Continuing our influx of MSI gear after the big build [see here], a rodent has appeared for my consideration. This time around MSI have sent me the Clutch GM50 Gaming Mouse, a mid-priced rodent with RGB, lets see what’s what.
MSI are one of the key players in the PC industry catering for both gaming and business use they have a vast array of components and peripherals from Motherboards and Graphics cards, to Keyboards and Headsets.
MSI Clutch GM50 Gaming Mouse Specifications & Features
- MODEL NAME – CLUTCH GM50 GAMING MOUSE
- SENSOR – PMW-3330 gaming sensor
- SENSOR TYPE – Optical
- DPI SWITCH – Default: 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400, max: 7200 (step: 100)
- Color – Black
- INTERFACE – USB 2.0 Gold-Plated Connector
- BUTTON -6
- POLLING RATE -8ms/4ms/2ms/1ms (Default)
- MAIN KEY SWITCHES – Omron GAMING (20 Million+ Clicks)
- LED LIGHT – Scroll Wheel / Dragon LED /U-Shaped Tail Light
- Lighting effects – RGB
- OPERATING SYSTEM – Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7
- CABLE – Soft & Tangle Free TPE Cable (2.0 m)
- Dimensions (mm) -120*67*42 mm
- WEIGHT (PRODUCT / PACKAGE) -87g (without cable) / 268.3g
MSI Clutch GM50 Gaming Mouse Closer Look
As we have previously seen with my many Corsair reviews, MSI are going for a standardised style for their peripheral packaging. The stylish looking red and white box is adorned on the front with a picture of the mouse and naming.
The back of the box features a fair bit of information along with an exploded view of the mouse highlighting its features. There appears to be some quality parts in here, previously PixArt sensors have done well and Omron switches are an industry stalwart.
Tipping into the overuse of plastic packaging, the box features a door to allow for the mouse to be seen along with some more details on the inside of the door. This is not really needed anymore as it adds to packaging and we need to find a way to change the whole ‘unboxing experience’ for the better.
Box contents are without a flurry of extras, not even stickers here, just a manual and a mouse, keeping things simple.
Getting in close to the GM50 we have a hard plastic fairly smooth shell, not very grippy and quite small. The opaque MSI logo and rear lightbar can be seen here which is where the majority of RGB effects are seen.
Looking at the mouse from the left, we have a decent arch on the body, the forward and back buttons are well positioned and the left grip is made of hard plastic. I do prefer a rubberised grip texture for comfort so this is a little disappointing. The main mouse buttons can be seen as separate from the main shell here although they continue to use the same material.
The right hand side doesn’t offer much, the same hard grip is used though we do see a nice ergonomic curve making this heavily optimised for right handed users. From this angle we see the illuminated ring for the mouse wheel, this actually only lights up on the right hand side of the wheel as the ‘tyre’ is offset to the left.
Viewed from the front, the mouse appears very similar to many others with the sloped ergonomic style and flared mouse buttons. Centre cabling seems to be pretty much the norm these days, it’s been a while since I had a cable emitting from the left or right hand side. The DPI selection button is just about visible before my photography skills show a weakness.
Our bottom view has some generous teflon pads, a dragon logo and regulatory sticker surrounding the sensor. The banana like shape is all part of the ergonomic design.
MSI have opted for some gold plating on the connector, which looks nice but is of course not visible in use and as I have previously mentioned does not really offer any noticeable connection difference.
Plugged in the GM50 does look very smart, the MSI Dragon is very clear and the various RGB effects do look pretty snazzy.
Software
MSI’s Gaming Center software is again utilised to configure this mouse, on the main screen we have an image of the mouse along with a quick on/off button for LED’s.
Clicking on the image of the mouse brings us to the first menu, here we can select from three profiles and assign functions to buttons, no macro programming here though.
The Sensor tab grants us access to a fair bit of fine-tuning which should be expected with the PixArt sensor, 5 levels of DPI , Lift Off distance selection, Angle Snapping and Polling Rate all available here.
The final tab available is for LED control, here there are several effects and colour selections to choose from to alter the lighting to suit your build or your mood. Configuration can also be done using the Mystic Light software for synchronisation with other MSI or Mystic Light compatible devices.
The MSI Clutch GM50 Gaming Mouse Review: The Verdict
After spending some time with the mouse, I did find it quite small for my liking. The Clutch GM50 would certainly suit users who need a smaller mouse, ergonomically it is shaped well for lengthy use. The materials used to make the mouse, while feeling quite solid, are hard plastic and do not offer the quality feel of many of the textured surfaces used by the competition at this price range.
Daily use: The sensor is very good and accuracy during day to day tasks was excellent. I generally gauge this on photo editing for reviews as the pointer needs to be quite steady when cropping and adjusting images. Different DPI settings could easily be stored for different purposes so I could speed things up easily for skimming around websites.
Gaming: While the sensor performed admirably in games, I found the small size and plastic casing to be a little unpleasant to use. The ergonomic shape was lost on me even though I don’t consider myself to have overly large hands. Needless to say playing CS:GO and Satisfactory with the mouse showed no major issues other than personal comfort preferences, I do recommend using a bungee as the cable can catch the edge of the desk.
Software: MSI’s Gaming Center is pretty pleasant to use and I am sure on other models more features are available, however so far I am not seeing anything here to set this mouse above the rest in configuration options.
What’s hot:
- Excellent Sensor
- Quality Switches
- Mystic Light Compatibility
What’s not:
- Quite small
- Plastic casing is not great
- Priced high compared to the competition
Available at the time of writing for around £34 I feel this mouse is priced too high and may suffer against the extremely competitive market segment it sits in. It is up against so many well regarded units from the likes of SteelSeries, Logitech, Corsair and many more. The materials used could be much better especially for grip and comfort. An excellent sensor, ergonomic shape and quality switches are the main positives for this mouse which does handle itself very well in applications and games. This mouse will do really well for those who wish to have a smaller shape as long as they are right handed.
Thanks to MSI for sending a sample of the Clutch GM50 Gaming Mouse in for review.
