Corsair Nightsword RGB – Comfort Performance Tunable FPS/MOBA Optical Ergonomic Gaming Mouse with Backlit RGB LED, 18000 DPI, Black

13 reviews for Corsair Nightsword RGB – Comfort Performance Tunable FPS/MOBA Optical Ergonomic Gaming Mouse with Backlit RGB LED, 18000 DPI, Black

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Ray – October 14, 2022

   Impressions after 1 week. May update if something goes wrong later, otherwise see you in a few years.
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   My hands measure 18 x 10 cm and I use a palm grip. Length is measured from tip of middle finger to base of palm, and width is measured from edge of pinky to edge of thumb when all fingers are placed together.

   I’ve mained 4 mice over the years, including this one. M65 RGB, M65 RGB Elite, Razer Basilisk x Hyperspeed, and this Corsair Nightsword. The original M65 RGB was a real tank that lasted me 5+ years of hard usage. The switches are still 100% responsive, but I ruined the surface coat with acetone so I upgraded to the Elite. The M65 Elite started losing responsiveness in the left click after 4 months. The Basilisk x Hyperspeed was meant to be my wireless mouse while commuting. It felt decently comfortable in store and the shape was very well done except for a slightly-off hump placement, but after a while of using it, I realized the mouse was not wide enough for my hands, which would cause some discomfort after continuous use. But for my typical not-so-heavy usage while on the go, it is acceptable. The M65/Elite (both have nearly the same form factor) has been my daily driver for nearly 6 years so I will be doing a lot of comparison with it.

   Now the reason I’m talking about all these other mice is so you can get other comparisons of what mice I find comfortable. Mouse shape is the most subjective and also important factor when choosing a mouse. In particular grip width matters the most. I didn’t think I had massive hands but apparently I do. To this date the only other mouse that has felt comfortable to me is the Corsair M65. I’ve tried all sorts of mice from Logitech and Razer, that all had raving reviews, including the G502 which the Nightsword was modeled after. All of them felt extremely uncomfortable to me with poor hump placement, small grip width, uncomfortable side button positioning, etc. The Roccat Kone Aimo supposedly also has a good size for my hands, but I have yet to try it out as stores will rarely put Roccats on display.
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   Anyways, about the actual Nightsword.

   Feel/Comfort:
   This mouse feels like it was literally made for my hands. My hand dimensions are a little unusual, even compared to other 18 x 10 cm hands, as I have very long fingers relative to my palm size. This makes it even more difficult to find a good mouse. I can’t really describe the feeling when I first tried it out in store before. I have never felt this level of comfort on any mouse, not even the M65, which is pretty comfortable, but not on this level. The Nightsword has curves in all the right places, buttons at the right positions, and my hand can rest on it effortlessly without having to cramp up my palm at all. The thumb wing is extremely nice as well. The sniper button is placed right near the tip of my thumb, which is the ideal position to hit it without having to bend or stretch at all. I can easily swing my thumb up to hit the forward and back buttons above it. The DPI switches which are cut out of the left click take some more effort to hit, but I don’t really use them much for now. Still figuring out the optimal way to hit them. I can actually reach one comfortably with my thumb, and the other with my index finger.

   Weight:
   This mouse is way too heavy, even with all weights removed. I have to actually consciously grip the mouse a bit harder than usual when trying to lift the mouse up, otherwise it feels like it would slip out of my hand. Combined with the high LOD on this thing, it kind of feels like Corsair doesn’t intend for you to ever lift the mouse. Center of gravity adjustment is a cool idea, but it feels like a gimmick right now.

   Sensor:
   The Nightsword uses the same PMW3391 optical sensor as the M65 Elite. Now here’s the thing…for some unknown reason the Nightsword falls short of the M65 Elite’s performance, despite having the same sensor. People say with high end mice, the sensor isn’t a spec to look at because they are all practically the same, but I disagree. I have tried many different sensors that are all in this DPI range and 1000 Hz polling rate, but nothing else has felt as as silky smooth as the M65 Elite. In fact, not even the Nightsword with the same sensor feels as smooth. It’s still great performance, but after experiencing the M65 elite, something is just lacking in the smoothness.
   The Lift-Off Distance (LOD) is also different from the M65 Elite. It feels ridiculously high, which is bad. The M65 Elite with the exact same sensor has one of the lowest LOD’s on the market, at a height of 1 DVD thickness. The Nightsword is nearly 3 DVD’s in LOD, while 2 is the current industry standard. This seems to be a common issue in other reviews, so it is definitely not a one-off.

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   Buttons:
   This is really one of the huge flawed areas of this mouse. It seems like corsair got all the button actuation forces backwards.

   * L/R click:
   Split trigger buttons (buttons are completely separate cutouts from the main body of the mouse) and highly sensitive. I personally dislike split trigger but some people may disagree on this. When you have split trigger buttons there is less “springiness” and long term feedback to the button. If you need to hold down left or right click a lot for extended periods of time, this becomes a problem. It is very easy to accidentally let go of the button when you don’t have that slight feedback of the button trying to spring back against your finger. Or, over time you start to press harder and harder which is also bad. The M65 Elite which was not split trigger had the perfect amount of feedback in my opinion. Split trigger can also sometimes jam the skin of your fingers in between the button, which was a problem on the Basilisk, but so far I haven’t had this issue with the Nightsword. I also find the Nightsword L/R click to be a bit too sensitive. The first few days of use, I was constantly triggering the buttons by accident just by resting my hand on it, but I’ve adjusted now and it no longer happens.

   * Scroll/Middle click:
   Scrolling feels pretty good. It could be a tad bit less mushy, but I can still easily scroll one tick at a time and it doesn’t ever move by accident. The middle click however, has some issues. It is not as firm as it should be. Applying a slight downward force without actuating it causes it to give way a bit and create a barely-audible creaking feedback as though the scroll wheel is loose.

   * Sniper Button:
   Interestingly enough this is actually the best button on this mouse. Perfect positioning, perfect actuation force. Well done.

   * Forward/Back:
   Takes WAY too much force to press. My thumb feels like it became 3x more buff after trying to hold down macros on these buttons (seriously). Additionally, the 2 buttons sometimes get stuck on each other. Press one, and it pushes on the other one, or sometimes even catches on the other when trying to release (you hear 2 “clicks” as the button tries to come back up). They are also slightly wobbly.

   * Profile Shift:
   Not too much to say about these except that they should be less sensitive. You’d think that they’re pretty out of the way, but I have actually swapped profiles by accident a couple of times already. When flipping the mouse over to try out the weight system, they would constantly keep triggering just from the weight of the mouse.

   * DPI Shift:
   These have the same sensitivity as the L/R click, so I have the same opinion on that. The main thing about these is the shape. I understand that the intention was to keep the contour of the left click intact, but I would have liked to see the DPI-down button raised slightly higher so that it can be hit by rolling the index finger, without hitting the other buttons around it by accident.

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   Build/Materials:
   I really like the left and right click material a lot on this mouse. Feels like a really high quality matte plastic and repels dirt really well. The glossy plastic on the side buttons gunks up extremely quickly and I don’t even have sweaty or oily hands. The rubberized material on the rest of the mouse seems alright for now but it seems like it could deteriorate very quickly if you tried to scrub it for any cleaning. The textured surface seems to just be asking for gunk to get stuffed in the holes and be impossible to clean. We’ll see. Scroll wheel and Forward/Back buttons could be less wobbly as I described before but otherwise build quality is very good.

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   Final comments for Corsair:
   I really want to see you guys combine all the best things into one mouse. The form factor of the Nightsword + the M65 Elite’s sensor, button build quality, material, and button actuation forces + optical switches (a lot of left/right click problems with many of your recent mice) + less weight, and maybe wireless. That would be my dream mouse.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Christopher K – October 21, 2022

   I was replacing my Corsair Iron Claw and I tried this Nightsword.

   As I understand it the Iron Claw is already on the larger side but I find it is very comfortable for my average size hands and I expected the Nightsword to be similar.

   No, no it is not 🙂

   The Nightsword is for giant hands that make regular objects look comically small. I couldn’t reach the sniper button without adjusting my grip, rendering it useless.

   The two dpi buttons on the left of m1 are tiny and practically useless regardless of hand size, they’re too far left to press without moving your grip.

   I also found the two thumb buttons weirdly small as well, smaller than that of the Iron Claw, which seems counterintuitive.

   The thumb shelf is a neat idea but too low for me.

   Most of my gripes are just genetics, if you have big hands you’ll prob like this mouse.

   I exchanged this for the Scimitar and am very happy.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Tims – October 25, 2022

   I’ve been using this mouse for about a year and a half now. It is SUPER comfortable, really responsive, and has the perfect size and weight options for my hand. I am a huge Corsair fan simply because of this mouse alone. It is a large mouse, but that’s also a good thing – it allows your hand to rest more comfortably on it without fatigue or strain. Great product, certainly worth the investment over budget options. I’ve used a few Steel Series and Razers over the years, this is by far my favorite gaming mouse.

4. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Vaughn – October 27, 2022

   Someone said this mouse was too big, I must have giantic hands because its barely the size of my palm. Good mouse tho, good level of customistion

5. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   YoMan2 – October 29, 2022

   LOD Has been mitigated somewhat with latest mouse hardware change with the new firmware
   Edited 23 Dec 2020
   Buy it now while available.
   The mouse is awesome except for the lift off distance.
   I got rid of mine. I purchased another one.
   I am using it for gaming and every day use.
   Just so everyone knows if you have the same problem I had with the mouse (Lift off distance) you can reduce 3/4 of it just by calibrating the mouse a couple times. According to the Manufacture the LOD can be changed to 1 mm 2mm or off. So why doesn’t Corsair enable the LOD mode to off in the software, I might call and ask tomorrow see if it can be added. If they can fix the LOD by just switching it off then this mouse would be perfect for me. The mouse is much more accurate for me than the G502. Much easier to draw straight lines with it than the G502.

6. 

   Rated 1 out of 5

   Thomas Bowman – November 6, 2022

   The first mouse had a defective right click where the switch would randomly “click”.
   Corsair customer service did not respond to my emails thus I exchanged the item with Amazon for replacement.
   Replacement arrives and now it’s the left click which is randomly “clicking”.
   I’m done with this, first and last product I’m buying from Corsair at this point.

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Raul Agundis – November 11, 2022

   My son wore out his first one. Wanted another one. This is his second one after two years of daily use. Hour after hour of use this mouse has held up. Highly recommend.

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   15six – November 17, 2022

   I have been using Corsair products for quite some time, and as usual, this product is fantastic. 14/10

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Joey – November 23, 2022

   I absolutely love this mouse. The only problem is my hand gets sore after a couple hours of use but only because it’s designed for a bigger hand than my own not because of the mouse itself I’m a smaller than average guy so most may not have this problem.

10. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Reason – December 9, 2022

    This mouse is one of the more expensive gaming mice available. You buy something like this (as opposed to just a regular old mouse) when you want some extra buttons on your mouse compared to a more basic one and want to have more control over exactly what your mouse does. Although this mouse is plug-n-play, you can (and should) download the software that pairs with it so you can customize it to your needs. This includes changing what the buttons do, changing the lighting (or removing it entirely if you prefer), and changing the sensitivity.

    Recently I tried two top gaming mice, the Razer Naga Trinity and this Corsair Nightsword. I first got the Naga Trinity and would have stayed with it but I had some double-clicking issues when it first arrived. Sometimes when I tried to click things or select text, it would do an extra click or not click at all, which was quite frustrating. I had no choice but to either replace it or try a different mouse, and I opted for the latter.

    Before I continue, do note that I have pretty large hands (8.25″ from middle finger tip to the crease on my wrist, 4″ across the widest part of my palm (across the knuckles), and nearly 10″ from my thumb tip to my pinky tip when my hands are open wide as if I were trying to palm a basketball) and I use a fintertip style grip (see pictures) on my mouse — your own hand size and grip style will determine whether each of these mice is a good fit for you.

    Here is what I like and dislike about each, with points from -3 to +3 next to each point which indicate how much I like or dislike each feature (-3 being very much dislike, +3 being very much like):

    Corsair Nightsword:
    A. [+3] it has two additional buttons to click on top (gives more top button options for gaming, the Razer only has extra side buttons)
    B. [+1] it has more protection for the thumb (although my thumb doesn’t really drag on the mousepad without it, it’s a nice touch)
    C. [+1] DPI level can be seen from the side of the mouse (rather than the normal which I feel like is by the center top of the mouse which you can’t see when your hand is there), a the mouse changes color when you press it to make the change even more salient
    D. [+0.5] Aesthetically looks better than the Razer Naga in my opinion
    E. [-1] Middle mouse wheel requires a bit more force than I would like to click it
    F. [-3] (Dealbreaker for me) I can only reach 1 of the 3 side thumb buttons with my normal grip, despite the fact that I have large hands. I would need to convert to palm grip which is not really desirable as it’s less precise with clicking.

    Razer Naga Trinity:
    A. [+3] Changeable side panels allow you to use the button setup you prefer, although I feel like the 12 button grid is a bit excess and wish there was an option for a 6-button grid.
    B. [+3] The mouse wheel can be tilted left or right which is handy, they can be configured as extra buttons
    C. [-3] The double-clicking / misclicking issue I described above. Strangely, it seems to occur much less now for no reason I can explain, but if it happens even one more time I’m going to have to replace the mouse. Note: My particular mouse might simply be defective, but other reviewers have said this is an issue for them as well so clearly there’s some sort of quality control issue.

    For me, the 12-button side panel is great because the way I naturally use the mouse my thumb rests right in the center of all the buttons, making them all accessible if need-be (though pressing the middle buttons is a bit trickier, at least I can reach all of them whereas my partner with smaller hands cannot easily press all the buttons even if she wanted to).

    I’ll probably stick with the Razer Naga trinity (and re-order a new one if the clicking issues persist) simply because the side buttons difficult to reach for me with the Corsair Nightsword, but I hope I provided enough detail so you can make a more-informed decision for yourself. 🙂

11. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Gavin – December 21, 2022

    Very high quality. The weight tuning system is pretty cool, it’s almost like you can feel it adjust. The mouse itself is very good, and made for bigger hands. The first mouse with a thumb button that actually fits me. Has many adjustable features, like DPS and programmable buttons, however the iCUE software is a little confusing. I’d suggest getting yourself accompanied with the software before you make major changes to the buttons. The RGBs are beautiful, and it slides very nicely. Overall a very high quality mouse.

12. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    DSto – December 24, 2022

    Edit : 2021-03-26 J’ai finalement reçu la souris de remplacement. Review ajustée à 4 étoiles.

    Edit : 2021-02-25 Finalement le problème est revenu. Démarches avec Corsair pour RMA. Changement de la review à 3 étoiles.

    Edit : 2021-02-18 Réponse de Corsair reçue qui recommande un soft reset (Cela n’a pas fonctionné) et une réinstallation du firmwire. Ce que j’ai fais et le problème semble partie pour le moment.
    Remise de la review à 5 étoiles. Je verrai bien si cela bien fonctionné dans les prochain jours, car le soft reset a fonctionné 2-3 jours seulement.

    Edit : 2021-01-30 La souris a commencé à faire des double click… Changement de la review à 2 étoiles.

    Edit : 2020-11-29 Toujours très satisfait, Aucun problème et fonctionne A1. Je la note toujours 5 étoiles.

    Edit : 2020-04-15 Cela maintenant plus d’un an que je l’utilise et elle fonctionne toujours comme une neuve, Je suis toujours satisfait de mon achat.

    Parfait pour des mains larges.
    Je passe d’une Razer deathadder Chroma 7 ans d’utilisation pour 2 souris et je trouve la Corsair Nightsword pas mal plus confortable. Je voulais aussi tenter de ne plus avoir de double click problème que j’ai enduré 4 ans sur 7 ans avec les 2 souris Razer jusqu’à ce que cela ne soit plus tolérable.)
    RGB très beau et bon control avec le programme ICUE.
    ICUE fonctionne très bien, je ne comprend pas les review négative pour cette raison.

    À noter que je ne suis pas du genre à me faire plein de macro et différent profil pour plein de jeux. Je joue à un jeux puis après à un autre et non 20 jeux en même temps.

    Je vais updater la review selon l’évolution de mon utilisation.

13. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Fozzy – December 26, 2022

    Another great Corsair mouse. Plug and play, fully customizable buttons and lights. Not to flashy, very professional looking.
    Unfortunately, this is quite a large mouse. Come with big hands!