Review: ROCCAT Pyra Wireless Mouse

ROCCAT are reasonably well known for their gaming products, the only problem is they are commonly overshadowed by the behemoth that is Razer. But that shouldn’t mean you should disregard them completely, because they make exceptionally good peripherals, as shown in earlier reviews. The newest product to leave their studio is the Pyra, this mouse is designed for users of notebooks who game on the go. The more interesting features of this mouse aren’t visible on the surface, but once you delve into the control panel of the mouse you find a sneaky little feature that ROCCAT like to call EasyShift [+].

This new feature essentially gives you double the amount of buttons, completed by holding down the predefined EasyShift[+] button and pressing another button of your choice, it gives you extra commands without extra buttons. This can be good for those who play MMO’s, because they require a ton of different Macros and button combinations.

Read on to find my opinion of the ROCCAT Pyra, ROCCAT’s latest mouse designed for notebook gamers.

Packaging

Similar to the other products ROCCAT sell, the Pyra has a wealth of information on the box so that the customer knows what they’re getting before they’ve even bought the mouse. Also the style of the packaging looks good, highlights the main features and even shows you the mouse and the receiver via transparent plastic covering the front of the box.

Opening the box was very easy, it has two tabs at the top that can be slid out and then opened, after which you slide out the cardboard section containing the rest of the hardware. This is much easier than some packaging other manufacturers require which you have to use scissors to get in to, commonly cutting your fingers in the process. The area the mouse was sat on lifted up to reveal the charging cable, carry pouch and a folded piece of cardboard which contained the CD (small size) and a membership card allowing you to register on ROCCAT’s website for additional goodies.

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Features and Specifications

Here’s what ROCCAT have to say about the Pyra, straight from their website.

“The ROCCAT™ Pyra Mobile Wireless Gaming Mouse offers everything you’d typically expect from an ingenious mobile gaming mouse in a compact design – and it does it all completely wirelessly. With the same polling rate as a wired mouse (1000Hz) and sensor performance that can be adjusted from 400dpi to 1600dpi, the Pyra packs a punch by offering judder-free gaming with zero lag. What’s more, its ergonomic shape makes it comfortable to use.

World first: The Pyra is the first product to feature the innovative EasyShift[+] button, which doubles the number of mouse functions.”

Here’s the feature list for the Pyra.

• WIRELESS USB GAMING MOUSE
  with 1000Hz polling rate and 1ms response time
• EASYSHIFT[+] BUTTON DUPLICATOR
  button duplication for 6 additional functions
• MOTION BLUE-OPTIC SENSOR
  400dpi to 1600dpi for optimum precision
• ON-THE-FLY CHARGING VIA THE USB CABLE
  nano receiver stowable in the mouse
• REST AND DEEP-SLEEP MODES
  for a longer battery life
• WIDE, NON-SLIP MOUSEWHEEL
  excellent grip and distinctive notch positions
• FOR NOTEBOOK GAMERS
  for any sized hand, whether left or right
• ROCCAT™ GRIPTECH
  featuring stabilizing, non-slip side grips
• MACRO MANAGER
  create complex command sequences

And finally a list of technical specifications and some further information.

Technical Specification

• 5 mouse buttons + mousewheel
• EasyShift[+]: up to 12 functions at any one time
• 1600dpi optical gaming sensor
• 130ips maximum speed
• 1000Hz polling rate
• 30Gs of acceleration

Further Information

Mouse dimensions
9.5cm x 6cm (LxW)
Mouse weight
Approx. 90g (excluding cable and batteries)
System Requirements
Windows® XP/Windows Vista®/Windows® 7
USB 1.1 Port
CD-ROM drive

Package Contents
ROCCAT™ Pyra – Mobile Wireless Gaming Mouse
Wireless USB Nano Receiver
1.5m USB Charging Cable
2 x Rechargeables (AAA, 1.5V, LR03)
ROCCAT ™ ID Card
Quick Install Guide
Soft Case
Instructions in EN, DE, FR, ES, PL, RU, TR, DK, FI, SE
Product code: ROC-11-510

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Design

Now onto the design of the mouse itself, as you can see it’s very minimally styled, having a few angular curves here and there but no lashings of silver or colour to make it stand out like most gaming mice do. Instead this opts for the more professional, sleek looking style but it also looks like it means business. The scroll wheel on the mouse is rubber, giving plenty of grip as well as it being a tactile scroll rather than a loose scroll meaning you can use it for switching between weapons easily. The port on the front of the mouse is for when your rechargable AAA batteries run dry, you plug this into your PC via USB and charge them up, still being able to use it at the same time.

As you can see, once the mouse is connected the gap between the two main mouse buttons shows its secret, a glowing LED which is the main status light of the mouse. This pulses when in use and flashes when the batteries are running dry. It’s also blue, which is the main theme colour for ROCCAT and their products. Some of their mice have customisable LED colours, but not this one.

As you can see from the pictures above, the receiver itself is very small, only sticking out slightly from the notebook itself, but has the noticeable Pyra logo on it, to identify itself if it is ever separated from the mouse or lost (in the home anyway). On the bottom of the mouse you can see a gap towards the back end of the mouse, this is for storing the receiver when it is being transported so that it is safely secured when you’re out and about.

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Software

Included with the Pyra was a disc with drivers and customisation software on it, once installed you can use this to change a multitude of features within the mouse.

On the first screen is the general controls for the mouse, items like sensitivity, DPI settings, pointer speed and more, generally the items you would find within the Windows control panel are in here, along with a few extra features like adjusting the horizontal tilt speed for the scroll wheel. A consistent feature across all three windows is what’s along the bottom, which is the game profiles menu. This allows you to have a custom button configuration for up to five different games, so that these can be swapped in and out at any time.

The second window contains the main button configurations, as you can see it also includes the options for the EasyShift [+] system, which is referred to in shorthand as EasyShift in the options. Basically as you can see from the image EasyShift is assigned to button 4 (Left thumb button), upon pressing and holding this button and pressing another button, for example button 1, you would activate feature 8, which is Back in your browser, rather than the typical left click without holding the button. There is also an option for what hand mode you want, either left or right handed (which inverses the buttons) and a macro manager as well.

The final window contains help, support information and driver information, with links to both the online support page, the support form, an email request link and a link to download the latest drivers. This should come in useful from time to time to keep everything up to date and working.

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Testing

For the ROCCAT Pyra I will run just the one test, the Gaming Test, where I will play various games and report on how well the mouse performs during gameplay, unfortunately I cannot take video footage of gameplay as my computer renders the games unplayable during recording.

During gameplay in numerous games I found that the mouse was very responsive and easy to grip while gaming, despite its smaller size compared to most gaming mice, this didn’t make any difference at all as to how it handled, even in situations where quick button presses and precise aiming were required. The mouse has a very tactile feel and the rubber scroll wheel means you can grip that easily during gameplay for the command required.

One thing I did notice during usage was that the supplied rechargable AAA batteries were weak, I found that since opening the box and using the fresh batteries I have had to recharge it twice within 24 hours. I don’t know if its because the batteries aren’t very good or aren’t designed for heavy usage but I’ll be buying some long lasting batteries in the future.

For common tasks such as browsing and general use I found the mouse to be comfortable as well, the scroll is precise, the mouse feels smooth to use and it felt comfortable as well.

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Conclusion

I must say, that after using this mouse for a decent period of time that it is another quality product from ROCCAT studios, it’s comfortable, accurate and has plenty of customisation options available, you’re not losing out on the main features of a gaming mouse by buying a mobile mouse here at all. It’s a good product worth your money and I can’t find any flaws at all. Only niggle is that for me, I struggle to make use of the other side button during gameplay because it’s at an awkward angle and requires quite a firm press to click it. This may not be an issue for other users but it’s the reason why it gets a 4.5/5 from me.

Pros

• Comfortable mouse
• Rubber scroll wheel
• Sleek design
• Charging cable included
• No mouse lag at all

Cons

• Other side button difficult to press