INTRODUCTION

   The gaming peripherals market (at least the PC one) may be overflowing with a huge number of devices ranging from keyboards, mice and mats and up to headsets, chairs and controllers but for the largest part the ones really worth owning bear the names of the well-known, established and respected manufacturers. This of course is not always the case but the sheer number of new and "average" companies making their debut on a daily basis doesn't help things. Luckily between old gaming peripheral manufacturers and very new ones there are also some manufacturers from others parts of the industry who expand their product lines to also include gaming peripherals and although that's not always a recipe for success still the ones that have done so have released decent products. Recently one of the largest and most popular memory module manufacturers in the world, G.SKILL also decided to expand their product line to include gaming peripherals and today we're taking a look at their RIPJAWS MX780 Laser Gaming Mouse.

   Established in 1989 by PC hardware enthusiasts, G.SKILL specializes in high performance memory, SSD products and gaming peripherals, designed for PC gamers and enthusiasts around the world. Combining technical innovation and rock solid quality through our in-house testing lab and talented R&D team, G.SKILL continues to create record-breaking memory for each generation of hardware and hold the no. 1 brand title in overclocking memory.

   Unlike some manufacturers who decide to rush their expansion into other areas of the market G.SKILL is taking things slowly (as they should) so for now they have just released the MX780 RIPJAWS Laser Gaming Mouse and the KM780 (RGB/MX) RIPJAWS Mechanical Gaming Keyboards. The MX780 RIPJAWS Gaming Mouse uses the Avago ADNS-9800 laser sensor (no stranger to us since we've seen it with many other mice in the past) that features a resolution of 8200DPI with framerate of 12000fps, 150IPS tracking speed and up to 30G's acceleration. G.SKILL has also used Omron micro-switches for the buttons (probably just the primary ones) that can achieve a very high lifecycle of up to 20 million clicks. The MX780 is also equipped with a total of 8 programmable buttons, 4-zone RGB illumination system, removable side grips (ambidextrous design), adjustable weight system (two 4.5g weights), 512kb onboard memory used to store all 5 profiles and a height-adjustable system which can be used to "calibrate" the rear of the mouse to your hand.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The box in which we received the MX780 has a large product picture at the front and the main product features listed right beneath it (here it says 3-zone custom RGB lighting but it's actually 4).

All of the product features are listed at the rear of the box again next to a product picture.

You can take a look at the product and its features by opening the front of the box.

Inside the box you will find two extra side grips, two 4.5g heavy weights, allen key, warranty guide and the quick start guide.

THE RIPJAWS MX780

The G.SKILL RIPJAWS MX780 is a medium-sized mouse and so it measures 130mm in length, 70mm in width and 38mm in height.

On the left side of the mouse we see three LEDs, two programmable buttons and a removable rubber thumbrest.

G.SKILL has placed their logo at the rear right above one of the illumination system LEDs.

Four LEDs are placed right between the logo and the DPI selection button.

3 extra LEDs are placed on the opposite side along with two programmable buttons and a removable rubber grip.

The clickable scroll wheel is rubber coated (inaudible when used) and also features a LED beneath it.

A total of 6 PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) feet are placed at the base of the mouse (1 is placed under the removable thumbrest).

The ADNS-9800 laser sensor may not be amongst the latest ones to hit the market but it's very fast, accurate and also supports liftoff range adjustment.

The MX780 is an ambidextrous mouse since you can remove the default side grips (they support right handed people) and replace them with the bundled ones (these support left handed users).

I was expecting to find a weight compartment in the MX780 as I’m used to but G.SKILL followed a much simpler approach so you can add the two extra weights found in the bundle inside two areas placed where the removable grips get mounted.

The most interesting feature of the MX780 gaming mouse (at least in terms of ergonomics) is the height-adjustment system which can be used via the Allen screw found at the base. This may not sound very useful to some people but it really is since with it you can "mimic" the height of any gaming mice so when you swap from your old one to the MX780 it will feel right at home.

In the two above pictures you can see the rear of the mouse in its lowest and highest possible position.

The 1.8m braided cable has a gold plated USB plug at the end.

USING THE RIPJAWS MX780

Since the RIPJAWS MX780 Laser Gaming Mouse doesn't have a bundled CD you must download the latest driver from the official support page as seen above.

Worth mentioning is that once you install the drivers if the firmware on the mouse is older than the one in the drivers they will auto update it and require a restart or your system afterwards.

G.SKILL is using a easy to use unified control software which means that you can control both the MX780 and the KM780 mechanical gaming keyboard (you can rotate between them from the lower right arrows).

From the first tab you can program all 8 keys (10 with the scroll wheel front and back) with a variety of actions (seen in the drop down menu above).

You can control the polling rate, DPI stages (5), double click speed, windows pointer speed, scroll speed and the liftoff range from the settings tab (you can also store 5 different configurations on the mouse).

From the lighting tab you can see the 4 different RGB zones and the total of 7 LEDs of which you can change the color.

Of course you can add your own colors from the RGB pallet and choose between cycle and breathing lighting modes.

Creating Macros is also possible from the Macros tab.

Here you can see some lighting configurations with the same and different color for each of the LEDs.

CONCLUSION

   Testing the RIPJAWS MX780 Laser Gaming Mouse has brought back good memories and more particularly the time when we had the Hellion gaming mouse by Leetgion here (a subsidiary of Thermalright). Unfortunately it seems that things didn't pan out for Leetgion but since the MX780 is a much more "complete" gaming mouse than the Hellion i think that G.SKILL will have no problem holding on in the gaming peripheral market (just as long as they market their products correctly and with the right prices). The Avago ADNS-9800 laser sensor is very fast, accurate and reliable as it has been numerous times in the past but it's thanks to the nicely designed body (it may look strange but it's actually very comfortable) and the adjustable weight and height that allow the MX780 to stand out from most gaming mice in the market. Unfortunately angle-snapping is not supported but you can change the liftoff distance a feature which works very well and could aid the really serious and professional gamers out there. Gliding is also excellent (although i haven't seen a bad mouse in that aspect for a long time) while the RGB lighting system is one of the best we've ever seen not only thanks to the 4 different zones but also because you can change the color individually on all 7 LEDs. Last but not least the weight system is quite good especially since you can add and remove the extra weights effortlessly but just 9g extra may not be enough for some people.

   Currently the RIPJAWS MX780 Laser Gaming Mouse by G.SKILL retails for just USD68.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 83Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) and although it certainly doesn't come cheap in the EU we think it's priced just right inside the USA. That being said the competition in that price range is quite strong but not many gaming mice can claim to offer the same grip, speed, accuracy and lighting system as the RIPJAWS MX780 and that is surely a big win for G.SKILL. Overall not many gaming mice in the market can actually go up against the RIPJAWS MX780 and that's more than enough for us to give it our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Very Fast & Accurate (Avago ADNS-9800)
- Very Good Grip (Textured Non-slip Areas & Height Adjustable Palm-Rest)
- OMRON Micro-Switches (20 Million Clicks)
- RGB Lighting System (4 Zones With 7 LEDs)
- Weight Adjustment System
- 8 Programmable Buttons
- Ambidextrous (Removable Side Grips)
- Braided Cable & Gold Plated USB Plug
- Current Price (USA)

CONS

- Current Price (EU)
- Extra Weights (Just 9g)