Alienware’s first professional mouse may not be flashy, but it’s packed with features under the hood designed to give you an edge in almost any competitive game. Alienware has focused on creating a mouse specifically designed for professionals, while also being a great fit for those looking to take their competitive game to the next level, with features such as customizable high polling rates and advanced keys that provide fast, yet precise , clicks – these are all features that you usually find in the best gaming mice. The result is a mouse that checks all the boxes: lightweight and easy to use, ultra-fast polling speed and long battery life.
Alienware Pro Wireless Mouse – Design and Features
At first glance, the Alienware Pro Wireless Mouse is an unassuming, dare I say, pedestrian device. There’s no flashy RGB, no sharp edges, no superfluous buttons, just a simple, slightly bulbous mouse. In fact, aside from the matte Alienware logo adorning the palm rest, you might not even know it’s a gaming mouse. However, this is all intentional.
Alienware has prioritized function over form with its latest iteration, opting for a lightweight, streamlined design that’s great to hold and use, with no unnecessary features (literally) weighing it down. Since this mouse is aimed at professional gamers, it had to meet their specific needs.
One of the most important aspects of a competitive mouse is its weight, and the Alienware Pro Mouse is just under 60 grams. While there are certainly lighter mice on the market, this was the best point based on surveys Alienware conducted with over 100 eSports gamers. Even so, it’s still one of the lightest mice I own, and it actually feels deceptively light when it’s picked up, as it feels much bulkier when it’s sitting idle on a desk.
With its focus on performance, Alienware has pushed the polling rate of the Pro Wireless Mouse from the industry standard 1000Hz up to 4000Hz in wireless mode and a stunning 8000Hz in wired mode. For the uninitiated, mouse polling rates are similar to monitor refresh rates. In short, it’s how often your mouse communicates the cursor’s location to your computer. While it’s debatable whether you’ll actually feel the difference with polling rates above 1000Hz, the difference in latency is quantifiable on paper. At 1000Hz polling you can expect a delay of around 1ms, while 4000Hz is a quarter of that at 0.25ms and 8000Hz is even lower at 0.125ms. In general, a higher polling rate means smoother cursor movement and technically lower latency, but comes at the cost of battery life.
Many professional mice have a 4000 Hz option, but most pro gamers choose a lower polling rate to significantly increase battery life. Alienware managed to achieve 32 hours of battery life with a polling rate of 4000Hz, or a whopping 120 hours if you opt for the standard default of 1000Hz. Fortunately, no matter which option you choose, you can quickly top up the battery when needed, as a quick five-minute charge will give you an additional six hours of battery life.
Another important element to consider is how well the mouse moves over a given surface, which comes down to the mouse feet on the underside, allowing for smooth gliding across mouse pads and desktops. Like many other professional mice on the market, Alienware opted for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) feet, which, in addition to being a mouthful to say out loud, are ideal for their non-stick, low-friction capabilities. This is a great addition as it elevates this mouse above the vast majority of options available. Interestingly, the semi-translucent gray coloration of the legs is natural, as mice with anything but this leg color use a different material or dye, both of which are less than ideal in terms of performance.
The keyboards, or left/right mouse buttons, use a patented magnetic system that allows the buttons to click very quickly and return to their original position thanks to two opposing magnets that literally force the mouse to click in both directions. The result is a very smooth, satisfying and bouncy click unlike any other mouse I’ve used. Alienware also rates each mouse button for up to 70 million clicks, meaning this mouse is durable and should last you a really long time.
The scroll wheel between the keyboards has a rubberized grip and a knurled design that provides scrolling feedback in both directions. It’s not as smooth as other mice, but it offers precise movement and is as easy to click as the middle mouse button. There are two thumb buttons on the side that can also be customized – these click easily, but they are located a little higher and further forward than I’m used to, which took a little time to get used to. The bottom of the mouse features a profile button that lets you cycle through five presets to adjust DPI sensitivity, polling rate, and more on the fly. There’s also USB-C storage at the bottom of the mouse, so you can easily store it on the go.
In an effort to appeal to a wide audience, the Pro Wireless Mouse is designed to accommodate all grip types, including claws, palms, and fingertips. Because it caters to such a variety of grips, it has a very uniform shape that is a bit tall for my taste. Its symmetrical design fits both left and right hands and has a slight taper in the middle on both sides to accommodate your little finger – no matter how dexterous you are. While you can certainly buy a mouse designed specifically for your unique grip or hand preference, the jack-of-all-trades approach of this mouse is one of my pain points. With the way I hold my mice, I’ve leaned more towards gripping the claws and found the bulbous middle section somewhat awkward to maneuver during long sessions.
Alienware Pro Wireless Mouse – Software
The Alienware Command Center isn’t absolutely necessary to use the Pro Wireless Mouse out of the box, but if you want to play around with the settings a bit, you’ll want to download the app on PC. While it doesn’t include a ton of customization options, you’ll be able to set hotkeys and macros, as well as adjust settings for the five built-in profiles. Within each profile, you can set the DPI sensitivity from 0 to 26,000 in addition to adjusting the polling rate from 125 Hz up to the advertised 4,000 Hz in wireless mode. In addition, you can extend battery life by automatically reducing the polling rate when the battery reaches a certain threshold, and enable sleep mode when the mouse is inactive for a certain period of time. Finally, you can check the mouse and dongle firmware and update if needed.
Alienware Pro Wireless Mouse – Gaming and Performance
Gaming peripherals tend to be extremely flashy, have too many buttons, or exude a level of flamboyance that is way beyond my taste, but the Wireless Pro Mouse had the complete opposite effect. Maybe it’s the muted gray tone and soft shape, but I felt strangely calm while using this device. That’s not to say I wasn’t interested, but it was a little refreshing to use a competent peripheral that doesn’t scream “I’m a gamer!” to everyone who walks into the room.
I spent most of my time with the Pro Wireless Mouse in competitive FPS games like Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, and the more casual but often challenging Destiny 2. The mouse was very sharp and responsive, and I really like its nimbleness. left and right mouse buttons. The tap-to-fire weapons felt effortless as my finger had less travel and the opposing magnets helped point the keys up quickly.
I played quite a bit at 1000Hz before manually enabling the 4000Hz option in the Alienware Command Center, but I honestly didn’t see or feel any performance boost after switching between the two. Maybe it’s my untrained eye, but the 0.75ms response time reduction for my mouse was imperceptible. That being said, I’m sure the vast majority of players won’t notice a difference either. The good news is that if you choose to stick with the default polling rate of 1000Hz, you’ll get an extra 90 hours of battery life in wireless mode and likely won’t experience any performance degradation.
While the mouse is very light and glides effortlessly across the pad, I personally never found it super comfortable to hold. Because it’s symmetrically shaped and designed for all types of grip and dexterity, it never feels the way I’d prefer because it’s a bit wider in the middle than most lightweight mice I use. I’ve certainly used larger mice in the past, but since they were designed for right-handed use, I had more of a rest for my ring and pinky fingers, whereas here they kind of awkwardly spill over the side with no support.