Occasionally, in the market, we will find gaming mice that look and feel costlier than they are. In this Corsair Harpoon Review, you will see why it is such a mouse. It has many features, but not as many as the more expensive Corsairs. However, it has enough features to enable it hold its end of the bargain very well. The first thing that you will notice about the harpoon is the design of the mouse.
It looks quite different from other gaming mice. While many come with their scroll wheel enclosed, this one leaves the scroll wheel open. Of course, we will discuss more features of this gaming mouse, its performance and how it generally feels in your hands in the upcoming sections.
The Harpoon is one of those gaming mice that you buy because of the low price and then it pleasantly surprises you. Whether you buy the wired or the wireless Harpoon, you will get good value for your money. Both of them retail at very affordable prices. However, in this review, we will look at the wired one.
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Contents
Corsair Harpoon Review: Summary of the features
- The contoured casing provides you with a firm grip even when your palms sweat due to the intensity of the game
- The Corsair iCue software is indeed very sophisticated, responsive and user-friendly. You can program your mouse buttons fast and do much more with it.
- This mouse comes with intelligent lighting that allows you to customize it to your taste totally, so that you can make it your own personal baby
- There are six fully programmable buttons, with the Corsair iCue software. These are neither too many nor too few, making it one of the less-crowded gaming mice in the market.
- Onboard storage is a very welcome feature. As obvious and standard as it seems to be, still many need this wonderful feature. You only need to make your settings once and then you do not have to install the mouse software again, even on a new computer
- The Corsair Harpoon is a plug-and-play mouse because you do not need to download any drivers, reboot your computer or do any other such shenanigans. Just plug it and use it.
- RGB lighting is a bit superfluous, but it works. Besides, a gaming mouse without this lighting would be quite bland and boring, no?
- It has a 6000 DPI optical sensor. Now, I know many gaming mice that come with DPI settings of up to 16000. However, the truth is that for most games, we hardly go beyond the 4500 mark, that is, unless you have quite a high resolution display, which you don’t. Or do you?
- High quality and precise tracking makes this mouse one of the best in its price range. Coupled with a high polling rate of up to 1000 Hz, if you choose the highest (usually, polling rate starts at 125Hz), the mouse will communicate with the computer 1000 times in one second.
- Don’t forget the lightweight design of this mouse. It is easy to use, and it does not cramp the wrist. It is quite ergonomic.
- This mouse comes with a rubber cable. In many instances, braided cable is better, but even rubber cables do have their benefits.
As you can see here, in this Corsair Harpoon review, we intend to show you all the features that this gaming mouse comes with. You have already seen the synopsis of the features, now let us look at them in full detail, for indeed, the Corsair Harpoon is an exciting gaming mouse.
Build and design
What to say about the Harpoon? Well, quite a mouthful. For one, it is matte black in color, has a nice ergonomic design that ensures prolonged use without your wrist feeling cramped at all. This is a lightweight mouse too at 91 grams only, quite lighter than many of the gaming mice that we have reviewed here. This has its benefits too. You see, when you are in an intense game, sometimes, you have to make faster movements. A lightweight yet very precise mouse like this one enables you to do that very well.
It measures 4.4 by 2.7 by 1.6 inches. Again, you can see that this is not too big nor is it too small, Tell you what though, if they had made this mouse a bit bigger, say, about 5 inches long, it would truly have become a trendsetter. As much as it is not too small, we feel that 4.4 inches will not be too nice for people with bigger palms.
The flared-out shape is quite attention capturing. However, it makes her look quite rugged and handsome, something that many gamers love.
Another thing that you will love about the Harpoon is the rumbled sides. These make the mouse stay intact in your hands all the time, even when you are sweating it out there.
The cord
It is a rubber cord and it is 6 feet long. Now that is a good length and it is pretty much the standard in the market of gaming mice. The rubber cord can perform very well without any drag at all. Besides, if you live in a place that collects lots of dust, the rubber cord can be easier to clean than a braided cord.
The Buttons
In a gaming mouse, nothing is more important than the buttons. The Harpoon does not disappoint at all as it comes with six buttons, which you can fully customize. There are the usual left/right click buttons, the DPI switch button located at the center. The forward and backward buttons are located on the left side of the mouse, near where the thumb rests.
Just those, there are no fancy additional buttons, since these six do the job very well. The clickable scroll wheel is also a button. As soon as you have installed the software, go ahead and assign each button its unique functions. That is what it means to have programmable buttons.
While we cannot say how many clicks the buttons are rated for, you know, as we would with buttons that come with Omron switches, we know that this mouse has been rated for 20 million clicks. Now considering that a quite avid gamer will do close to 120 clicks per minute, this gives you about 18 years of gaming. It is doubtable the mouse will see so many years, but it gives one a good feeling all the same.
One thing you should note though is that while many gaming mice come with a couple of buttons beneath the scroll wheel for DPI settings, this one comes with just one. However, it is enough to do what you need done.
Performance
No matter how many features your gaming mouse has, if the performance is wanting, it is not a good mouse at all. But the Corsair Harpoon is not wanting in performance. In fact, many gamers say that it exceeded their expectations, especially considering the low price it was sold at.
- First, being a wired mouse, this mouse communicates with the computer without the usual lag that you would find in a wireless mouse
- Secondly, the polling rate is quite high. You can set it at 1000Hz, which means that it will report its position to the computer 1000 times in every second.
- Thirdly, the mouse glides so smoothly. You will never experience any resistance or drag. Just make sure the cord does not hitch on anything on your gaming table.
- Fourthly, the buttons are very responsive. They have just the right amount of tension that you would need so that you do not keep clicking them by accident. Besides, the carefully selected positioning of the buttons means they are easily accessible.
- You can adjust the DPI settings on the go as the button for the same is conveniently set beneath the scroll wheel.
- With the software, you will be able to control virtually every function of the mouse. Once you set the gaming profiles for your games, they never disappear unless you deliberately remove them.
The grip
Well first, we will tell you right away that if you have big palms, you should not buy this mouse. It will make your wrists feel cramped because it is small. However, small and average-palmed people can use this mouse effectively. They will also find it easy to glide and the lightweight helps too.
The casing is made of thin plastic, nothing fancy there. Now, some people have complained that it feels too weak. But thinking about it keenly, you cannot help wondering how a gaming mouse would feel weak. Forget the naysayers because this casing is strong enough to withstand random drops and other abuse.
The software
As we have said before in the other parts of this Corsair Harpoon Review, the iCue software is quite responsive and it allows you to fully customize the buttons. It is easy to use, and it is not too big to eat up the resources of your computer.
On the control panel of the software, you will see everything that you need to personalize this mouse. Set the mouse buttons and assign them functions in any way that you wish, set the RGB colors and many more. The only thing that you cannot do is make this gaming mouse ambidextrous.
Please note that you will not need any additional drivers or other software to get the mouse to work. That is why we referred to it as a plug and play gaming mouse.
The scroll wheel
Where most gaming mice and indeed regular office mice come with enclosed scroll wheels, this one comes with a unique design. Because of the spilt space of the scroll wheel, if we may call it that, the cord is a bit far to the left side of the mouse, as compared to regular mice where the cord comes out of the mouse right in the middle.
The scroll wheel is clickable, which gives you an extra mouse button. It also has a nice texture. Now, some people say that the ridges on the scroll wheel are a bit rough, but nothing could be further from the truth. You will find it quite friendly to your fingers.
The response from the scroll wheel to the computer is quite fast. There is no delay at all and perhaps this is an attribute that we can credit to the wired mouse capabilities.
Pros
- It is quite easy to program and the software is user-friendly
- The glide is ever so smooth and the mouse never skips a beat
- Buttons are nice and responsive, and they stay out of the way when you are not using them
- High polling rate is good for any mouse
- Six programmable buttons are very balanced – not too many and not too few
- The mouse has quite a sturdy build and is quite durable. Do take good care of it though
- The price of the gaming mouse quite good and affordable considering all the features
- Reliable and unhindered performance, all features work as they are supposed to
- Just plug and play, no need to download fancy drivers and software
- Onboard memory allows you to store your game profiles and then later on, you can access them on any computer without the need to install the software again
Corsair Harpoon Cons
- The maximum DPI setting is only 6000. It is sufficient, but the higher the better all the time
- RGB LED lighting cannot be adjusted to different brightness levels – you can only turn it on or off
- The size could definitely be bigger
Our Verdict
In this Corsair Harpoon review, we have brought you just about anything that you need to know about this mouse. You have seen all the pros as well as all the cons of the gaming mouse. Definitely, when the pros outweigh the cons, then you know that it is going to be a good product for you to buy. Sold at a price that is way below $50, this mouse is quite a pleasant surprise for us all. If you buy it, you will get good value for the money. This mouse will serve you for years. However, again, we reiterate that if you have big hands, avoid it.
