Zowie FK1 gaming mouse review

Rating: 8.0.

Peripheral makers love to stand out from the crowd. That often means adding any number of features to their latest peripheral just to catch your eye, be it new colour schemes, lighting options, adjustable weights or anything else they can think of. That is all well and good, but what if you don't want a laser sensor, or remappable buttons and adjustable weights? What if you want something nice and simple, with a few buttons, a reasonable DPI and a tried and tested optical sensor?

That is the type of gamer Zowie is hoping to appeal to with its new FK1 mouse. 

Features

• Ambidextrous mouse developed for claw grip usage.
• Two thumb buttons on both sides to comfortably serve left- and right-handed users.
• Plug and Play (no drivers needed).
• Easy to switch between left- and right-hand functionality.
• 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 DPI adjustment.
• Adjustable USB report rate 125 / 500 / 1000 Hz.
• Perfect lift-off distance = 1.5 ~ 1.8mm.
• Operating system: Win2000/XP/VISTA/7/8; Mac OS X v10.2 after.

The packaging for the Zowie FK1 is pretty simple, like the mouse itself. There is a clear plastic section to help those few people that might buy this in-store.

The back and front both list its big selling points, which point out that this mouse can go up to 3,200 DPI and there there is a colour code for each step.

The only ‘accessories' with the Zowie FK1 are a sticker and a pair of teflon mouse feet replacements, for when you wear through the stock ones with all of your frantic gaming.

The Zowie FK1 is a very streamlined looking mouse. If you were feeling unkind, you might say it looks basic. Based around Zowie's marketing though, that is clearly the look and feel it was going for.

This is an ambidextrous mouse, with thumb buttons (mapped to forward and back) on both the left and right hand side. The shell is made from a hard plastic and is not particularly soft, but it is comfortable to the touch.

The only styling that breaks up the uniform black is a yellow Zowie logo at the rear and a bright yellow scroll wheel at the front.

The wheel sits between the usual left and right click buttons, which extend naturally from the main body of the mouse without a break.

You will find the DPI switch for the FK1 on the underside, as well as an LED indicator to let you know what the sensitivity is currently set at (400, 800, 1600 or 3200). The optical sensor is located in the centre and there are two large, teflon (or the non-branded equivalent) pads, one at the front and one at the rear.

The cable features a gold plated connector, but the cable is just standard rubber, no braiding.

Mice and other peripherals are very subjective to test, so instead of trying to devise some sort of cold, numbers based test, we put them through their paces in general usage scenarios and note down what we think. This is the best way we can think to give you an accurate idea of what a mouse, keyboard or headset is like in the ‘ real world'.

When it comes to my own usage of the Zowie FK1 – I found it to be exceptional in many respects. It is an incredibly accurate rodent, which should not come as a surprise since it makes use of the already much lauded over Avago 3310 sensor.

It delivers very low levels of jitter and no acceleration or prediction to give you a very good one to one ratio of mouse to pointer movement. It also has a very low lift-off distance, so if you find yourself scrambling for space on a little mouse mat, it will be right up your street.

Throughout testing, I tried the FK1 in a number of different genres of games, including shooters, strategies, puzzlers and RPGs and found it equally versatile in all of them. It is not the most sensitive mouse in the world, but most of those ones sporting ‘12,000 DPI' are just doing it for marketing numbers rather than any practical purpose. In reality I would be surprised if you would need anything close to that unless you are operating multiple 4K displays.

Of course with this being a mouse with an optical sensor, it does not play ball with desk surfaces, so if you plan to buy this one you will need a mouse mat; preferably a cloth one. However, due to the lack of gimmicky features, chances are if you are considering the FK1, you are doing so for its sensor and little else.

While I can applaud Zowie's mentality of making its gaming peripherals plug and play only, it does seem a shame that there is not some customisation options with the FK1. You can adjust the DPI with the switch underneath, but it is hardly useful for on-the-fly changes. Similarly the polling rate can only be adjusted with a complicated combination of button presses.

I am not one for a plethora of macros, but the options to make the two buttons that are there a little more personal would have been nice, as well.

The buttons on the FK1 have a nice tactile feel to them and they are a little stiffer than some mice I have used. The scroll targets a specific audience. While it gives you good feedback on each notch, the noise when you scroll quickly can get quite irritating. Personally, I prefer a quieter scroller.

Comfort wise, the FK1 scores very highly. The slightly rough surface means that even if you get quite sweaty during a game, you will maintain your grip without difficulty.

So how does the Zowie FK 1 stand at the end of it all? It is priced at the top of the mid-range for gaming mice and on the surface does not seem to have a lot of features. So is it worth it?

As with a lot of peripherals, it is really going to come down to what you want in a mouse. This is a rodent that is designed to be a worthy successor of the FK: a serious gamer's mouse with none of the distracting bells and whistles of its contemporaries. No you do not have huge DPI options, complicated back end software and customisable lighting, nor do you have remappable side buttons or adjustable weights.

But that is not what this mouse is about.

This is a mouse for gaming and when that is what you are doing, it's nearly unparalleled in its level of accuracy. It is smooth and right on the money every time you move it. If when it comes to your gaming, performance and accuracy are your most important features, then this could very well be the mouse for you.

It is also very comfortable, but potential owners should bear in mind that it is comfortable in the same way a firm mattress is: it is supportive, not cushioning. So do not expect a soft, spongy, rubber or silicon surface. This is a hard-skinned mouse with a slight texture to make sure that it remains grippy even when you are sweating up a storm.

That said, this mouse is not perfect. I think it is a shame that Zowie opted for an underside DPI switch, as I see little gained by putting it there rather than topside. It would have been nice to see some basic remapping options too, but I will side with Zowie on not needing all of the other extras it has left out. I am not sure anyone does much with adjustable weights really.

So all in all the FK1 is a fantastic gaming mouse, that is incredibly accurate under all circumstances. No it will not blow your socks off when it comes to its feature list and if I had my way, you would get a few little extras for your £50, but sometimes you need to pay for quality, even if it is only in a few key areas.

The Zowie FK1 can be bought from Overclockers for £50.

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Pros

• Avago 3310 sensor is supremely accurate and smooth.
• Comfortable and grips well even with perspiration build up.
• Glides around very nicely on a good cloth mat.
• Ambidextrous.
• Simple set up, no drivers required.

Cons

• Optical sensor is no good without a mat.
• Would have liked to see a top side DPI selector and some remapping options.
• Missing largely unnecessary, common mouse trappings like a high DPI, braided cable, adjustable weights etc.
• Scroll wheel was noisy.

KitGuru Says: While many gamers might find the FK1 a little simple and streamlined for their tastes, those who take their gaming a bit more seriously will love the no-nonsense set up and lack of distracting features. It is a solid performer that would be hard to beat in a straight fight for gaming precision.

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