Corsair’s made waves in the PC gaming peripheral scene with its previous offerings, some of which we gave glowing reviews to. Their latest gaming mouse, the Sabre RGB Optical, is the company’s first high-end optical sensor gaming mouse.
For a while, it looked like mice with laser sensors were going to phase out opticals, but manufacturers have gone back to using optical sensors (which are much better these days, it should be said) because of the consistency and precision they offer. For starters, laser sensors have problems on soft surfaces and produce inconsistent tracking speeds. This can be something of a nightmare for players who need complete precision to take split-second headshots in an FPS. This isn’t to say that laser mice are bad—but how well they perform can depend entirely on the surface.
For the purpose of this review, I played a ton of Overwatch to test out its capabilities. I had no difficulty getting kills with Hanzo and Widowmaker using the Sabre RGB. It was as comfortable to zoom in for precision headshots as it was to track moving opponents as Soldier: 76.
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Warranty: Two years
DPI: 100 dpi – 10000 dpi
Sensor Type: Optical
Mouse Backlighting: 4 Zone RGB
Programmable Buttons: 8
Report Rate: Selectable 1000Hz/500Hz/250Hz/125Hz
On-board Memory: Yes
Weight: 100g
Mouse Feet: Extra Large PTFE
Dimensions: 124mm x 80mm x 38mm
CUE Software: Enabled
Cable: 1.8m Braided Fiber
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Corsair’s Sabre RGB is a right-handed ergonomically shaped mouse that’s designed, as you can imagine, for right-handed gamers. It comes with a braided cloth cable with Velcro strap so you won’t have to worry about entangling it on anything. Its contoured fit makes it a lot more comfortable to use than an ambidextrous mouse, and the rubberized coating offers excellent grip. Adding to the comfort is its light weight. Heavy mice can be uncomfortable to drag around after some time—this isn’t a problem with the Sabre RGB, which is weighted at less than 100 grams.
It may weigh very little, but it certainly isn’t a lightweight in terms of features. The Sabre RGB carries a 10k DPI optical sensor with a 1,000Hz refresh rate, making it one of the most precise optical sensor mice you can get. There are eight programmable buttons you can use to control the DPI, assign macros, shortcuts, and any number of other things.
In addition to being powerful, it also pretty. The mouse also sports three different LED lighting zones, which are fully customizable with 16.8 million colors. The lighting can be synchronized with other Corsair gaming products compatible with the downloadable Corsair Utility Engine software. As we noted in our review of Corsair’s STRAFE keyboard, the issues that were once present in the software have been fixed. I did not encounter any freezes or failed firmware updates while using the mouse. If downloading additional software isn’t your jam, you can just skip it and use the Sabre RGB with its default settings, but I’d recommend downloading it if you want to customize the middle mouse button beneath the scroll wheel for something.
Like Corsair’s other new products, the Sabre RGB features the classic Corsair sail logo instead of the tramp stamp they used to go with a year ago. It might mean little to most people, but the Bat’leth looking design was the source of a lot of mockery, so much so that LinusTechTips made a video about it. I’m glad it’s gone, because the sails look pretty damn nice.
At an MSRP of $49.99, Corsair’s Sabre RGB is competitively priced and is certainly one of the best gaming grade mice I’ve handled to date. The mouse is backed by a two-year warranty, just in case anything happens. You can buy it directly from Corsair.
Disclosure: Corsair provided us with a review unit of the Sabre RGB.
