The esports world of peripherals has abundant options at the moment. With peripheral manufacturers realising that less background processes are a good thing, driver-less gear is starting to become more readily available. HyperX hit the ground sprinting with their well-received line of headsets which was followed up with a stellar first keyboard – the HyperX Alloy FPS. A mouse was always next up and was the missing link in their FPS-centric gear line-up.
The HyperX Pulsefire FPS Gaming Mouse is their first attempt at breaking into the most contested first person shooter hardware market. With major powerhouse players like Logitech, SteelSeries, Zowie, and Razer already in the mix, does the Pulsefire have any kind of chance? After using it for a couple of weeks, and seeing the targeted price point, absolutely!
Firstly, let’s look at what it gets right. The shape is moderately wide, has a large rear hump, and ample side grips. The weight is perfectly balanced and at 95g, not at all heavy for its size. I had no issue with my hybrid palm-claw grip apart from having to adjust the amount of grab pressure needed to lift the mouse due to the slightly more angled right side. All grip styles should be able to use the mouse comfortably with little to no adjustment period.
It comes packaged fairly well but has twist wires to keep the cable bundled up. Not the best way to keep a cable flexible as it causes kink points in the wire. Maybe a loose wrap-around the entire perimeter of the packaging next time HyperX? Otherwise, the cable quality seems great. Lightweight with top notch braiding that doesn’t show signs of fraying.
It’s also software-less like most other HyperX peripherals. This puts it in direct competition with Zowie’s mice at a slightly lower price-point. DPI switching consists of 4 presets in multiples of 2 starting from 400 and up to 3200. I’m fine with this, as historically these multiples have been the most consistently used in the competitive scene with the 3200 maximum being an upper outlier rarely reached by anyone looking to have good aim.
The sensor placement is smack bang in the centre of the mouse, with two gigantic mouse feet in a north-south orientation in relation to it. These are possibly the biggest mouse feet I’ve seen and definitely help to reduce friction by minimising mid-section edges. Less edges and corners means less hard friction and minimal snagging for a cleaner glide.
The sensor used is the Pixart 3310 optical. While its not the most prestigious sensor out right now, for the dpi range available, it makes sense. The superior Pixart 3366 sensor variants go up to 12,000 dpi and as good as that sounds to the to the non tech savvy, it really doesn’t need to go that high, with many who use it opting for 1600 or less. Never the less, it would be a better mouse with that sensor and if sold at the same current price point, would be an almost uncontested recommendation.
As far as accuracy of tracking goes, the mouse performed identically to my 3366 sensor mice at my preferred 800 and 1600dpi. Where it came short was the lift off distance before tracking cut off. While the 3366 sensors maintained their 1cd height lift off distance on several mousepads, the Pulsefire seemed to have inconsistencies. On my Artisan Hayate Otsu mousepad from Japan, it performed perfectly with a 1cd lift off distance, but on HyperX’s own Fury mousepad, it seemed to keep tracking when lifted up much higher, possibly due to how shiny the material used is. Not something you want in FPS games where lifting off your mousepad is a constant requirement. This could’ve been due to the age and wear levels of the Fury mousepad used, but without further samples to test I have to recommend using the Pulsefire with a different, less shiny mousepad.
Overall, the Pulsefire is a great pick for an on the go gaming mouse for LANs and online competitive gaming. No software to set up and great performance out of the box make it an excellent pick up at its price of $79 at the time of writing. Just keep in mind that it works best on non-shiny mouse pads and you’ll have a well built, comfortably shaped, and top performing mouse that won’t let you down.
Price: $79 AUD
Release: Available Now – Buy From Mwave
Disclaimer: A review sample was provided by HyperX | Respawn Ninja is owned by Mwave Australia, however we retain editorial control over reviews.