- Jan 14, 2020
- 10,351
- 25,145
- 56,070
The Mice:
UtechSmart Venus -- Corsair Scimitar Elite -- SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless
TLDR The Takeaway: If not for UtechSmart's software being barely functional, and sometimes not even managing to be functional at all, I would be tempted to pick it because of the ingenious side button layout that makes finding the right button super easy. However, due to the catastrophic nature of it's software which often requires you to reboot your system to get it to work, I'm going to have to cast my ballot for the SteelSeries Aerox 9, which really has no weaknesses so long as you don't dislike very lightweight mice, and has the best mouse software by a wide margin. Being MMO mice, the software is incredibly important since you wouldn't be using this mouse if you didn't want to change the key bindings. The Scimitar Elite is also an excellent mouse with initially baffling software that, once you learn it, does very well and can even do some neat things like changing your PC's lighting on a per configuration basis.
FYI--Battery Life: I didn't really judge them on this because only the Aerox is wireless, and even that I used wired, but the Aerox advertises 180 hours of battery life with a 15 minute quick recharge. I can't confirm whether this is accurate.
Software--Winner SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless
Before I did this, I would have told you that the software wasn't all that important, assuming that each mouse would have at least adequate software, but this didn't turn out to be the case at all. The Corsair Scimitar Elite's iCUE software required me to look up tutorials on how to change the button assignments. This isn't really a big deal, but it does help to put it behind the incredibly intuitive and well-working SteelSeries software. But the real loser is the UtechSmart software, which doesn't even work a lot of times without rebooting your system. And that's not just when you change profiles. Sometimes it just stops working in the middle of a game and you have to close your game and reboot. (Note: I've seen probably thousands of game bug reports in my days and fully realize that the Utech problem may be something that is virtually unique to my system, but I have nothing else to go on, and I can't just ignore that it's a problem for me).
Tracking--Winner UtechSmart, but only on a technicality
When I was testing these mice, I had a self-inflicted problem in that I temporarily was using a mousepad that wasn't level. In this scenario, which won't impact most users, the UtechSmart's laser easily defeated the optical sensors on both the SteelSeries and the Corsair mice. Since this is not a problem most people would have, I thought about not mentioning it at all, but it was a real problem for me temporarily, so I decided to go ahead and mention it. If you don't have this problem, all three mice track very well, and I couldn't really separate them. I'm comfortable recommending all of them in this regard.
Weight--Winner by a landslide: SteelSeries Aerox 9
Note: I'm assuming users want lighter weights, but opinions can vary.
SteelSeried Aerox --- 89g (no option for adding additional weight)
UtechSmartVenus --- from 150g to 170g if you add the included weights (the wireless version is 127g)
Corsair Scimitar Elite ----122g (wireless is 114g) (no option for adding additional weight)
No idea how the wireless versions are coming back weighing less than the wired versions.
Side Buttons--Winner UtechSmart
UtechSmart is so ingenious in this regard that I very much wish that they had serviceable software. If they did, they would be my easy winner among the 3 mice listed. The side buttons on the Venus are tilted. For instance, the first three buttons are tilted toward the center of the mouse and the next three buttons are tilted toward the outside of the mouse. This makes them feel very different and easily identifiable when playing. The next best would definitely be the SteelSeries. The Aerox buttons are large and yet spaced in such a way that it is easy to tell when you move from one row to the next. The Aerox is very nearly as easy to use (with the side buttons) as the UtechSmart. Coming in dead last is the Corsair Scimitar Elite. The Scimitar's buttons are very tightly packed and unusually slippery, making them more difficult to use. One reason for this is a marketing gimmick--you can slide the side button panel forward and backward as needed to match your grip. But the reality is that nearly everyone will want it in the forward position, and then you will just be left with nothing but crowded, slippery buttons.
UtechSmart Venus -- Corsair Scimitar Elite -- SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless
TLDR The Takeaway: If not for UtechSmart's software being barely functional, and sometimes not even managing to be functional at all, I would be tempted to pick it because of the ingenious side button layout that makes finding the right button super easy. However, due to the catastrophic nature of it's software which often requires you to reboot your system to get it to work, I'm going to have to cast my ballot for the SteelSeries Aerox 9, which really has no weaknesses so long as you don't dislike very lightweight mice, and has the best mouse software by a wide margin. Being MMO mice, the software is incredibly important since you wouldn't be using this mouse if you didn't want to change the key bindings. The Scimitar Elite is also an excellent mouse with initially baffling software that, once you learn it, does very well and can even do some neat things like changing your PC's lighting on a per configuration basis.
FYI--Battery Life: I didn't really judge them on this because only the Aerox is wireless, and even that I used wired, but the Aerox advertises 180 hours of battery life with a 15 minute quick recharge. I can't confirm whether this is accurate.
Software--Winner SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless
Before I did this, I would have told you that the software wasn't all that important, assuming that each mouse would have at least adequate software, but this didn't turn out to be the case at all. The Corsair Scimitar Elite's iCUE software required me to look up tutorials on how to change the button assignments. This isn't really a big deal, but it does help to put it behind the incredibly intuitive and well-working SteelSeries software. But the real loser is the UtechSmart software, which doesn't even work a lot of times without rebooting your system. And that's not just when you change profiles. Sometimes it just stops working in the middle of a game and you have to close your game and reboot. (Note: I've seen probably thousands of game bug reports in my days and fully realize that the Utech problem may be something that is virtually unique to my system, but I have nothing else to go on, and I can't just ignore that it's a problem for me).
Tracking--Winner UtechSmart, but only on a technicality
When I was testing these mice, I had a self-inflicted problem in that I temporarily was using a mousepad that wasn't level. In this scenario, which won't impact most users, the UtechSmart's laser easily defeated the optical sensors on both the SteelSeries and the Corsair mice. Since this is not a problem most people would have, I thought about not mentioning it at all, but it was a real problem for me temporarily, so I decided to go ahead and mention it. If you don't have this problem, all three mice track very well, and I couldn't really separate them. I'm comfortable recommending all of them in this regard.
Weight--Winner by a landslide: SteelSeries Aerox 9
Note: I'm assuming users want lighter weights, but opinions can vary.
SteelSeried Aerox --- 89g (no option for adding additional weight)
UtechSmartVenus --- from 150g to 170g if you add the included weights (the wireless version is 127g)
Corsair Scimitar Elite ----122g (wireless is 114g) (no option for adding additional weight)
No idea how the wireless versions are coming back weighing less than the wired versions.
Side Buttons--Winner UtechSmart
UtechSmart is so ingenious in this regard that I very much wish that they had serviceable software. If they did, they would be my easy winner among the 3 mice listed. The side buttons on the Venus are tilted. For instance, the first three buttons are tilted toward the center of the mouse and the next three buttons are tilted toward the outside of the mouse. This makes them feel very different and easily identifiable when playing. The next best would definitely be the SteelSeries. The Aerox buttons are large and yet spaced in such a way that it is easy to tell when you move from one row to the next. The Aerox is very nearly as easy to use (with the side buttons) as the UtechSmart. Coming in dead last is the Corsair Scimitar Elite. The Scimitar's buttons are very tightly packed and unusually slippery, making them more difficult to use. One reason for this is a marketing gimmick--you can slide the side button panel forward and backward as needed to match your grip. But the reality is that nearly everyone will want it in the forward position, and then you will just be left with nothing but crowded, slippery buttons.
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