Corsair GLAIVE RGB Review

The Corsair Glaive RGB was a force to reckon with but is it still the ultimate gaming weapon after an year, time to find out!

Over the years I've reviewed a lot of products from Corsair including
that from their ever growing peripheral lineups which most of the time
happens to be quite top of the line, most of the time in performance but
every time in terms of pricing! With the recent release of the Corsair Harpoon RGB
they did take care of the entry segment but now its time to get into
the upper budget segment for gaming mice for which they'd
rolled out their Corsair Glaive RGB Gaming Mouse last year in 2017!

Thanks to Corsair India we happen to have one with us today so let's find out how sharp the edges of this weapon really are after a year of its launch and is it still worth your money.

Taking its name from an old European weapon that fitted at the end of a
stick and could be modified as per one's own usage and style, the
Corsair Glaive RGB looks to do pretty much the same by offering a
semi-modular nature by which you can choose between three different
grips according to your style and needs!

Technically speaking the mouse comes equipped with high-performance
custom made Pixart PMW3367 Optical sensor, adjustable DPI, six buttons,
Omron switches and more which you tend to find absent in most of the
gaming mice priced higher than the Glaive! Its now priced lower than its launch price and sits at around
$50 or Rs 5000 in India.

One thing I want to mention here is that the Glaive RGB comes in two
different options with one being full plastic and the other with
aluminum trims in the front. While all the other features remain the
same the normal one weighs at around 120g while the aluminum version has
127g of weight to it,  so pick the one which suits you most before
going for either one of them.

What's in the Box!?

Corsair Gaming components are now depicted by a black box with splashes
of yellow since that's what their signature color theme is. The packing
of the Corsair Glaive RGB Gaming Mouse is no different which also comes
in a sleek black windowed box with yellow in tits and bits all over. The
product image and Corsair logo are prominent along with the main
features such as 16000 DPI, interchangeable thumb grips and RGB back
lighting.

The back is similarly colored with a detailed marked diagram of the
mouse indicating towards its key physical characteristics such as
contoured shape, three zone multi color back lighting and onboard
memory. Its a nifty packing justifying a product of this stature and
does the job well in protecting it through transit.

Open the box and you'll be greeted by some accessories and paper works,
these include the warranty card and user manual, the Corsair Glaive RGB
mouse and another small case housing the two extra interchangeable grips
and a carry pouch for you to carry them along anywhere you go with
ease.

Let's take a Closer Look!

Corsair has designed the Glaive RGB as a full size-all grip style
friendly gaming mouse with the entire top covered by a matte black
silicon like finish for extra grip and comfort, its common these days
and shouldn't be much of a problem except for oil stains if you like to
munch around while using your PC! All the six buttons are Omron switches
which are rated at 20million click cycles so durability isn't an issue
over here, the left except for the aluminum trim in the front also
houses the two forward and backward buttons which are a bit depressed in
contrast to the default rubberized flat grip that the mouse comes with.
These are hard & have a very nice clock to them nothing too hard
nothing too soft.

The right side is simple with nothing much but the permanent
non-swappable textured rubber grip to rest your pinky or ringer finger
upon. It also has one of the three RGB lighting zones right above it,
we'll be discussing about that later on in the review.

The Corsair sails logo can also be seen at the back here which is RGB
backlit and is also one of the three lighting areas on this mouse.

Looking at the top we find the two right and left click buttons, on the
fly DPI change switch and a chunky scroll wheel. The left and right
clicks don't have a high actuation and sound just perfect when clicking
while the textured rubber wheel is a bit tight either while pressing
down or scrolling up-down which is fine by my standards but others might
need some practice to get used to it.

You would also see a five LED strip that indicate the various and at
present DPI level of the mouse.  By default it is programmed with 800,
1500, 3000, 6000, and 9000 DPI but sadly the color of the DPI indicator
stays blue only and can't be changed. The DPI levels can be customized
through the CUE software even by a single DPI if one wants that kind of
precision!

Now the entire story becomes clear when you look at it from the front,
the mouse is a contoured to the right and the left and right click
buttons are a bit curved upwards to prevent an accidental slip of
fingers while long gaming sessions. The front LEDs are grilled which is a
remanent of Corsair's own Scimitar gaming mouse.

At the bottom we have four teflon feet and the Pixart PMW3367 optical
sensor which is custom tailored for the Glaive and supports upto 16000
DPI which is don't think anyone would be desperately needing right now
even with a multi monitor setup but some extra doesn't hurt & you
can always customize these setting through CUE.

The cable on the Glaive RGB is 1.8m in length and is cloth braided with a
little stiffness to it. At the end you'll find the same USB connector
as that on all the Corsair Gaming Peripherals, its rubberized and
strongly build for longevity. I have a good amount of space on my table
so the wire's stiffness didn't pose any issues but for some it might so
try to get hold of a mouse bungee for yourself if possible to avoid any
hindrance.

About the CUE

Corsair has brought out an entirely new software suite with the Glaive
RGB Gaming Mouse. CUE as Corsair likes to call it is a suite to bind all
the three gears, namely as the Void Headset, MM800 Mousepad and K95
Platinum Keyboard, together as one taking a more holistic approach. CUE
can be downloaded from the Corsair official website for free.

This new version of the CUE is quite well laid out and has all the
comprehensive and complex options hidden deep within. The demo devices
listed on the starting page are actually a bunch of emulators that users
can  use to get a feel of the lighting and various options available
for the enlisted peripheral. The top has an advanced button for bringing
down the more in depth options for the users & I personally advice
that one uses the same as its required to reap the full potential of
such a premium device!

The first one is the Actions section which let's you remap and reassign
buttons. Its simple section of the mouse but the real power of the CUE
and Glaive is seen when you enter the Macros section where you can
record macros for the mouse and use them by the click of a single
button. This is real handy for typing in texts during multiplayer
battles to your team mates for quick response.

Since its RGB so there has to be a dedicated section to lighting isn't
it!? In this section you can choose from the pre-defined patterns and
even select the speed. Interestingly since the mouse has three RGB
lighting areas you can customize their lighting patterns individually
giving you the ultimate custom experience!  In the advanced options you
can either make your own lighting pattern or just simply set it to
static if you are like me and don't want a distracting disco ball under
your palm during gaming.

DPI section is where you want to be for making your own DPI profile per
click of the button, not only can you set your own DPI values but the
Glaive sensor allows for one DPI selection aswell so you can go as
precise as one DPI if you want that kind of accuracy in your mouse.

The performance tab gives you the options such as lift height which you
should set according to your style and mouse pad size. High is what
comes by default but I found low as y preferred setting to prevent
rolling during gaming sessions but you can choose the one that best
suits you.

A surface calibration section is also there for the Glaive RGB in the
CUE which allows you to set the tune the sensor in accordance with the
kind of surface you are operating the mouse upon be it a bare table
surface or a mousepad. Just move the yellow logo on the screen while
keeping the meter in the green and the sensor would be calibrated within
seconds. I found it quite helpful & it did make a difference
especially on very different surfaces like glass or wood.

In the setting section you can customize the polling rate of the mouse
to your taste along with the brightness at which the RGB lights would
glow. Pretty straightforward & useful.

All these settings and customizations made on the Glaive RGB stay on the
mouse thanks to its on-board memory so you don't need to install the
CUE on every system you play on just plug in the mouse and all your
settings would work seamlessly!

The Grips and Lights

Before we test this mouse I would like to talk about the three
interchangeable thumb grips & three lighting areas that the Glaive
RGB comes with.

The Thumb Grips

You will get three distinct thumb grips with the Corsair Glaive RGB,
while one is pre-installed the other three are interchangeable according
to your preferences. One is a plain rubberized grip, the second one is
an angular textured grip while the third one is an extended rugged wing
shaped grip.

These grips are attached to the main body of the mouse via strong
neodymium magnets which makes swapping a seamless process with a perfect
fit.

While using the soft rubber grip is suitable to most users out there
including me it does leave a little more to ask in terms of comfort
considering the mouse still has two more options. The two buttons on the
side are accessible easily while using this grip and be it a palm grip
or claw grip the grip doesn't favor any specific style and is quite
neutral.

On the other hand the second grip which is angular and textured does
make it difficult to access the two buttons on the side as they get
depressed further inside the cavity due to the grips extra height. I
don't really find much use of this grip personally as it has more cons
than pros, if any. The only meaningful explanation to this grip is that
its suitable for people with extra large hands or for people who have
longer thumbs than normal otherwise this grip is not much sensible.

Coming over to the third one, the extended wing shaped textured grip
which happens to be my personal favorite aswell out of the lot. This is
by far the best grip I've come across and gives the mouse an entirely
new appeal in terms of performance aswell as looks. The side buttons are
easily accessible and I could rest my thumb easily at the side with
full control over the mouse making gaming marathon sessions or Photoshop
work a smoother and more comfortable task.

It is basically a palm grip favoring attachment so claw grippers would find it little to not at all useful. 

The RGB Lights

The Corsair Glaive RGB comes with three RGB lighting areas which can be
individually customized customized both in terms of patterns and colors
through the CUE software.

First one is the side LEDs out of which the left side one happens to be
decorated by a glossy trim aswell as a highlight while the right one is
depressed and peeks out through a slit giving it an entirely different
look. The second are is the Corsair Sails logo which is obviously
engraved into the body and has a sharp light to it which is nor too dull
nor too fuzzy but just perfect ore like a laser light. The lights are
well diffused and don't create a distraction to the eyes nor looks too
over the top which tends to happen in some cases when so much of RGB is
employed.

The third and last are is in the front where the lights peek through two
grilled sections that throw light onto the surface where the mouse is
being used. Its really soothing and adds a sense of completeness to the
product especially in the dark when it helps you to see where the
mousepad is ending so that you accidentally don't slip off the pad
making you lose a shot or battle!

My only complain with the Glaive's lighting effects are that you can't
change the color of the DPI indicator which happens to stay blur all the
time. This not only creates a hindrance in the entire RGB scene here
but also makes it look sub par to Corsair's own standards of RGB
implementations.

Performance - Time to put it to Test!

Whenever I review a keyboard or mouse I like to use the device for
atleast a week putting it through my daily usage varying across the
week. My usage for mice range from simple navigation across the
explorer, web browsing, photo editing and even gaming when I get the
time to mainly engaging in FPS, Open World and Strategy.

Comfort Level

Its a big gaming mouse and by big I don't mean its humongous but its
inclined more towards palm grippers than claw grippers. People who have
small hands would find it tough for palm grip but people like me who
have medium size hands or those who have large palms would likely find
it more comfortable if sticking to a palm or even claw grip since there
is enough space to rest your tiny finger on the side & for the thumb
on the changeable grips which makes it a joy for long gaming sessions.
The buttons on the side are reachable and can even be pressed by the
thumb joint at times, they are hard and give a nice feedback upon
pressing.

The rubber is comfortable and does offer significant grip without being
sweat inducing that rubber surfaces are some times. Even though the
mouse weighs in at 127g it feels quite light in my hands and easy to
swift and glide or even pick and place back in case I run out of mouse
pad area! The weight preference might differ from user to user though.

Gaming and Daily Usage

For gaming the Glaive RGB is just perfect especially for FPS and
strategy since at higher DPIs you can move real quick for rapid response
in games like PUBG, Battlefield 1 and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard or skim through the massive
battlefield swiftly in CnC Kane's Wrath! On the go DPI switch works
really nicely and I found it more comfortable in the 6000 DPI range both
for gaming and daily use anything above that was a bit too much for
taste and my 1080p screen.

Putting it through my daily use was a good decision when it comes to
navigation & surprisingly the mouse registers even the slightest of
movements considering how powerful the sensor is making it a perfect
mouse for Photoshop or other graphical editing work where mouse
precision is paramount. Overall the Corsair Glaive RGB might be the best
mouse I've used till date in this price range especially once you put
on the extended thumb grip.

One strange thing that I observed after long term usage of the mouse is that the Corsair sail's logo on the mouse tends to get warm after a few hours of continuous usage which kind of feels weird under the palm to say the least. It really doesn't effect the performance but can cause discomfort to a few people over the stretch.

My Verdict

Coming in at $50 or Rs 5000 in India the Corsair Glaive RGB is downright
one of the best gaming mouse in its category even an year after its launch and in some cases the very
best possible! It is a full size mouse which is already a treat for
users like me who have medium-thick hands to users who have large palm
size. The tailor made PMW3367 sensor is nothing less than perfection for
this mouse and does the job beautifully at all DPI settings and a 16K
DPI support along with single DPI change is a great addition to the
bundle even though anyone would solemnly need them.

Weight wise the mouse is on the heavier side which is fine with me since
I like my mouse a bit heavy and Corsair does provide two weight options
on the Glaive so you sure have an option to chose from. Coming to the
three interchangeable thumb grips I'm pretty much pleased by all of them
and realized that not only do they give you the option to chose the
best one for your style but one can also switch between the two
depending upon their apparent work like I loved the stock one for daily
use and the extended one for gaming sessions. CUE or the now newer iCUE software is as usual
great but my only complaint with the Glaive RGB is the blue color only
DPI indicator, it just feels so out of place and sub par at times for a
mouse of this stature and brand.

"All in all for me Corsair still has the ultimate blade in form of the
Glaive RGB, that can easily slice through the competition with its wide
variety of features, tank like build quality, pitch perfect performance
and extravagant yet useful RGB LEDs."

Pros - 

• Solid build quality 


• Three grips for each type of gripping style as well as working style


• Sensor is quite accurate and smooth 


• Available in two colors, black and aluminum

Cons - 

• The DPI lights are solid blue and non RGB   


• No weight adjustment feature


• The Corsair sail's logo gets warm after a few hours (Subjective)

I give it a 8.5/10 earning our Gold Award!