Asus ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab edition review: An eye-opener
The Republic of Gamers has a new competitor for the superlight category of gaming mice. The Asus ROG Harpe Aim Lab Edition mouse is a special mouse that the company says it worked with eSports professionals to create.
That process took several iterations and the result is an ultra-lightweight gaming mouse with a careful balance of game-winning features. Under the unassuming chassis is some pro-grade tech which should give you the upper hand against the competition, but what makes this mouse stand out is the collaboration with Aim Lab.
Stick with us to find out why that matters.
A pro-grade ambidextrous gaming mouse
- AimPoint 36,000 DPI (<1% CPI deviation) Sensor
- 650 IPS max speed, 50 G max acceleration, 1,000Hz polling rate
- Five programmable buttons
- 54-gram body
- 2.4GHz SpeedNova wireless and Bluetooth LE connectivity
- USB-C charging
Out of the box, the Asus ROG Harpe Ace has a striking resemblance to the fan-favourite Logitech G Pro X Superlight and that's no bad thing. After all, this is a gaming mouse that's been "co-developed" with pro gamers and is designed to give you superb performance.
Under the hood, its specs are actually superior to the Superlight though, with a higher max DPI theoretically leading to a more accurate sensor. The ROG Harpe Ace also has the added advantage of things like extra Bluetooth connectivity options, USB-C charging and a single RGB lighting zone.
It's the little details that make the difference here. The RGB on the mouse wheel, for instance, isn't just for show, it's also useful as it changes colour when you swap DPI levels so you know what mode you're in and it flashes red when the mouse needs a charge.
We dislike the placement of the DPI button on the underside, but that's less of a problem than with other mice due to the optimisation you can get via software.
Aim Lab settings optimiser
One of the most interesting features of this mouse is the Aim Lab settings optimiser. If you don't know already Aim Lab is a free-to-play tool that you can use to train your aim.
If you've been struggling with hitting your shots in first-person shooters, then this is a handy program for practising or even just warming up before you jump into a "real" game.
The ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab edition takes things a bit further, as there are specific modes within Aim Lab that you can use to optimise your settings and personalise them to your own playstyle, mouse movements and more.
This includes several different training programs for assessing the various factors that impact how you play, including optimisation for sensitivity, mouse DPI, angle tuning and lift-off distance.
These take some time to complete (as much as 10 minutes) and when you're done you can let Aim Lab automatically apply the settings to your ROG mouse or you can do it yourself manually via the Armoury Crate software.
We cynically thought this might be a bit of a gimmick at first, but after running through the programs we were surprised by the results. The settings optimiser suggested that we should try 800 DPI, which was a real eye-opener as we'd usually find 1,600 DPI more comfortable for most of our gaming sessions with other mice.
Obviously, you can repeat this process to fine-tune the setup and personalise it to your own grip, reaction speed and mouse movement style. Quite an interesting option and different from the norm.
Agile gaming thrills
As you've probably gathered by now the Asus ROG Harpe Ace means business when it comes to gaming performance. The combination of the settings optimiser, the high-end specs and the lightweight design result in an impressive piece of kit.
We found this mouse to be accurate and satisfying to use for gaming sessions as much as standard day-to-day use. It's also surprisingly lightweight considering the tech packed inside.
It's not often you'll see a lightweight gaming mouse coming in at around 55 grams that doesn't have honeycomb holes or a thin shell. Yet somehow Asus has managed to cram in a battery that can manage 90 hours, as well as tech for both Bluetooth and wireless connectivity.
As standard, this mouse has a matt finish to it that makes it easy to grip even during fast-paced gaming sessions. The texturing on the sides is minimal but we didn't have any complaints. If you are struggling, you'll be pleased to see that this mouse also comes with some additional grip tape.
Adding that tape barely adds extra weight to the frame as well, so it's still nifty and nippy when you need it to be. We're big fans of the extra ROG styling the grip tape adds to the understated body, but it might not be for everyone.
Asus' attention to detail continues into other parts of the design too. Under the hood, the ROG micro switches offer up some satisfying actuation. These are carefully crafted with minimal deviation between them, which results in consistent click feel and sound from both the left and right buttons as well as a 70 million click life span.
Another hidden highlight is the adjustable DPI settings at the hardware level. Though you can tweak settings in software and switch between various default modes (400, 800, 1600 and 3200 DPI) with the button on the underside, you can also hold that DPI button and scroll the mouse wheel for fine adjustment. So you don't even need software if you don't want to use it. Other hardware controls work with polling rate and lift-off distance adjustment too.
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