HyperX has a growing range of mouse options for PC gamers, with the PulseFire FPS Pro hitting the scene a few months ago. It sports an ergonomic design with some industrial inspiration, complete with RBG lighting and other features gamers might enjoy.
But is it worth that $59.99 price tag?
$59.99Bottom line: The HyperX PulseFire Pro is a high-quality, comfortable, and beautiful mouse, with decent software and a wide array of options.
For
- Braided cable.
- Fun RGB lighting options.
- Great pointer action.
- Well designed.
Against
- Large RGB logo is a little gaudy.
What you'll love about the PulseFire Pro
The HyperX PulseFire FPS Pro is a mouse aimed squarely at gamers, particularly in shooters, hence "first-person shooter (FPS)" in the name. To achieve this, HyperX has enlisted a Pixart 3389 sensor with a DPI of up to 16,000, with a one-millisecond polling rate. Many other thoughtful design decisions coalesce to make the PulseFire Pro a great gaming mouse, well worth the price of admission.
| Category | Spec |
|---|---|
| Sensor | Pixart 3389, DPI up to 16,000 |
| IPS | 450 maximum speed |
| Polling rate | 1000 Hz (1ms) |
| Weight | 95g |
| Size | 71 x 128 x 42mm |
| Price | $59.99 |
My desk is an old, wooden antique, covered in scrapes and pockmarks from its life as an art desk. Even without a mousemat, the PulseFire FPS Pro navigates this rough surface with ease, though it seems to struggle with glass. For the vast majority of users, though, you'll find it more than adequate.
The sensor is supremely accurate, responding nicely to rapid movements and angular flicks. It also has a highly flexible braided cable, ensuring cable tautness won't impede your movements.
The mouse is lovingly crafted, with a metallic-like finish (albeit, made of plastic). The rubberized grips have an industrial durbar pattern, which is a nice touch. The ergonomics of the mouse are spot-on, with tactile, satisfying buttons and a DPI alternator button that is embedded slightly into the mouse, to prevent accidental DPI alterations. Large, smooth mouse-skates on the underside ensure support for rapid movements and easy cleaning.
The HyperX PulseFire FPS Pro also supports HyperX's NGenuity software, allowing you to attach custom macros, RGB lighting, and mouse-click functions that are saved directly to the mouse's internal memory. Thanks to the internal memory, there's no need to keep the software open once you update the mouse, as seen in some other competing products. The software is well made, too, with intuitive menus and plenty of options, and support for multiple profiles.
What you'll dislike about the PulseFire Pro
I dislike the fact that the RGB lighting only provides an accent color to the mouse wheel, while most of it is used to light up HyperX's branding. I'm typically not a fan of large logos, but even less so when they're lit up by flashing RGB lights.
The alternating notches on the rubber durbar pattern on the side grips are also maddening to clean, since you can't just wipe in the direction of the notches, due to their alternating nature. It looks cool, but I'm not sure it was the smartest design choice in this situation.
Finally, I think it's a little pricey at $59.99. The Microsoft IntelliMouse Classic sports virtually all the same features and a comparable sensor for $20 cheaper at $39.99, albeit only up to 3,200 DPI, rather than 16,000. You'll lose the RGB lighting, too, but on the PulseFire, it's only used to make HyperX's branding a little more flashy.
Should you buy the PulseFire Pro?
The HyperX PulseFire FPS Pro ticks all the right boxes, and while it's a little pricey, it more than gets the job done.
So should you buy this mouse? Absolutely, as long as you value the 16,000 DPI, which for some gamers might be considered overkill. Gamers value high DPI mice because they can turn faster in shooters without losing accuracy, by lowering in-game mouse sensitivity, letting a high DPI setting on the mouse control speed instead. I find 3,200 to be more than enough for FPS, but that decision ultimately rests on your needs.
