Updated at: 14-02-2023 - By: Leo Hall
This is an in-depth analysis of the Corsair M65 RGB Elite gaming mouse. Is it a good buy? See what we thought by reading our review!

The Corsair M65 RGB Elite is, all things considered, a top-tier gaming mouse for the money.

This mouse is the best option for $60, and it comes highly recommended from us.

It’s no secret that Corsair is a veteran of the computer mouse market. Even so, the M65 is a flagship model that has been available since 2014 and is likely one of their oldest products. Since then, multiple revisions of the M65 have been released, beginning with the original Vengeance M65 and continuing with the M65 Pro RGB and, most recently, the M65 RGB Elite.

The Corsair M65’s successor, which we’re reviewing here, maintains the M65’s reputation as a stylish, highly-customizable FPS gaming mouse. Although Corsair made a few significant changes, the M65 RGB Elite is largely similar to its predecessors in terms of form and design.

The most notable of these modifications is the addition of a new 18,000 DPI optical sensor, which is a significant improvement over the 12,000 DPI sensor found in the original M65 Pro RGB. The M65 Pro RGB’s improved DPI (or CPI, if you prefer) is the result of its Pixart PMW3391 optical sensor, a descendant of the Pixart 3360.

CORSAIR M65 RGB Elite Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse Review

The M65 RGB Elite is lighter and more compact than its forerunner, and it also has a new button arrangement on the side. Even after almost five years, the M65 RGB Elite is a competitive first-person-shooter (FPS) gaming mouse.

Sensor Optical Image Sensor, Pixart PMW3391
DPI 18,000 DPI
Keyboard buttons An Omron (50 million clicks)
Connectivity Connected by a cable that is braided together.
Grip Type Claw
Ambidextrous False; they are right-handed.
Weight 97 – 116 g
Software iCUE

Pros and Cons

For first-person shooter (FPS) gamers in particular, the Corsair M65 RGB Elite is an excellent choice.

Pros

  • An Easy Hold
  • The Intelligent Layout of Its Buttons
  • Durable RGB illumination
  • Outstanding work

Cons

  • Heavier than necessary

The previous generation Corsair M65 mouse received overwhelmingly positive reviews from us due to its ergonomic design and cutting-edge sniper button. The Corsair M65 RGB Elite ($60) is the result of four years of development, and it’s a gaming mouse designed with a focus on first-person shooters that features customizable lighting, weight, and software.

The only real issue I have with the M65 RGB Elite is that the weights are a bit more finicky to adjust than they really should be. Even after four years, it remains an excellent mouse, especially for first-person shooter (FPS) players, and it can be purchased for less than the price of similar mice from competing manufacturers. If you are right-handed and looking for a mouse that will help you excel in multiplayer games, the M65 RGB Elite should be near the top of your list.

Packaging

The box is typical Corsair, being bright yellow and black with lots of pictures and advertising on both sides. There is the mouse itself, as well as a warranty guide, an owner’s manual, and the packaging, all of which should be accessible without too much trouble.

Design and Features

To the untrained eye, there is little to differentiate the M65 RGB Elite from the M65 Pro RGB. Both are the standard long and skinny design, making use of a relatively large surface area and boasting a number of curves and angles. It’s the kind of design that can divide opinion; personally, I have mixed feelings about it, but ultimately, your opinion will depend on your own tastes.

If you use a claw grip, the M65 RGB Elite is the mouse for you. It’s not quite long enough for a traditional palm grip, but it works fine for a cross-hand claw grip. The M65’s compact design may be off-putting to those used to mice with more room to move around. This wasn’t my first experience with an M65 mouse, but after using the Corsair Glaive RGB as my primary mouse for so long, I had to spend some time getting used to the M65 Elite RGB.

However, serious first-person shooter players probably wouldn’t enjoy the added weight and sluggishness that comes with a larger mouse.

The side buttons have also been reorganized by Corsair, and the change is an improvement. Both of the mouse’s thumb buttons have been expanded and repositioned to the mouse’s left side, making them much simpler to use. Low DPI shots now require less dexterity because the sniper button is closer to the thumb buttons.

Corsair M65 RGB Elite Gaming Mouse Review - IGN

As was previously mentioned, the M65 RGB Elite has a roughly 50% higher DPI sensitivity than the M65 Pro RGB. While the advancement is commendable and the numbers may be applauded by enthusiasts and professional e-sports players, the reality is that nobody needs 18,000 DPI.

The M65’s adjustable weight is one of its most recognizable features. There are three interchangeable weights located beneath the mouse, allowing users to fine-tune the heft. At 97g without the added weights, the M65 RGB Elite is noticeably lighter than its predecessor, the M65 Pro RGB, which weighs around 115g. Even with all of its weights, the M65 RGB Elite can only weigh 116g, while the M65 RGB Pro can weigh up to 135g.

For someone like me who enjoys hefty mice, this was a letdown. A wider weight gamut, like the M65 Pro RGB, would have been welcome. However, this trend toward lighter gaming mice seems to be shared by first-person shooter players.

To round out its design and features, the M65 Elite RGB has an aluminum frame, textured plastic for the sides, and glossy plastic for the top. The glossy surface may be a little dangerously slippery, but it’s manageable. There’s a choice of black or white for the M65 RGB Elite’s casing. The white model looks fantastic next to a Corsair K70 RGB MK.II SE, and it makes the RGB lighting stand out even more.

The Corsair Utility Engine is a deep, nuanced, robust program that gives experienced users endless room to play.

Furthermore, if you are interested and have some spare time, you can do some really neat stuff with color profiles using the Corsair Utility Engine. Taking into account the three playable races in StarCraft: Remastered, I created a custom gradient that alternates between shades of blue over the course of 30 seconds. Brightness, effects, and more daring color patterns are also adjustable. More features become available when the mouse is paired with a Corsair keyboard.

Performance

I used the video game Destiny 2 to put the M65 RGB Elite through its paces. To test its versatility, I also dabbled in other genres by playing Anthem and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. The clustered side buttons are noticeable improvement, especially during high-pressure situations. When using a sniper rifle for a long-range shot, the sniper button functions in the same manner.

During my time with the mouse, I witnessed no unusual activity. No angle snapping, smoothing, or other alterations to the sensor’s raw data should be present in a gaming mouse’s design. Though I barely scratched the surface of the 18,000 DPI range, I experienced no acceleration or jitter; anything above 3,500 DPI seems pointless.

Again, this is a matter of personal preference, but I seriously doubt anyone will be playing games at 18,000 DPI.

You can fine-tune the mouse to your specific setup by adjusting the DPI in 1 DPI increments using Corsair’s iCUE. To see something other than 50 DPI jumps, for once, is very refreshing.

Even though I died more than a few times while learning to use the M65 RGB Elite, I ultimately found the mouse to be responsive, comfortable, and accurate. Even though the M65 RGB Elite’s features aren’t particularly well-suited to games outside of the FPS genre, it’s still a good option for pretty much any game.

The thumb grip made it easy to adjust the mouse slightly to aim, while the sniper button gave me further precision.

As I found out while using the mouse with games like StarCraft: Remastered, World of Warcraft, and Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, it also works well with other genres. The M65 is a comfortable, precise, and accurate mouse that can be used for pretty much anything; however, it lacks any features designed to improve other types of games.

Software

The iCUE software suite from Corsair is compatible with all of the company’s accessories. The Corsair Utility Engine has been steadily improving over the years, and it is now among the best peripheral interfaces available. Sometimes it’s not immediately obvious where to look in the menus to find the feature you need.

Corsair’s high-end gaming mice are especially vulnerable to these problems because they have more configuration options than keyboards, requiring more time spent in the settings menu.

The M65 RGB Elite’s DPI settings are the first place you should look when you power it on for the first time. At this point, you can set up to five different DPI profiles, each of which can be quickly toggled using the mouse’s DPI buttons. Each DPI setting can have its own color, too, so that profiles can be recognized at a glance. The sniper button’s default setting is 400 DPI, but this can be changed.

You can also configure macros and the RGB lighting in iCUE in addition to performing a surface calibration (which is highly recommended). Both the scroll wheel and the Corsair logo on the mouse’s rear can be illuminated.

Corsair M65 RGB Elite – Gaming

As a means of evaluating the mouse, I booted up two of my favorite first-person shooters, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch. Both games were played with pinpoint precision and lightning-fast response times, courtesy of the Corsair M65 RGB Elite. This mouse has such a high DPI range that I was able to adjust the sensitivity to perfection for my setup. Actually, you probably won’t need the maximum of 18,000dpi unless you’re using multiple monitors. My cursor was too fast for me to control at that speed.

The button arrangement of all eight felt intuitive. The sniper button’s placement at the tip of my thumb was fantastic. In the end, I was able to rest the tip of my thumb on its back edge, and all I had to do to line up a sniper shot was slide up ever-so-slightly to press it.

The clicks on both the left and right mouse buttons were satisfying, and the cursor moved quickly. The textured side panels were great for giving my thumb and pinky a firm hold and preventing them from sliding around. Along the button’s left side, there is a slight outward curve that gave my thumb a nice place to rest.

The only real issue I have with Corsair’s mouse is how light it is. It claims that it is 15 percent lighter than the R65 RGB Pro because of reviews and user feedback. After experimenting, I found that the 115-gram maximum weight felt best with my claw grip when all of the weights were still installed. Of course, you might favor a lighter mouse because the ideal weight and feel are highly individual.

Purchasing Guide

Since its recent release, the MSRP of the Corsair M65 RGB Elite Tunable FPS Gaming Mouse has remained unchanged at $59.99.

Final Verdict

The Corsair M65 has always been a top-notch mouse, and the M65 RGB Elite only adds to that reputation. As a former M65 user, I was pleased to see Corsair update it with new features while retaining (or at least not significantly altering) what made the original great.

Corsair M65 RGB Elite - Better Sensor & Design (PMW3391) - YouTube

Although I find it disappointing that the M65 RGB Elite can only support a maximum weight of 116g (the same as the M65 Pro RGB when empty), I can see why Corsair made that decision. The M65 is a first-person-shooter mouse with a tunable weight system designed for players who prefer lighter mice.

The M65 RGB Elite is not for you if you’re a fan of a hefty gaming mouse, which we realize is a niche market. The Corsair Glaive RGB or the more recent Ironclaw RGB would be better suited to your needs.

Regardless of this, the M65 RGB Elite’s newfound slimness does not take away from its many positive qualities. With a total of eight programmable buttons, the new button layout is an obvious improvement and should satisfy all but the most macro-heavy users.

It’s smart of Corsair to keep the M65 RGB Elite’s renowned build quality despite the slimmer form factor. Indeed, it is a lovely mouse, and that may be the highest grade I can give it. Not a single part of this mouse appears to have escaped the designer’s careful scrutiny; the M65 RGB Elite’s aluminum accents and glossy finishes are just the beginning.

And as you might expect from a product with such a name, the M65 RGB Elite is brimming with impressive RGB lighting, which really stands out in the white variant.

The Corsair M65 RGB Elite, at $60, is a great option if you prefer a lighter gaming mouse or are replacing an older M65 model. In my opinion, the high price tag is justified for such a high-quality mouse.