User Review ASUS Strix Claw and Glide Speed

Meet the New kid on the block

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Asus, one of the many companies in the tech world that has its fingers in many pies. Mobile computing, Motherboards, All-in-One PC's, Graphic Cards, Laptops and the list goes on. Considering CoolerMaster's entry into the gaming peripherals market with the CM Storm lineup it comes as no surprise as Asus does the same. Their first wave of peripherals are branded after the Strix name (which enjoyed its share of success with its excellent line of graphic cards RAMGate notwithstanding) The Asus Strix Claw and the Strix Glide Speed will be the focus of my review today.

The Asus Strix Claw comes equipped with the PixelArt PMW3310H sensor which makes the innards of this mouse similar to that of the Zowie FK1, Mionix Naos 7000 and the SteelSeries Rival. This sets the tone for the review as the Claw will be trading punches/drawing even with the above mice in the sensor department. So it all comes down to the design and shape of the mouse which lends itself to the comfort of using it.

The Asus Glide Speed is...well, a cloth pad but don't let the brutal oversimplification fool you. This is a mouse pad that's sturdy in its own sense. I'll be looking at aesthetics more intently than the mouse since there isn't much else to see here.

The Nest

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The Claw's packaging has all the usual marketing ploys: a 5000 (!) DPI sensor, Ergonomic comfort and DPI control. The box itself is decorated in the orange and black that will continue in all the Strix lineup of products the Claw included. As soon as we open up the flap we're greeted to the first look of the Claw nestled in plastic.

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Taking the package apart we find that the included "accessories" with the mouse are just the bare minimum:

  • Driver CD
  • ASUS VIP Member book
  • User manual for the Claw

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Opening up the box we find the Claw safely held in place with plastic in an orange box that can only be described as florescent.

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The Glide Speed does the box more subtly opting for an all black box with the necessary insignia. A lot more subtle if you ask me.

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All that can be said about the boxes have been said now let's move on to the meat of the review: The mouse itself.

The Claw

The Asus Strix Claw as mentioned earlier employs the PixArt PMW3300H sensor and boasts an ergonomic fit for any grip. The design of the mouse itself is very simple with a few added ridges here and there to improve comfort.

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The two images above show you the ergonomics aforementioned. These ridges make it so that you can rest your fingers there while having your protracted gaming/work sessions.

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The mouse is comfortable enough to hold and is a bit heavier than other mice I've used over the years. This adds a feeling of a solid build quality amongst other things such as accuracy while aiming. There are three programmable side buttons, the third button as default performs as a DPI clutch button which lowers your DPI to 400 and makes it easier to pull off extremely accurate shots. A feature people who play FPS's might appreciate but the people I know already use a low DPI to play so as such this button is redundant.

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Another issue that plagued mice all over was the dreaded double click issue, where the left click of your mouse would deteriorate and register one click as two. This was an issue with the switches used and the switches used in the Claw are the Omron D2F-01F. These switches are said to have a mechanical life expectancy of 1 million cycles. This statistic means almost nothing as it doesn't account for the weight of your fingers. This D2F family is the one used the G400 which had a very minute probability of double clicking (having owned one for 2 years)

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The cable of the mouse is almost never brought up mostly because there isn't much to it. It's a piece of wire meant to act as a conduit for information, but what the loss of my MX518 taught me is that the wires are important and need protection like everything. Braided cables are now a thing and the braiding on this particular wire is tight and protects the wire well. This wire terminates in a Gold plated USB connector as has, of late, become a standard.

The Aesthetics

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Subtlety seems to be the name of the game as Asus has opted for a pulsating logo for the mouse. This reduces the harshness of the orange and makes the mouse seem more appealing.

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Other lighting effects include the DPI indicator: three small claw marks on your left mouse button that are meant to show which DPI stage the mouse is at.
Above the DPI stage is at 3 where no claw marks means the DPI stage is at Stage 0. The button to change the DPI is above the scroll wheel as per usual.

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Speaking of the scroll wheel the lighting for the scroll wheel are...pitiful to say the least. Compared to what's been advertised this is a travesty as the light is very very dim. Turning it off or keeping it on doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Speaking of the scroll wheel itself, it's graduated so each roll means the page moves by 1 unit so it prevents the free rolling shenanigans the Logitech mouse faced. The mouse is decked out in copious amounts of black and grey so if that appeals to you you'll love this mouse.

The Glide Speed

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Not much can be said in a mouse pad review except for the build quality of the pad and the quality of the surface.

The Surface:

The surface is smooth cloth woven together and the edges of the pad are sewn shut meaning there will be no fraying (so no SteelSeries QcK issues basically). The Strix logo adorns the corner of the pad and there are three claw marks with varying tones of grey, black and orange. Running the mouse across the pad proved to be no challenge as it offered no meaningful resistance as the name suggests the pad is good for quick swipes with the mouse.

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The Entire Package:

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This picture serves as a measure of scale to put into perspective the size of the mouse pad.

The Glide is also available in the Control edition which employs a more heavy weave and makes it easier to position your mouse accurately.

The Software

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The software included with the Claw christened the Strix Software is very intuitive to use and easy to understand. There is a momentary lag when you start it up in the mouse but it can be attributed to the syncing of the drivers with the onboard storage of the mouse.
Yes, you heard it right this mouse has two modes the Hardware mode and the Software mode. The Hardware mode means any profiles created are stored on the mouse itself making it easy to carry around and the Software mode is a temporary setting which can be changed using the Strix software itself.

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Binding new functions to all the keys on the mouse:

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Click on the desired button and you have the option of either adding a new function to that specific key or adding a macro to it. You can also specify how many times you want the function to repeat.

Changing the lighting of the mouse:

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It is as simple as clicking the off button and you can disable any of the lighting effects save the DPI one but I think we can all agree that that's some times vital when you accidentally tap the DPI button while using the scroll wheel and you need to bring it back to what it once was.

Changing the DPI setting at each stage:

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Each of the 5 stages has customizable DPI ranging from 50 all the way to 5000 DPI even the DPI clutch stage is customizable. Also note the adjustable lift off distance (which shall be tested later) along with presets for specific mouse pads namely the Glide speed and control. The polling rate is also adjustable between three settings: 125Hz, 500Hz and 1000Hz.

Recording Macros:

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The macro recording function of the Strix is perhaps one of the best I've seen. You can set up a macro with a predefined delay or the delay in inputting the key presses or opt for no delay at all. Each and every key press in the macro can be changed after it has been recorded. You can edit the list of key presses by moving a particular key press above the other or removing it altogether. You can even name the macro and assign it to any of the buttons as mentioned earlier.

Testing Methodology and Results

Obviously the mouse itself can't be tested for anything apart from comfort and that is subjective at best. So I resorted to testing the sensor instead. As mentioned earlier the sensor housed in the Strix Claw is the PMW3310H. We will be testing it using a software developed by microe of Overclock.net fame, called the Mouse Tester and we'll be testing the refresh rate of the mouse using the Mouse Movement Recorder.

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Raw Input: This is a simple X vs Y graph that is meant to show any form of acceleration innately present in the sensor (as enhanced pointer precision was disabled). As evidenced by the circle drawn and the line there is no visible acceleration.

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xVelocity vs Time: The graph depicts the velocity along the X axis vs time. In an ideal sensor the graph is supposed to be a smooth curve with no jitter whatsoever but there is some present.

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xCounts vs Time: This is a graph that depicts the consistency in the reporting of the mouse. A mouse having good to decent tracking will have a graph with little to no jitters as it shows that the flow of data is consistent. The above graph is within acceptable range and as such won't face any issues with the tracking of the mouse.

Polling Rate:

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The polling rate at low frequencies is very tight with little to no deviation. (~1-2Hz)

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The polling rate at 500Hz, most commonly used polling rate, has some deviation but well within specification.

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The polling rate at 1000Hz is where everything changes, the polling rate is uneven switching from 1000Hz to 500Hz in between. Perhaps an issue with the firmware? This is an issue that needs to be addressed.

What does all this mean?​

To the average user? Not much. These inconsistencies are well within regulation and you won't face any glaring issues with the mouse but what it provides us is an objective number to run comparisons off of and going by the results of the Claw it is slightly worse than its cousins namely the Rivla, FK1 and the Naos 7000. But the margin of difference is so very minute that it doesn't even need to be mentioned. In the end let your favored shape, favored company or whatever other criteria you bring in while considering a mouse play a larger factor than the sensor itself as it performs satisfactorily.

Conclusion

The ASUS Strix Claw is a solid device. Well built, brilliant software and comfortable to hold. The qualms I have with this mouse are minor at best. The Glide Speed, well calling it a marvel of engineering is a huge overstatement, it's a cloth pad like every cloth pad. So if the aesthetics appeal to you go for it as it is set to be priced at Rs. 800.

The Claw is set to be priced at ~Rs. 3,500. which makes it a steal considering the wide arrays of features offered.

Pros:
  • Comfortable to hold
  • Bundled software is extensive
  • Decent sensor
  • Subtle Aesthetics

Cons:
  • Non-removable USB cable
  • No replacement mice feet

I would also like to extend a warm thank you to Madhurima Khadilkar who did all the photography for this review. You can check out more of her work at her Instagram
 
Nice review xeo, waiting for you to review the mouse we saw at the meet (was it the ROG Gladius?).
Also, is a non removable USB cable really a con? I mean, it just makes it slightly easier to carry, but if the connector gets damaged a perfectly good mouse goes to waste !
 
It all boils down to preference I'd say. Having that as a feature won't exactly detract from the value of the mouse.However, I do see your point about the connector getting damaged maybe they start selling replacement cables?
Also Sumon has the Gladius and he wants to do that review.
 
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