UtechSmart Venus Gaming Mouse RGB Wired, 16400 DPI High Precision Laser Programmable MMO Computer Gaming Mice [IGNs Recommendation]

So I bought this mouse about a year ago (May 2021) and used it pretty heavily since then. Im always looking for the perfect mouse though, whether wired or wireless, and have tried a few others since then. Ultimately I keep going back to this Venus Pro RGB wireless. Its very comfortable, and I have a smallish hand and tend to use something close to a claw grip. It feels good under my hand, with all the buttons pretty easy to reach. Ill admit, I dont really use all the side buttons --- it has a ton (12 specifically, with feels like a ton to me) --- using just the lower front and lower back (the 1 and the 10) for home/end shortcuts. I also have to use it on a mousepad with a wrist rest, and still feels nice to use. The software took a bit to figure out, as before this I had used a wired version of this mouse. I forget now which version of the software I had to use to access all the features for lighting and DPI adjustments, but once I had the right version its worked well ever since. It has a good range of DPI settings, the ability to change just about every button function (macros, keyboard keys like Home, forward/back navigation, etc), and several lighting options with preset and choose-your-own colors. (The side 12 buttons dont change to match the chosen color though, but they do seem to change to complement your color). The battery life seems to be really good as well. I have forgotten a few times to turn it off at night and come back the next day to find that it must conserve power pretty well by going into lower power mode, even though the lighting remains on. Overall, this wireless mouse was definitely worth the money. Every other mouse Ive used seems to lack something that this one has. Logitech, Corsair, and Razer mice always give me problems, but this one by a less famous company does it right.

Purpose: The reason that I originally bought this mouse was for gaming. And on that front the mouse has been great. Having all of those side keys on the single mouse has made gaming a lot easier. Now, I tend to use those keys while also using the computer for non gaming relater purposes. How the mouse feels in the hand: I think this comes down to everyones hand size but,for me the mouse is really comfortable and can use it to play games or work for many hours and not have an issue. The only thing I am not fond of on this topic is that at the top there is two types of finishes. Most of the mouse is this sandy plastic which feels really nice. put then there is this little smooth section right at the top. Definitely not a fan of that. Side Keys: The side keys was the main reason that I purchased this mouse. Just having the ability to 12 additional keys on a mouse is great. And there is also an additional key on the right side of the right clicker. Just from looking at the pictures I thought that the keys were going to be too small when purchasing the mouse but, the are actually quite large and I am able to use all of them while gaming. However, it does take a little getting used to and memorizing where all the keys on the mouse are with your hand from numbers 1-2. Again as these side keys were the main reason that I purchased the mouse, and I have been very happy with it. Battery: Battery lasts a fairly long time, and you can just charge it and use it at the same time. I dont know how many hours it actually lasts but seems long enough. Just keep in mind that while charging the mouse and using it does add a little bit of extra weight but should be an issue. Also keep in mind that battery drain rate will vary if you leave it on with the lights or turn them off while using the mouse. This is easily done on the bottom of the mouse where there is an option to turn ON or turn ON With Lights. Software: The software is really easy to use. It is really easy to assign the mouse keys to any key you want them to be. You can also create multiple key binding lists for differing purposes. And you can record macros and have a list of them as well. You are also able to see how much battery you have left as well. And you can configure the lighting on the mouse and change the speed settings. I personally never have the lights on the mouse on. Conclusion: I have had this mouse for a little over three months now and it has been great. As stated above I bought it because of the side Keys and because it was wireless. Iam not a fan of a wired mouse. So far the mouse has been working great. The keys are responsive when clicking them and you can change the DPI of the mouse depending on what your are doing and what game you are playing. Which the two arrows at the top of the mouse let you change the DPI easily. Personally I think this is a great product and would buy it again.

I really liked the wired version of this mouse and it lasted over 3 and a half years of hard intense use before the left clicker finally started acting up and for some reasons I couldnt get macros to work anymore. So I decided to buy the wireless version. I tried to review it separately but the review button just brings me up to edit the wired versions review I wrote ages ago... So with that confusion cleared up, lets talk about this new tail-less mouse in my house! FREEDOOOOOM!!!!! After a few days of use I gotta say I LOVE IT! No more wire in the way, or always causing drag on the mouse. I can aim better in games and the freedom from wires is a big deal to me. With the leds disabled the battery drops less then 20% even after gaming like 12 hours and recharges very fast when I need to. I cant notice any lag or delay at all vs a wired mouse (all actions and movement are instant), so all those fears of a latency filled experience can be put to rest. This venus mouse is a seriously good deal at the $40 bucks I got it at, considering the naga pro is $150. Youd think you are getting some cheap plastic junk, but you would be very wrong. This is a very good mouse just like the wired version is. And like the wired version not only is it great for gaming, but for productivity I like it even more. Having the numpad is amazing for doing work and I think the name of the mouse should be renamed. It is MORE THEN JUST A MMO MOUSE! The only real negatives I can think of are- No wheel side buttons. Some folks might want even more buttons (like wheel left ight). Having the LED lights on will drain battery much faster (true for any wireless device). Macro functions are not as robust as razors synapse program. But to me the most major negative is worth of its own large title to emphasize this problem- NO YOU CAN NOT REPROGRAM THE DPI BUTTONS! Unfortunately despite it saying you can in the instructionsoxonline product information, you actually can not. And no there isnt a more recent update that fixes this as of feb 2021. I have held off for YEARS buying this mouse because I noticed reviews saying you cant reprogram them, but a dying mouse forced my hand. I had hoped they updated the software by now, sadly they havent. It isnt unique to this mouse either, the red dragon wireless mmo mouse has the exact same shortcoming. I think you CAN on the razor naga pro, but it costs 3 times as much and a number of people report serious clicking issues with it which kinda scared me off especially considering the high price. I also hate that razor synapse runs all the time and requires internet, and I also hate snakes which is the entire theme of their mice for some reason. I aint want no got dang snakes on my plane! Soo why in the world does the venus mmo mouse product information say you can reprogram the dpi buttons? Translation issues maybe? Dunno, I just know that this is not only misleading but also disappointing. And Why does this matter to me enough to drone on about it? well... I loved using those buttons as my page up and page down on the wired version of this same mouse, a real time saver for browsing pages, or working through various textadobe documents, or even scrolling up and down in video game chat boxes to see messages I missed. I will truly miss those handy buttons. I tried to find a 3rd party app that lets me do this, but I cant find any. The ones out there only let you change basic buttons like right, left, middle click. So I am stuck with useless DPI buttons... seriously who uses those for dpi changing on the fly? I never find a need for that in any game or task. I think vastly more people would use these as page up and down, seems like the PERFECT use for them *shrugs*. Its not easy to accidentally bump these 2 buttons but it will happen now n then which is a little annoying when your mouse is suddenly too sensitive and flying all over the screen. Not a deal breaker, just something to keep in mind. Overall its a good wireless mouse and is ridiculously cheap. There is not enough of these numpad wireless mouse out there, and thats a shame because I dont see why youd want anything else. Ive been using numpad mice for almost a decade now and I cant go back to regular mice now. You will likely find through the years ever more uses for them, which means its a growing convenience that ages very well. Today you buy one thinking its JUST FOR MMOs but in 5 years you will find yourself using the numpad for soo much more and wondering how you ever lived with a normal mouse. I have no doubts that wireless mice are the future, I just hope the numpad mice dont all disappear in time as mmos become a thing of the past (warcraft is sooo lame now). 4 stars. I am docking a star because of the DPI button liemiscommunication. That is really unfortunate because otherwise its such a solid product. I will gladly add that star if Utech gives us an update that actually lets us reprogram those buttons, but Id say this is unlikely given how old this model is already. Their coders are likely onto new projects. NAGA PRO- well... maybe some snakes arent bad? I do suspect that if you get a healthy naga pro that doesnt have the clicking issues people report about, it very likely would be the better wireless numpad mouse, It just costs 3 times as much and synapse wants to always be online which is annoying. If you need robust macro options or even more buttons and you can afford it, it might be your only real option, there isnt enough models of these wireless numpad mice out there so our options are quite limited.

Works as advertised, not my favorite mouse but still good.

This mouse is absolutely amazing. I dont even know where to begin. The headline speaks for itself. I have not used it for gaming, but I have used it for work. My job requires me to do repetitive tasks. This mouse is not only saving me time, but its making me money. I am able to program a single key to work a lead. The colors are bright and vivid. This is super customizable. Honestly just buy it and see for yourself. The only two cons I have is that the battery life isnt the best Ive used and it is heavy and feels weird to pick up the mouse without pushing buttons or dropping it. Other than that is amazing and would suggest everyone to own this product.

TL;DR: Very useful, comfortable, durable and well built for the price (have dropped it on edge many times and cat tried eating the cord and still not a scratch) and not as obnoxious looking as other LED gaming mice. Thumb rest is a thumb saver too, wish other name brand numpad mice had them, I would consider them then. Updated 2018: After 3 years of use the side 6 button stopped working completely, and then the scroll click broke, doesnt even depress and make a sound, and I finally had to replace the mouse. Scroll click would work intermittently for about a year, sometimes just re-plugging fixed it, sometimes a reboot would not, but it would start working again few days later. Update 2021: 3 more years and no buttons have worn out or died, but the texture has started wearing under my fingers. Now the palm rest feels more textured than the front, the left click has a spot the size of a pin head worn down to the plastic, with the right click probably a year away from doing the same. Planning on having my new job pay for one though, becasue Id rather get something I know than an ergonomic mouse that may not feel right, and those are more expensive and usually wireless (I dont want to deal with batteries or the inevitable why wont my mouse connect?) Update 2022: made it almost 4 years this time, left click has started double clicking. Trying to do a hold click like drag-and-drop, or holding a click in a game it does an initial click, releases, then holds the click. Annoying, but worth $30 for another. The newer versions of this no longer have the smoother rubber-like coating and are now noticeably textured, likely because of complaints about the coating scratching or becoming slippery with use. It never scratched for me and it didnt get slippery even after gaming all day, but maybe mine happened to be a good one. Its only noticeable when you move your fingers across he surface and only feels slightly different during normal use. Update 2021: 3 more years and no buttons have worn out or died, but the texture has started wearing under my fingers. Now the palm rest feels more textured than the front, the left click has a spot the size of a pin head worn down to the plastic, with the right click probably a year away from doing the same. Planning on having my new job pay for one though, becasue Id rather get something I know than an ergonomic mouse that may not feel right, and those are more expensive and usually wireless (I dont want to deal with batteries or the inevitable why wont my mouse connect?) Initial Review: For two years of college I unplugged this, coiled it up, and put it in my backpack to use with my laptop. Every. Day. The plug never felt loose after so much plugging and unplugging, the cord has no kinks or frays, and never had any issues with the mouse disconnecting, so the cord is VERY durable. In fact, I hit the plug while it was in my laptop once and it broke the port: the plug didnt bend at all. The mouse buttons have a short travel, dont require a firm click, are a bit quieter than than the cheap $10 mouse I used to have, and have a more pleasant click tone than a normal mouse. The side buttons are very useful and are mechanical switches that require a bit more pressure than the left/right click but are very responsive: they do not travel until you apply enough pressure and then the response is instant. They have a more muted and lower pitched click sound. . The rows of buttons are angled in opposite directions to make them identifiable, however the back two rows are more awkward to use if you rest your hand to easily reach the front row becasue of how you have to bend your thumb. The 5 and 8 buttons have bumps that are supposed to distinguish them, but theyre hard to notice unless you rub the tip of your thumb back and forth. The double-click button Ive found very useful in several games, though it requires a slight grip alteration to reach it. Its also mechanical, requires barely more pressure to press than the left/right buttons, and makes a bit lower pitched click thats also a bit less pleasant sounding but is not louder. The thumb-rest is great and I would not go back to a mouse without one now, which brings me to a minor complaint of not much of a pinkie rest, as this mouse seems ergonomically designed for your middle finger to rest on the scroll wheel instead of the right mouse button, so my pinkie rests on the side, but does not drag on my desk (though I have below-average sized hands hands) and is still more comfortable than a normal mouse. The driver software is very functional and does everything it needs to well, with no useless gimmicks or half-functional features. The LEDs color and brightness are fully adjustable (three brightness options, but can make it dimmer using the custom color selector). The new driver version released this year (V 1.2) supposedly now allows changing the scroll wheel LED color, but only for the newer mouse version, which I keep forgetting to test. All buttons can be customized and can have macros assigned (my brother set his double-click button to the profile switch. I got him one too). From experience, its best to add probably 5-10ms delay between key inputs in a macro, or weird stuff can happen. In one game as soon as i used a macro of a click and key without delay I was unable to click on anything in the game, even menus, and had to force-close it. The really nice part is the profiles are saved to memory in the mouse, so it will be fully functional - DPI settings, macros, and all - on a computer without the drivers. Just be warned that installing the drivers on a new computer will not load the profiles from the mouse and will override the profiles saved on the mouse, so if you plan on putting the driver on more than one PC export the profile to a file with the driver software to copy over.

Honestly the first time I bought this I didnt expect it to last long because I took it with me to a deployment. The second one I bought in September 2022 and randomly died last month (April 2023). The wired one at home is still going strong but thats probably because it doesnt get shoved into my backpack and dropped of my table from time to time. Other than that I love the weight and the programmable buttons.

Im giving this a 5 star review but really its at maybe 4.5 only because the driver installation made me nervous. When you open the packaging and finally manage to open the USB (it flips out by the way, doesnt pull out but I do love the card shape and having it hold the drive software), it links to a google drive where you can download the software. My antivirus software flagged it as potential malware. A company like this could at a minimum make sure there certifications are verified so that anti-virus software doesnt flag it. I installed anyway and so far everything works great. The mouse can be super sensitive (as intended) so I personally like the sensitivity to be at 2 out of 4 bars. I like that you can control the sensitivity with a button on the mouse. All the buttons are easily programmable and the software (once installed) is easy to use. I like that you can change the light color and so far everything works well and feels really durable. Its a great mouse at a great price point. Just fix the certificate on the software please. downloading from a google drive form already feels sketchy and then having my antivirus flag it made me very uneasy.

I really love this mouse that i bought multiple over the years to have where ever I am. I have own so far both version 1 & 2 wired versions and in my opinion it is the best multi-button mouse right now. This review was originally for version 1 but has been updated for Version 2. The Mouse What this mouse has that all the others dont in my opinion. 1. It has an extra Button by the left and right click buttons. They call it the Fire button for FPS games but i use it for games so i can sprint/run with it. It makes it so much easier and i dont have to waste one of the buttons on the side of the mouse. 2. The price i bought these between $30-$40. Which at the time other multi-button mice was around double that. 3. The feel. Instead of being smooth it has grippy texture. It feels really good. Version 2 feels even better. The Software My opinion on version 1 was pretty disappointing although they fixed some things in Version 2 it is still kind of disappointing. Version 1 & 2. 1. There doesnt seem a way to rearrange or rename any of the macros so you will have to delete them to put them in the order you want. A Workaround for Version 2 is to edit the MacroSet.MSDB in your Documents/UtechSmart Venus Gaming Mouse folder. Which in version 1 the files seemed to be encrypted so i couldnt edit those files before. 2. In version 2 they fixed so the name of macros shows up. Version 1 Both the macro and profile names arent editable. They just show up as Macro/Profile 1,2,3 etc even if you save the profile in a different name and load that file. however the macros when selecting them shows the name you picked but when chosen on the button list it still just says Macro 1,2,3 etc. So you will have to remember which does what. 3. Version 2 - software is slow to load / to apply the settings. 4. Version 2 - When switching profiles with no lights (First Profile) it glows red around 10 seconds before turning off. The second profile glows blue when profile switching then turns to the color you set it. it seems to glow to the default colors they chose beforehand before switching to your color. It seems to do it when clicking a Profile Switch button. It doesnt do this if you click a Profile in the software. 4. Version 2 removed a feature that i liked from Version 1. I cant use the arrow keys to move the DPI sliders anymore in Version 2. Cons Other / Nit Picking. 1. The DPI indicator light doesnt change color so the Red kind of clashes with the Blue color i use. 2. Theres no auto light off option in the software when the mouse isnt in use. 3. Every macro is in just one big list. I wish it was profile wise as each profile had their own macros. 4. The software looks like it is something from the early 2000s. Its 2019 where is the Flat/Material designs!

I recently built a new box and was grudgingly forced to switch to Windows 10. When I did so, I found that the new G-Hub program with which Logitech has replaced the old Logitech Gaming Software is unspeakably horrible. It does not support my beloved G700 mouse -- or even the G602 -- and also dropped support for the G13 keypad, for which Logitech offers no replacement in their current line-up of products. I swear Logitechs current leadership is deliberately sabotaging the company... Anyway, after 20 years of steadfast loyalty to Logitech, I was forced to abandon them and look elsewhere for my peripheral needs. I came across this little gem of a mouse quite by accident. While several manufacturers have offered mice with numeric thumb keypads in the past, theyve always been wired. This one is dual mode (wired/wireless), which is a requirement for me. At a price of fifty bucks, I snapped it up without hesitation. I am pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out to be, since I wasnt expecting much of it. Let me say this up front, however: No, the programming software is not as good as Logitech (or LGS, at least; anything is better than G-Hub). But it is quite adequate for what I do with it. You can easily program any mouse key to emulate any keyboard key and a small variety of multimedia commands. The only thing it cant do (that I can see; someone correct me if Im wrong), is remove bindings and allow games to see the mouse keys as digital buttons, i.e. - mousebutton4, mousebutton5, etc. This is a little disappointing, but nothing I cant work around. The ergonomics are quite nice, but understand that Im coming from years of using the Logitech 600/700 series, which are high hump palm mice similar to this one. I prefer that feel and find that flat mice, which encourage a claw hold, tend to be very uncomfortable for me. The numeric thumb buttons are set up so that there are two vertical channels -- 123,456 and 789,0-=. This design is so that you can easily feel which channel your thumb is in and quickly press the button you want without looking at it. This is a real boon in MMOs. Mind you, it will take a while to train your muscle memory, but once youve got it down it is surprisingly intuitive. The buttons have a slight resistance to them, so that you can move your thumb around without accidentally triggering one. They arent hard to press by any means, but you cant activate them by simply dragging your thumb across them; you must consciously press a button. It lights up in pretty colors. I dont give two shakes of a wet cat about such things, but yes it lights up in pretty colors and yes you can change them. Whatever. Enough about that silliness. The cord is a nice cloth braid and is easy to plug/unplug, (the G700 was notoriously fickle in this area). The programming software is obtained via a Dropbox link which is supplied on a little cardboard USB drive. Unconventional perhaps, but it got the job done. The wireless dongle is... well, a wireless dongle. You plug it in and it does wireless dongle things for you. Id definitely recommend this mouse to gamers. Its an absolute steal at fifty bucks. If I were still doing CAD work Id buy one for the office, as all those thumb buttons would make wonderful shortcuts for design software -- similar to the old 18-button digitizer puck I used back when dinosaurs roamed the engineering offices. Or perhaps if youre a digital artist you could use it in your painting software. Whatever your use might be, if you like lots of buttons on your mice, you should definitely pick one up.