Roccat Pyra Wireless and Wired Editions

Feature

Roccat delivers a true gaming mouse to the gaming crowd. Coming in both wired and wireless editions, Pyra is certain to please!

August 29th, 2010 by Marko Susimets�

A treat for the mobile gamers

Roccat Pyra Mobile Gaming Mice, the wireless and wired editions, are a new arrival to the field of gaming mice, but one that has nothing to be ashamed about in comparison to the competition. You see, there are not really that many mobile gaming mice out there to begin with. Gaming laptops have been around for a long time now and seem to have become more and more popular over the past couple of years. It is no wonder then that gaming mice are also now getting the mobility treatment. Or perhaps it is a wonder that it is happening only now.

We were sent both of the Pyra incarnations to review and I must say that, despite my early reservations, they are both very nice mice for those who are looking for something easy to pocket and travel with. But, before I get ahead of myself, let's take a close look at the specifics.

Specs

With a quick look, the Pyra brothers seem like rather ordinary mobile mice: they are both very small. However, looking at the specs more closely, you will soon notice one unique feature that is not available in any other gaming mouse that I know of: the button duplicator. By holding one of the side buttons down, you can quickly access the secondary function of every other button in the mouse, be it one of the usual Back or Forward functions or an actual macro that you've recorded yourself. This even includes the up and down scrolling of the wheel! Given this feature, the 'low' number of buttons no longer seems like such a problem. In short, you can have as many as 12 different key functions at your disposal at any time without dealing with the usual problem of moving your fingers around on the mouse from one button to the next.

Max. DPI: 1600
Max. Polling: 1000Hz
Buttons: 5 (5 programmable)
Form factor: ambidextrous
Size in mm (lxw): 95 x 60 mm
Weight min/max: 90g (without batteries and wire)
Price: �50+
Inches per second: 130

Ergonomics

The main selling point of the Roccat Pyra mice is their small size, but it also comes at the cost of its ergonomics. Personally, as a very large handed guy, I tend to get cramps in my palm if I use a very narrow mouse for long periods of time and that's true also with both of these two critters. However, this is a downside readily recognized by anyone even considering a mobile mouse, so it is clearly something that cannot be held against the mouse. In all other respects Roccat Pyra feels excellent, as the rubber-coated sides allow you to have a firm grip of the mouse even if your hands get sweaty. The left side button is easy to reach, but I found it difficult to find the pinkie button. Again, this may be due to the size of my hands and others might not suffer from this problem (that essentially cost me 2 out of 12 buttons on the mouse, given the button duplicator function).

The wireless Pyra ends up being a little heavier than the wired version because of the heft of the battery inside it. However, I personally found this extra weight very pleasant � it made the small mouse feel sturdier.

Buttons

The Roccat Pyra has 5 buttons as mentioned above, one of which is the wheel that works a double role as a middle mouse button. All of these buttons are easy to reach, again, except for the pinkie side button. The main buttons give good response when pressed, letting you know when your button press is received, but the wheel button is very stiff. It might get looser after some use, but did not do so in the first couple of weeks I played around with it. Also the side buttons are somewhat too depressed in the chassis, requiring you to press them in just the right spot in order to depress them enough for that telltale click.

Wheel

Roccat Pyra's wheel is wide compared to most wheel buttons and are very nice to use due to its rubbery coating. The stepping is soft enough to make scrolling comfortable, but not accidental. As said above, the middle button function is a little bit on the stiff side, but it also avoids the problem of accidentally pressing the button when you wish to scroll it. You can also customize the scroll speed to your own liking with the accompanying driver software.

Customisability and drivers

Since you don't get actual customization options with these mice (no extra weights etc.), I'll jump directly to the drivers. The driver software is very easy to use, providing you with all the customization options that you may wish to have, including the ones normally reserved for the OS system preferences. These last ones are clearly marked as such, so you will not be messing with the standard mouse preferences accidentally. This is important if you have more than one mice that you want to use and switch between.

The driver software offers you three dpi settings, of which I ended up using the highest one, as well as settings for sensitivity, wheel scroll speed, tilt speed, pointer speed and double click speed. You also have 5 profile slots for your gaming and productivity needs, allowing you to pre-program the mouse for all your basic needs. On the Button Assignment page, you can choose the Standard and Easyshift (button duplicator) functions for all the buttons. There you can also record and edit all the macros that you want to use. All in all, the software offers you everything in a clear-to-read and use format, that is a welcome change from some of the gaming mice software.

Wired vs. Wireless

The differences between the two mice are very small when it comes to their ergonomics and basic use. However, as stated earlier, the wireless Pyra is slightly heftier and therefore more pleasant to use for me personally than the wired version. Also, the lack of wire makes it easier to use in general, as you will not have to worry about the wire getting stuck somewhere. However, since you can plug there wireless mouse into an USB outlet to recharge while you use it, you can easily get the �wired feeling� should you actually miss it.

Insofar as mobility is concerned, the wireless Pyra takes the podium: you can insert the wireless USB receiver inside the chassis of the mouse for transport, making it hard to miss. No need to hassle with wires unless your gaming session away from home lasts longer than the battery (possible warning to all you all-nighters out there).

Rating

Ergonomics 6.5
Buttons 8
Wheel 8.5
Customization and Drivers 9
Total 8.0

Overall, both Roccat Pyra Gaming Mice are impressive little beasts. I score them a little low on ergonomics mainly because in this area mobile mouse tend to worse due to necessity. That is a downside that you choose to take with the mobility, so you should not let the low score affect your choice too much. Also, the rubber sides give a great tactile feel that counteracts this negative point somewhat. Aside from some of the buttons being slightly stiff or hard to reach, all other areas of the mouse are very nice and the overall feel is that these are very nice mice and excellent choices if you are looking for some extra mobility in your gaming gear.