As £70 / $69 gaming mice go, the MSI Clutch GM60 is arguably probably the most adaptable mice I’ve seen shortly. It’s ambidextrous for starters, making it a superb choose for proper and left-handed PC peeps alike, however you additionally get not one, however two pairs of magnetic facet covers, an additional USB cable (one braided, one rubber) and a further prime cowl. All proper, the latter is presumably a slight misfire in that it doesn’t truly change the general top of the GM60, however the remaining carry a welcome contact of flexibility to this eight-buttoned gaming mouse that helps go a great distance in justifying its premium worth.
It is, nevertheless, weirdly flat. Despite measuring a large 130mm lengthy, 65mm broad and weighing a hefty 170g, the best level of the Clutch GM60 stands simply 39mm off the bottom. From there, it’s a gentle decline all the way down to a positively titchy 12mm or so, making the entire thing really feel a bit like a pancake. Does its deflated form make for best gaming mouse materials? Let’s discover out.
Due to its barely unusual dimensions, the Clutch GM60 maybe isn’t your best option for these of you who, like me, favour a lazy-style palm grip. Putting my total hand on the GM60 felt fairly unnatural for on a regular basis use, and it had the odd impact of constructing my second and third finger really feel nearly too far again on the principle proper and left click on – which was solely made worse once I tried out my back-up ‘fingertip’ model grip in an try to make my palm really feel a bit extra comfy. It’s one thing you would in all probability get used to after some time, however personally I desire a barely extra full-bodied mouse that fills out extra of my palm.
You may theoretically select to not use both pair of facet grips on the GM60, however I wouldn’t suggest it, even when it does make the facet buttons simpler to search out
As such, that is undoubtedly a mouse for these of you preferring the so-called ‘claw’ grip, which sees you arching your fingers in a way more bent-over vogue and transferring your palm as much as the very rear of the mouse. Out of the three foremost grips, this undoubtedly gave the impression to be probably the most pure match for the GM60, so it’s price bearing that in thoughts for those who’re pondering of selecting it up. My feeble fingers aren’t constructed for sustaining this type of pose for lengthy intervals of time, so the GM60 rapidly turned fairly tiring to make use of each as an on a regular basis mouse and whereas enjoying games. It’s manageable for non-claw followers, however there are actually a lot simpler mice on the market accessible for a similar type of cash.
I might additionally suggest attaching both one or two of its 4, easily-swappable magnetic facet grips, as with them the GM60’s pair of proper and left facet buttons felt very knobbly on the thumb and little finger – one thing I can see turning into an irritation over prolonged use with out them. It’s good to have this a lot flexibility in your selection of facet grips straight out of the field, although, and their patterned texture makes utilizing the mouse much more comfy each day. Personally, I most popular the marginally stubbier facet grip combo however I do recognize having the choice of switching it up for an much more flared out pair of facet grips, and even mixing and matching. Whatever diploma you want resting your digits on wings of plastic, the GM60’s bought you coated.
That mentioned, attaching the facet grips does imply that each its proper and left-handed pairs of facet buttons do develop into a bit of simpler to unintentionally gloss over once you’re within the warmth of the second. It’s not like you may’t attain them – certainly, I discovered I may press each buttons nearest my thumb with little or no effort – however the truth they sit in a bit of alcove between the facet grip and prime cowl meant that, as a rule, my thumb landed on the laborious edge above them as an alternative of on the buttons themselves.
I tried to rectify this drawback by merely resting my thumb on the buttons versus the facet grip, however this simply added one other stage of fatigue to the combo. Again, it’s nothing you in all probability couldn’t study to cope with over time, however it does make the Clutch GM60 trickier to become familiar with straight out of the field.
Thankfully, the central DPI (or sensitivity) button was a lot much less problematic. There are 4 wise pace presets accessible by default – handily indicated by three purple LED lights simply off to the left – however obtain MSI’s Gaming Centre software program and you’ll change these to no matter you want. Available in increments of 100, the GM60’s DPI ranges goes from a deathly-slow 100 DPI all the best way as much as an oddly particular 10,800 – which is greater than sufficient for even the twitchiest PC gamers on the planet so far as I’m involved, as I can hardly ever sustain with something over 3000 DPI.
Of course, ought to the central DPI button show too tough to make use of once you’re mid-game, you would at all times use the Gaming Centre to reassign that button to one of many facet buttons. There are a number of features accessible right here, together with conventional mouse buttons, customisable keyboard features, media keys and macros, or you can too use them to cycle up and down via your DPI speeds or change to one of many GM60’s 5 accessible profiles. I used to be a bit of disillusioned there weren’t extra DPI features accessible – such because the on-the-fly DPI possibility you get with Razer’s Synapse software program on the Naga Trinity, for instance – however the remaining are all pretty typical of different gaming mice choices on the market.
Less typical is the power to alter the GM60’s polling price (how usually the mouse communicates together with your PC, the upper the quantity indicating the sooner the communication) as much as a ridiculous 3000Hz. Most mice solely have a most polling price of 1000Hz, which is completely acceptable in my books and one thing I’ve actually by no means felt was missing in any method, however maybe the esporters amongst us might be able to inform the distinction. I actually couldn’t once I tried it out for myself, however then I’m additionally previous and decrepit.
Being in a position to change the pace of your double click on left me equally bemused. Things appeared to double click on simply as quick when it was set to low or excessive in Gaming Centre, however once more this can be one thing felt extra keenly by MOBA and MMO gamers versus me. One factor I did recognize was the power to alter the pace of your scrolling, which actually did make a distinction once I tried it at each ends of its sliding scale.
To full the image, you’ve additionally bought controls for lift-off distance and angle-snapping, which I discovered have been each completely advantageous of their default place, in addition to RGB controls to personalise the facet bar, MSI dragon emblem and DPI indicator strips.
The MSI Clutch GM60 actually offers you loads of choices, then, however its distinctive form and sometimes tricky-to-hit facet buttons means it’s additionally a mouse you’re going to spend so much of time with earlier than you may benefit from it. For me, that’s just a bit bit an excessive amount of faff for my liking, particularly once I can use the similarly-priced Asus ROG Gladius II (or the even cheaper and nearly equally adaptable £50 / $50 Logitech G502) straight out of the field. Still, for those who’re a fan of the claw grip and need a high-end ambidextrous mouse that provides numerous flexibility, the MSI Clutch GM60 could also be price a punt.
