Corsair Katar Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse Review

A Closer Look & Performance

The first thing you need to do with your new KATAR Wireless is give it some power. It’s pretty straight forward to do. Just slide back the top cover like this.

Then simply lift the panel out of the way and drop the battery into the space provided. You’re done, it’s really that simple. Well, so long as you remember to put the lid back on too I guess.

While you’re in here, you’ll also find a small dongle for the Slipstream wireless.

What’s great is that while the mouse does come with a dongle, it can be used in both 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth mode from this dongle. Furthermore, it can be paired without the dongle to other Bluetooth devices, such as a mobile platform or a laptop, which is great! However, Slipstream over the USB is the optimal method with the lowest latency.

The KATAR is a pretty simple looking beast, but that’s honestly not a bad thing. Not every mouse has to be some innovative monstrosity, and I like that this is toned down and clean looking. It won’t look out of place in the office, and it’s minimal RGB (there’s a tiny light on the top) won’t be distracting while gaming or watching something.

Down the left side, you’ll find two navigation buttons. They’ve got a nice light and springy action to them that makes them easy to use. The buttons are also sculpted so that you can either press them in or simple slide your thumb over them to trigger them.

The mouse has a slight undercut on the sides, allowing you to easily pick it up between your thumb and fingers. That’s handy if you use a low DPI setting and want to use a lift-off tracking technique. There’s also a little bit of texture in the plastic mould, and it’s about the most flamboyant part of the design really, as the mouse is very understated overall.

The dark black plastic is ever so slightly textured and glossy. It’s a bloody nightmare to photograph as its so dark. I’ve got a spotlight right on it here, and it’s still pretty stealthy looking.

The shape of the mouse is symmetrical, albeit to the point where it only has left side buttons. I can comfortably use this left handed in tasks that don’t require the side buttons, such as some light photoshop work.

The left and right mouse buttons are each mounted on their own sprung panel. This gives them a much more positive feel that doesn’t give any vibration or feedback to the other. However, it’s the switches that really impress. They’re quite heavy, with a prominent click and really pleasing action overall. They’re not “heavy” as in hard to press, but it is more pronounced than most, and I really like it. It also has a nice sound to it, a small detail, but a nice sounding click is always welcome on a mouse.

The Slipstream wireless technology is absolutely flawless, and honestly, wireless tech just isn’t the hurdle it used to be. You no longer have to compromise on latency and responsiveness in general.

The mode button on the bottom means you can flip between 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth easily enough. As I said before, in Bluetooth you can pair with the dongle or any other common Bluetooth capable device. Furthermore, the mouse can be turned off completely to save battery by putting the switch in the middle. However, it’ll go to sleep after a short while to save battery, but the wake up time is instant so didn’t feel like it slowed me down at all.

As for RGB, the mouse keeps things super simple, with just a small indicator light behind the profile button. That being said, all six buttons on this mouse are fully programable, so you can customise that as you desire.

While not much for visual customisation, that simple RGB light is handy, as if you do customise the mouse button layout, you can easily see which profile you’re using at a glance. By default, that top button cycles the DPI levels though.

The new PixArt PWM3325 sensor is a joy to use though. It’s incredibly smooth and responsive, and again, Slipstream wireless just doesn’t give you latency vs the wired model. You get a lovely 10,000 DPI to play around with too, so ultra-fast and smooth tracking is on offer. It’s great for work and gaming, with no jitter or angle snapping there to trip you up. I should also add that the wired version of this mouse will have a 12,400 DPI sensor, and the 10K DPI limit is likely just a power-saving option more than anything.

The ergonomics are really good too, with a long and slim body that’s comfortable in a palm grip as well as a fingertip grip. The mouse is pretty light, but the bulk of the weight comes from the battery which does make it back heavy.

I don’t mind that though, as you can pivot the nose of the mouse quite easily, which is good for making small adjustments in Photoshop or even while gaming.