INTRODUCTION

   If you've ever used a wireless gaming mouse (or even a keyboard) in the past chances are you're well aware of their two significant drawbacks, signal strength/range and battery life. Yes, thanks to certain technological advancements/leaps over the years these are nowhere close to being the game breakers they used to be but no matter how much technology advances these will never cease to be, not entirely that is. With that in mind the best one can hope is to find the wireless gaming mouse with the best possible all-around performance (meaning not only in terms of signal strength/quality and battery life but also accuracy/tracking and speed). CORSAIR just launched their latest flagship model, the Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless FPS/MOBA Gaming Mouse (successor to their Dark Core RGB SE released almost 2 years ago) which I’ve been using for almost 2 weeks now.

   Founded in 1994, CORSAIR has grown from pioneering the high-performance DRAM market into one of the world’s leading providers of high-performance gaming and streaming products. CORSAIR offers a complete range of products to equip gamers, enthusiasts, and esports athletes, including mechanical keyboards, precision gaming mice, wireless headsets, premium PC components, 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 that they themselves would want to use. In 2018 CORSAIR acquired Elgato Gaming, a manufacturer of streaming products. In 2019 CORSAIR acquired Origin Computers, a manufacturer of custom high-performance gaming PCs and laptops, and SCUF Gaming, an innovator and creator of high-performance gaming controllers.

   What stands out almost immediately about the brand new Dark Core RGB Pro from the get go is the brand new PAW3392 custom optical sensor which features a polling rate of 1000/2000Hz (hyper-polling technology) and can go all the way up to 18.000DPI (dots per inch - adjustable in single DPI increments) and thus is probably the replacement Pixart has come up with for their very popular PMW3391 model (unfortunately CORSAIR hasn't shared the complete specs for this sensor with us). Giving the end user the ability to use it either with the bundled USB-C cable, Bluetooth or via CORSAIR's very own 2.4GHz SLIPSTREAM wireless technology (via a bundled USB dongle) may be something we've seen somewhat recently by yet another CORSAIR gaming mouse (IRONCLAW RGB Wireless - review here) but it's truly a very useful/convenient feature. Other "goodies" packed into the body of the Dark Core RGB Pro include 8 fully programmable buttons, OMRON switches for the primary buttons (50 million clicks), 9-zone dynamic RGB lighting system (15 available lighting effects), interchangeable side grips, 3 DPI presets (4 with the Sniper preset), 3 onboard profiles (hardware) and a lithium-polymer rechargeable battery pack which can power the unit for up to 50 hours (50 hours via bluetooth and 36 via SLIPSTREAM with the RGB lighting turned off - 18/16 hours with RGB lighting turned on) and can be recharged either via the bundled USB-C cable and Qi wireless chargers (Pro SE version). As always CORSAIR covers the Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless FPS/MOBA Gaming Mouse with a 2-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

CORSAIR has once again used their yellow and black box which has a large product picture at the front right beneath their logo and above the model name and the iCUE and SLIPSTREAM logos.

The wireless tagline can once again be seen on the right side of the box.

The contents of the package along with 2-year warranty logo and the product serial number and barcodes are located at the base of the box.

Turning the box around we find the product features and the system requirements printed in 7 languages.

Next to the Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless FPS/MOBA Gaming Mouse you will also find a 1.8 meter long braided USB-C cable, interchangeable side grip, SLIPSTREAM USB dongle, warranty information paper, electrical waste disposal paper, safety and compliance information paper and the user manual.

THE DARK CORE RGB PRO

The Dark Core RGB Pro is a medium sized, palm grip model that features a plastic and partially rubber coated exterior and weighs just 142g.

What stands out on the left side are the profile selection LEDs, large thumb rest, RGB strip and the two programmable buttons.

Two more buttons are located just over the profile selection LEDs (by default these are the DPI up/down buttons).

Typically, the company logo is printed at the rear center of the housing and right above it we find the profile selection button.

The scroll wheel used with the Dark Rock RGB Pro may be rather small but it's soft, smooth when used and inaudible.

As expected, the USB-C charging port is located at the lower front of the enclosure (unfortunately the front left and right areas are not illuminated).

Moving at the base of the mouse we see 5 PTFE feet, the PAW3392 optical sensor and the USB/Bluetooth/SLIPSTREAM switch.

The right side is magnetically attached and can be replaced with the bundled grip as seen above.

Once again CORSAIR has used their tiny SLIPSTREAM adapter (unfortunately there's no compartment on the mouse so pay extra attention no to lose it).

Both connectors on the ends of the 1.8 meter braided USB-A to USB-C cable are plain (not gold plated).

ICUE SOFTWARE

Once you install and launch the iCUE software it will detect any compatible devices and check for available firmware updates in which case a notification will pop on the lower left corner.

The main tab has 3 different mouse views from where you can see the current RGB lighting color and effect.

From inside the actions and hardware actions (onboard profiles) tabs you can program all 8 buttons with actions, macros and software shortcuts (the onboard/hardware profiles however are more limited in available functions that the software).

Everything in regards to the 9-zone RGB LED system is placed in the lighting effects and hardware lighting effects (onboard profiles) tabs so from here you can change colors and choose one of the 15 available effects (onboard/hardware profiles are limited to 7 effects).

From the DPI tab you can assign a color for each of the 3 DPI presets (4 if we include the sniper preset) and set the preferred DPI levels for each.

Again, inside the performance tab we just see the adjust the pointer precision and enable angle snapping options.

The surface calibration tool ensures optimal tracking performance on any type of surface.

Checking the onboard profiles can be done from the corresponding tab.

You can always check for new firmware and software updates and set the brightness and polling rate of the mouse from within the Settings menu.

From the above pictures you can take a glimpse of the 9-zone RGB system featured in the Dark Core RGB Pro.

CONCLUSION

   When CORSAIR launched the Dark Core RGB SE model almost two years ago availability was so low that i never got the chance to check it out and so the Dark Core RGB Pro is entirely new for me (comparing product pictures however makes it clear that both are nearly identical in shape/design). After 2 weeks of testing i can't really say anything bad about the Dark Core RGB Pro, its shape is ideal for palm and claw grip users (also lands very close to that of the Nightsword RGB), the PAW3392 optical sensor is extremely good both in terms of tracking/accuracy and speed (I’d say identical to the PMW3391 but I’m certain Pixart did improve/tweak it in some ways) and as for battery life and wireless signal things couldn't get much better than this. To be more precise i was able to surpass 16 hours of use both via SLIPSTREAM and Bluetooth connectivity, a number which although not out of this world is still quite impressive, especially for a gaming mouse with 9 dynamic RGB LED zones. Wireless signal was also flawless up to 6 meters away and with a concrete wall in between (which translated to easily over 10 meters in a straight line without any obstacles) so no complaints here either.

   CORSAIR officially released the Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless FPS/MOBA Gaming Mouse (and the Pro SE version) roughly 6 hours ago and so it currently retails for USD79.99 inside the USA (directly from CORSAIR) and for 96Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). This places the Dark Core RGB Pro among the most expensive wireless gaming mice in the market today but not high enough in that list for me to consider it expensive. Yes, it may not be exactly what many people will call affordable (myself included) but it offers an excellent optical sensor, SLIPSTREAM wireless technology (range), up to 50 hours of wireless time, very good grip, 8 programmable buttons, 9 dynamic RGB zones and an interchangeable side grip and all of that are plenty for our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Extremely Fast & Accurate (18.000DPI Pixart PAW3392 Optical Sensor)
- Connectivity (2.4GHz / Bluetooth / USB)
- Grip (Rubber Coating / Shape)
- OMRON Primary Switches (50 Million Clicks)
- RGB Lighting System (9 Zones)
- 8 Fully Programmable Buttons
- Interchangeable Side Grips
- 1.8 Meter Long Detachable Braided Cable
- iCUE Software

CONS

- Price (EU)
- Right Hand Use Only / Shape (For Some)