What does around $20 buy in terms of gaming hardware these days? Surprisingly, a great gaming mouse and large mouse pad that work well in the office and in fast-paced multiplayer games. Today we are reviewing the AUKEY Knight Gaming Mouse (Model GM-F4), featuring RGB lighting, eight programmable buttons, a 1.8M (5.9’) braided nylon cable, and an estimated lifespan of 20 million clicks.

The DPI can be customized anywhere between 200 and 10,000 with four programmable profile presets available, and polling rates of 125/250/500/1000 Hz.

Via: aukeydirect.com

Comfortable To Use All Day Long

In terms of physical comfort, the AUKEY mouse was quite surprising. The hardware itself is light at 100g (3.52oz) and features a slight narrowing in the body near M4 and M5 buttons on both sides. This is useful because there is a lack of any textured grips on the sides of the mouse, so these indentations allow for the thumb and outer fingers to comfortably grip and maneuver with ease.

A Broad Range Of Customization

Plugging in the mouse should also install a series of drivers, and the dedicated software for customization can be found here (Note: This link takes you directly to the executable file provided by Aukey). The software interface is simple to use and allows for the programming of each mouse button, and with a total of eight buttons, there is a ton that one can do for different games. The nice touch here is that despite its low price point, several profiles can be created and saved for different games, web browsing, multimedia, and more.

Via: aukeydirect.com

As for the RGB customization, there are several options to choose from. This was a pleasant surprise as well, because it is often the case that cheaper hardware may come with a single color to save on costs. The AUKEY mouse features several color options and modes, ranging from a slow rainbow of color transitions, laser pulse, color waltz, color cycling, solid lights, or the mouse can have all the lights turned off altogether.

Early Usage Impressions

This mouse was tested in a variety of circumstances for a few days, and it left a good impression overall. For basic office work, meaning writing in MS Word all day and online research, the AUKEY mouse experienced no problems at all.

Via: aukeydirect.com

The same positive experience can be described when playing games. We tried Dead by Daylight, Dauntless, and Call of Duty: Warzone. The mouse was responsive and felt far better than any mouse should for so little money. With that in mind, we may provide updates at certain usage milestones as time goes on to revisit these statements, because whether we are reviewing an inexpensive piece of hardware or one of the most expensive, the issue of long-term quality cannot be reliability considered after only a few days of use.

The only real critique of the AUKEY mouse is that the slide pads on the base are a little rough, and its corners are perhaps a little higher than they need to be. This means that with little use, either for gaming or writing, it becomes noticeable that the slide pads are catching, ever so slightly, on the mouse pad and causing a sort of light scratching sensation.

Via reviewer

This is not something that is a major problem, and one becomes used to the scratching sensation almost instantly, but it is still noticeable on first use compared to other mice we have around the office from past reviews.

With that said, the AUKEY RGB mouse does an excellent job right out of the box.

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An Optical Mouse Works Best On A Mousepad

The AUKEY RGB mouse is optical as opposed to laser, and as such works best with a mouse pad beneath it to get an optimal experience. Luckily, AUKEY also sent an extended gaming mouse for this purpose. This extra-large extended mouse pad measures 90 cm by 40 cm, featuring a non-slip rubber base that is easy to clean. We laid it down on a table and spilled half a cup of water to see how easy it would be to clean. Thankfully, wiping down the mouse pad is a breeze, and then it can be hung to dry.

At first the extra large size seemed like a ridiculous feature, but this reviewer has come to adore how the mouse pad sprawls across the desk and keeps the keyboard firmly in place, while also providing ample travel space for the mouse, and a soft, non-scratch surface for smartphones. Without a doubt, the mouse pad is a welcome addition as well.

Via: aukeydirect.com

A Great Value For The Price

In terms of budget or entry-level gaming hardware, both the AUKEY RGB gaming mouse and the extra-large mouse pad provide excellent value for their low-price points. While not perfect, the only critiques we can offer could be the lack of textured grip on the side of the mouse, though we consider this offset by the indented design of both sides, and the scratching of the mouse pads on the base.

Still, for anyone who is looking to check out gaming hardware on a budget, or simply to explore what colorful RGB hardware is like, both items would make an excellent starting point.

The AUKEY Knight Gaming Mouse and AUKEY mouse pad were provided by AUKEY for this review.

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