When people read the Corsair Dark Core RGB SE review and they see the price, the first question that pops into their mind is; what is so special about this one? It is just a gaming mouse.
It is a wireless gaming mouse alright, but there are so many groundbreaking features that it comes with. First, while many of the low budget gaming mice do not come with all the pomp and flash that wired mice come with, this one breaks all the boundaries. It has lighting zones plus a wide spectrum of colors to match with the lighting zones. Even the logo lights up beautifully.
It is no secret that Corsair has been making some of the best gaming mice of all types. In the Corsair Dark Core, you will agree that they really outdid themselves, for this is a splendid masterpiece.
This is a big gaming mouse. It also looks as if the designers took their time with it because everything looks so stylish. From the panels to the colors, to the flare-out molding at the bottom, all that plus the contoured side panels to the dashing black color, this mouse look like something from the future.
However, when you start using the mouse, you will see that there is much more to it than just the looks. It is a reliable, high performance mouse. It is made for people that love to toss in some flair into their gaming experience.
Corsair Dark Core Pros
- It is large in size, good for people with large palms
- RGB lighting makes it look stylish
- Cordless charging is a plus
- The mouse is very reliable with fast performance
- Optional methods for connectivity
- Works with almost all operating systems
- Updated firmware has made the software easy to use
- No additional drivers needed for the mouse – just plug and play
- Long battery life – can go for up to 24 hours on full charge
Corsair Dark Core Cons
- Some people have encountered challenges with the older iCUE software
- Onboard storage is a good idea
- Price is high
For more details and price, click here.
Bottom line
The Corsair Dark Core wireless mouse comes from a long line of excellent gaming mice. It has onboard memory, connects with 4.0 Bluetooth-enabled devices and has a gaming-quality optical sensor with 16000 DPI range. It offers a very comfortable grip for playing long hours without cramping your wrist.
Corsair Dark Core RGB Wireless: The Features
Design and build quality of the Corsair Dark Core
The design of a gaming mouse is very important to a gamer because among many things, it determines the comfort of the gamer. We all know how some games can run for hours on end. The last thing that you want is a cramped wrist and aching fingers. And that is why you will see us lauding the large and wide size of this mouse in this Corsair Dark Core review.
Large size
Measuring at least 5 inches of length and 3.5 inches of width, you can see for yourself just how big this mouse is. If you have large hands, good news for you, as you will find this mouse very comfortable.
Just as the mouse is big, it is the same way that the buttons are also big. In fact, the sniper button on the side of the mouse is quite big. But if they are big, it could mean that they get in your way all the time. That is not the case with this mouse. They may be big, but they stay out of the way and it will be hard to mis-click them.
Stylish design
This mouse, and indeed other gaming mice from Corsair such as the Corsair Scimitar Pro looks very stylish. There is no way that you will want to play your favorite games with a boring mouse. Thankfully, the Corsair Dark Core RGB SE does not disappoint at all.
Most people love the way that the mouse design flares out at the bottom. We also like the way that the panels have been cut and fitted into place. When you get the mouse, you will agree that a gaming enthusiast designed it. Only a gaming enthusiast can pump such love into the design of a wireless gaming mouse.
Contoured anti-slip sides and top
One of the factors that determine comfort and grip is how anti-slip a gaming mouse is. With contoured rubber sides that you can interchange, this mouse feels very firm in the hand. If you have sweaty palms, this mouse is good for you. You will maintain a firm grip all through your game.
Corsair Dark Core Performance
If you have used Corsair gaming mice before, you will be expecting nothing but the best performance that has become synonymous with this brand name. Several things determine how a mouse performs on any game as you will see below.
The sensor and the DPI range are very important for the performance of a gaming mouse. Luckily, our Corsair Dark Core has a top of the range optical sensor and a DPI range of 16000 to boot. This means that you can set the mouse up for fast action depending on the kind of game that you are playing. The bigger the reach of the cursor on the screen without too much mouse movement, the better it is for you.
When you are pushing the mouse along on your gaming mat, you will realize that it feels a bit heavy. This is because it is a heavy mouse at 128 g. You will get used to it with time though, and the good thing is that there are no encumbering cables and you do not have to add batteries.
For connection, this mouse has two options – the Bluetooth and the 2.4GHz wireless receiver. The latter is preferred for a more streamlined gaming experience. However, even the Bluetooth connection is quite snazzy.
With a high polling rate of 1000Hz, it means that your mouse is going to ping the computer 1000 times in a second, communicating its position.
Compared to the performance of a wired mouse, this gaming mouse performs quite well. In fact, even if you have been using a wired gaming mouse such as the HyperX Pulsefire Surge, you will realize that the difference in response time is quite negligible, that is, if you do notice it at all.
Receiver and Bluetooth
The advanced receiver ensures low latency. Latency is the time delay between the transmission of a command and its display on the screen of your computer. Thus, low latency is better. If you click a mouse button, you expect to see it displayed on your screen immediately. The opposite would happen if you have high latency as a result of a bad receiver.
As we have already aforementioned in other sections, the Corsair Dark Core mouse can also connect to your laptop through Bluetooth. However, your computer must have Bluetooth 4.0 and above.
Some people have complained that the dongle loses connection. That is why we say that the Corsair Dark Core is a great gaming mouse, because it gives you an option for connection – Bluetooth.
Please note that the mouse can also be used wired. However, since you are looking for a cordless mouse, we figure that you only want to do just that and nothing less. Thus, you can always try Bluetooth in case the receiver fails.
Corsair Dark Core RGB SE Buttons
Looking at another Corsair Dark Core RGB SE review, you almost get the impression that the button setup is not that great. Please do not buy into that notion, because there is nothing wrong with it, not at all.
When you are considering the button layout, you will find that this is a bit unique and different from what you find on other gaming mice. While we are used to having many thumb buttons or just two of them, with this mouse, there are two, or perhaps we can say three. I will show you why.
You will notice one large button on the side. That is a sniper button and many Corsair gaming mice have it.
So what is the function of this sniper button? Just as its name suggests, it does the work of a “sniper.” By this, we mean that you press and hold this button to lower the DPI when you want to take a precise shot in a game, or some other action. By lowering the DPI, you can aim slowly and accurately and then fire. When you release the sniper button, the mouse goes back to its preset DPI.
This can be a very helpful button when you learn how to use it. Above the sniper button, you will find additional thumb buttons located near the edge. You can program these two to do anything that you wish. There have been complaints that it is hard to use these two because they are set on a rocker. However, with time, you get used to them and they work just fine.
Beneath the scroll wheel, there is another button. That is used for adjusting the DPI on the go. The left and right click button is available.
Battery and charging
The Corsair Dark Core mouse does not use AA batteries. It has a built-in Li-Po, rechargeable, which gives long battery life. Now, you may be worried that the battery will require to be charged every too often, especially with the RGB lighting. That is not right though. On a full charge, you can play for a straight 24 hours.
Charging this battery is even easier. What you need is a wireless charging pad. That way, when you are not using the mouse, you can leave it charging. It uses a Qi wireless charger, but please note that it needs to be precisely centered so that it can charge. Usually, charging it from empty to full should take less than an hour.
RGB lighting
Many gamers love it when their gaming mouse looks all flashy and snappy. And the Corsair Corsair Dark Core RGB SE does not disappoint at all.
There are four light zones. You can customize them with different colors. One is on the logo, the other is on the scroll wheel, the sniper button and then there are two strips of LED near the front of the mouse on both sides.
Corsair Dark Core Software
This Corsair Dark Core review would not be complete if we did not mention the iCUE software. First, it has been updated with the latest firmware, so the complaints that the early buyers of this mouse had are no longer valid. It is snappy, easy to use to customize your gaming mouse and quite feature-rich.
There is a short learning curve, but you get used to it eventually. You can then create macros. Set game profiles and remap your buttons. The good thing is that you can store your game settings on the onboard memory chip so that you can use them on other computers without having to install the software again.
Conclusion
With the information that we have brought you here, your search for the best wireless gaming mouse ends here. There is no reason to trouble yourself with the long six-foot cable that wired gaming mice come with, not when you can have a cordless mouse that is equally fast, responsive and effective. In this Corsair Dark Core review, you have seen all the features that this mouse has as well as its pros. If you are an avid gamer, you will never regret buying the Corsair Dark Core RGB SE.
