By David Ramsey
Manufacturer: Corsair Components Inc.
Product Name: Sabre RGB Gaming Mouse
Part Number: CH-9303011-NA
UPC: 843591083263
Price As Tested: $49.99 (Amazon | Newegg)Full Disclosure: Corsair Components Inc. provided the product sample used in this article.
Any serious gamer needs a serious gaming mouse, and there are certainly a lot of them on the market to choose from. Premium vendor Corsair offers no fewer than five such mice, ranging from entry-level (for Corsair) items to multi-button mice for MOBA gaming. Today Benchmark Reviews has in hand one of what Corsair refers to as part of their “lightweight gaming mice” lineup, the Corsair Sabre RGB wired USB gaming mouse, equipped with a 10,000dpi optical sensor and multi-zone RGB lighting.
| Sensor DPI | Up to 10,000 dpi (switchable) |
| Sensor | Optical |
| RGB lighting zones | 4 |
| Programmable buttons | 8 |
| Weight | 100 grams |
| Refresh rate | 1,000 Hz |
| Cable length | 1.8 meters |
| Warranty | 2 years |
Let’s unbox the Sabre RGB mouse in the next section…
Like many gaming peripherals sold these days, the Corsair Sabre RGB mouse is delivered in an impressive presentation box. The Corsair Sabre RGB is available online for $49.99 (Amazon | Newegg).
The mouse has a standard low-profile design and is covered in a rubber-type coating. The ridged scroll wheel offers excellent “finger traction”. At only 100 grams, the mouse feels so light it’s almost ephemeral, quite different from the heavier metal-framed mice I tend to prefer.
This image shows all eight programmable buttons: the left and right click buttons; the scroll wheel click, the button behind the scroll wheel, the top-mounted resolution switching buttons, and the two thumb buttons. Although some buttons such as the resolution switching buttons have default functions, you can program any button to do pretty much anything you want using the Corsair Utility Engine.
The bottom of the mouse shows the four Teflon feet, the optical sensor, and a yellow stripe for no obvious reason…
There are no adjustable weights or other physical accessories included with this mouse, just a warranty guide and a brief Quick Start guide.
The sleeved USB cable is heavily reinforced– like all recent Corsair devices, even their mouse pad– but not gold-plated. Of course gold-plating USB plugs adds expense with zero benefit, but some might still expect it on premium gear.
We’ll take a look at the Corsair Utility Engine in the next section.
Rather than having separate utilities for each class of peripheral, Corsair bundles them all together in the Corsair Utility Engine (CUE). When you start CUE, it will scan your system and identify all connected and supported Corsair devices– in this case I have the Sabre RGB mouse, the MM800 RGB mouse pad, and a K70 Rapidfire keyboard. Simply click on the device you want to control to invoke a device-specific set of functions.
Corsair has spent time on the user interface design of CUE, which despite its power is very easy to operate. You can create complex macros and edit them on a step-by-step basis, inserting and deleting individual steps, and even adjusting delays between steps with millisecond precision. Once you’ve got a macro set up, a simple click on the button you want to assign it to on the mouse image connects the macro to the button.
There are four lighting zones on the mouse– the Corsair logo, the DPI indicator, the scroll wheel, and an odd vented section in front of the mouse that won’t readily be visible when you’re using it:
You can set each of these areas to a static color, and invoke and limit some simple effects (like strobing or pulsing between defined colors). In this case I’ve select Lighting Link, which will move a synchronized rainbow of color across my keyboard, mouse, and mouse pad.
You can define five selectable resolutions, from a low of 100dpi to a high of 10,000dpi, and give each a specific RGB color; using the DPI-up and -down switches will cycle through the resolutions and set indicator color appropriately. Of course if you don’t need to switch resolutions on the fly, you can repurpose these buttons in the Actions section and set the indicator lighting as desired in the Lighting section.
Your current resolution setting color is shown on the edge of the mouse:
The Performance section lets you set Angle Snapping and Enhanced Pointer Precision. Honestly I couldn’t feel any difference with these settings, but you might.
Any set of actions, lighting, DPI, and performance settings may be grouped in a Profile, and profiles can be either loaded manually or set to load automatically with specific games. And if you’re using an all-Corsair setup as I am, a single profile can contain all the actions, lighting, and other settings for all of your Corsair devices, so invoking a game with an associated profile results in an immediate change to the appearance and operation of all your devices. Neat!
All in all I found this one of the easier configuration programs to use. Let’s see how this mouse itself is to use in the next section.
The Corsair Sabre RGB is easily the lightest gaming mouse I’ve ever used; at a mere 100 grams, it’s just over half the weight of the loaded Mad Catz R.A.T. 9 wireless mouse I used for years, and even lighter than the G.SKILL Ripjaws MX780 I’ve been using lately. Getting used to it took some time and resolution adjustment: it was so light that I wound up dropping the resolution a bit from what I normally use. This actually worked out better for me since it’s easier to do precision aiming in FPS games with a lower resolution moving the mouse larger distances.
I used the Corsair Sabre RGB for a week of testing, and it’s become my new favorite gaming mouse. It may lack some features of the competition, but it fits my hand well and the degree of integration with my Corsair keyboard provided by CUE is a real advantage.
(Also, the synchronized lighting with the K70 Rapidfire keyboard and MM800 RGB mouse pad just looks so cool, but that’s part of the whole gaming experience, right?)
I’ve reviewed a number of mice over the years, and while I’ve found something to like in almost all of them, this is my current favorite. I’ve tended to prefer heavier mice with some metal or weights in them, but I find the featherweight responsiveness of the Corsair beguiling.
For me, at least this mouse hits all the right notes: 8 buttons is enough to have all the extra functionality you want, without being overwhelming; the scroll wheel is tight and precise, and the lighting effects are sublime. Yeah, I know: lighted peripherals are not something you normally pay attention to while you’re actually gaming, but they sure look nice otherwise. What might not look nice after a while is the mouse itself: the rubberized coating, while making it nice to hold, also shows grease marks readily.
Still, it’s a little feature-poor compared to some of the competition. For example, the G.SKILL Ripjaws MX780 gaming mouse offers the same 8 programmable buttons and four-zone RGB lighting, but includes enough onboard memory for five stored profiles, has adjustable weights, is ambidextrous via switchable side panels, offers palm height adjustment, and includes Omron switches and a laser sensor…and sells for the same price as the Sabre RGB.
So why would you consider the Sabre? One reason: CUE. The ability to integrate with other Corsair peripherals is a real win, and if you have or plan to buy a Corsair gaming keyboard, the ability to bundle keyboard and mouse settings into a single profile is a real win.
For $49.99 (Amazon | Newegg), the Corsair Sabre RGB is an excellent gaming mouse and a good value. However, it’s definitely not the best value, as there are competing products that offer superior features for about the same price.
The Sabre’s strength lies in its being part of the Corsair peripheral “ecosystem”: that is, “things you can connect to your computer that you can control with CUE.” Serious gamers will appreciate being able to combine a group of keyboard and mouse settings under a single profile, and control them with a single, well-designed utility.
In other words, the Corsair Sabre RGB Gaming Mouse shows best as a component of a system that includes at Corsair gaming keyboard (and maybe the MM800 mouse pad). If you already have a Corsair keyboard or are planning to get one, the Sabre RGB should definitely be on your list.
+ 10,000dpi sensor
+ 8 programmable switches
+ Four programmable RGB lighting zones
+ Excellent utility software
+ Works well with other Corsair peripherals
– Competitive mice offer better hardware value
– Rubberized coating shows oil/grease marks
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Performance: 9.75
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Appearance: 9.00
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Construction: 8.50
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Functionality: 9.25
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Value: 8.25
Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.
COMMENT QUESTION: Who makes your favorite gaming mouse?
