At first we would like to thank CORSAIR for offering us their DARK CORE RGB PRO SE Wireless FPS/MOBA Gaming Mouse for testing and reviewing.

 

About Corsair:

"Founded in 1994, Corsair has grown from pioneering the high-performance DRAM market to one of the world’s leading providers of enthusiast-grade PC components and peripherals. Our groundbreaking technology and innovation can be found in our high-performance memory, ultra-efficient power supplies, PC cases, PC and CPU cooling solutions, and solid-state storage devices. Under the Corsair Gaming brand, launched in 2014, we provide gaming keyboards, mice, headsets and mouse mats to eSports professionals and anybody who is passionate about competitive PC gaming.

 

Corsair hardware is regularly featured in showcase “dream systems,” and we have earned the adulation and respect of the press, professional gamers and overclockers, high-end system integrators, and PC enthusiasts worldwide by delivering leading-edge technology backed by renowned service and support.

 

Corsair has developed a global operations infrastructure with extensive marketing and distribution channel relationships, and our products are available through leading distributors and retailers in over sixty countries worldwide."

Three ways to connect: sub-1ms SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS technology, low-latency Bluetooth® wireless technology, or USB wired.

Play with pinpoint accuracy and precision thanks to a custom PixArt PAW3392 native 18,000 DPI optical sensor, optimized for wireless mice with extremely low power consumption and customizable in 1 DPI resolution steps.

Hyper-polling technology communicates with your PC at up to 2,000Hz, twice the speed of standard gaming mice, ensuring blazingly fast response times.

Charges with an easy-to-use, reversible USB-C connector, or wirelessly with any Qi-compatible charging device such as the CORSAIR MM1000 mouse pad (Qi charging on SE model only).

Comfortable contoured shape with two included interchangeable side grips for a tailored fit.

Nine-zone dynamic RGB backlighting, including an integrated light bar with four individually addressable RGB LEDs, offers near endless customization of colors and lighting effects.

Get an in-game advantage with eight buttons, fully programmable with custom macros and button remaps.

Up to 50 hours of continuous battery-powered wireless gaming or plug in for wired mode to continue gameplay while charging.

High-performance Omron switches rated for more than 50 million clicks.

Powerful CORSAIR iCUE software lets you assign macros, adjust polling rate, customize RGB lighting effects synchronized across all of your iCUE-compatible devices, and much more.

Onboard profile storage to take up to three lighting and macro profiles with you.

 

Wireless Connectivity

Hyper-fast, sub-1ms 2.4GHz SLIPSTREAM CORSAIR WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, Bluetooth® 4.2 + LE

 

Wired Connectivity

USB 2.0 Type-A to PC, USB-C to mouse

 

Battery Charging

Charges via USB to computer

 

Battery Type

Built-in lithium-polymer, rechargeable

 

Battery Life

2.4GHz SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS: Up to 16hrs w/ standard lighting and 36hrs w/out backlighting

Bluetooth: Up to 18hrs w/ standard lighting and 50hrs w/out backlighting

 

Sensor

Pixart PAW3392, Optical

 

Sensor Resolution

100 - 18,000 DPI, with 1 DPI steps

 

Onboard Profiles

Three

 

Backlight

Nine-Zone RGB

 

Buttons

Eight

 

USB Report Rate

1,000/2,000Hz

 

Color

Black

 

Mouse Feet

PTFE

 

Cable

1.8 m / 6 ft., braided, fixed

 

Dimensions

127.0(L) x 89.0(W) x 43.0(H) mm / 5.00”(L) x 3.50”(W) x 1.69”(H)

 

Weight

133g / 0.31 lbs. (w/o cable and accessories)

 

Warranty

Two years

 

The DARK CORE RGB series is now back with the PRO model, which fixes some reliability problems from the original, updates the tracking sensor, improves the battery life quite a bit, modifies the button layout on the left side panel, offers two wireless connectivity option but also a wired one and more. Let’s get into more detail by taking a look at the packaging first!

 

The mouse is shipped inside a medium-sized cardboard enclosure, with the signature CORSAIR color scheme; right on the top cover, we will get to see how the mouse does look while operating, but we do also spot some logos of supported technologies. As before, the SE model does feature Qi wireless charging, which is quite handy when you do pair it with CORSAIR’s MM1000 pad:

 

 

 

 

On the left side of the box, we will see the “Win without wires” saying, CORSAIR explaining with this that we are dealing with a wireless peripheral:

 

 

 

On the bottom, we will be able to spot the box contents, but also the sticker with the product serial number and internal code name:

 

 

 

The back side does offer a list of product features, in multiple languages, along with the system requirements:

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will end up with some documents, but also the main product and its bundle, sitting in a combination of cardboard and transparent plastic:

 

 

 

The documents are similar to the ones we have spotted with previous CORSAIR peripherals:

 

-Safety & Compliance Information

-Warranty Guide

-WEEE

-The User’s Manual

 

 

 

The manual does explain the main product components and how they should be used, the Bluetooth pairing modes but also the meaning if the LED status indicators:

 

 

 

The DARK CORE RGB PRO SE is offered with a detachable USB cable, but also a replaceable side panel and a SLIPSTREAM low-latency wireless dongle:

 

 

 

The cable is USB Type-C on the mouse end, is fully braided and has a length of 1.8m:

 

 

 

The overall shape design is shared from the original DARK CORE RGB, with rubberized coating in the thumb rest and palm rest areas. Given the size of the mouse (127(L) x 89(W) x 43(H) mm), we found the mouse suitable for both claw and palm grips:

 

 

 

Between the left and right mouse buttons, we will find the RGB-enabled scroll wheel, the battery/wireless LED indicator but also the profile cycle button. The internal design of the scroll wheel has been updated, for a better durability. The left/right click buttons feature mechanical switches from Omron, with a rating of 50 million actuations:

 

 

 

The DPI steps can be cycled by using the buttons on the left:

 

 

 

On the left side of the mouse, we can see the positioning of the DPI/profile LEDs in the front, but the button layout has been completely re-worked. The design is now simpler, with a forward and a backward button, surrounded by RGB lighting:

 

 

 

The back-panel layout has been preserved from the older model, with the dotted design rubberized surface and the RGB-enabled CORSAIR logo:

 

 

 

The right panel of the mouse is removable and we can replace it with the additionally bundled component:

 

 

 

On the bottom area of the mouse, we will spot its power rating, serial number but also the internal code name and supported standards. The SE model also includes the Qi charging logo as well, while in the middle we have the PAW3392 optical sensor lens. This sensor was optimized in cooperation with PixArt, so the user would be able to adjust it from 100DPI (great for sniping) up to 18000DPI, in 1DPI increments. CORSAIR also aimed with this sensor at low power consumption, for improved battery life while in wireless mode, while the sensor can track and report the position of the cursor at speeds up to 450 inches per second, with a mouse acceleration of up to 50G. While the polling rate is adjustable for most high-end mice up to 1000Hz, the Hyper-Polling technology integrated with this mouse allows reports to be done at 2000Hz, meaning that data packets are sent at ever 0.5ms:

 

 

 

The operating mode selector no longer looks like a button as on the older model, but as a switch, that can slide with ease from one position to another; in order to assure smooth gliding on the surface, the DARK CORE RGB PRO SE does have five separate PTFE feet installed:

 

 

 

Going back to the bundled accessories, we have the interchangeable side grip but also the SLIPSTREAM wireless dongle:

 

 

 

As before, the side grip does attach to the mouse with magnets:

 

 

CORSAIR has minimized the size of the dongle, so it won’t take a lot of space when used along more portable setups:

 

 

 

After removing the stock side grip, we will unveil a storage compartment for the dongle as well, something that was not available with the original DARK CORE:

 

 

 

The installation of the accessory can be done in just a few seconds!

 

 

 

Right after we have turned on the mouse, the RGB lighting will start operating as well:

 

 

 

 

 

If you are purchasing the Qi (SE) model, make sure that you are also getting the MM1000 mouse pad, for the ultimate wireless experience (no need for charging cables). When not used, the mouse can be easily placed in the designated charging area and the charge process will start right away, even if the mouse is not turned off!

 

 

 

The mouse will signal that the wireless charging has begun by flashing white all light segments, a single time. We can also monitor the charging process from the green LED of the MM1000 mouse pad:

 

 

 

Right after connecting the DARK CORE RGB PRO SE to our computer, it was displayed in iCUE as well; iCUE is also able to show the current operating mode of the mouse:

 

 

 

The GUI dedicated for it does show multiple photos of the design, but also plenty of menus on the left side:

 

 

 

First, we do have the Actions area, where the user can assign different functions to the available buttons:

 

 

 

Here are the options available:

 

 

 

Macro

Text

Media

Launch Application

Timer

Disable

 

Profile Switching

Remap A-Z Keys

Remap Num & Symbol Keys

Remap Function Keys

Remap Enhanced Keys

Remap Numeric Keypad

Remap Modifiers and Lock Keys

Remap Language Keys

Remap Mouse Button

Remap Keystroke

 

The Lighting Effects area is organized in the same manner:

 

 

 

Plenty of presets are available to work with:

 

 

 

Rainbow

Color Pulse

Color Shift

Visor

Rain

Rainbow Wave

Static Color

Solid

 

Gradient

Ripple

Wave

Spiral Rainbow

Color Wave

Type Lighting

Temperature

 

From the DPI area, we can configure the DPI steps, together with the DPI indicator color:

 

 

 

In the Performance tab, we can enable Angle Snapping, but also enable the option to Enhance pointer precision:

 

 

 

A Surface Calibration mode is also supplied, for fine-tuning the sensor to the surface you will use the mouse on:

 

 

 

The Settings area of iCUE does show the current battery charge level, the selected Polling Rate, allow selection of the LED brightness level, customize de power saving features and more:

 

 

 

The original DARK CORE was one of our favorite mice hands-down, thanks to the comfortable shape, good tracking sensor, but we have had some issues regarding the wireless dongle. The revised model now operates with SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS technology while using the new adapter, the PixArt PAW 3392 optical sensor has a resolution of up to 18000 DPI and was also fine-tuned for low power consumption. We have used the mouse for gaming in titles such as Dying Light, StarCraft 2, Beyond Two Souls and Resident Evil 2, but also for productivity work such as writing articles, editing video files, searching the web for certain documentation and so on…from a single charge we have obtained about 34 hours with the RGB LEDs turned off, which is awesome!

 

The SE model is even more interesting versus the regular DARK CORE RGB PRO, since it can charge wirelessly with Qi technology; by using the same MM1000 pad as before, we found the new, revised model easier to position to the right spot on the pad. With the original DARK CORE RGB SE, we needed to check out different positions of the mouse on the pad in order for it to start charging at full speed; there were even cases when the pad was signaling that the mouse was charging correctly after leaving it as-is for several hours, but the end result was a half-charged battery. This was corrected fully with the new PRO model so we never ended up needing to charge the mouse via the supplied USB cable.

 

The DARK CORE RGB PRO SE pricing is set at 110 Euros including taxes, while the non-SE can be had for about 100 Euros.

 

Let’s check out the Pros and Cons:

 

Pros:

 

-new sensor with better tracking capabilities and power saving features

-optimized wireless charging for the SE model, by using the MM1000 pad

-improved battery life

-optimized left side panel for a better comfort

-nine-zone dynamic RGB lighting, fully adjustable via iCUE

-eight configurable buttons via iCUE

-onboard storage for storing profiles

-USB Type-C port on the mouse for simplifying cable connection

-Polling Rate is configurable up to 2000Hz

-SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS technology that implies channel hopping on-the-fly

 

Cons:

 

-the DPI cycle buttons near the left click button are not so easy accessible

 

CORSAIR DARK CORE RGB PRO SE Wireless FPS/MOBA Gaming Mouse is Recommended for:

 

 

 

We would like to thank again to CORSAIR for making this review possible!