Manufacturers regularly try to introduce innovative products. With the ROG Chakram Core, ASUS offers a mouse that features a thumbstick like a controller. MeinMMO editor has tested the mouse and is fascinated.
Gaming mice are part of every setup. Some manufacturers try to convince potential buyers with interesting gimmicks. ASUS is among these manufacturers. The team has designed a mouse with a thumbstick, similar to gamepads.
This is the ROG Chakram Core, which officially costs 89.99 euros and can now be found in retail for around 50 euros. I bought the mouse and wanted to try out how useful this feature is. You can read about my experiences in this article.
Who tested it?
I have a penchant for gaming mice and currently own more than 20 gaming mice at home, and it keeps increasing daily. Since 2019, I have been testing hardware for MeinMMO for our readers. Mice are one of my absolute favorites alongside gaming headsets and keyboards when it comes to peripherals for PC and console, so I am quite knowledgeable about them.
I bought the ASUS ROG Chakram Core in retail and tested it extensively for MeinMMO.
Benedikt Schlotmann
Hardware editor MeinMMO
Features and technical details:
| Sensor | Pixart 3335, optical sensor | ||||||||||
| Resolution | Up to 16,000 DPI | ||||||||||
| Switches | Optical Titan switches, 100 million clicks | ||||||||||
| Buttons | 15 buttons, up to 29 different functions programmable | ||||||||||
| Design | Black mouse with adjustable RGB lighting | ||||||||||
| Gliding feet | 4 | ||||||||||
| Cable | 1.8 m long cable, detachable | ||||||||||
| Weight | 94 (without weight) or 108 grams (with weight) | ||||||||||
| Price (RRP) | 89.99 euros | ||||||||||
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung! |
Contents, Design, and Structure
What is included in the package? Besides the mouse, there is also a replaceable analog stick and a small tweezers in the package. With the tweezers, you can remove the mouse switches. Officially, a manual is also included in the box, but it was not provided to me.
How is the mouse structured? The Kone XP is available in both white and black designs.
- On the top side of the mouse are the main buttons. In between is a 2-way scroll wheel.
- On the left side in the thumb area, there are 2 additional buttons. The Chakram Core does not offer a sniper button, instead, it has a thumbstick.
- The mouse has a ribbed, rough surface that offers good haptics. This is practical when playing with slightly sweaty hands.
- A DPI button is located on the underside of the mouse.
ASUS relies on a unique principle with the ROG Chakram Core. You can disassemble the mouse into its components. You can remove the mouse cover and also the buttons, thus accessing both the internal weight and the button switches that transmit your click to the PC.
In theory, you can replace the switches for the buttons as soon as there are problems with double clicks or if you are simply not happy with the click sound. However, I did not test whether you have to use specific switches from ASUS or if you can simply buy some on eBay.
Manufacturing Quality
The gaming mouse from ASUS appears to be well-made. All components of the mouse are held by magnets to the body of the model. The mouse is primarily made of plastic, but it still feels valuable in hand. This is also due to the weight of the mouse, making it appear stable.
The permanently attached cable of the mouse is overall very stiff and can be a bit annoying at times. Razer and Roccat handle this with their mouse cables significantly better, feeling lighter and more dynamic.
What I would have liked is a small case or box for all the mouse accessories. The tweezers, the thumbstick, and the weight are small and tend to disappear or be carried off by the cats.
Software
For the software, the ROG Chakram uses the Amoury Crate software. This appears extremely overloaded and especially consumes performance on weaker systems. The dashboard includes a shop for purchasing games or ASUS products. However, the shop takes a long time to load. Other gaming software runs much smoother. Even Razer’s Synapse runs smoother and is faster to respond than the “Amoury Crate”.
The actual section for the gaming mouse’s settings is, however, clearly laid out and avoids frills. Here, functionality takes precedence over design, which cannot be said about the rest of the software.
On the next page, I will explain how the ROG Chakram Core performs in practice. I will address weight, ergonomics, and battery life, and explain what technology is inside the mouse.
