Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite Overview
With the Scimitar RGB Elite out of the box, the first major feature we noticed was the 12-button key slider on the left side of the mouse. This is pretty much impossible to miss, as this button array takes up nearly the entire left side of the mouse where your thumb would typically grip the mouse and have access to a forward and back button on most other mice.
The slightly contoured shape of the Scimitar RGB Elite means it is destined for right-handed gamers. And while holding it in our left hand doesn’t feel completely awkward, you would lose access to the 12 customizable buttons on the left. Designed with a palm grip, the Scimitar RGB Elite body is large enough to rest your hand on, while being supported in both the palm and fingers. The dual-piece, upper-body portion of the Scimitar RGB Elite features soft-touch black plastic, just like the surfaces found on some other Corsair mice. We really like this texture, as it provides a somewhat grippy surface, and has held up very well over time in other Corsair products.
Looking at the mouse from and angled view, we see long left and right mouse buttons that extend into the body of the mouse. The left and right buttons have a convex curve to them, as opposed to a concave surface to guide your fingers to their places. Hidden beneath these buttons are Omron switches with expected lifespans of 50 million clicks.
Situated between the left and right mouse buttons is a standard mouse wheel with a bit of a flowing wave texture to it. The mouse wheel has a very lightly ridged scrolling motion, as well as a standard click function that can be programmed via Corsair’s iCUE software. The sides of the mouse wheel are translucent plastic, allowing for custom lighting from within iCUE. Located just behind the wheel are two additional buttons, one of which is set to cycle between mouse profiles by default, while the other can used to cycle between five DPI settings, which can be adjusted in 100 DPI increments within iCUE.
Towards the rear of the mouse is an RGB LED illuminated Corsair logo, that can have its color and lighting effect adjusted in iCUE to match the rest of your Corsair peripherals, or to have a lighting effect of its own.
Taking a closer look at the left side of the Scimitar RGB Elite brings us to the real magic of this mouse. This is where we find the 12-button key slider, giving you quick access to game and application actions, each of which can be customized to your needs via iCUE. Each column of buttons has an alternating button texture to help you feel where your thumb is at on the array, and the “5” button also features a “key” tab, just like the “F” and “J” keys on a keyboard. Each button on the key slider is also illuminated, and you can of course change the lighting of this zone to pair up with the rest of your Corsair peripherals in iCUE.
In order to allow for different hand sizes and positioning, Corsair has placed the 12-key pad on a patented slider that allows the button array to move forward and backward. Once repositioned to your liking, you can then lock the panel in place via a screw on the bottom of the mouse. Behind the sliding key panel is a brushed aluminum panel that adds a bit of flair to the mouse as opposed to just using plastic here.
Just in front of the left side button array is a vertical lighting feature that is used to indicate the DPI setting of the mouse. And while you can’t synchronize this lighting zone into iCUE’s lighting offerings, you can set the color independently for each DPI setting, so there is still a bit of customization to be had.
Moving to the right side of the mouse, we find a slightly contoured design, with a concave space for your ring finger to rest.
Beneath this space, as well as lower on the mouse where your pinky finger resides, Corsair has utilized their triangular patterned rubber grip.
Head on, the Scimitar RGB Elite looks a lot like most mice, save for the small, three-column lighting zone below the right mouse button. Beneath the left mouse button is a reinforced plastic mouse cable connection to add a bit of protection where the cable enters the mouse body.
Speaking of the cable, a 1.8m cable is attached to the Scimitar RGB Elite. Corsair has utilized their standard braided cabling with this mouse, and while it works just fine, it can be a bit stiff – we would love to see them come out with a very flexible cabling material like we have begun to see on other models of gaming mice from other manufacturers. At the end of the cable is a Type-A USB connection, that features the same design that we have seen on newer Corsair products, with the oval shape and textured grip.
Looking beneath the Scimitar RGB Elite, we see a pretty standard layout. Four somewhat small PTFE glide pads are spaced out towards the corners of the mouse base, and while we didn’t encounter any issues with these smallish pads, we would have liked to see them be a bit larger to ensure longevity and coverage. Centered on the base of the mouse is a thin aluminum strip with a small opening that leads to the PixArt PMW3391 optical sensor, with a DPI range of 100 – 18,000, in 1 DPI steps.
Also found on the bottom of the mouse, as we mentioned previously, is a small screw hole that is used to loosen and tighten the 12-button key slider once it has been placed to your liking. An included hex wrench is included with the mouse to make this adjustment.
