Dell’s Alienware model could also be a family title in PC gaming, however its observe file with peripherals is… effectively, let’s simply say “not one of the best.” The model’s latest gaming mouse, the Alienware 620M, is a dual-mode wi-fi mouse with a 26,000 DPI sensor, three lighting zones, and 140 hours of battery life. It has a contoured, ergonomic right-handed type issue that’s similar to the Logitech G502 X Plus and the Razer Basilisk V3 Professional, so if you happen to’re searching for a budget-friendly different to the flagships on our record of finest gaming mice, this is likely to be the mouse for you. THe 620M is available in black and white colorways and retails for $99.99.
Design and Consolation of the 620M
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The 620M is a big, contoured wi-fi gaming mouse. It is available in two colorways: “lunar gentle” (white) and “darkish aspect of the moon” (black); our evaluation unit was white. The mouse has an ergonomic right-handed design with a reasonable, slanted hump and a contoured thumb relaxation.
It’s snug however massive — it measures 5.2 inches (132mm) lengthy by 3.1 inches (78.7mm) broad, and it’s 1.6 inches (40.6mm) excessive at its highest level. It has the same type issue and measurement because the Logitech G502 X Plus (5.17 x 3.12 x 1.62 inches / 131.3 x 79.3 x 41.2 mm) and the Razer Basilisk V3 Professional (5.11 x 2.96 x 1.67 inches / 130 x 75.2 x 42.4 mm). The 620M is barely lighter than each of these mice, nonetheless: its listed weight is 3.52oz (99.8g), however our evaluation unit weighed simply 3.17oz (90g), whereas the G502 X Plus weighs 3.74oz (106g) and the Basilisk V3 Professional weighs 3.95oz (112g).
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The 620M has a plastic chassis with a easy, satiny end, which feels good however is, sadly, very slippery. The mouse has what Dell calls “tactile grip zones” on both aspect. Tanslating the advertising converse, that’s gentle, dimpled texturing that does mainly nothing to assist with grippiness. I used to be in a position to choose this mouse up and transfer it — in a short time — throughout my desk, nevertheless it didn’t really feel snug or safe. Additionally, this solely labored once I was utilizing a palm grip, as a result of it was the mouse’s contoured thumb channel that stored the mouse caught to my hand. For sure, this isn’t a superb mouse for fingertip or claw grips, even briefly. I’d additionally skip it if you happen to sweat even barely whereas gaming — I don’t sweat in any respect, and I had hassle retaining the 620M from slipping in my grasp.
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The 620M has seven programmable buttons: left click on, proper click on, two thumb buttons, the scroll wheel click on, and a dual-click DPI swap beneath the scroll wheel. The scroll wheel is notched and coated in a textured, rubbery materials. It feels fairly commonplace — moderately-spaced notches with delicate resistance. It’s not a tilt wheel, however the scroll wheel click on could be activated from the left aspect (however not the precise) in addition to from above. I’m unsure if that is on function — the right-side click on seems like a discrete click on nevertheless it isn’t (in the meantime, clicking from the precise aspect seems like making an attempt to tilt-click a non-tilt wheel).
On the underside of the 620M, you’ll discover a energy swap in addition to PTFE ft on the high, backside, beneath the thumb relaxation, and surrounding the sensor. The ft are comparatively massive and pretty thick, and the 620M glided decently effectively over a wide range of surfaces, although its motion wasn’t in any other case noteworthy.
The mouse comes with a 6.6-foot (2m) USB-C to USB-A cable, a 2.4GHz USB-C dongle, and a USB-C to USB-C extender. The cable is a versatile, light-weight paracord — it’s not fairly as versatile as Razer’s SpeedFlex cable, nevertheless it’ll do in a pinch. The mouse doesn’t open up or have wherever to retailer its dongle, although I suppose you possibly can plug it into the mouse’s charging port. I began testing this mouse whereas I used to be touring, and retaining observe of the tiny dongle was positively a problem.
Specs
| Sensor Mannequin | 26,000 DPI Optical Sensor |
| Max Sensitivity | 26,000 DPI |
| Max Pace (IPS) | 650 IPS |
| Max Acceleration | 50G |
| Polling Charges | 1,000 Hz |
| Programmable Buttons | 7 |
| LED Zones | 3 |
| Cable | 6.6ft / 2m USB-C to USB-A |
| Connectivity | 2.4GHz, wired (USB-C) |
| Measurements (L x W x H) | 5.2 x 3.1 x 1.6 inches / 132 x 78.7 x 40.6 mm |
| Weight (excluding cable) | 3.52 oz / 99.8 g |
| MSRP / Value at Time of Overview | $99.99 / $99.99 |
| Launch Date | March 2, 2023 |
Efficiency of the 620M
Dell doesn’t disclose the 620M’s actual sensor past calling it “a forefront sensor,” nevertheless it has a most sensitivity of 26,000 DPI, a most velocity of 650 IPS, and may deal with as much as 50 Gs of acceleration.
It has optical switches, that are rated for 70 million clicks, with “patent-pending magnetically sprung, impartial L/R keyplates which might be sooner, stiffer, and extra sturdy than conventional spring mechanisms,” no matter which means. The switches felt good — clicky, constant, and barely stiff (however not too stiff). The twin-click button subsequent to the scroll wheel was simpler to press than most scroll wheel-adjacent buttons, as a result of it’s extra of a swap that strikes laterally somewhat than a button that must be pressed from above.
I didn’t have any points with mis-clicks or phantom scrolling throughout my testing, however I’ve solely been utilizing this mouse for a few weeks. My colleague, Matt Safford, mentioned that after about six months of intermittent use, the scroll wheel on the Alienware 720M began malfunctioning — particularly, about one out of each six or so turns in a single route, it might register one or two of the scrolls as moving into the wrong way. “For me that was largely a ache for scrolling by means of lengthy paperwork or net pages,” he instructed me. “But when I have been gaming and making an attempt to, say, get to a pulse rifle within the warmth of battle solely to have a shotgun thrown again in my fingers as a substitute, I might most likely take the closest precise weapon I’ve at hand and put it out of my distress.” The 620M seems to have the identical sensor and scroll wheel because the 720M, so we’ll should examine again in six months.
Gaming with the 620M was, for probably the most half, high quality. The sensor is correct, responsive, and has no drawback monitoring over a wide range of surfaces; clicks are constant and really feel satisfyingly clicky; and the auxiliary buttons are all straightforward sufficient to press. It’s a snug mouse general, so it really works effectively in MMOs and RPGs, nevertheless it doesn’t actually have sufficient programmable buttons for MMORPGs (like my ride-or-die, The Elder Scrolls On-line). It’s speedy and responsive sufficient for FPS gaming, nevertheless it’ll rely upon the kind of FPS gaming you’re doing — I don’t choose up my mouse fairly often, however I choose it up sufficient once I’m enjoying aggressive on-line video games like Overwatch 2 and Valorant that the 620M’s slipperiness annoyed me.
Once more — for probably the most half, it’s high quality. However on the subject of efficiency, the 620M doesn’t significantly stand out as a must have within the gaming mouse class.
Options and Software program of the 620M
The 620M works with Dell’s Alienware Command Heart, which auto-installs in your PC while you first join the mouse. Like most peripheral software program, the Alienware Command Heart tries too onerous to do an excessive amount of and takes up an excessive amount of house when all you actually wish to do is program some buttons and regulate your DPI, however let’s ignore that for now.
Within the FX part of the Alienware Command Heart, you possibly can create and edit “themes,” every with their very own mouse settings, button programming, and RGB lighting colours and results. You may assign every theme to a particular recreation, if you would like — if you happen to don’t need, you’ll nonetheless must edit the default theme to vary the mouse’s settings, remap buttons, and customise lighting colours and results. The “Settings” part provides a handful of gadget settings in addition to DPI settings (there are 5 DPI steps; changes could be made in increments of 10) and lift-off distance (1 – 2mm). There’s additionally an replace part the place you possibly can restore the gadget to manufacturing unit settings or replace its firmware.
Whereas it can save you a number of “themes,” or profiles, inside the Alienware Command Heart, you possibly can solely save one profile to the mouse’s {hardware}.
Button programming takes place within the “Macros” part. On the left aspect, you’ll see a listing of macros (initially it can solely comprise a handful of actions, corresponding to ‘left click on,’ ‘proper click on,’ and ‘disable button’), from which you’ll drag and drop actions onto the corresponding buttons. For extra actions, you’ll must create your personal: clicking “create new macro” opens up a menu that permits you to create macros, in addition to keystroke actions, textblocks, and shortcuts for opening folders, recordsdata, applications, or web sites.
The 620M has built-in RGB lighting, and it’s fairly nicely-implemented — Dell has completed a superb job of placing it in locations that aren’t utterly coated while you’re utilizing the mouse, and I actually like the way in which the alien brand glows on the palm relaxation. The mouse’s RGB is separated into three zones, which you’ll customise within the Alienware Command Heart. Whereas I usually criticize peripheral software program for giving customers far an excessive amount of artistic freedom (and mainly zero steering) on the subject of creating RGB lighting results, the Alienware Command Heart actually doesn’t fall into that lure.
Really, lighting customization for the 620M is surprisingly restricted, contemplating how a lot thought clearly went into the bodily lighting aesthetic. You may program totally different results for every of the mouse’s three zones, however you’re restricted to 5 results: “morph,” “pulse,” “shade,” “respiratory,” and “spectrum.” “Pulse,” “shade,” and “respiratory” are all single-color results: “Pulse” blinks one shade on and off, “shade” shows a static shade, and “respiratory” is like pulse, besides it fades the colour on and off (as a substitute of blinking). “Spectrum” cycles by means of the spectrum, fading from one shade to the following — you possibly can regulate the velocity with which it cycles by means of, however you possibly can’t create your personal customized spectrum or something. “Morph” fades between two colours, and is the one mildly customizable lighting impact (nevertheless it’s nonetheless solely two colours).
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Wi-fi Expertise and Battery Lifetime of the 620M
The 620M has two types of connectivity — 2.4GHz wi-fi and wired (through USB-C). It doesn’t have Bluetooth, which isn’t essential for gaming however is handy for touring and cell units. It’s an attention-grabbing selection, although maybe not too surprising — the same G502 X Plus additionally doesn’t have Bluetooth. Not like the G502 X Plus, the 620M’s 2.4GHz dongle is USB-C, so you should use it with laptops and cell units which have USB-C ports.
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Dell charges the 620M’s battery life at 140 hours (over 2.4GHz wi-fi, because the mouse has nothing else) with the RGB lighting turned off. That is glorious for a wi-fi mouse, albeit not extraordinary: The MSI Clutch GM51 Light-weight Wi-fi additionally will get 140 hours, as does Alienware’s personal 720M — and the 720M additionally has Bluetooth, over which it will get a whopping 420 hours. Nonetheless, most premium gaming mice high out at nearer to 80 – 90 hours over 2.4GHz wi-fi, so the 620M’s battery life remains to be admirable. The 620M additionally options fast charging — simply 5 minutes of cost time will get you as much as 10 hours of gameplay.
Backside Line
When you love the contoured really feel of mice just like the Logitech G502 X Plus or the Razer Basilisk V3 Professional, the Alienware 620M has nearly the identical type issue, save for the slippery sides — each the G502 X Plus and the Basilisk V3 Professional have rubberized aspect panels. The 620M can be extra budget-friendly than its $160 rivals (it’s nonetheless $100, although — not that budget-friendly), and it boasts a powerful 140-hour battery life. However it lacks a number of premium options that extra premium gaming mice have, together with Bluetooth assist, a number of onboard profiles, a free-scrolling tilt wheel, and non-obligatory wi-fi charging. And whereas its efficiency is first rate, it doesn’t significantly stand out as a gaming mouse it’s worthwhile to purchase.