Kingston’s HyperX gaming peripherals are consistently well-built, clean, and cool all in one package. Their latest gaming mouse, the Pulsefire Surge RGB, is no different. Its 360-degrees of lighting effects, 16,000 DPI sensor, and low, comfortable profile leave Kingston with another win in their HyperX lineup.
The Pulsefire Surge RGB’s body is a fairly traditional. It has smooth, rounded edges and a largely black chassis. It’s not a particularly large mouse, though, so bigger hands may have trouble with the grip. A DPI switch is found beneath the scroll wheel and the expected back and forward buttons are along the left side. The six-foot braided cable is the perfect length for larger desks.
Traditional doesn’t mean boring, however. The Pulsefire Surge RGB’s lighting effects are downright hypnotic. The continuous RGB ring wraps around the entire mouse from front to back. This might just be my favorite implementation of lighting effects to date. It’s incredibly eye catching. The HyperX logo, located on the palm wrest, is an additional point of color. Altogether, the mouse’s RGB effects are bright and striking without looking gimmicky. It makes other mice look dim by comparison.
The Pulsefire Surge RGB definitely fits well on a gamer’s desk, but I was also pleasantly surprised by how quickly I adjusted to its ergonomics. The initial hours of playing with a new peripheral can feel awkward. I needed no time at all to adapt to the Surge. It’s incredibly comfortable thanks to a lightweight body, low height, and soft-touch surface. The latter does pick up more fingerprints, but I greatly prefer the feel of the soft material over rigid plastic.
Gaming performance is excellent, too. The Pixart 3389 sensor was responsive and free of jitter during my playtests. Furthermore, the Omron switches – coupled with the soft feel of the mouse – made every click satisfying. Five DPI sensitivity levels can be toggled through, and the RGB lighting ring will change color briefly to indicate the selected DPI. A display a notification will also appear on the monitor if the HyperX NGenuity software is running.
Thankfully, the HyperX NGenuity software allows for a decent amount of customization. The Pulsefire Surge RGB let’s you tweak not only the aforementioned DPI colors, but five different active lighting effects. Solid, cycle, breathing, wave, and trigger feature anywhere from single color control to dual and full spectrum options, as well as settings such as direction and speed. An advanced menu even let’s you individually customize the ring’s 32 zones. All that said, the software isn’t necessarily the cleanest. I had to customize and/or create a new profile just to disable the effects. It didn’t take long to figure out, but treating profiles as the primary means of toggling between lighting effects meant I had to spend more time in menus than I would have liked.
Kingston’s HyperX Pulsefire Surge RGB gaming mouse is both beautiful and functional. It’s an absolute eye catcher, and its feather-light build make it as pleasing to use as it is to behold. The $69.99 asking price does put it at the higher end of the bracket, however, but no other RGB mouse looks this good. If presentation is as important to you as comfort, then the HyperX Pulsefire Surge RGB is worth your attention.
Full Disclosure: A sample was provided for review.
