What makes a light-weight mouse light-weight? (Its weight, presumably.) Or perhaps you possibly can simply toss “Light-weight” within the identify?
MSI’s new Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi gaming mouse weighs 3 ounces (85g), which is form of heavy by light-weight mouse requirements. It options an ergonomic design, grippy sides with RGB-infused “diamond lightgrips,” and it sports activities a wonderful PAW-3395 sensor that places the mouse in league with the greatest gaming mice in the marketplace right now.
The mouse additionally boasts a powerful 140-hour battery life (with the lighting turned off, after all), and its $100 worth features a wi-fi charging dock (which doubles as a USB extender). That is MSI’s improve to its Clutch GM41 Light-weight Wi-fi, but it surely’s, properly… heavier. And perhaps that’s the issue.
Design and Consolation of the Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi is — you guessed it — a light-weight(ish) wi-fi gaming mouse with 5 programmable buttons (together with scroll wheel click on). The GM51 incorporates a plastic physique with a {smooth}, matte black end and an RGB-illuminated MSI dragon brand on the palm relaxation.
The floor is allegedly anti-smudge, however I began seeing oil from my fingertips after simply an hour or two of use.
Its sides are what MSI calls “diamond lightgrips,” that are lightly-textured, tender, grippy-feeling thermoplastic elastomer. Truly, the GM51’s sides are the identical as these of the Clutch GM41 Light-weight Wi-fi, simply with holes that permit the facet plate’s (clear — for lighting impact) polycarbonate physique present by way of.
Whereas its predecessor had an ambidextrous design, the GM51 is ergonomically contoured for right-handed customers. The mouse is formed equally to Razer’s DeathAdder line — particularly, the DeathAdder V2 — with a big, comfy physique that flares on the prime and has a comparatively pronounced hump. The GM51 measures 4.8 inches (122mm) lengthy by 2.44 inches (62mm) large at its widest level, and is 1.77 inches (45mm) tall.
The GM51 weighs 3 ounces (85g), which is heavier than the usual 80g threshold for light-weight mice. It’s nonetheless comparatively light-weight in comparison with MMO mice just like the Razer Naga V2 Professional (4.72oz/134g) or the Logitech G502 X Plus (3.74oz/106g), but it surely’s probably not gentle sufficient to be thought of a really light-weight mouse. It nonetheless has sufficient heft — nevertheless slight — to it that choosing it up with a fingertip grip will get tiring fairly shortly. The GM51 is over 10g heavier than the GM41. And it simply can’t compete with actually gentle mice such because the Asus ROG Harpe Ace Goal Lab Version (1.9oz/54g).
The GM51 has 5 programmable buttons — left click on, proper click on, scroll wheel click on, and two thumb buttons on the left facet. The button setup isn’t significantly thrilling, however I discovered no points with the buttons throughout my testing. The scroll wheel is notched, tactile, and comparatively quiet; it received’t please these searching for ultra-smooth hyperscrolling, but it surely’s well-balanced for a notched wheel — not too tight, and tactile with out being clunky.
The underside of the mouse has six PTFE skates: two on the prime, three alongside the underside curve, and one surrounding the sensor. The skates are slim however environment friendly, permitting for {smooth}, easy gliding throughout quite a lot of surfaces (together with onerous, tender, and hybrid mouse pads). Additionally on the underside of the mouse is an influence swap for toggling between 2.4GHz wi-fi and Bluetooth, in addition to a DPI swap button.
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi comes with a 6.5-foot (2m) braided USB-C to USB-A cable, a wi-fi charging dock, and a 2.4GHz wi-fi USB-A dongle. The dongle might be saved within the entrance of the mouse (the USB-C port is tucked inside a USB-A-shaped channel) for journey, which is a pleasant contact. MSI calls its cable “FrixionFree,” however whereas it’s braided, it’s not almost as versatile or weightless as different mouse cables I’ve used (equivalent to Razer’s Speedflex cables) — you’ll positively discover the additional rigidity in the event you use the mouse with the cable plugged in.
It’s good to see a wi-fi charging dock included within the Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi’ $100 worth. The dock is fairly unassuming: small and black, with MSI’s dragon brand printed on the again in darkish grey. It comes with the mouse’s 2.4GHz wi-fi dongle plugged in (it doubles as a wi-fi extender), and it’s straightforward to make use of — the mouse clicks in simply and fees shortly. The dock additionally options cable routing on the underside, in addition to a hoop of micro-suction tape for sticking it to your desk.
Specs
Efficiency of the Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi sports activities a PixArt PAW-3395 sensor, which has a most sensitivity of 26,000 DPI, a most pace of 650 IPS, and might deal with as much as 50 G’s of acceleration. It has the identical Omron mechanical switches as its predecessor, that are rated for as much as 60 million clicks. Clicking the left and proper mouse buttons felt constantly satisfying — gentle sufficient for pace, however not so gentle as to set off misclicks.
The mouse’s thumb buttons are well-placed (however so are most thumb buttons), however apparently designed: they’re not flat buttons. As an alternative, they kind a sharp ridge that juts out from the facet of the mouse. I discovered this a bit unusual at first, however as soon as I began utilizing the mouse I form of preferred that I might press the buttons by nudging upward from the underside.
I examined the Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi with quite a lot of video games, although I centered on aggressive FPS video games equivalent to Overwatch 2 and CS: GO. The mouse is nice, but it surely’s not wonderful, particularly for capturing video games — it glides properly but it surely’s not as gentle because the competitors, which makes it a bit extra fatiguing for claw and fingertip grippers particularly. (The ergonomic form maybe lends itself higher to a fuller grip, anyway.)
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi is responsive and has dependable clicks, but it surely did not wow me with its efficiency or impress me with its really feel. The facet grips have been grippy sufficient that the mouse didn’t slip from my fingers once I picked it up, however they felt like they may get gummy with put on, and the mouse’s in any other case {smooth} floor began displaying fingerprint smudges within the first hour or two of use. It’s nonetheless a stable gaming mouse, particularly for much less aggressive gaming, however in the event you’re searching for a primary light-weight mouse you are higher off with one thing just like the Corsair Katar Elite Wi-fi (2.24oz/69g).
Options and Software program of the Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi has three onboard profiles, which might be configured utilizing MSI Heart. You should use MSI Heart to configure the mouse’s programmable buttons and modify its polling fee, lift-off distance, and DPI steps. You may also customise the mouse’s RGB lighting with a handful of preset lighting results.
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi has 5 programmable buttons (left/proper click on, scroll wheel click on, and two thumb buttons). MSI Heart isn’t probably the most intuitive or polished software program (what peripheral software program is?), and programming the mouse is…trickier than it needs to be. It’s additionally considerably restricted — you possibly can program the mouse buttons to carry out mouse button actions, multimedia actions (play/pause/quantity up/quantity down/and so forth), DPI switching, or considered one of 30 macros (you possibly can file macros within the software program). Different applications, equivalent to Razer’s Synapse 3 and Logitech’s G Hub maybe go a bit overboard in permitting you to program mouse buttons to do every little thing from launching purposes to executing system instructions, however I’d prefer to a minimum of see an choice for programming keyboard features.
Customizing the Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi’ lighting is, for some motive, a separate characteristic referred to as “Mystic Mild.” MSI gives a handful of lighting presets equivalent to “colour cycle” and “wave,” which have restricted customization choices. You may also manually customise the mouse’s three RGB zones with particular person results or colours, however there’s no strategy to create your personal lighting results/animations, and even mix a number of colours on the facet grips, which is form of disappointing.
Wi-fi Expertise and Battery Lifetime of the Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi affords three types of connectivity: 2.4GHz wi-fi, Bluetooth, and wired through USB-C. Avid gamers will principally use the two.4GHz wi-fi or wired connections; Bluetooth is simply too high-latency for competitors, but it surely’s a handy choice for non-gaming actions. That stated, some lighter light-weight mice, such because the Razer DeathAdder V3 Professional, forgo Bluetooth altogether — and I can’t assist however surprise if this mouse may weigh rather less if MSI had gone that route.
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi’ 2.4GHz wi-fi connection was low latency and dependable in my testing, with no sign dropping or noticeable lag. MSI’s “Swiftspeed” 2.4GHz wi-fi expertise has a latency of between 1 – 2 ms, which MSI says is nearly 10 occasions sooner than a standard 2.4GHz wi-fi transceiver. Whereas that is in all probability technically true if we’re speaking about all wi-fi mice (together with non-gaming mice), <1 ms latency is on par with what you’ll discover with different wi-fi gaming mice.
MSI charges the mouse’s battery life at 150 hours with the RGB lighting turned off, which is superb for a wi-fi gaming mouse, particularly a light-weight one. The mouse additionally options fast charging: quarter-hour of charging through cable will get you 27 hours of play time, whereas quarter-hour of charging through the dock will get you 7 hours.
Backside Line
The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi is an honest gaming mouse, it’s simply probably not light-weight sufficient to compete with the slew of light-weight gaming mice in the marketplace. In the event you’re searching for a light-weight mouse, the Razer DeathAdder V3 Professional stays my experience or die — however for a budget-friendly decide, the Corsair Katar Elite Wi-fi is an effective choice.
Don’t get me fallacious, the Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi has its execs, together with wonderful battery life, enticing, flashy RGB facet grips, and an included wi-fi charging dock. Plus, it’s reasonably priced at $100. However there are trade-offs — I preferred the mouse’s light-up facet grips within the promo pics, however RGB customization is proscribed (and the battery life ranking is with the lighting turned off utterly). The Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi is okay, but it surely’s not Logitech G502X Plus-beautiful.