INTRODUCTION

   As we've pointed out numerous times in past reviews when you finally decide to get a new gaming peripheral for the PC you first need to know exactly what your needs are meaning what you're looking for (in terms of specifications and features) and of course just how much you're willing to spend. For example if you're out looking for a new gaming mouse (which is also what today's review's all about) aside the usual suspects like shape, weight (adjustable or not) and size you also need to decide on the number of buttons, performance (laser/optical sensor model) and whether or not you'd like it to feature some type of illumination (RGB or not). So just as long as you know exactly what it is, you're looking for you will not have a problem finding the right gaming mouse to cover your needs since the market is currently filled with them. There is however one serious exception and so if you're looking for an ambidextrous model your choices are limited at best which is why when CORSAIR announced their latest M55 RGB PRO Ambidextrous Multi-Grip Gaming Mouse last week we just had to test it.

   Founded in 1994, CORSAIR has grown from pioneering the high-performance DRAM market into one of the world’s leading providers of high-performance PC peripherals and components. CORSAIR offers a complete range of products to equip gamers, enthusiasts and e-sports athletes, including mechanical keyboards, precision gaming mice, wireless headsets, high-performance components that gamers use to build gaming PCs, and the CORSAIR ONE fully-integrated gaming PC. With a company-wide commitment to quality, innovative design, advanced features and high performance, CORSAIR products have won thousands of media and industry awards, earning their place in gamers’ hands and PCs following years of development and engineering by a team dedicated to building great products they themselves would want to use.

   The brand new M55 RGB PRO may not stand out as much as its M65 RGB or IRONCLAW RGB brothers (mainly due to its ambidextrous design) but it's actually the very first gaming mouse to arrive in our lab based on the somewhat "rare" PMW3327 optical sensor by Pixart (12400DPI / 220IPS / 30G / 1000Hz) and the second attempt by CORSAIR to manufacture an ambidextrous model (after the 2015 Katar). Leaving out its ambidextrous design the M55 RGB PRO also features OMRON switches for its primary buttons (up to 50 million clicks), a total of 8 fully programmable buttons, left/right handed modes (disables opposite buttons to avoid accidentally clicks), 5 DPI modes/presets (6 with the sniper one) and a 2-zone RGB lighting system with a total of 13 different effects. CORSAIR covers the M55 RGB PRO with a 2-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The M55 RGB PRO arrived inside a black and yellow box that has a large product picture at the front right beneath the company logo and above its name and the iCUE logo.

Another product picture is located on the left side.

At the base of the box we find drawings of the bundle contents, information about CORSAIR, the 2-year warranty logo and a sticker with the product barcodes.

The product features and the system requirements are listed at the rear of the box in 6 languages.

Along with the M55 RGB PRO you will also get a warranty guide, WEEE paper and the user guide.

THE M55 RGB PRO

The 86g heavy M55 RGB PRO features rubber coating at the top and as you can see it's a small to medium sized gaming mouse.

Two programmable buttons and a large rubberized textured area are located on the left side.

Once again, the company logo is located at the rear of the mouse and is of course part of the dual zone RGB lighting system.

A single profile/DPI selection button is located at the top of the M55 RGB PRO right next to a profile/DPI selection activity LED.

Two more programmable buttons and a large rubberized textured area are also located on the right side of the mouse.

The rubberized clickable scroll wheel is as always placed right next to the DPI selection switch.

At the base of the M55 RGB PRO we find 3 PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) feet and the PMW3327 optical sensor.

A regular (not gold plated) USB plug is located at the end of the 1.8 meter long braided cable.

ICUE SOFTWARE

As always you can download the latest version of the iCUE software from the CORSAIR support page.

Once you install and launch the program it will detect and list compatible devices like the M55 RGB PRO on the right side.

To enter the settings screen for the mouse just click on its picture.

Just like with previous mice by CORSAIR from the actions tab you can program all 8 buttons with actions, macros and software shortcuts (by default you can only use 6 of the buttons, to enable all 8 you will need to check that option under the settings tab).

Everything related to the dual zone RGB lighting system is placed in the lighting effects tab so from here you can change colors and choose one of the available effects (13 available ones).

From the DPI tab you can assign a color for each of the 5 DPI presets (6 including the sniper one) and set the preferred DPI levels for each.

Inside the performance tab you can adjust the pointer precision.

From the top menu the iCUE software allows the end user to monitor the status of the system, use instant colors, perform firmware updates and adjust various settings (including the right/left handed and the enable all buttons options).

Here you can see some of the colors of the dual zone RGB system (rainbow mode).

CONCLUSION

   It's always a nice thing to have an ambidextrous gaming mouse in our lab mainly since as stated before there aren't that many in the market to begin with (and not everyone is right handed like we are) so when the M55 RGB PRO arrived we put it to use with many titles like Kingdom Come Deliverance, Pathfinder Kingmaker, STAR WARS Battlefront II, Battlefield I, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice and Devil May Cry 5 (which is also why we weren't able to post our review when CORSAIR made their official announcement last week). So, let's start with the good news first which have to do with the shape of the M55 RGB PRO since our hands felt right at home when using just like with other models like the FK1 by Zowie and most of the mice released by SteelSeries to date. Thanks to the rubberized areas and the top coating grip is also very good (you may end up accidentally clicking some of the opposite buttons while playing so the default disable option is well justified - that however does mean that the number of available programmable buttons practically drops to 6 and not 8) and as for the PMW3327 optical sensor although far from the top of the line models by Pixart actually behaved very well during our tests (very fast with high accuracy). The dual zone RGB lighting system may not be the most "impressive" one we've seen to date but it's sufficient if you don't care much about such things. The one "serious" issue we had while testing the M55 RGB PRO has to do with its primary buttons which are quite hard to press (working out for your fingers?) and having already tested 75 mice (76 with the M55 RGB PRO) that says a lot. Sure, this is something users can get used to in time as did we but even after 12 days of testing it still feels a bit off so if you can give the M55 RGB PRO a try prior to purchasing it you might want to check that out. Also, the PMW3327 laser sensor probably lacks support for the surface calibration tool which we found very useful in previous gaming mice by CORSAIR but that's far from a deal breaker.

   The M55 RGB PRO by CORSAIR currently retails for USD39.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 44Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which is very balanced for what you’re getting. At the end of the day the M55 RGB PRO may not be equally exciting as some of the gaming mice released recently by CORSAIR but it’s fast, accurate and perhaps even more importantly it’s also an ambidextrous model so if you’re out in the market for one such model (an inexpensive one at that) you should really check it out.

PROS

- Ambidextrous Design
- Very Good Grip
- Fast and Accurate (PMW3327)
- Primary OMRON Switches (50 Million Clicks)
- Dual Zone RGB Illumination
- iCUE Software
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Hard to Press Primary Buttons
- Weight (Slightly More Would Be Ideal)
- No Surface Calibration Tool