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

I had to stop using the wired one after a couple years of use, not due to hardware failure but the drivers and software not being updated. Ive retried the g600 since then and the EVGA. EVGA has a trash scroll wheel and I tried a replacement as well. First one also started turning its self off after awhile. I decided to try the wireless version of this since I really liked the wired and the software is newer and seems to be updated. So far Im happy. Easy to program buttons and macros. Being wireless will take some getting used to since Im used to having to fight the wire and pull the wire around to move the mouse. Its great but muscle memory still wants to pull the cable. It came already charged and worked before even finding the software/drivers download link. The driver card failed but when I had the old one it worked so I consider that a fluke. I found the software/drivers through their sites FAQ page. Its a bit lighter than Im used to but its built well. Smooth clicking and the scroll wheel is smooth and no clicking or grinding or jumping around. Ill update again if anything changes but I expect it to last awhile. The g600 main button would always break after just a year, and EVGA scroll is trash, where as the old one of this held up physically. Old review: Ive used a Logitech G600 for many years and when it was finally time to get a replacement I decided to try this on a whim since it was cheap and had the full 12 side buttons. Normally I read lots of reviews and research an item first but I didnt this time. Short answer is its great and Im glad I got it. First one negative difference is the ring finger rest. On the G600 that is a button that I could program. Its not been a too big of a deal. I reset those to the trigger button in their profiles but it took some time for my my muscle memory to catch up. My ring finger would still like to do something sometimes. The G600 had clicks left and right on the scroll wheel that could also be programed. I never used this so dont miss it but its a difference to note. Software: Ive seen complaints about the software. Over all its pretty good. On the G600 I had to enter combo keys to do things like cntrl+W for sprint in a game or close window, and I had to set up a hot key combo for volume up and down with the g600. This allows me to just select the option to walk or close window, and even volume with no extra hot key combos needed to be added. The options are already in the software. I did enter a combo key for closing a tab and it worked fine, once I remembered to hit apply. So to me this seems a lot better as it can more easily do what I want. (this part is not relevant to the wireless pro)A little bug that seems to be a software issue. Sometimes the scroll wheel stops working but if I switch the profile to a different one and back it fixes it. This seems to happen after Ive turned the port off but not every time. I turn the port for the mouse off when I leave the room due to pets. So this might not be an issue for most. (this is the issue that got worse later it was either drivers being too old or maybe the cable wearing out) Another minor negative is the G600 could cycle colors as far as Ive found you can only select one color with this. (I just leave the lights off on he pro for longer time between charging. It lasts all day that way) Over all Im very pleased with my purchase(have had it a few months at this time). The roughened texture feels great, the weights help a lot(I have hand tremors and the weight allows for better control). The cable is even better, less stiff. The wheel feels better and looks better. The whole thing just feels and looks good and preforms well with the occasional minor glitch with the wheel. If I were buying today I would select this over the G600, its cheaper and better.

I was actually a little wary when I bought this mouse at first. This is coming from an experienced gamer who has used a Naga, M90, G600. Once I first used an MMO mouse I found that it was impossible to go back to a normal mouse. It really is light and day once you get used to it. Top Buttons I found the mouse to be one of the most usable MMO mice out there, my favorite methods so layout so far have been the G600 and M90 mice. They are both laid out in ways that is simple and easy to understand and prevent wrong ability usage. The Venus is very similar to the G600 but actually features some improvements to the design. For example instead of the stupid fire button on your very right finger which is somewhat annoying on the g600 they added a separate fire button next to the left click. The positioning of that button is quite good and easy to use. I find it best bound to voice communication for me, but it would work well as an interact button as well. They also made the top keys default to DPI and added DPI Leds which is a massive improvement over the g600 on those top keys. They are still rebindable if you would rather not use them for DPI, but DPI makes the most sense for them. Side Keys The side keys are very similar to the g600 in the staggered configuration. This makes it so that I never have to worry about finger placement or hitting the wrong key and makes building up muscle memory much quicker than with other mice. The keys are just about the right stiffness in my option, they feel like actual switches and have no mushiness to them, but they are probably a little stiff for some players who like the softer mushi keys. If I had to describe an actual feeling I would say close to monitor setting buttons. They have a good feedback to them, you know when you push them. The best improvement over the g600 is the ledge for a thumb rest though. I have to say that I really enjoy having that. Lighting The light is actually pretty interesting, I thought I was going to turn it off(I usually turn them off) but I actually enjoyed the colors and breathing aspect quite a bit more than I thought I would so it stays on for now, the ability to choose the color from pretty much any color was quite a nice touch. The mouse wheel changes color based on your current profile, This is probably my only complaint I wish I could set the mouse wheel color manually like I could the side and back lights. It is a nice tough though because it allows you to see your current gaming profile at just a glance. The profile is also quite easy to change with a button on the bottom meaning you do not have to waste a keybind for it or go into the settings. Software I was actually expecting some pretty bad software, that was actually my biggest complaint about the M90 MMO mouse, the software sucked and had no macro functionality. The macro system is pretty robust, you can pretty much do any timed keyboard or mouse macros you want. My only issue was there is no endless/toggle option, it has a repeat function but it ends after 255, but I have a keyboard I can macro if I need a longer macro or I can use AHK. The software in general has pretty much every function you could want and it actually laid out in a way that is simple and easy to understand and has a ton of options. Nothing was hard to find or confusing. One interesting option was the ability to delink the x and y dpi. So you could make the mouse move faster left to right and slower up and down (great for sniping in a game) I was actually impressed, I expected the software to be the weakest link of the mouse but actually found it to be one of the stronger points. Other thoughts The mouse has the standard aspects you would expect from a quality gaming mouse like a braided cord, good pads, it also features removable weights which I found to be quite nice. I was able to adjust the weight to suit me perfectly which is a feature overlooked in most mice. The laser is of top quality and actually seems to be better than many of the high end mice I have used. I tested it on a variety of surfaces and it never have me an issues. The biggest surprises actually was the spare set of teflon feet for the mouse. The feet are pretty good quality and I have had no issue with them at all. It was a nice gesture for them to add an extra set of feet for the mouse since it is the one thing you typically wear out on a mouse. The 18 month manufacturers warranty also goes above and beyond what most of the others offer and is a nice touch. For a new company that I had not really heard much about I was actually quite surprised with them. Overall this is one of the best gaming mice around and at the price it is an amazing deal.

I received this mouse about a week ago and have been using it every day since then. Here are my thoughts on this very budget-friendly device: Honestly, I see people making up excuses that this mouse is good for the price. Even if this mouse was worth 50 dollars, itd still be a fair price. -Packaging: The mouse came in simple, straight-forward packaging. A picture of the product on the front, accompanied by flames surrounding the mouse. I honestly thought it was cute, how they still tried to make a good impression while still spending most of the money on the mouse and not the packaging(you throw that away, anyway). The package has a door-like opening, so you remove the little circle tape and open it. There, you see the mouse behind a sheet of plastic. I forgot how, but I think you then slide out the bottom cardboard and remove the mouse and everything else. The braided cable comes tied up with a velcro strap, a nice touch in case you needed to keep it tied up on-the-go. Just a little something I wanted to add: it was cute how they taped the magnets into the box to keep the little door closed. Nothing wrong about saving money, and it was a little funny tbh. -Mouse: Okay, let me just say that the mouse is amazing. The 16400 DPI is obviously overkill unless you like to get freaky at low sensitivity in games. The mouse is, I think, designed for people with a palm grip, which was no problem for me since thats my regular grip. Either way, the shape of the mouse could get anyone used to the palm grip quite easily. If you do stick with the claw grip, though, Im afraid youre going to be a little more uncomfortable using the rapid-fire button. Speaking of which, this button is more useful than I first thought it would be. You can set it to click as many times as you want, and its got a few speed options. Ive used it a lot more than I thought I would, and its very easy to click. However, if youre not used to mouses like these, youll get confused at first. When I started using the mouse, I would position my finger over the quick-fire on purpose, but for some reason this led me to trying to click the very much appreciated index finger rest, which is very comfortable. Of course, this was just me defeating old habits and in 3 days time, the mouse buttons positions came naturally to me. Still waiting for a good opportunity to use the side buttons but theyre not a nuisance if you dont use them. The rest at the bottom is appreciated and I actually rest my thumb against the buttons thanks to their angling(which fits the thumbs own form). Also, the mouse has a nice texture to it. Almost like rubberized plastic. It feels nice :) In the packaging, they also included replacement TEFLON pads from 3M, which is appreciated. Or maybe theyre the actual TEFLON pads, who knows. The mouse is fine so, yeah. The weight tuning is pretty straight forward. You flip the mouse over, turn the little compartment, and then pop the tray out. I have to say, Im a heavy mouse guy, but I still thought that having all the weights in was a little too much. On the other hand, removing all the weights made the mouse very, very light. You also get a nice storage tray for the weights youre not using, so thats always a plus. Your macros and everything are saved onto the mouse itself, and you can switch through 5 different profiles, each with its own light color, macro setup, and DPI levels, via a button at the bottom of the mouse. This means you wont be needing software to use the mouse on a new computer unless you want to edit these profiles. The DPI buttons are very accessible to the point where you can switch mid-game. Lighting was pretty straight-forward. You can pick out preset colors or choose your own via a hex color thing. Ive seen people have a different color for the scroll wheel than for the rest of the mouse, but Im not interested in knowing how this works. The lighting isnt a nuisance. You can set to breathing or static, and neither gets annoying(you have your hands covering them the whole time, anyway). The mouse was made to impress, though, hence the cool little lights at the front. Theyre definitely made to be shown off in LAN parties or anywhere where other people can see your mouse. Otherwise youd have to stick your face in front of your mouse to see it. They do light up very nicely and theres no crappy lighting. -Software: Installation was fairly easy and fast. They included a little installation disc but I just downloaded the software from their website. It was pretty easy to find. I see people saying the software is clunky, but honestly, its just like the majority of peripheral software out there minus the over-the-top design schemes. I mean, the software is pretty basic so you can edit your settings faster. You click on the profile you want to edit(the profiles are all at the bottom, numbered), and the settings instantly change to that profile. You have three useful tabs at the top. General, DPI, and Lighting. Both are very straight forward and simple to use. General contains button settings. Macros, quick-fire, right and left clicks, scroll wheel. All of that is edited through there. You can change your scroll speed, polling rate, double-click speed, pointer speed, and acceleration if youre into that. In the DPI section youll find, surprisingly, the DPI settings. Its very straight forward. It lists each DPI level, from 1-5. You can adjust both the X and Y axis of each DPI level, in case you want to move faster sideways than vertically or the other way around. However, it brings the option to keep X and Y locked so they move parallel to each other. You can set your DPI to a minimum of 50, in case you want to use an entire desk to scroll through half your screen(I just tested this and now idk what my old DPI setting was ffs). Anyway, I attached a screenshot so you can see what this looks like. Now, the lighting section looks pretty straight forward. You can choose the breathing speed(or dont), brightness, and lighting color. Each profile can have a different color. I forgot to add this up by the mouse section, but I saw people complaining about Avago sensors and Omron switches. The Avago sensor in this thing is perfectly fine, with no acceleration(unless you set it up yourself in the software). It doesnt move on its own and if it does, run your anti-virus because thats not the mouse. I also dont see why people complain about Omron switches. Theyre used in almost every mouse youll ever own, and theres nothing wrong with them. Theyre not loud, but theyre not quiet so you still get some feedback. Someone also said that even if they rest their finger on the mouse, theyll accidentally click? I asked someone with very, very big and thick hands to use the mouse and they laid their hands on the mouse to test this, and they didnt click. I also saw in another review that the scroll wheel apparently was too loose? The scroll wheel has some arrow heads and is made out of rubber(with plastic on the sides for the lighting). Its tactile enough to let you know that you scrolled it, and if you want to scroll little by little, the resistance is more than enough to stop you. Welp, I think thats all. If I dont update this anymore after a while, it means its still working perfectly fine.

Far better for gaming than your regular, generic, 2 clicker and wheel. The number buttons on the side are convenient, but also not. It takes time to get used to using this mouse, while not pressing those buttons on the side. Could be fixed by making them more ridged, or by removing 1 row, making room for your thumb to grip the edge of the mouse. That is my only real issue for now.

I own two of the previous wired model of this mouse (work & home). I love it. My wife bough the wireless version recently and loved it as well. I then bought the wireless version for work so I wouldnt have to have my go to meetings mouse in addition to my main wired mouse. The pricing (on both versions) is also very reasonable. There are good & bad between the models. There are aspects to the new software that I like and some that I dislike. The wired version was hampered by having to use older software to get all the functionality. This one can use the new software. Lighting: There are additional lighting effects that were not available on the wired version. These features are still lacking in variety and options, but that is a minor complaint. Specifically, while plugged in it pulses a color (based on battery charge) rather than the light setting chosen. Id love to just use it wired when at my desk and wireless when off to meetings and such. I love the light color cycling and miss that when it is plugged in. Weight Compartment: The wired version had the bottom compartment with additional weights. This version is lacking that and thus a bit lighter than I am used to. While I liked the heavier weight it isnt a deal breaker for me. Software: The software, while newer, has fewer options for programming the keys compared to the older version. The older version had a ton of pre-made keys that were easy and available. You can get to the same functionality, but you have to add them as key combinations. An example was the old software had a pre-done entry for copy, paste, and other basic functions. On this one I had to manually create a ctrl + c hotkey. Again, not a huge issue for me, but I could see it being less useful for others who may not have an idea of what to put on all the keys. It certainly felt like a step backwards on that aspect. I suspect this has to do with them storing the profile on the mouse directly rather than in a file. Profiles: The software not having the profiles or way to toggle between them was odd. There is no indicator for which profile you are on. The button on the bottom to toggle profiles just felt odd as well. This might be worth the trade-off for having the two profiles on the mouse though. I absolutely hated that I couldnt convert my current profile onto the new mouse (.pdf profile in older version vs .jmk in this one). This forced me to re-create all my macros and re-assign them. Again, not a deal breaker as it is a one time setup and only impacts people with prior versions. Note, the software is PC only. You can set the mouse up on a Windows machine, it stores the profiles on the mouse, then you can use the mouse without issue on a Mac. Misc: The slot for the dongle on the bottom of the mouse is a bit odd. It sticks out just far enough that you cant use the mouse with the wired charger while the dongle is put in the mouse for storage. I dont understand why they didnt do the recessed tabs on top/bottom of it so you could grip it to pull the dongle out (like most other dongle storage layouts are). I suspect it is mostly a non-issue since you dont remove the dongle while you have it plugged in, it just seemed like an odd design choice (maybe something they can fix in the next hardware revision/version). The Good: Good size that fits hand very comfortably with the nice textured finish Good quantity of buttons to program High precision with adjustable DPI to get mouse movements just right Multiple profiles for different tasks Better lighting options compared to prior versions profiles stored on mouse (limit 2) The Less Good: no additional weight compartment in wireless version (wired version has it) lighting options, while better, are still underwhelming lighting option when plugged in is not existent less pre-created macro/key options in software compared to earlier versions (can manually create for functionality, just lose the ease of it) The Bad nothing that would sway my purchase decision Summary: This is a great mouse for the price. It is very comfortable to use and ticks off all the quality items needed for a functional mouse for gaming or customization of buttons. The software is its greatest weakness, but not detrimental to the point where it has a functional impact (just the area they should focus more effort on). I back this up with this wireless mouse version being my third of this style/brand of mouse for my own use (2 wired, 1 wireless) plus my wifes use of both the wired and wireless version too. Mac users need to be aware of the software limitation so they can get it setup on a Windows machine first, then theyll be ready to go.

The original mouse I received from Amazon had issues with stiff MMO buttons, and was tricky to use during game play. I got in touch of with the seller, and they were responsive and extremely helpful in resolving the issue. A replacement was quickly sent, and no issues were found. Below is my review: I have a Razer Naga Pro and used it as a baseline for a comparison. against the Venus Pro I wanted a dedicated mouse to use with my gaming laptop so I wouldnt have to keep unplugging the Naga from my PC. The build quality of the mouse is noticeably sturdier than the Naga Pro. This version has a rubberized texture on the top and sides of the mouse making it easier to control the mouse, and to press the MMO buttons on the side. 2) The mouse has an ergonomic design and has rests for the thumb and ring finger which helps alleviate hand / wrist fatigue, and assist in controlling the mouse. I have big hands and it just fits. I actually use it for work aswell. 3) The Mouse has decent glides on the bottom, there is no noticeable drag while moving the mouse and feels the same as the Razer Naga Pro. 4) Install was simple, plug n play as all things should with Win10. Installing the app was straight forward and Im able to map the mouse buttons without issue. 5) The Mouse has a visible detent (rows 1-6 & 7-12) and raised indicators on buttons 5 & 8, making it easier to know which buttons to press and which row your thumb is on. 6) DPI options are easy to set and change on the fly. Im able to use one setting for work, and easily change it for gaming without changing profiles. 7) The only issue I had was getting World of Warcraft to recognize the Fire Key (button 13). I set this button to function as the Alt key in the game to activate spells on the second action bar. After some testing, I believe the issue is within WOW recognizing the button, and not the mouse. The fire key (button 13) works in other apps, and have used it while using Excel and Notepad++ to complete functions without issue. I will have to tinker to see what I need to do to get it working in WOW. However all the other buttons work just fine, and can be easily remapped with the app. Overall I would definitely recommend the UtechSmart Venus Pro. It has a great price point and almost all the features of the Razer Naga Pro, which cost over 3 times more than cost of the Vennus Pro. The Naga is really nice, but if $150 for a mouse is too steep, give the Venus Pro a try.

I am modifying this review a few days after I posted it. I have zero problems with the mouse, but the company (not the manufacturer) selling it left a bad taste. A few days after receiving the mouse I got a card in the mail offering me $12 in Amazon credit to review the mouse, even if it was a negative review. I posted the review you see below. The company gave me $10 in credit and asked if I could remove the disclaimer about being paid to do the review. I told them that this was unethical and that they owed me $2. They pretty much immediately coughed up the additional $2, but again asked me to remove the disclaimer. I am happy with the mouse, but I have serious doubts about a seller who clearly gives zero effs about ethically running a business. In other words: maybe buy this mouse from a different seller. My original review follows: I have used this mouse for several weeks and Im very happy with it. When I first started using it I noticed that the textured surface has a lot of relief. On day two I actually thought the grainy texture might be annoying, but by day three I simply wasnt noticing it any longer. The surface is grainy, but the rubber is forgiving, so it has the texture but not the feel of sandpaper. I hold my mouse with many differing grips and I always feel like I have a good grip on this one. Some mice have an unusual shape that just doesnt feel right -- not so here. The very many buttons all work fine and feel solid. The main right and left click buttons are just a tiny bit easier to click than I would like -- I click them once in awhile while just resting my fingers on them. If I could make them 10% more stiff, I would. I have owned two other mice with similar button layouts, one of them made by Razer. I think I prefer this mouses setup/macro software to either of the others. I regularly use some complex macros, and I sometimes have to use middleware, like Autohotkey, to get my mouse to do what I want it to do. I have not had that issue here, so far. As for durability, I simply havent owned the mouse long enough to tell you that it will last for years and years, but if it does, this will be one of my favorite mice ever, and Im a former IT guy who has literally used hundreds of mice. This mouse gets an easy four stars, and if it doesnt fall apart in the next two years, I think it will earn five stars from me. Disclaimer: Amazon offered me a gift card to write a review for this mouse, but they did not stipulate that it had to be a positive review.

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.

Upon my initial browsing of this product, I was a tad worried that I was settling for one due to its cheaper price than other similar programmable mice, however I was stunned at its quality! Before even testing the mouse, I must say I found it quite ingenious and even a bit cute at how the drivers were included in such an awesome and unexpected way! They also include a direct link within to their page with an offer for an additional thank you! product, though I personally havent gotten around to that yet. The mouse itself has a great feel; compared to my Logitech G600, I actually find the size of this mouse to be much comfier as well as the locations of the grooves for the fingers (the added thumb rest is an amazing luxury). I have skinny hands that are long and lanky, and so they take up a lot of space anyways and this mouse caters to that quite well! While the weight of the mouse isnt very heavy, it still has enough to it that it wont go flying across your pad if you are gaming. The programmable buttons are also positioned in a way that is less strenuous on my thumbs to access them quickly, and I do so VERY often with the keys I have programmed them for. The scroll wheel has no right/left side button functionality, but thats hardly a deal breaker with it being a rare find nowadays to begin with. The lights are, of course, a GORGEOUS display on my station, and you can set them to only engage if a button is pressed or the mouse is moved. The program itself is also intuitive, user friendly, and quite simple to use, providing quick and easy access to all of the programmable functions for the mouse. I personally prefer to have my mouse wired straight to my computer, so I cant talk much on the battery life, but the cable is indeed of a nice, high quality fiber-wrapped material and I havent had it loop or bunch up on me very often at all! There are a few downsides, however: to switch the programmed profiles, the button for this is on the bottom of the mouse, which could be annoying to some who cant fit all of their keys onto one profile and need to switch regularly. The other downside--to me personally--is that the lights are turned on/off by a separate switch on the bottom of the mouse. This wouldnt be a downside normally, except I find the switch to be quite a tight fit, and to turn them off requires you to flick the switch to the middle between the constant and touch-based functions, though hopefully this will slowly begin to wear in. All-in-all I am SO glad to have purchased this product; I was pleasantly surprised with how WAY over-the-top the mouse surpassed my expectations! & for that I am glad, especially after having initially worried that I was going to have to shell out an absurd amount of money for the Logitech brands for life to appease my need for this type of mouse! I can firmly say that I will gladly be buying from this brand--if not this specific model--again in the future and recommending it to my friends who work/play often on their computers!!

Edited, Jan. 8, 2021: I wanted to write this revised review sooner but of course, Amazon has to approve all reviews and then I forgot until now. Anyways, Ive dropped the review down to three stars because this mouse is just average. You cant hold down the button next to the LMB and press another button on the side, i.e. binding top button to Ctrl and pressing a side button to double the amount of button presses. As previously mentioned, you cannot remap the DPI buttons whatsoever. The wired mouses software is much more in-depth and lets you do all of these things, from what Ive researched. After using this mouse for several weeks, the side buttons are no longer consistent in feel and sound. Some buttons are still tactile, while others are almost silent and mushy. The right click feels much softer than the left click, to the point where I almost dont realize Ive pushed it. The only saving grace for this mouse at this point is the fact that its wireless. I wont be returning the mouse as its not worth the hassle, but Im definitely going to just stick with a Logitech G600. For the price of the wire, I can enjoy double the button presses with everything being customizable. And its cheaper a majority of the time. The pouch it includes is nice, and Ill definitely use that. The mouse is not a bad mouse, its just not exactly what I need for my playstyle. Like I said, its just average. I knew getting into this that I couldnt remap the DPI buttons, but when I found out about the lack of multi-button support and the wired mouses counterpart having much more in-depth software...I was very disappointed. I really feel like the issues Ive come across are software related, but I dont foresee a software update coming anytime soon for these mice. *****Original Review Below***** Please UtechSmart, let us remap the two buttons under the scroll wheel! I personally never change my DPI once I set it via software, but having the option to use the buttons for something more functional would be nice! Pleeeeease. I know there are several other reviews mentioning this. Those two perfectly good buttons are unused otherwise. Created macros also do not show up in the macro list when attempting to assign them to a key. Because of these two easily fixable software issues that have STILL not been updated, Ive docked a star. As for the actual mouse, its great! First impressions, I was definitely pleased to see a carrying pouch and a detachable braided USB-C cable. I bought this mouse as a substitute for my G600 while I travel, as there is no wireless version of the G600 yet. The driver software is included via a very snazzy looking business card that flips out into a baby USB drive. It does the win+r command and types in a command to open a Dropbox with the software files. The buttons themselves are alright, theyll definitely do the job. The scroll wheel is good, though I wish it tilted like my G600 too. But as thats a hardware thing, I can accept that tradeoff for wireless connectivity. Clicks are not offensively loud like some mice, which Im definitely grateful for as Ill be using this while traveling. However, the side buttons are a bit audible, much louder than the G600, but still not terrible. (If you have a Nintendo Switch, the side buttons sound similar to pressing the face buttons on the joycons.) The finish on the mouse is...different than Im used to. But its not bad, just a bit textured. Its not smooth like a G600 or a Naga, but more like a soft sandpaper, if you will. The entire mouse feels like that except for the shiny section in the middle where your palm rests, and the side buttons. Theres a spot under the mouse to store the tiny USB dongle, and its magnetic rather than snapping in. A very nice touch as I have short fingernails and trying to pry something like that out would be a nightmare. I also enjoy the resting spot for your ring finger, and although its not a button like my G600, its still second nature for me to have a finger there. The third clicking button I use on my G600 was just moved to the left of the left mouse button, which I am perfectly fine with. Its not a bad placement and I can easily reach it plus all twelve of the side buttons, effectively doubling the button inputs. Getting onto the software, its...usable. When I first installed it, I could not for the life of me get the colors on the mouse to change. And as I was searching for the solution, suddenly about 15 or so minutes later, the lights just started cooperating. Very odd. It works flawlessly now so I have no complaints, just confusion. The software lets you choose what buttons you want to use, but you have to choose the option Key Combination and just press the key without any modifiers in order to do so. Just in case anyone has any confusion like I did at first. The lighting is all one color, no per-key RGB here. Which is fine, my G600 is the same. I do enjoy the amount of lights though! The scroll wheel illumination is very nice, and the logo illumination is bright. However, the lights on the front of the mouse seem to be different colors between the three grills on either side, which isnt a big deal to me personally. Mapping keys (once I figured it out) was quick, changing the DPI setting via software and disabling the other DPI profiles (hence, making those buttons useless) was painless. Im grateful the software allows macros, but I couldnt get them to show up in the macro list when I tried to assign them to a key, which, like the DPI buttons, makes them useless. TL;DR Pros: The mouse comes with a nice pouch and braided USB-C cable. Feels good to use, a decent wireless substitute to the G600. Mapping keys was quick and painless. Lights are bright and seem to be fairly accurate. (Note: You cannot change the four lights next to the DPI buttons, so I turn mine off.) Mouse weighs similar to a G600. Cons: THE SOFTWARE. Seriously. Please, let me remap the DPI buttons just like the side buttons (which the wired version allows) and let me have the ability to use my macros. If I knew coding and could fix it myself, I absolutely would. Literally the only things wrong with this mouse are software related. I dont understand why these issues havent been fixed. If you can have a fancy business card that runs an entire string of code to download software, why cant said software be fixed?