Corsair Raptor M45 Gaming Mouse Review

Final Thoughts

Price

The price of the Corsair M45 is easily one of the best features overall, it’s just a little under £40 from most major online retailers here in the UK and $60 in the US. This is great value for money and very competitive, with just one massive problem, the Corsair M40 gaming mouse is only £28 in the UK and $40 in the US!

Overview

The Corsair M45 is a very good product for the money, I’ve personally been using mine for a few weeks now alongside the Corsair K40 keyboard which I reviewed recently. I’ve enjoyed using them as a set and I expect I will continue to do so for a good few months yet. With the extended use of the mouse I have noticed that the light texture on the left side panel is wearing off and becoming smooth, it doesn’t really effect the performance, but it’s worth nothing that this light texture won’t last very long.

The next issue is the Sensor, the M40 mouse had a 4000 DPI sensor and the M45 has a 5000 DPI sensor, but with the jitter being quite noticeable at 5000 DPI… what’s the point in spending extra money for that higher DPI, when the M40 is virtually identical in every other aspect? There is no reason, so my advice would be to save yourself some money and purchase the M40, at least until such time as Corsair creates a better upgrade within this price range. Both the M40 and M45 are great mice, but 99% of end users will not be able to tell the difference between them in terms of performance, but will notice having more money left in their wallet should they buy the older model. Had the M45 not been so close to the M40 in terms of performance to the cheaper M40, the M45 would easily be worthy of our Bang for Buck award.

Pros

• Great ergonomics
• Macro recording
• Full programmable buttons
• Very good sensor (so long as you stay away from max DPI)
• Competitive price
• Customisable weight

Cons

• Side grip wears off after a few weeks
• Sensor gets jitter towards max DPI
• Price is competitive, but the M40 is much better value for money

eTeknix says: “The mid budget options from Corsair are superb, they’re right on par with what you can expect from rival brands such as Cooler Master and Thermaltake, but Corsair needs to make a little more effort to differentiate the M45 from its predecessor, the M40.”

Thank you Corsair for providing us with this sample.