HyperX Pulsefire Surge RGB review

If you’re looking for a well-performing mouse that won’t break the bank, you won’t find anything much better than the HyperX Pulsefire Surge RGB

Like a lot of PC hardware manufacturers, HyperX – which made a name for itself by manufacturing affordable RAM – has moved to PC peripherals. And, with products like the HyperX Pulsefire Surge RGB, it’s not hard to see why HyperX is killing the PC peripheral game. 

Available for $69 (about £50, AU$90), the Pulsefire Surge RGB is an affordable, well-performing gaming mouse – especially when you consider the Pixart 3389 sensor and 50 million clicks rated Omron switches. Not to mention the expertly-implemented 360-degree RGB lighting. It’s a wonder to be seen.

This mouse is a perfect fit if you’re a heavy FPS player, and will even be a great fit for day-to-day computing – as it will easily blend into any office set up as soon as you turn down the lights.

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Design

When you first take the Pulsefire Surge RGB out of the box, it doesn’t look like much. It has a plastic build that’s very light to hold, and the bottom of the mouse has this almost-early-2000s look to it. But that all changes the second you plug it in.

If there is one word to describe the lighting on this mouse, it would have to be luminous. By default, the Pulsefire Surge RGB starts with a wave effect that shows what the RGB lighting is capable of. 

Sure, it’s relegated to a 360-degree ring around the edge of the peripheral and the HyperX logo, but it’s enough. This writer has never used a mouse with more beautiful RGB lighting.

Aside from the lighting, the Pulsefire Surge RGB has a very smooth and subdued black design that would blend in on any desk. And, while it is a very lightweight mouse – which may put some people off – it does feel very good in the hand, thanks to the lack of superfluous buttons and switches. 

The only thing that’s missing is a customizable weight system. But seeing how it only costs 70 bucks, and everything else – from the lighting to the programmable buttons – is customizable, it’s really not a very big deal. You just might want to look elsewhere if you prefer a pointing device with a bit of heft to it. 

The only extra buttons are a DPI switch behind the scroll wheel, which conveniently switches between sensitivity options (that you can program in HyperX’s NGenuity software) and a forward and back button. Not only do all of these buttons have a very pleasing tactile feel to them, they also don’t add much to the mouse’s profile and contribute to, rather detract from, the mouse’s subdued aesthetic.

Performance

However, looks aren’t everything, especially for a gaming mouse. So, how does it perform? Well, in a word, beautifully. Everything about this mouse seems like it’s tailored for maximum performance. Whether it's the Pixart 3389 sensor or the Omron switches, HyperX has trimmed all the fat and delivered exactly where it counts.

The Pixart 3389 sensor is capable of a maximum sensitivity of 16,000 counts-per-inch (CPI), which is important when you’re playing ultra-competitive shooters like Overwatch. And, in the test matches we played, we could tell that this sensor is capable of great things. Even switching between heroes wasn’t a big deal, as the customizable on-the-fly DPI switching meant that switching from Widowmaker to Reinhardt felt natural, without having to readjust.

And, then there’s the buttons. They’re simply amazing. You’d expect the 50M click rated Omron switches on the left and right mouse buttons to feel great, and they absolutely do. However, HyperX nails what so many other mice fall short on: the side buttons. 

Far too often other mice will have either stiff or squishy side buttons, but on the Pulsefire Surge RGB’s they’re clicky, tactile and responsive. You won’t hit them on accident, and you won’t have to start lifting weights to click them effectively either. They’re perfect. 

For its price, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a gaming mouse that performs as admirably as the Pulsefire Surge RGB. It’s a bargain in every sense of the word.

Final verdict

It’s not often that a mid-range mouse comes along that checks all of the right boxes, but the HyperX Pulsefire Surge RGB absolutely does. Sure, it lacks some of the extra features that some more expensive mice boast – but everything it does, it does right. Especially at its asking price of $69 (about £50, AU$90), it would be extraordinarily difficult to find a better mouse.

It might not have some of the extra buttons and customizable weight settings, but the fantastic switches, sensor and brilliant RGB lighting more than make up for any missing features. The HyperX Pulsefire Surge RGB more than deserves a spot on your desk, and it won’t even hurt your wallet when you go out and buy it.