Corsair Nightsword RGB: Gaming mouse that makes weight regulation its strong point
Corsair Nightsword RGB is the new mouse for players with an optical sensor of 18 thousand DPI, configurable sensitivity in steps of a DPI and a particularly attractive rubberized surface. But it is the weight adjustment system of this mouse that attracts the most attention.
A gaming mouse that wants to aspire to recognition of important qualities must have a distinctive trait. Some manufacturers focus on the sensor, others on the switches, others on the surface and others on innovations.
Corsair, with the new Nightsword, instead wanted to rediscover the concept of weight regulation and structure its new offer around this feature. Inside the Nightsword packaging, there are six small weights that must be placed in a compartment inside the peripheral, while the Corsair software, iCue is able to detect in real time the total mass of the device and its center of gravity.
This is a system that Corsair intends to patent, designed to allow the user to make a series of adjustments by crossing the center of gravity of the device with the configuration of speed and other parameters on the basis of peripheral performance.
Finding the right balance between weight and performance will allow the user to have a device that behaves exactly as he wishes, with a level of precision, as well as a tangible feedback for the player, that is difficult to find in other mice in this category.
Depending on the slots in which the weights are positioned the center of gravity along the xyz planes will move, with tangible effects for the player who expects precise feedback from the device to perform articulated and rapid movements, for example: inside the frame competitive first-person shooters.
Different elements combine to allow such an advanced type of weight adjustment. The total mass is configurable from a minimum of 119g to 141g thanks to the fact that inside the package, there are six weights, three of 2.8g with a central recess and others three of 4.5g with a shape without a recess.
To place the weights you need to remove the cover of the mouse surface in contact with the mousepad and place them in the six slots available. Launching the iCue software, renewed and now with precise and attractive graphics, we realize how the type of weight is detected in real time immediately after being positioned. Based on this detection, the total mass and the position of the center of gravity with respect to the xyz axes are instantaneously calculated.
The operation of this system does not depend on expensive sensors, but works through two types of buttons located at each slot. The weight with the recess goes to press one of the two buttons, while the weight with the other form will not touch the first button but the second, providing the software with the precise data on the basis of which to perform the other calculations.
Everything is instantaneous and precise, providing the player with all the information, it needs to adjust the weight of the device. Players can try many types of configurations, for example: by placing the center of gravity towards the left side, or the right side, or up or down, depending on their purposes. Furthermore, inside the package there is a convenient case in which to store the weights when not in use.
The Nightsword uses a customized PMW3391 optical sensor, developed in collaboration with PixArt, whose sensitivity can be adjusted with precision from 100 up to 18,000 native DPI in steps of a DPI. A sensor with these characteristics guarantees a very precise tracking and constant reactivity regardless of the speed of the movement imparted to the peripheral.
Configuring the mouse to work at high-sensitivity values allows small mouse movements to correspond to large movements on the screen, while low sensitivity allows precise movements.
Nightsword provides three adjustable presets that are preconfigured at 800, 1,500 and 3,000 DPI. You move from one preset to another with the two buttons on the left-side surface of the device, below which is (by default) also the button to enter sniper mode which, if held down, brings the sensitivity to 400 DPI.
We then noticed a curiosity: if you connect two Corsair mice to the same PC and install iCue switch from one DPI preset to another on a mouse it performs the same type of passage even on the other mouse connected to the PC.
From technical specifications, the Nightsword optical sensor can track and report the cursor position at speeds up to 400 inches per second, with mouse acceleration up to 50G. They are operating specifications that are particularly useful, especially when you have to track the movement of the mouse from one side of the mouse pad to the other in conditions of low sensitivity, for example: when you are in sniper mode in a first-person shooter.
In order for these movements to be accurately tracked, and for the player’s movements to be correctly reproduced in-game, the sensor must be able to report data at high speeds, and the mouse must be able to handle rapid acceleration.
In the realization of this mouse, great emphasis was also placed on ergonomics, which is well suited especially to the palm grips. The perforated surface is eye-catching to see and favors a firm grip, while laterally the Nightsword presents a very attractive aesthetic both in the gummed surfaces and in the buttons. It is a mouse of very important dimensions, which even in the configuration with the lowest total mass remains firm with respect to the surface.
The switches supplied by Omron are equally resistant, and each of the 10 buttons on the mouse is freely configurable with respect to the associated function. The actuation distance of these switches is 0.45mm, making each pressure rewarding and the interaction very natural.
Nightsword has four independently backlit zones: the front one, the scroll wheel, the logo area and the back area. Each of these areas can be statically illuminated or with preset cycles and effects, such as rainbow or color cycles, which can be customized via iCue.
The front and rear backlit areas have aggressive shapes making the appearance of the mouse when illuminated very captivating. Nightsword has an internal memory that allows you to store three profiles that include information on the RGB effect, macros and performance settings.
Furthermore, the software also includes a surface calibration tool, which evaluates, through a simple test, the type of surface on which the mouse is positioned and adjusts the sensor accordingly, modifying its operating parameters. Nightsword is pre-calibrated for some Corsair mousepads like MM350. This means that the mouse sensor is adjusted according to surface parameters such as color, contrast and texture, as well as the distance of the sensor from the surface.
If the mouse is used in combination with other mousepads or on surfaces without a mousepad, it is advisable to run the surface calibration tool: click on the icon in the center of the tool and draw circles at a constant speed. When the speedometer needle is in the green zone, then the left button is left with the software that at that point will have all the data necessary for calibration.
Finally, the ” polling rate ” parameter is also very useful for a gaming device. A typical non-gaming mouse has a ” polling rate ” of around 8 ms, which means that it sends signals to the PC 125 times per second.
But a gaming station must update itself more quickly in all its components, starting from the crucial one of the mouse. The Nightsword RGB has a polling frequency of 1,000 Hz, which means that the mouse sends 1,000 signals per second to the PC.
Ultimately, Corsair Nightsword RGB confirms the excellent build quality that distinguishes Corsair’s latest gaming mice like the excellent Corsair M65 Elite RGB. In the case of the Nightsword, despite the certainly important price, we have an interesting peripheral in terms of customization, which always remains very strong on the surface and that can literally become a ” rock ” to the configuration of greater weight.
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While the design is a bit too familiar, the Corsair Nightsword RGB is a good large gaming mouse with tunable weights.
- Overall
