Capsule Review: Corsair's Vengeance M60 and M90 Mice
by Dustin Sklavos on February 22, 2012 2:45 PM EST- Posted in
- Mouse
- Peripherals
- Corsair
- Input Devices
The Corsair Vengeance M60 and M90 Gaming Mice
Here's a prickly subject if ever there were one: while with keyboards you could reasonably argue for the superiority of using mechanical switches over traditional rubber-dome membrane keys, mice are much, much more a matter of preference. A mouse could have all the features you're looking for, but if the grip isn't right or the texture makes you hand clammy the whole enterprise can be a bust. Understanding how delicate the balancing act of a good mouse can be, Corsair has come up with matching mice for their new gaming keyboards.
The new Vengeance M60 is geared for FPS players with an innovative "Sniper" button while the M90 targets MMO players who'll use as many configurable buttons as they can find. In terms of styling and intended use, the M60 theoretically should be paired with the K60 keyboard while the M90 goes with the K90, though you can obviously mix and match as you see fit. The real question is how well they actually work in practice.
Corsair Vengeance M90 (Left) and M60 (Right)
While Corsair's Vengeance keyboards had a pretty obvious progression, with the K90 being almost directly superior to the K60, the mice are definitely different creatures, sporting very different features and different grips. The only commonality between the two lies in the sensors (both use lasers rated for up to 5700dpi) and the ability to adjust sensitivity between three settings on the fly using Corsair's Dashboard software.
They also come with different price tags, though the difference isn't as great as the keyboards: the FPS-oriented M60 runs $59, while the MMO-oriented M90 clocks up at $69. These are fairly high prices but still essentially comparable to similar products from other vendors (and actually substantially cheaper than a lot of Razer's offerings).
The Vengeance M60 sports the standard mouse button configuration (left and right, middle mouse on the mouse wheel) along with back and forward buttons on the left side. Corsair's innovation here is the "Sniper" button, the big red button on the left side that, while held, drastically reduces the mouse's sensitivity to allow for more precise aiming. Below the mouse wheel is the mouse sensitivity indicator along with the sensitivity adjustment buttons, but it bears mentioning that all of these buttons can be reconfigured in Corsair's software. The underside of the M60 also features something the M90 lacks: three removable weights.
For the Vengeance M90, Corsair ditches the open-bodied grip and substantially changes the left side of the mouse. The sensitivity buttons are relocated to the top left next to the left mouse button, and then the thumb grip region includes a staggering nine configurable buttons. This is very different from the Razer Naga, which has twelve buttons arranged in a three-by-four grid; Corsair has essentially designed the M90 to have a button within range no matter where you click.
Like the M60, all of the M90's mouse buttons are configurable, and you can even configure a button with the M60's "Sniper" function. With the M90 you also gain a toggled backlit logo under the palm, but you lose the adjustable weight.
Finally, both mice come with braided cables, and neither comes with a software disc: you'll have to download Corsair's Dashboard from their website. It's probably just as well; I can't remember the last time I actually needed a driver disc and didn't just download the most recent drivers.
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Impulses - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
Suitable replacement... Damn swype. ;)Th-z - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
Similar with discontinued MX Revolution. To me its mouse wheel is the best for quickly scrolling long document/web page. They have made mice with hyper scrolling since, but they all require a switch, not the auto-shifting MX Revolution uses. What a shame.ckryan - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
I find that I leave hyperscrolling on all the time. The situations where I don't want to use it are quite rare.bji - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
Keyboards are just as much a matter of preference as are mice. There is no inherent superiority to mechanical switches when compared to other types of keyboards, it is entirely a matter of preference.mclazer - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
I've never heard of anyone who prefers the membrane over mechanical keys... I'm sure they exist but I think the majority of gamers/heavy keyboard users prefer mechanical.Either way, you can look at a keyboard's feature list and get a pretty accurate gauge on whether you would like that keyboard or not. Whether it has mechanical keys, ergonomical, wrist rests, lighted keys, macro buttons for gamers, whatever. If it has the stats you want, your probably going to like it.
With a mouse it's a lot more subjective. On paper two mice could be exactly the same down to the sensor, but you don't know which one feels "right" until you use it.
kyuu - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
Totally agree. Many people (myself included) don't like the long-travel, noise, and overly "clicky" feel of mechanical switches. I much prefer my Logitech keyboard with rubber-dome switches.Just because you prefer them does not make them objectively better, Mr. Sklavos.
exploderator - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
Scroll wheel : does it free wheel or does it ratchet?I have looked high and low, and yet have never found an answer to this critical question. Corsair hints about it being heavy, but still fails to say whether it can/does free-wheel.
This particular issue is a show stopper for me, and is the one reason why I can only use Logitech mice so far (eyeballing the G700 as a step up from my MX Revolution, more buttons is good). I cannot grind a ratchet all day with my middle finger when zooming in and out in CAD software. My seriously worn out MX (several years later) has saved me from suffering a repetitive stress injury that was just starting to happen when I bought it (one of the best $100 I have ever spent on computer hardware BTW).
I suppose I could probably butcher the ratchet mechanism out of one of these mice, depending on how it's implemented (ie not buried inside a tiny sealed rotary encoder), but it's a $70 gamble I would rather not take. And I admit that it's nice to be able to put my MX in clickety mode when playing FPS where it does your weapon selection, free wheel is a tad wild and unpredictable for that. To lose both the wireless and freewheel... that would be a $70 paper weight in my books. With bad drivers.
Revdarian - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
From experience, most new scroll wheels feel extremely hard and do cause discomfort. But after 1-2 months of regular use they become pretty normal. It also annoys me that it is that way but at least now i try to artificially wear it down until it becomes soft enough to be comfortable.exploderator - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
Unfortunately, no amount of wear-down can compensate for my requirement of a fully free-wheeling scroll wheel.The gesture is this: you give the wheel ONE very light flick in the intended direction, leaving your middle finger OFF the wheel, and touching back down to stop the free spin when the desired travel has been achieved. ONE FLICK vs. grind grind grind... it's a make or break difference. It's also the kind of gesture that is almost immediately fully automatic and intuitive, there is almost no learning curve, and it works immaculately well. It's one of those perfect natural solutions that our brains already understand. Expensive analog radio tuner dials used the same principle (albeit in a much less critical application). Good track balls do the same. There is no substitute.
Death666Angel - Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - link
This doesn't make a lot of sense for gaming mice, considering that we gamers need distinct mouse wheel levels for weapon selection and the like.What you describe sounds like what the click middle mouse button/mouse wheel is for. Click it once to get a stead scrolling going, click it again to halt that scrolling.