Cooler Master MM830 – OLED, RGB, D-PAD, And Beyond!

A Closer Look and Performance

The MM830 comes hard-wired with a durable black braided USB cable. The connector is gold-plated, so the rest of the mouse will decompose before that part corrodes. There’s not much in the box though, just the mouse and the usual documentation. However, that’s all you really need!

Durable Build Quality

First impressions of the mouse are very positive, as it has a very durable feel to it and a reassuring weight of quality. That’s a slight lie though, as I actually had a go with this mouse a few weeks ago in Las Vegas at CES. However, it’s certainly easier to get a real feel for it sitting at my own desk, and I’m suitably impressed right out of the box.

“Hidden” D-Pad

The design isn’t too crazy, at least I don’t think so any. However, I do love what they’ve done with the side of the mouse. For most uses, it still has the usual forwards and backwards navigation switches. They’re just as responsive as you would hope for and perfect for both daily work grinds and slugging through some games too. However, it’s actually a D-Pad. Cooler Master calls it a “hidden D-Pad” but ok pal, I can see it right there, it’s not that hidden.

What this means though, is that we have two extra buttons to tinker with here. I use a 12 button mouse myself, so I can really appreciate these extra controls. They’re perfect for work to set copy and paste commands, or Photoshop shortcuts.

Full Customisation

However, switch over to a gaming profile and they’re great for adding extra gaming controls. Melee in FPS, extra attacks in MOBA games, and complex macros in MMORPG games. Of course, the limitation with that is your imagination really as there’s a powerful macro engine built-in.

OLED is Better Than NoLED

If you’re all about the looks as well as the performance, the MM830 is packing lots of features for you. The most obvious one is that OLED display on the side. Sure, CM aren’t the first or the last to add one of these, but that doesn’t diminish how fun it is to have it. By default, it has a tasteful scrolling Cooler Master logo and quote, which I quite like. However, though the software you can customise that to show lots of things.

CPU usage, system volume, tracking speed, are just a few good examples of what it can do. However, you can set custom images using the drawing tool. Furthermore, you can load up a .bmp file of your own too, just like we did for this obviously superior eTeknix logo. “Make it Yours” indeed!

RGB All The Things!

The customisation options don’t end there either. With four LED zones to tinker with, you can really go to town with the colours. Personally, I would just set it all to one solid colour and leave it. Of course, it has all the effects and transitions we’ve come to expect too. The point being, you can set it up however you like, and the software interface is super responsive and easy to use to do so.

The colours are fantastic too, just take this yellow/gold! It has some slightly textured bubbles in the plastic that give it a more liquid/metallic quality that really shines.

There are more lights up on the top, the minimalist CM logo on the rear, and some under-lights at the rear that give you even more options to play around with.

Game Like a Pro

When it comes to gaming, this mouse absolutely nails it. The PixArt sensor is one of the best sensors on the market. Furthermore, it’s one of the best sensors we’ve seen in a Cooler Master mouse to date. It offers up four DPI profiles that can be configured to the DPI button on the mouse. From there, you can set it between 200 and 24000 DPI (true DPI, not boosted). You can lock/unlock the horizontal and verticle adjustment too. There are even options to tune the angle and surface to get optimal performance. Right out of the box, it tracks perfectly smooth up to 50g, making it very eSports-friendly. However, if you did want to customise it, you can really go into the technical stuff.

Responsive Switches

The Omron switches are always a good choice, and the individually mounted top panels for the buttons are nicely done. Each button feels independent and has great tactile feedback. Furthermore, the grippy surface and sweeping ergonomics of the mouse promote a good hand posture. For gaming, it’s fast and nimble, with a snappy clicking action. However, when it comes to cruising through reddit, it’s a comfortable long-session mouse with a smooth and accurate scroll wheel too.