Introduction




At first I want to thank ROCCAT for providing me the Kova gaming mouse, part of their SDMS platform, for testing and reviewing.



The Kova is a new driverless mouse from ROCCAT, light and with high precision which has a nice futuristic design, like a floating car without wheels. Being driverless, all of its settings can be done on-the-fly, in any application, which is very useful, especially in intensive games like Counterstrike : Source.

About ROCCAT
“ROCCAT™ is the snow storm to the gaming industry. Everything called gaming before needs to be redefined. You will enter a world in which three attributes will keep you on the right path: alliance, independence and truth.

"DO IT YOUR OWN WAY AND DON'T TALK SHIT"
– this is the statement ROCCAT follows.

The ROCCATEERS can be found all over the world. And it was a revelation which led them together to energize the crucial benefit. The lake Inari long kept the secret our ROCCAT scientists call "Aimo". With every ROCCAT tool you will more and more internalize its Energy. Become part of our alliance.”

Unboxing

The ROCCAT Kova mouse is packed in a very stylish cardboard box. On the top part we can see the ROCCAT logo, the fact that this product is part of the SDMS system; the main features are written in the left center part; also in the center, we can see the top part of the actual product, covered against damages with plastic; on the bottom part we can see some other specifications, written with text and described with icons :



On one of the box laterals, we can see the ROCCAT logo, embossed:



On another side of the box, we can see what one of the ROCCAT scientist said regarding this product and one of the seals of the box :



On the side with the ROCCAT embossed logo, we can see an OPEN sign :



On other lateral, we can see the mouse lighting described :



If we open the box where indicated, without unsealing the box, we can find more information :



The information I was talking about is related on how this product integrates into the SDMS platform from ROCCAT, the fact that we get with the mouse a ROCCAT ID card and we get to see what a professional gamer has to say related to this product :



In the box, along with the mouse which can be found in another protective box, there is a Divinity 2 presentation paper inside :

Along with the Divinity 2 presentation, we can find a Case : Inari “confidential document”, in which we can find the ROCCAT member card and other interesting stories I do not want to spoil :



We can also find inside the Quick Installation Guide :

Up Close

Since this is a driverless mouse, we can see the full operation procedures inside the Quick Installation Guide :




The mouse has a very interesting shaped USB connector :



The cable length is 2m :



The mouse looks very interesting when looked from the top; its shape is very aerodynamic and resembles a futuristic race car;for example, the Audi Shark ( to be more exact this mouse looks exactly like the cars that float in the air, that can be seen in Sci-Fi movies ):



On the right part of the mouse, we can see that there are 2 extra plastic buttons and a little rubber part under them :



On the left and right click buttons, we can find some portions that are transparent, embedded, through which the inside LEDs light gets outside :



On the back of the mouse, on each lateral, we get to see other places which light up with the help of the multi-colored LEDs inside the mouse :



Here is a complete view of the mouse back :



On the other part of the mouse, the left one, we can see another 2 plastic black buttons, rubber under them for a better grip and a nice Kova logo on the left :



Here is a close-up of the Kova logo :



The frontal part of the mouse also looks very nice and the center scroll wheel is fully made of rubber and moves very smooth :



Also, on the right mouse click button, we can find the ROCCAT logo, embossed :



On the back of the mouse, we can see the black Teflon feet, the mouse serial number, the optical sensor and the fact that this mouse was designed in Germany and manufactured in Malaysia :

Colors and Buttons Explored

Here is how the mouse buttons are pre-defined and numbered on the user manual :



The functions that we can perform by pushing the buttons are the following:

we have to press buttons 4+6 at the same time when plugging the mouse into the USB port to switch between right and left-handed mode;

to set the light effect to pulsing, full or no illumination, we have to press both 4+6 buttons, after the mouse has been initialized;

to set the resolution to 400, 800, 1600 or 3200dpi, we have to push both 5+7 buttons; as a confirmation, for 400dpi we get red lights flashed; for 800dpi LED flashes violet; for 1600dpi LED flashes green and for 3200dpi, the LED flashes blue;

to set the pulsing mode to change color after one, two or three pulses, or holding the color after each pulse, we have to press buttons 4 and 7 simultaneously;

to switch from one color to another, we have to press the 5 and 6 buttons simultaneously.

LED color examples

Usage and Conclusive Thoughts

I have tested this mouse in both Excel/Office and browsing the internet environment and also games environment by playing Wolfenstein, Borderlands and Counterstrike : Source. The precision is very good but each person that will use this mouse needs some time to get used to it, especially after modifying the DPI.


Wearing clothing is optional when you’re using Roccat gaming gear! ;-)
pic © Xbit Labs

I really like at this mouse that even if it has multiple LEDs, they are not placed badly to distract the user and in some conditions, if the user wants to disable them completely, it’s possible. The mouse feels very light and moves smoothly on most mouse pads. For example, this mouse is much lighter than the Mionix Saiph 3200 or the ROCCAT Kone.

Finally, I also appreciate that this mouse is driverless so we will not have issues when connecting it to any platform or operating system ( now and in the future ). The only minus for some would be that we cannot change the functions for the pre-defined programmable buttons.

With a retail price between €40~50 this mouse is not cheapest gaming mouse out there. If feature set, left/right hand friendliness and overall ok build quality do put it at a higher pedestal than generic gaming mice. Whether or not it’s worth the asking price depends if it fulfils your needs



I would like to thank again to ROCCAT for making this review possible.