When I was a kid, my favorite mouse was the Logitech G5. The G5 was a wired laser mouse that came with little round weights you could add to a neon orange tray that slid into the bottom of the mouse diagonally. I had never seen anything like it, and I was absolutely convinced that the heavier the mouse, the more incremental control I had over it. Every other mouse felt horribly unwieldy, even with the sensitivity turned all the way down. The G5 eventually died and I learned to love other mice, but something was always missing. I need that heft and nothing I've had has ever matched G5's weight class, until now. The Aorus M5 is the mouse I've been searching for all these years.
Bro Do You Even Lift?
Out of the box, the M5 is already pretty dense. I weighed the last five mice I reviewed, and at 127.5 ounces the M5 is by far the heaviest, and that's BEFORE adding the extra weight.
The M5 comes with 5 weights, each weighing 2.5g for a maximum potential addition of 12.5 grams and a total weight of 140 grams. It's about a 10% increase in weight, while each weight individually represents a 2% increase. Adding all five weights, I could definitely tell the difference, but adding just one or two wasn't noticeable to me at all.
The mouse has a removable plate underneath and four of the weights surround the sensor while the fifth sits further back towards the palm. I have a couple of issues with this design: first of all, the compartment is most likely going to need some extra attention when cleaning and the cover for the compartment is pretty flimsy. Secondly, the weight distribution and shape of the grip pattern makes the mouse difficult to hold when I lift it.
Adjusting My Grip
My problem when lifting the mouse up is that the back of the mouse, the palm side, always starts dipping on me, causing an awkward reposition where the backside lands on my mouse pad before the front. It's less than ideal, obviously, you want to pick up your mouse and set it back down smoothly in one move to prevent any jittering on your crosshairs. I've had to really readjust my grip and choke back on it to keep it from tilting when I pick it up.
The problem, for me, is that the sides of the mouse don't have enough shape to them for my thumb and index/pinky to support the mouse when I lift it. There's some rubberized texture to help with grip, but it's simply not enough. The slick texture of the wide palm rest doesn't help either, as flexing my palm around it simply makes it slip away more. My hands are definitely on the smaller side though, so this may be a non-issue for others. I've managed to readjust my grip further back, but it's been a learning process and something I had to get used to.
Some Other Great Features
The sensitivity toggle under the scroll wheel is a requirement for any mouse I use this day, but the M5 taught me to have any higher standards from now on. It has an indicator on the left side to show which of the four DPI presets the mouse is currently on. Every single time I switch games with my other mice I find myself cycling through the DPI to make sure I'm on the right one. With the M5, I can tell at a glance, and it has been a real game-changer.
Another thing I love is the RGB customization. There's a strip on both the left and right side with 10 LEDs each, two under the scroll wheel, and one in the etched logo on the palm. All of these LEDs are individually addressable within the RGBFusion 2.0 App. You can select colors and patterns for each LED or choose from a bunch of different presets. The color has a bit of a pastel quality to it that's really unique. As far as RGB features go, I think the M5 might actually be the coolest looking mouse I've reviewed.
One minor frustration: there's a speed slider that can be used to change the speed of the lights in modes like color cycle and rainbow wave. The difference between the slowest speed and the fastest speed is almost imperceptible. I had to really study the thing with a stopwatch out to even see the difference. I'm happy with the fastest speed, the slowest speed should be way, way slower.
Come For The Weight, Stay For The Quality
If the promise of a heavyweight champion got you in the door, you won't be disappointed by everything else the Aorus M5 has to offer. The features it offers are competitive in the RGB gaming mouse space and it even offers some things that few others (if any) are offering, like the DPI setting indicator. I love the RGB features, I just wish the weight was more forward in the mouse so that it didn't tilt when I picked it up. Ultimately, if a heavy gaming mouse is what you're after, this is this one to get.
An Aorus M5 was provided to TheGamer for this review. You can learn more about the M5 on their website.