Roccat Savu Gaming Mouse Review

Roccat have made name for themselves in the gaming peripheral market over the past few years, going head to head with the likes of SteelSeries, Razer and Logitech. They now offer a comprehensive range of gaming peripherals which includes various gaming mice, surfaces, keyboards and headsets. Today we are going to look at Roccat’s latest gaming mouse, the Savu, which offers an adjustable 4000 DPI optical sensor and is the first mouse to offer Roccat’s Achievements Display, which is an application that tracks gaming feats and provides a statistics for analysis. Roccat have kindly supplied us with one of their Taito gaming surfaces which we will use for testing. We will also look at this briefly during the review. Features Adjustable 4000 DPI Pro-Optic (R3) Sensor with true 400, 800, 1600 or 4000 DPI. Easy-Shift[+] Button Duplicator with Easy-Aim and Easy-Wheel Functions. Customisable multi-colour lighting: 16.8 million colours and effects and game profile illumination. No-sweat side grips for extended slip free play. Roccat Driver and Macro Manager for advanced customization and presets for games and apps. Optimum mid-size design with perfectly balanced weight. Ultra-precise 2D wheel with lock-in incremental steps. Ergonomic right-hand design with soft-touch ultra comfort surface. Braided cable offering a robust, stylish connection. Zero angle snapping for true competition gaming. Highest quality components for solid build and long life. Specifications 4000 DPI Optical Gaming Sensor. Omron switches. 60 inches per second maximum speed. 20G acceleration. 125, 250, 500, 1000 Hz polling rate. Zero angle snapping. 1.8m braided USB cable. Weight: 90g. Roccat package the Savu within a rather unconventionally shaped box which features a large tapered section along one edge. It’s decorated in a very attractive black and blue livery which features a large image of the mouse on the front alongside a list of key features. Turning the box around reveals an additional image of the mouse which is used to illustrate various features. There is also a more detailed list of features and specifications which is repeated in nine different languages. Inside the box, the mouse is suspended within a plastic tray which should provide a good level of protection during transit. The included bundle is very limited and consists only of a concise quick start guide and a Roccat ID card. It’s very obvious from a glance that the Savu is the spawn of the Roccat design team as a number of the underlying design connotations are shared with other gaming mice in their range such as the Kone and Kova. This particular mouse features a right-handed ergonomic form factor like a lot of other gaming mice on the market. Those who want to game left handed should consider Roccat’s ambidextrous models like the Kova instead. Even though the Savu is exclusively finished in black, Roccat have mixed things up a little by using different finishes on different sections of the mouse. The top section of the mouse has a soft touch rubberised paint finish and the sides of the mouse have a rough finish to improve grip. Roccat have also added a little design flare by using gloss black for the browser forward and back buttons and the edges of the mouse wheel. Roccat infuse a little life into the aesthetic design of the mouse using a small LED strip along the back edge of the mouse. This can be configured to a number of different colours and effects. The left and right hand mouse buttons both use high quality Omron switches which are weighted perfectly. The mouse wheel isn’t quite so refined, though, and has a rough action which makes precise movements slightly tricky. The browser forward and back buttons are located directly above the thumb alcove in the left hand side of the mouse. They are perfectly located as they can’t easily be activated during normal use but they are easily accessible when required. Like the other models in Roccat’s range of gaming mice, the Savu features EasyShift[+] which effectively doubles the number of configurable buttons you have available. Firstly you have to assign one of the buttons as the EasyShift[+] button and then you can configure functions for the remaining buttons when pressed in conjunction with the EasyShift[+] button. Build quality reflects the high standard we’ve come to expect from Roccat. They have given the USB cable a cloth braided shielding which is a trait that identifies most high-end gaming mice. The USB connector is silver plated and the moulding behind it shaped in the usual Roccat style. As we mentioned earlier in the review, Roccat supplied us with a sample of their Taito gaming surface to test with the Savu today. Roccat supply the Taito is supplied rolled up inside a substantial clear plastic packet. The front of the packet features little samples of the texture of the surface so you can see what it’s like before you purchase. There are three different sizes of the Taito which are all available in two different thicknesses, 3 and 5 mm. We have the mid-size 5 mm Taito to test which measures 400 x 320mm. The small version measures 265 x 210 mm and the large version measures 455 x 370 mm. The heat treated cloth surface of the mate has an extremely fine weave which helps the mouse glide around effortlessly. Underneath this, Roccat has attached a thick sheet of rubber which prevents it from slipping around the desk. The different thicknesses available are suited to different levels of pressure applied. The thicker version that we have to test is spongier than the thinner version and therefore has more give. All good gaming mice these days are supplied with some form of configuration utility and the Roccat Savu is no exception. Roccat direct us to their website to download and install the latest version of the software utility to ensure that we have the latest version. The first page of the software is labelled ‘Main Control’ and features all of the controls for the performance of the mouse including sensitivity, DPI, pointer speed, scroll speed, tilt speed and double click speed. The software also enables us to set up different configuration profiles for different games and applications. On the second page of the software we are able to configure the button assignments. The Savu isn’t ideal for those who require a vast array of macro buttons but, with EasyShift[+], the Savu does have a few options. There are numerous different pre-defined functions which can be assigned to the configurable buttons including Photoshop actions and multimedia controls. Moving on to the ‘Advanced Control’ page, we find some further configuration options including polling rate and independent sensitivity controls for the X and Y axes. We can also adjust the LED lighting area of the mouse in this area of the software. The fourth page of the software contains the Roccat Achievements Display or R.A.D. for short, which gives us a selection of statistics about how we’ve been using the mouse. The fifth and final page of the software directs us to the download page for the latest mouse drives and to the online support section of the Roccat website should you run into any issues with your mouse. We were very impressed with the gaming performance of the Savu during our tests. We tried the mouse with a number of different gaming surfaces and we have to say that the Taito is perfectly suited to the Savu, provided you’ve got enough room on the desk. Turing the mouse upside down gives us a glimpse of the 4000 DPI optical sensor. There are also two vast Teflon feet on the underside of the mouse which let it glide around effortlessly. Being an optical gaming mouse, the Savu is likely to be favoured by FPS gamers. We tested the mouse with a number of titles including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and it tracked perfectly throughout with no noticeable lapses at all. The light weight of the mouse enables agile movements which we find preferable for FPS gaming. Overall we are left with very positive impressions of the Roccat Savu gaming mouse. It offers the same impressive build quality that we’ve experienced from Roccat in the past and we have no doubt that this mouse will survive a tough gaming environment for many years. Despite the very simple aesthetic design of the Savu, it has to be one of the most attractive mice that we’ve ever laid eyes on. The rough textured finish on the sides of the mouse won’t be to everyone’s tastes but it gave us a more secure grip on the mouse than the smooth rubber finish adopted by many manufacturers. The only aspect of the Savu which we felt could be improved was the mouse wheel. It doesn’t feel as refined as the wheel on the Corsair Vengeance M60 which allows much more precise selection when scrolling. The Savu wheel is also rather noisy in operation. If you are in the market for a new gaming mouse, the Roccat Savu can be yours for a price of £50 from Overclockers UK. At this price we feel that the Savu offers good value for money. It’s exactly the same price as the Corsair Vengeance M60 which is a great alternative if you would prefer a laser sensor for FPS gaming. The Roccat Taito is a perfect companion for the Savu and can be purchased for £12 from Overclockers UK. Pros: Sublime aesthetics. Solid build quality. Highly configurable. Lightweight. Cons: Mouse wheel could be more refined. KitGuru says: An excellent option if you're in the market for a new optical gaming mouse.

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Roccat Savu Gaming Mouse Review

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