mapped to 'forward' by default, while the button on the right is mapped to ROCCAT's Easy-Shift[+]. Easy-Shift[+] is one of ROCCAT's interesting software features which I will elaborate more in my software overview post. Essentially, the function gives users access to an entirely different button mapping.

     The Kone Pure Optical uses the Omron D2FC-F-7N switch for both left and right clicks to ensure the longevity of two of the most used buttons on the mouse. The scroll wheel, or rather the 'Titan Wheel' is claimed by ROCCAT to be able to deliver precise steps and elongate the useful lifetime of the scroll wheel. While I can't test if the scroll wheel can really deliver 6 million lifetime steps, I can attest that the 'Titan Wheel' is really able to deliver precise steps, I can feel sort of a bump with every step, preventing any unwanted weapon changes in FPS games, if you get what I'm saying. In addition, even with the slight bump with every step, one is still able scroll quickly if they desire to.

     Below the scroll wheel, we find 2 buttons that are used for DPI switching. These buttons don't use the same high quality Omron switches like the left and right clicks but it is understandable since these buttons won't be utilized as much as the left and right clicks. Moving further down, we find the signature ROCCAT logo etched on the palm rest. The logo is LED illuminated and users are able to choose from 16.8 million colours which they would like the logo to be illuminated with.

     On the flip side (heh), we get a closer look of the Pro-Optic R3 sensor. Underneath the fancy name is actually the Avago ADNS 3090 optical sensor, which is currently the top of the line sensor when it comes to optical sensors. The sensor supports as low as 400 DPI and as high as 4000 DPI with 400 DPI bumps available in software. The sensor also reports at a polling rate of 1000Hz at default, which minimizes the chance of the mouse pointer moving when it is not supposed to be moving. The Kone Pure Optical also features an on-board ARM processor alongside on-board memory for users to store macros and up to 5 profiles on-the-go without having to install the software on another computer. We also get to see the mouse feet of the Kone Pure Optical that both cover from one end to another.

     That about sums it up for the Kone Pure Optical, let's move on to its trusty sidekick, the Raivo gaming surface. The Raivo is a hard-type gaming surface which features a micro-granular surface which ROCCAT claims to result in the very slick surface. While I have no idea what the former means (actually it means that the surface is covered with tiny dots, but still), the Raivo is certainly very smooth, enabling users to quickly glide from one end to another. The grip that the rubber bottom offers is also very sturdy, making accidental budges a non-issue. The surface is also semi-flexible but not to the extent of you being able to roll it up.


CONCLUSION

    The Kone Pure Optical is one of the most comfortable mice I have ever used till this date. It feels very premium and is made of quality internals without compromising in any department. The Kone Pure Optical also proves to be one of the most full-featured mouse I have ever encountered with ROCCAT's software support, Talk FX. You would think that a mouse with no compromises would cost you a lot, fortunate to say, the Kone Pure Optical retails at MYR 235.00, which is almost standard if you seek for a good gaming mouse. With this price tag, the Kone Pure Optical presents itself as an extremely favorable deal for those who seek for superior performance and in-depth software functionality. With that said, the ROCCAT Kone Pure Optical is awarded the Editor's Choice award!

     The Raivo on the other hand, is a slick surface that would not budge with its firm grip. There really isn't anything special about it but that's the norm for mousepads. The ROCCAT Raivo comes with a price tag of MYR 95.00, of which I deem pretty reasonable for a hard surface. If you are looking for a hard surface but don't require it to be in a, so to say, "plate" form, you should seriously consider the Raivo as your next mousepad.

• For more information, do contact PLAY Interactive, ROCCAT's sole distributor in Malaysia: https://www.facebook.com/PLAYInteractiveSdnBhd