By David Ramsey
Manufacturer: G. SKILL
Product Name: Ripjaws Gaming Mouse
Part Number: MX780
UPC: 848354012627 EAN: 4719692002556
Price As Tested: $39.99 (Amazon | Newegg)Full Disclosure: G. SKILL has provided the product sample used in this article.
Taiwanese company G. SKILL, probably best known for its desktop and laptop memory products, jumps into the enthusiast gaming mouse market with its new Ripjaws MX780 Gaming Mouse. Stuffed with features like an 8,200-DPI Avago laser sensor, Omron switches, 1,000Hz polling, 4-zone RGB lighting, adjustable weights, switchable, ambidextrous side grips, an adjustable-height palm rest, and 512K of onboard memory for macro storage, this mouse sure looks good on paper, especially at the price. Benchmark Reviews will determine how well it stands up to the competition.
| Sensor DPI | 100 – 8200 dpi (switchable) |
| Sensor | Avago laser |
| Switch type | Omron |
| Memory | 512KB |
| Programmable switches | 8 |
| Cable | 1.8 meters, braided cable with gold-plated USB connector |
| Weight | 111-120g (depending on weights) |
| Profiles | 5 onboard |
| Warranty | 2 years |
Let’s unbox the Ripjaws MX780 mouse in the next section…
Delivered in a “presentation box”, the MX780 certainly shows well.
The mouse has the “exploded industrial design” aesthetic that’s become popular of late. Although it appears to have a metal frame, the silver parts are actually plastic. The parts of the mouse your hand touches– the main buttons, palm rest, and side grips– are coated in a fingerprint-resistant rubberized material. Note the two thumb buttons under the edge of the left mouse button.
The right side of the mouse is identical to the left side, including the two buttons under the right mouse button. The textured side grips is slightly different, but…
…the side grips are attached magnetically and you can easily swap the right-hand-oriented grips for left-hand versions in just a few seconds.
The bottom of the mouse actually is metal (apparently brushed aluminum) and showcases the laser sensor and a hex screw for adjusting the height of the palm rest.
The included accessories comprise replacement left and right grips, two 4.5g weights, and an adjusting tool for the palm rest height.
The braided, 1.8M USB cable appears to have the requisite gold-plated USB cable, but G. SKILL doesn’t call this out in their specifications, so maybe it’s not.
Let’s check out the utility software for the Ripjaws MX780 in the next section.
That’s what they call the mouse utility: Configuration. It’s perhaps not the catchiest program title, but it is accurate. The G. SKILL MX780 mouse has 512KB of onboard memory and can store up to 5 profiles. Each profile comprises lighting effects, macros, mouse button definitions, and mouse settings. Hovering over a button number on the mouse image will show the definition for that button; clicking on the number lets your change it. One thing to keep in mind is that since configuration data is saved on the mouse itself, you must remember to save any changes you make.
Sadly, G. SKILL adopts the “light gray text on dark grey background” design that’s so common– and so hard to read for those of us over a certain age– these days. At the upper left of the main screen are the Macros and Lighting Profiles selectors, below which is the panel for defining and selecting a profile. Profiles, thankfully, can be linked to games, although you’ll have to dig down to the specific .EXE file for the game you want to link a configuration to. At the right are selector tabs for Customize, which lets you define what the 8 mouse buttons do; Setting, where you set things like X-Y resolution and polling speed, and Lighting, where you can control lighting effects for each of the mouse’s four lighting zones.
The MX780 has a very good macro definition facility. There’s no apparent limit to the length of a macro; you can control whether or not delays between keystrokes are recorded, and you can insert and delete steps in an existing macro. However, as far as I can tell you can’t record mouse movements in a macro, so defining a button to immediately position the mouse point over a control isn’t possible.
You can define five stages of resolution (DPI), and use the button definition facility to dedicate a mouse button to DPI switching. Polling rate, Windows pointed speed, double click times, and mouse wheel scroll speed are also settable. Remember that all of these settings can be saved in a profile.
Although G. SKILL calls this “key assignment”, it’s really “button assignment”. Each of the mouse’s eight buttons can be linked to any of these functions. I’m happy to see a Sniper function, which reduces the mouse DPI while a button is held down, the better to make those long-range head shots, included here.
The Ripjaws MX780 has four lighting zones: the scroll wheel, the palm rest, an area between the palm rest and the main left-right buttons, and the sides. Each area can be set to a static color, to cycle through a defined range of colors at a given speed, or a “breathing” effect where the colors pulse on and off.
The main lighting section of Configuration shows the four lighting areas, and also has a Lighting Sync With System button, presumably to keep lighting effects synchronized with other G. SKILL accessories such as a keyboard.
All in all I found this one of the easier mouse configuration programs to use. Let’s see how this mouse itself is to use in the next section.
Although it seems to have a metal frame, the G. SKILL Ripjaws MX780 mouse is all-plastic (except for an aluminum bottom plate). As such it’s a pretty lightweight mouse at just over 100 grams, although you can add about 10% extra weight with the two included 4.5 gram weights that snuggle in under the removable side panels. While other mice allow you to vary the weight a lot more– my beloved R.A.T. 9 wireless mouse has 42 grams of weights– adding both of the 4.5g weights to the MX780 made a significant difference in feel.
As with other mice I test, I used the MX780 for a week of gaming, in this case concentrating heavily on Doom— the 2016 version of course! I swapped in the right-hand side panel because my pinky finger likes the extended “shelf” that’s actually for left-handed user’s thumbs, and went to town. I defined the two right-side under buttons to bring in the chain saw and BFG, and the button below the scroll wheel to invoke sniper mode for those long-distance shots with the assault rifle and its accessory scope.
Although I tend to prefer heavier mice, I must say I liked this mouse a lot– enough so that I’m leaving it on my gaming system and giving the R.A.T. 9 a rest. I cranked the palm rest up all the way with the included wrench, and although you can’t adjust the mouse width the way you can on the R.A.T. 9, the slightly narrower profile wasn’t a problem. And although it’s hard to quantify, this mouse feels more “precise” than the R.A.T. 9…perhaps it’s 6 years of progress in sensor technology or something.
While nobody looks at mice while gaming, it’s still fun to see the colors pulsing away when your hand’s not on it.
I’ve had problems using some corded mice since I’ve used a wireless mouse for so long, but the MX780’s cord never presented any problem with dragging, or presenting enough tension to move the mouse slightly when I release it.
Modern gaming mice live and die by their configuration utilities, and while I hate the minimum-contrast color scheme of the MX780’s Configuration program, I have to say it’s one of the easiest and most straightforward-to-use utilities I’ve run across.
Competition is good, and I have to admit I was amazed when I saw that this mouse is being offered for a mere $39.99 (Amazon | Newegg). Please note that this product displays a $69.99 MSRP at the gskill.com website, so these prices may not last. Considering the R.A.T. 9 mouse I normally use is still priced at $125, with variants as high as $200, you have to ask yourself how much more you’re getting by paying more. This mouse is absolutely crammed with buttons and features, and I honestly can’t think of a competitor that offers this much bang for the buck, much less more.
G. SKILL didn’t skimp on quality components, with Omron switches and an Avago laser sensor. Probably the biggest thing separating this mouse from the $100-and-up club is the fact that it’s mostly plastic, without the metal frame used by other high-end enthusiast mice. I’ve always like metal-framed mice but after using this for a week I’ve been asking myself why: it’s not as if the mouse is a stressed member of anything; and the lighter feel of the plastic construction of the MX780 was easy to get used to– and I think I may prefer it.
Using the utility software was a pleasure: it’s easy to configure lighting effects and to create and edit macros. If only they’d use a higher-contrast color scheme, the software would be virtually perfect.
For $39.99 (Amazon | Newegg), this is a legitimate “budget gaming mouse”, but amazingly at this price level you’re not really giving up anything in terms of quality or features. Quad-zone programmable RGB LED lights, eight buttons, adjustable weights, and switchable side panels: it’s all there. And I might also note that this is one of the very few gaming mice that’s legitimately symmetrical and ambidextrous: left-handers rejoice! For you there are no compromises whatsoever when using this mouse left-handed.
More expensive mice simply don’t make any sense for most people. The Ripjaws MX780 is my new favorite gaming mouse.
+ Perfect tracking on any surface
+ 8 programmable switches
+ Four programmable RGB lighting zones
+ Good utility software
+ Fully ambidextrous design!
– Low-contrast utility software user interface
– Macros can not include mouse positioning information
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Performance: 9.75
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Appearance: 9.50
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Construction: 9.00
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Functionality: 9.50
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Value: 9.75
Excellence Achievement: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award.
COMMENT QUESTION: Who makes your favorite gaming mouse?
