Endgame Gear OP1 8k review: simple but highly effective

Endgame Gear is way from the largest identify in gaming peripherals, however its first mouse, the XM1, was a strong entry into the market, and its newest addition, the Endgame Gear OP1 8k, has quietly satisfied us it’s one of many best gaming rodents on the planet. Its mixture of simple customization with a easy, comfy design, nice construct high quality, and incredible efficiency means it doesn’t put a foot unsuitable.

With reward like this, it’s no shock Endgame Gear‘s newest has earned a spot on our greatest gaming mouse information. It’s not an affordable choice nevertheless it’s aggressive with similarly-specced alternate options and the non-8k model is significantly extra reasonably priced with out dropping any options aside from the excessive polling price.

Specs

Options

On the floor, the OP1 and OP1 8k don’t seem like overflowing with options. They’re easy, ambidextrous-shaped, wired mice with 5 prime buttons, and so they’re accessible in black or white. Below the hood, you get a tried, examined, and triumphant PixArt PAW 3395 sensor, and the 2 fundamental buttons use well-regarded Kailh GX switches.

The principle differentiator between the 8k and non-8k is the usage of a barely totally different microcontroller, with the previous’s Nuvoton M483 controller capable of output as much as an 8kHz polling price, whereas the non-8k’s ST ARM Cortex M4 controller is proscribed to 1kHz polling.

All these specs are to not be sniffed at and will surely make this mouse very succesful, however in addition to the design and form of this mouse, it’s the little extras that impress.

Within the field, you get a tiny screwdriver that you should use to take away the bottom of the mouse – with the screws accessible with out having to take away the glide pads/skates/ft – and entry the primary switches. These switches can then be unplugged, unscrewed, and swapped for different ones.

Sadly, swapping switches isn’t fairly so simple as dropping in any outdated change purchased from any retailer – such switches would in all probability work however you’ll have to solder them into place. As an alternative, Endgame Gear sells change packs that include the change pre-mounted on a tiny PCB and able to plug into the mouse. They price simply $7.99 per pack, which we expect is incredible worth.

Alternative skates/ft are additionally included within the field, which can be utilized as spares or to swap out for the default ft. The default ones are fairly small, whereas the replacements are bigger, so once more in principle you’ve received some customization choices. I’ve truthfully by no means definitively determined if I want small or giant ft on mice, however right here you get the choice to check again to again. Additional units of skates that embrace a set of small and enormous pads will be purchased for $9.99.

One ultimate addition – aside from the rubber cable tie – is a pack of stick-on rubber grips. These will be affixed to the perimeters of the mouse and supply a really agency grip in your fingers. Oddly, no fundamental button grips are included, however these will be purchased individually as a part of a pack of facet and button grips costing $9.99.

On the underside of the mouse is an additional button for switching the DPI (referred to as CPI in Endgame Gear’s configuration software program) settings. The button cycles by way of nonetheless many DPI settings you’ve configured, with the quantity and degree of those settings configurable within the software program (as much as 4 settings). A bit RGB LED on the underside signifies the present setting, and the perform of this button can’t be reprogrammed.

In Endgame Gear’s software program, it’s also possible to set lift-off distance (1mm or 2mm), the polling price, change to left-hand mode, reprogram the opposite fundamental buttons, and even set the mouse to set off a click on when the switches are solely barely pressed, which we’ll clarify extra within the efficiency part.

The DPI ranges may also be set with unbiased X and Y axes. Endgame Gear’s software program isn’t a everlasting driver however a standalone configuration app for simply this mouse. You open it, configure the settings as you want and that’s it, the settings are then saved on the mouse.

Design

The OP1 is the utmost in simplicity in relation to design. The black model is nearly fully devoid of any notable styling aptitude. It simply has a matte black generic ambidextrous mouse form, with a really refined Endgame Gear emblem on the entrance left facet of the mouse.

Nevertheless, not solely does the white model combine up the seems simply sufficient to be fascinating, however the general aesthetic of each mice is interesting in its simplicity. The Razer DeathAdder could also be extra aggressive wanting, and the Corsair M75 Air may look extra futuristic and glossy, however the Endgame Gear OP1 simply seems comfortably unassuming. Maybe solely the Logitech G Professional X Superlight 2 can rival its stability of mundane seems and deadly energy.

The OP1 8k isn’t only a clean face both, as there’s refined perfection in its form, which improves significantly on the XM1. The moderately flat sides the place you grip the mouse guarantee your fingers don’t have a tendency to slip up or down however as an alternative keep in place. The again additionally flares out barely to fill beneath your palm somewhat, however with out fully getting in the best way for fingertip customers who like loads of mouse-moving house beneath their palm.

In the meantime, the profile of the mouse has a (moderately) middle-positioned hump, however with an honest quantity of rear chunk to assist claw grip. All in all, it feels considerably like a cross between the marginally pointier M75 Air and the rounder, flatter-sided Superlight 2.

I wish to have seen extra of a pronounced finger groove in every of the primary buttons, although. There’s a really slight dip in them to assist middle your fingers, nevertheless it presents nowhere close to the secure-feeling pronounced grooves of the Cherry Xtrfy MZ1, for example.

All informed, although, I discovered that my 20cm-long arms (base of wrist to finish of center finger) discovered this mouse wonderful for fingertip grip and usable for palm and claw grip, although it’s a contact on the small facet for the latter two. The matte “dry grip coating” floor of the mouse additionally felt nice in each heat and humid and chilly and dry situations, offering respectable grip all through. The general construct of the mouse may be very strong too, with no flex or creaking, regardless of its very low 50.5g weight.

As for the cable, it’s a light-weight, braided kind that’s completely mounted to the entrance of the mouse. I wish to see a detachable cable right here, because it means a damaged cable is simple to interchange, however most wired mice nonetheless have mounted cables so it’s not a serious draw back.

What’s extra, on the plus facet, the cable right here has one good little addition that places it far above most others. As an alternative of pointing immediately out the entrance of the mouse, it factors upwards barely. This in flip ensures the cable doesn’t make contact together with your desk/mouse pad till 15cm alongside its size. As compared, mice with flat cables have the cable make contact as little as 5cm from the tip of the mouse. This further air time reduces the drag of the cable, and it’s actually efficient.

Efficiency

As ever with trendy gaming mice, I discovered the monitoring efficiency of the OP2 8k’s sensor to be basically flawless, maintaining with all my actions, whether or not throughout ultrafast flicks taking part in Apex Legends or gradual and exact tracing work in Photoshop. The one slight draw back was the shortage of a prime DPI button, which I do often use when one is out there. With solely an underside DPI button, you actually have to want to change the DPI to hassle lifting the mouse and making the change.

With regards to the 8k polling price, as I’ve typically discovered, cranking this all the best way to 8kHz made my PC stutter as a result of excessive load this locations in your CPU. Nevertheless, dropping to 4kHz meant this mouse labored a attraction.

What’s extra, checks performed with a USB protocol analyzer report that this mouse has an exceptionally low click on latency of simply 0.6ms. This ensures you get the minimal doable delay between pondering to press a button and getting a response on the display.

In actual fact, not solely does this mouse have quick electrical latency, however it’s also possible to cut back efficient latency additional by partaking SPDT GX Velocity Mode within the software program. This implies the change doesn’t register a click on when the spring contact touches the contact pad, however when the spring leaves its resting level. This protects over 1ms of bodily latency and makes for a lighter, extra responsive really feel.

As talked about above, the upwards-pointing cable can be such a terrific addition in relation to general efficiency, because it subtly reduces any basic cable pushback and interference. It additionally helps that the cable doesn’t arrive kinked and crooked, so it neatly factors backward, somewhat than veering off in an annoying route.

For many players, we’d nonetheless advocate a wi-fi mouse for the comfort and lack of cables that they supply, however a wire means there’s no battery stress and, if you’d like 4kHz or 8kHz polling, you may get that right here with out it draining battery life in a day, because it does on wi-fi 8kHz mice.

That mentioned, I’ve usually discovered that polling charges increased than 1kHz haven’t resulted in a large affect on my gaming efficiency. In remoted checks, I could make out the additional smoothness nevertheless it’s not important – I’d be tempted to get the non-8k model of this mouse for $50 as an alternative.

In the meantime, the primary buttons right here really feel good, with a taut however gentle response. I wouldn’t really feel the necessity to change the switches, nevertheless it’s nice that you would be able to swap them out and take a look at as much as seven different change sorts.

Value

The Endgame Gear OP1 8k value is $75, which is a contact costly for a wired gaming mouse, and it exposes this mouse to competitors from a number of succesful wi-fi choices. Nevertheless, the efficiency of the 8kHz mannequin is unsurpassed and nonetheless cheaper than nearly all of 8kHz wi-fi fashions. In the meantime, the 1kHz choice will get you a lot of the advantages of this mouse for a way more aggressive $50 value.

Verdict

As a high-end wired mouse with efficiency and customization aimed squarely at lovers, the Endgame Gear OP1 8k isn’t essentially the most universally recommendable gaming mouse accessible. For a lot of customers, a wi-fi choice will merely be extra handy whereas delivering a lot of the uncooked efficiency you want.

Nevertheless, so far as top-tier wired gaming mice go, this one is within the elite. Its form is incredible, offering consolation for all kinds of grip kinds and hand sizes, whereas its construct high quality is incredible too.

Its efficiency can be second to none, with flawless monitoring and class-leading low latency. Delicate tweaks, such because the upwards-slanting wire, notably grippy matte coating, and the flexibility to activate an ultra-fast change response mode, all push this mouse additional up our rankings.

The ultimate facet I actually like about this mouse is its customization. In addition to with the ability to mess around with the response of the switches, it’s also possible to bodily swap them out simply, with Endgame Gear offering a screwdriver to open up the mouse, and affordably-priced change kits to strive totally different switches. You additionally get substitute glide pads within the field, together with facet grips, and once more Endgame gear makes it simple to purchase extra for a low value.

All of it provides as much as this being our favourite wired gaming mouse that you would be able to purchase proper now. What’s extra, in the event you don’t assume you want the ultra-fast 8kHz polling price of the $75 OP1 8k, it can save you $25 and get the non-8k OP1 as an alternative.

Options

Razer Viper 8KHz

When you’re in search of a top-tier, symmetrical gaming mouse, however don’t wish to spend as a lot as $75, the Razer Viper 8KHz is a superb choice. It gives an 8kHz polling price, and it’s a snug, light-weight mouse to make use of as effectively, even when it’s a contact on the small facet. Today it’s additionally repeatedly discounted to round $55, down from its authentic $80 MSRP.

Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed

When you’re trying to spend the same quantity of round $75 on a compact, symmetrical gaming mouse, however had been hoping for a wi-fi choice as an alternative, the Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed must be your first port of name. It solely hits a 4kHz polling price, and its AA battery means it’s not tremendous gentle, nevertheless it presents a terrific form and wonderful general efficiency for simply $70.

Learn our Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed evaluate for extra info.