Corsair Darkstar Review / An INNOVATIVE Gaming Mouse

[@amosreginaldjr.4200]

Dang, as tempting as it is to get this mouse, I want to see how it holds up a year later My history with Corsair mice haven’t been the best

[@JLzg484]

Yeah, picked one up after watching this video for work and a year later it broke smh

[@herbiemaster]

definitely needs grip tape on the top/main buttons and after a year or so the thump rest begins to wobble. At my replacement mouse, after about 3-4 months the the thump rest begins to slightly wobble again. That's nothing what I would expect from a 170€ mouse, at that time (it's about 120€ now)

[@audiojunkie5435]

@@herbiemaster Yep, I have the thumb section wobble. Fixed it with adhesive strips. I've had three of these, all with dodgy scroll wheels that are unresponsive when tilting the middle mouse button. No way is it worth over £100. Build quality I'd slap it at £50...

[@BrandonSmith-iu6fc]

Super excited for this mouse. I'm glad they are bringing this design back for the side buttons. This is very similar to the Corsair vengeance m95 mouse that came out over a decade ago, which was my favorite mouse of all time. I would still be using that mouse if my cat never ate the cord to it lol.

[@RinoirVirance]

When I saw the design, I immediately was reminded of the M95 Vengeance too… I’m very tempted to get this mouse!

[@Harrymannable]

Still got it. Bought an extra after a few years just to have a spare. Still works great☺️ glad to see the design come back now

[@xanderwusky]

To me it seems like a lot of inspiration for taken from the g502. Which isn’t a bad thing. It’s got very similar buttons to that mouse. Just more of them on the side. It’s also got a similar profile light and rgb. The overal shape is also similar. I’ve had the g502 for a long time. Bought 3 of them by now. But this Corsair one seems really attractive. The only things I don’t like from the g502 is that it could have just a couple more buttons as well as usb c, and for me it’s slightly to small to make my pinky and ring finger comfortable. Since this one is a bit smaller I’m gonna have to try it out if I see it in the store some time. But if my hand is fine with the slightly smaller size I might switch to it at some point

[@Kiobao]

This mouse sounds really interesting and on my radar, it's just too expensive. I LOVE the 6 buttons on the side since 12 buttons for MMOs always felt too much, and 2 buttons just isn't enough. If they just had left and right tilt, took out most of the RGB besides maybe 1 or 2 strips, reduce cost and weight, and shave down the side so it doesn't catch because I do that a lot, this could be an amazing mouse to me. I'm curious as to what the battery life is if you turn off most of the RGB. Keep just the strip above the corsair logo.

[@Turvok]

It looks pretty similar to my steelseries rival 500. They don't make it any longer and i'm worried if it quits i'm going to need a replacement. I use all my buttons on it for PUBG and love it.

[@aliahmedov4674]

i have corsair sabre wired and its so underrated

[@TheTechne]

100% way underrated

[@aliahmedov4674]

@@TheTechne i think the reason why its not popular is its so big that nobody wants it. And some firmware problems made it worst but if you have a big hand, this is one of the longest and lightest mouse you can find in market

[@yhiz4757]

I've used this mouse and all I can say is I'd rather use a logitech g402 over that mouse, and the g402 is terrible. Just get a viper mini lol, fingertip with any hand size works great and it's a super solid mouse

[@Juice8767]

YOOOOO!!!! I LOVE mmo mice that don't use number grid button layouts I'm a guy that needs options but I can never tell which buttons I'm trying to push when they're all mushed together. I'll be snagging one of these badboys for sure!

[@turbo558]

Corsair, if you see this, dont listen to his core idea of removing buttons lol would be better off ditching bluetooth and the tilt function and lightening it up. There are players like me in FPS that want mice like this with more hotkeys. Not very common.

[@VarjoPira]

Finally found the apt key binds and muscle memory set in on this. Great mouse, clicks feel good, pretty and premium build., and it sits extremely comfortably in the hand. Can it be improved? Yes, change side button sizes and layout subtly, raise the wheel a bit for better tilt functionality. The premise is among the best already.

[@telkaivokalma]

Those tilt gestures almost had me insta buy. Idk if I can replace my infinite scroll wheel from my g502 though.

[@JustinTheMan369]

I just bought one of these and it should be delivered in a couple of days. I play FPS games exclusively and the tilt gestures will likely be nice in games that enable leaning. A naturally intuitive translation.

[@phucnguyen0110]

Thank you for yet another great review, Uncle Techne! I've been watching the videos of you reviewing the HS55/65 headsets from Corsair so I might grab them later :D

[@TheTechne]

thank you for watching :)

[@xShadowBlitz117]

My Corsair glaive pro just died on me after five years and this mouse seems like a great replacement to it! A little sad that I can't rebuy my glaive but this looks like the best next thing to it.

[@DaveAlkema]

I can imagine using tilt up to throw a Celestial Fire Warlock melee. That seems pretty immersive! That said, for my preferences it's too large and too heavy. I might have to recommend it to some of my MMO friends though!

[@dobiloru]

i rly like the feeling of corsair mice, like their coating is outstanding for me, a rival 300 lightweight with the corsair coating would be a dream mouse for me

[@yhiz4757]

You should try the roccat kone pure ultra. God tier coating

[@mikeyhope7577]

The price is a joke

[@jj_withers_away]

The m90 was my favorite mmo mouse of all time... this looks like the evolution of that. May need to pick this one up.

[@little_fluffy_clouds]

A heavy mouse with very short battery life, sporting a super-high price. Sound like a winner(!) to me.

[@jol7754]

Give this man a 👍 up ,he is the honest reviewer you can find

[@TheTechne]

thank you so much

[@James-fv1cm]

@@TheTechnewhat do you prefer between the dark star or night sabre?? I’m torn between decision!

[@CptAloevera]

This would be perfect for my sister

[@YoloToSolo]

I've been using G604 since release and this DarkStar Mouse gives me the same vibes but upgraded and way cooler I want dis so bad!

[@michaelwhiteley]

I really like the side button layout and it is really hard to find a mouse with buttons on the side towards the back (excluding the MMO ones with a ton of buttons). I only every use the back 3 buttons on the side just because of how my hand sits.

[@kjotuber2729]

wow g502 inspire, like it!

[@loquacious1956]

Pity they do not have a left handed version. I have the Corsair Icue ecosystem except for mouse and keyboard. I love wireless but they don't have a left handed wireless mouse and the K100 air keyboard is WAY too expensive.

[@DewieWZ]

ayy, another amazing upload from The Techne. Great review.

[@CalmTempest]

I'm pretty sure the rubber at the bottom is so you can more accurately tilt the mouse

[@lipvandip6480]

It's basically a steelseries rival 500, used to have one and it was great

[@flackenstien]

Why the side buttons on mice gotta be literally everywhere except where my thumb can reach?

[@LogPile444]

This was a great review Techne, such a cool idea for a mouse too 😁

[@WatchMysh]

Thanks for the review! :)

[@meno2294]

still to this day nothing beats the G600 for me I can't live without that third click

[@thejonster9490]

You should review more on the side buttons in full use, to see how comfortable they are. That's what ends up making me send the mice back.

[@TheTechne]

will do

[@thejonster9490]

@@TheTechne No worries man :).

[@iMind-Juris]

9:12 it is an MMO mouse, meant for games with far too many actions. If you just want two extra buttons, you don't want an MMO mouse 😕 Those six buttons are not as overwhelming as other MMO mice with their 12 buttons, but still provide a quick way to activate several specific macros and/or actions without taking your hand off the controls.

[@juanpalacio7068]

Part made no sense to me lol. Instead of modifying the MMO mouse for zero reasons, how about u just go pick from one of the other 7,000 "2 button" options out there...fucks sake 😂 I get this kind of mouse isn't everyone's cup of tea...but there's seriously a lack of these kinds of designs. Not a fan of the keyboard style side buttons and like the ergonomics of well placed buttons like this. Started with a logitech G700, lasted for years. Finally gave out, and finding a replacement with several buttons WITH the 4way scroll was a much bigger pain in the ass than I thought. Went with the Steelseries Rival 500, was a solid replacement until my damn cat chewed through the cord and couldnt get a replacement because they stopped making them. Went with Roccat Kone Air XP, scroll wheel is going out in less than 3 months and wasnt a fan of it to begin with compared to the others. Hoping this thing will prove to be decent.

[@iMind-Juris]

@@juanpalacio7068 So true 😆😆

[@Reformedekko]

I bought it for tarkov, Ready or not, and overwatch, I bought the nightsabre to replace my glaive rgb pro but it's just too small for my hands

[@iMind-Juris]

@@Reformedekko I don't know much about the first two, but I bet having plenty of quick actions in Overwatch is a big help. Especially when it leaves your left hand squarely on wasd, without having to stretch for anything.

[@llxVxll]

pretty good but there are a few things i would personally change just from looking at the mouse. add a thumb rest, especially since there is very little space for the thumb that isn't a button. add an optional pinky rest (?), would help but not necessary improve battery life, 20 hours is pathetic. My logitech g604 lasts almost 250 hours on a single AA battery. Doesnt have to be that long though, even 100-150 hours would be reasonable. Definitely fix the bottom gripping issue discussed in the video. I'd love to get a logitech mouse to finish off my peripherals running all corsair stuff. This is impressive but I don't think its enough for me to give up my g604 quite yet especially since this things is 3x the price i paid for it

[@juan5h]

Excellent and honest review as always. I loved the darkstar, I would like to see a review of the Asus Gladius 3, it is ergo and has interchangeable switches, it seems interesting and innovative

[@TheSilverKnight]

Better question is, why is it usb a instead of usb c for the dongle?

[@dicksonchan6246]

I'm interested in this product but would wait for the price to drop... The price is a bit to steep at this point

[@HM-qf8ml]

Why suggest reducing the buttons? That already exists.

[@alcarva]

Please Corsair dont listen to him and keep the buttons on the side!!!

[@moepOo]

Does Corsair have something like Razer's Hypershift?

[@TiredWallaby29]

I think ill wait when technical tester are able to give us specs like MCU, polling stability and motion latency

[@TheRealNor]

Just received the mouse today, and as it is beautiful and well designed, I believed I either received one that had immediate issues or they had a bad launch. My Darkstar does not show up when connected via USB or with the wireless dongle plugged in on ICUE, after trying to move it from the slipstream usb it came with to my XT receiver it now still does not show on ICUE but now doesn't work when the wireless dongle it came with is plugged in, tried a reinstall of the software itself but it did not change the issue sadly. Hoping they come up with an update soon or see my Email and can send me a new one. First time running into this issue out of possible 20+ different products, so I will stay hopeful.

[@devincurrie4145]

Same issue trying the same mouse on a different computer?

[@TheRealNor]

@@devincurrie4145Sorry, never updated here, issue was resolved, I ordered it day 1 and received it before the weekend, later during the next week they launched the ICUE update that synced the Darkstar, don't know if it was a early launch before the bugs were fixed or what.

[@Turvok]

pretty similar to my rival 500. I love it. This might be a good purchase for me. I'm worried it's going to be a bit smaller than i'm used to mouse wise though.

[@kutkuknight]

I went from Corsair M95 to a rival 500 as it was the only somewhat equivalent, do you have any other suggestions?

[@kutkuknight]

This layout isnt anything new, the Corsair M95 had it, the Steelseries Rival 500 had it, its just that today companies decide that ergonomics dont matter and they can force you to buy a shittier product because there are literally no alternatives

[@officialteamroc]

That's what I've been wanting another kone xp but lighter and better sensor!!! I like the extra buttons!!! Especially for fortnite.. roccat could make the kone xp lighter and better tech they would have a amazing gaming mouse

[@pusheencat7722]

what about the scroll wheel? I am struggling so much with mice and their scroll wheels no longer working in around the year mark. Just did a warranty claim on one (not Corsair), and they made me cut the cord despite me saying I don't have another mouse. It'll take at minimum 2 weeks to get to me, probably longer, so I am not quite happy. I want a mouse that will last me.

[@rob4eva]

Shame there aren't any optional wings on the side to rest your thumb and finger like the dark core.

[@avocadoarms358]

its about time we get a new big name brand mmo mouse, iv been surviving off of redragons versions and they dont use the nicest side buttons

[@AlfacinhadaTecnologia]

Wireless charging also, I think it will be great also

[@audiojunkie5435]

Corsair have removed the advertised 2,000hz polling and limited it to 1,000hz. First they lie about it and then they remove it altogether when it was a deciding factor for a lot of us.

[@ROCKETKOBE]

That tilt tho

[@NarekAvetisyan]

The price is ridiculous. Too expensive. Also don't remove the Bluetooth, its one of the reasons I looked at this mouse.

[@YuJay]

How's the mouse wheel? I destroy Corsair mouse wheels in just a couple of months..

[@jello2tube]

Doorage it is!!! Ty for the review.

[@takh6806]

Corsair need to make something to compete with GPX and DAV3

[@TheTechne]

I prefer something fresh. We see so many Zowie copies. As much as I do love them, a fresh take is always nice

[@takh6806]

@@TheTechne i wish for little bit smaller and lighter Corsair Sabre.

[@eymn-13]

i like the angle that Corsair was going for by trying to bring back an old mouse of theirs with a new and improved look to it. However, i cant help but feel as if the Darkstar still looks a tad bit goofy and very out non-ergonomic. i know Corsair is notorious for some of their mice having a silly, non-hand conforming shape, but i would have expected them to make those side buttons a little more organic looking. maybe im just being a critical pessimistic but thats just how i feel about the way it looks

[@kutkuknight]

Im currently looking for a replacement for my Rival 500, and this looks to be similar to the old M95, which was my favourite mouse ever, if its anything like it it will be absolutely amazing

[@illitero]

Do these things have opto-magnetic switches? They sound just like all of my Primes and one other mouse with the same switch type. I love the snappiness they offer, but sound weird compared against regular micro switches Corsair has remained one of the last holdouts of "big company capable of great things but chooses to be bananas" when it comes to peripherals, especially mice. Straight up: that price is _honestly_ more justified in having actual features and build versus the highway robbery of superlight mice. BUT. That's really the only justification they've got because of all you can do with this thing, it's just a few more buttons and an accelerometer. $30 cell phones have had those for over a decade. Claiming they're justified in a field of "we do it because we can" ego pricing from Logitech/Corsair/whatever doesn't make this better when stepping out of the subjective hype bubble. So given the price and their weird insistence on gAmEr designs that STILL do more to impede practicality/comfort than anything else, this thing is going to unjustly languish on the pile of examples why Corsair is not taken seriously in this space. They're one of my favorite companies when they do stuff right, so it's that reason why it bothers me so much when they continually dook on peripherals :/

[@NupoNupsNupsie]

i just got 2 darkstar - and on both, the right button er super shit, is yours like that too

[@WaywardTraveler77]

still not up on amazon.

[@fairycat]

Nice review thanks

[@LogPile444]

i am very interested to see what the techne has discovered 🤔

[@hauserhound]

Is the Corsair software compatible with a mac? Razer’s software is no longer compatible with macs that have thunderbolt only inputs. It requires a direct usb input. Dongles or usb hubs will not allow the software to recognize the device.

[@Tw33zD]

20 hours? That seems low

[@InaktiverUser]

how long lasts the battery with rgb lightning on fullest brightness ? up to 80 hours they mention on their website is only for turned off rgb lightning mode

[@Jordi_SP]

26.000 dpi? sigo sin entender porque tanto y que utilidad se le podria dar... ya que para jugar en condiciones, la sensibilidad dpi debe estar entre 800 dpi y 2000 dpi. si pones mucho mas de eso el puntero del ratón va tan extremadamente rapido de un lugar a otro que es injugable. Lo que tienen que hacer es mejorar la tecnología inalambrica para eliminar por completo el input lag y bajon de fps en los juegos al mover el puntero, además de mejorar la duración de la batería y ligereza del ratón, esas si son cosas que interesan, y no un número absurdo de DPI que nadie en todo el planeta usaría ni para un monitor de 100 pulgadas. Una vez dicho esto, este raton de corsair darkstar me parece de lo mas completo hoy en dia, tan solo falla en el precio

[@michaelthompson9798]

I know there are those with funds to purchase these high priced peripherals….. but technologically speaking there’s no reason to spend more than ~$80 for a feature rich high end mouse imo. I seems the this ~$170 price point is the default price all manufacturers are now aiming for and ignoring cheaper price points such as even the $50 price point as well. Overpricing (aka greed) is the generation we’re in which i feel is ruining the interest in the pc market. You don’t have to buy it …., agreed, but we need some great more affordable peripherals being released and not just the top end.

[@ds-yu4dh]

Corsair has plenty in that area though.

[@kingjordan9271]

Agreed. Is this twice the mouse over the logi G600 for MMO for more than twice the price? I think not. Just wish logitech would refresh that one

[@Kiobao]

I think the bulk of the cost is adding more RGB and the tilt function to the mouse. I'm curious how much cheaper it would be if it only had a side tilt, since that's the interesting tech gimmick in this mouse. They overloaded this with RGB too. RGB always makes things more pricy.

[@zlibz4582]

please review the latest redragon headset techne what happened to you ? you used to review good headsets ?

[@godsoldier3169]

ya we can say to dam heavy.but for mmo or any type of games like that.

[@wilazn]

The iCue bloatware kills it for me

[@brantleyanderson8872]

Do you know if you can use 1 dongle for 2 devices. I have the m65 wireless for fps games and wanted to pick this up for mmos. I was hoping they could share so I'm not eating up yet another usb spot. Thanks in advance!

[@devincurrie4145]

Will this work on Linux?

[@LD90Gaming]

i love heavy mice. allows me to get that accuracy i need. too light of a mouse, i move to much. This Miouse it too light for me. im used to 134grams

[@fejotore]

They should have done the night sword wireless. Sad

[@lucasomeister2823]

Does it have hyperscrl. Thx

[@Terran343]

i see myself reloading with a tilt😎

[@TheTechne]

dude, not sure if you spotted it in my gameplay, but I also set a til.t as reload, LOL

[@Terran343]

@@TheTechne yeah, thats why i want that feature xD

[@mhjmPRO]

Hello techne i found steelseries arctis pro no dac for 100$ do you recommend to me i play and i watch movies in music

[@divacroft1034]

wireless is 65 hours not 20...

[@nasulKK]

darmoshark m3 review?????

[@mikeisgettinupset]

This is so clearly a Logitech G502 / Razer Basilisk clone from Corsair.

[@Dezlator]

Still using Logitech G700s.

[@cyberneticorganism.]

I think that rubber is underneath on purpose @The Techne, for stopping the movement when tilting. And for this pricepoint i expect at least a loading hub to park the mouse on. But it's an interesting mouse, are the left / right mouse buttons mushy or fast clickable? I don't want to much travel there. It's what i consider an issue with my current Roccat Kone XP, the left / right mouse buttons could have been better.

[@Jeopardyx]

Dorage is solid lol

[@TheTechne]

lol

[@sekkev]

That big of a mouse and 20 hours of battery time? I'm good. -.-

[@VarjoPira]

Reduce brightness, gain A LOT of hours.

[@bijnov84]

its really expensive

[@matrex5499]

🥇

[@kineticninja7989]

I'm a current darkstar owner and cant recommend this mouse for anyone because it has so many fucking problems. Between the random connection drop outs, squeaky ass left mouse button, janky ass scroll wheel, and overall cheap/flimsy plastic housing, this mouse is an overpriced piece of trash. Save your money and get somethin more reliable. This mouse is NOT WORTH $170 in its current state. Don't fall for the hype.

[@James-dy6zh]

I’ll take a wired version for $50 lol

[@DizConnected]

It looks like an okay mouse but I think I will stick with my Logitech G PRO X SUPERLIGHT.

[@ItsThicc]

😂😂😂 $170 my @$$$

[@ytbobo31]

Yea.... file this under overpriced gimmicky junk

[@katzicael]

the fingerprints ooooh my god, hard pass. it's disgusting.

[@yhiz4757]

Corsair is a complete embarrassment when it comes to gaming mice, and this doesn't seem to be an exception. I don't see how anyone could think this is innovation...

[@TheTechne]

Because it’s not a Zowie clone and 50g?

[@yhiz4757]

@@TheTechne zowie has shit loads of shapes people love, that's why there are clones. 2khz doesn't matter when all you do is spam your side buttons in mmo games. It's not an innovative mouse, it's not suitable for shooters and comes with your typical corsair quirks. Anything under 90 grams is perfectly fine, I prefer lighter mice so I stick to below 70 grams but above that there's just no point. You can have all the features you could possibly want and still fit it under 90 grams with top notch build quality, these shitty big brands are too lazy for that though. Good for MMO's, but mmo players barely make use of the 2000hz polling rate. It's £150, for that price you can get a deathadder v3 pro and a 4khz dongle and have a mouse with the best specs on the market with a shape that many people love. Shape is subjective though, the deathadder v3 pro is a pretty safe shape though.

[@yhiz4757]

It's ONLY appeal is for MMO players which for that sure it's actually a plvery good mouse and 96 grams is passable but still, if you aren't playing mmo's at all there are far better options

[@garethg8226]

I really don't see what's innovative about this mouse. It's just a G502 or Basilisk clone with a few extra side buttons. 20HR battery life?? Yeaaaaaa.....no thanks.

[@Danny-BigD]

Lol.. $170 pfft sorry $169.99. WAY over priced. No look into what it cost to make vs how much they charge.. haha then say "ooh its worth it". Not about money.. wow suckers

[@tjk6896]

love corsair mice, but i'll stick to roccat.

[@JENi-vx3yn]

Do NOT get Corsair mouse! It's a absolute NIGHTMARE to setup.

[@jamesroberts3642]

People who have hand tats who purposely show them on camera as much as possible crack me up. It's so hilarious to always see them using extreme hand gestures and talk "with their hands" to such an absurd degree just so they can show off their hand/arm tattoos.... 2:00 .. lol...... Also, a letter tat on each finger is screaming, "look at me!! look at me! look at me!!!"

[@TrentWalker-c2x]

Pos useless crap so I have to give up my 12 button on the side for 6 no thanks I need all my buttons

[@lgninjalo]

Thing is a pile of shit. Gave it plenty of chances. It feels great, albiet cheap. But the performance is trash. Also I'm a dumbest. I was talking about the nightsabre

[@abelederon855]

Minchia, che sviolinata.. Proprio Corsair per giunta.. Tre tastiere, tre ciofeche immonde.. Dire Corsair= Trash..