I can admit that when it comes to PC gaming, I used to think that any old regular mouse would do. I used to PC game a lot back in my high school and college days, which was back when the only real multiplayer games out there were Unreal Tournament and Mechwarrior. To me, it just wasn’t that necessary to get some fancy programmable mouse. In fact, I don’t even think they had any back then. Fast forward to 2013. Over the past decade or so, I’d say that most of my gaming was confined to consoles only, the Xbox, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It wasn’t until recently that I got back into PC gaming and again, I thought I could get away with just using a regular old optical mouse to play games. Technically, I could, but what a difference a dedicated gaming mouse makes,especially with customizable buttons and macro creation. With that said, the mouse I am using currently is the ROCCAT Savu, ROCCAT’s entry level gaming mouse that has enough programmable options to satisfy most of your gaming needs. Not only is it a great gaming mouse, it’s also a very good looking PC accessory.
Design and Build Quality
The ROCCAT Savu isn’ t a crazy, futuristic, robotic-looking gaming mouse like you might see from others. Instead, it is quite minimalistic and stealth looking, like a fighter jet and features mainly all matte black surfaces. The only shiny parts on the Savu are the two thumb buttons which are both programmable. It’s very understated and not very flashy at first glance until you see the Savu’s slick looking, programmable light bar. I say programmable because unlike other illuminated PC accessories out there, the Savu allows you to choose over 16.8 million colors. That’s right, you can pretty much make the Savu light up with any color you can think of or series of different color combinations. It’s all customizable and very cool looking.
The Savu features a soft touch coating on the upper part of the mouse for comfort and gives it a nice feel over just bare plastic. The sides of the Savu feature special perspiration-resistant coating on its side grips called “No Sweat” that provides steady, slip-free play no matter how sweaty your fingers get. It has a rough feeling to it and almost feels a bit like high-grit sandpaper. Now the scroll wheel on the mouse has a rubbery feel to it that helps with finger grip while scrolling and it also has a nice clicking feel with each turn. This means you can be more accurate with your scrolls which can mean the difference between life and death in a multiplayer online match.
It’s also a mouse that isn’t adjustable for comfort. Instead, what you see is what you get and for me at least, it fits my hand perfectly. It’s perfectly curved to fit the curvature of my palm and the thumb groove is also perfectly placed. Same goes for the curvature of the pinky rest. It just feels really good and really comfortable. There really is no other way to explain it other than that.
Usage
For the most part, if you buy the ROCCAT Savu to use as a regular mouse, it’s going to function just like a regular mouse. Plugging it into your computer alone will allow it to just do what most normal mouse do. Left and right buttons, the scroll wheel, and the center click. If you want it to do much more than that however, you’ll need to install the special ROCCAT driver software for the Savu which you can get here.
With the special ROCCAT Savu driver installed, you’ll be able to do a wealth of things you aren’t able to do with a regular mouse. For starters, the mouse will now be fully programmable and able to perform various custom functions as well as custom macros you assign to the buttons. The driver software makes this easy to do as it comes with a list of preset functions you can use for each button. You can also record macros using the macro manager and assign those to a button as well. On top of that, each button can have multiple functions thanks to the use of the Easy Shift button. You hold down this button while pressing down on another button to activate the secondary function. It’s very easy to do and the graphical interface makes it very easy to keep track of what you assign what to.
The driver software also allows you to create custom profiles so you can use them with different games. That means you don’t have to configure the buttons each time you play a different game. All you have to do is load up your already made profile for that game and it will change all the buttons for you. This makes it easy to play multiple games quickly without the time consuming process of customizing the buttons each time.
Of course one of the main features of the Savu is the glowing LED light on its base. With the driver software, you can change the color of this light to over 16 million different shades. You can even make the light change colors and flash over time. I have it set up where the light pulses and with each pulse, it turns into a different shade. It’s a cool effect that makes the mouse look like its alive and breathing.
Features
- ADJUSTBALE 4000DPI PRO-OPTIC (R3) SENSOR
with true 400, 800, 1600 or 4000dpi - EASY-SHIFT[+]™ BUTTON DUPLICATOR
with Easy-Aim + Easy-Wheel functions - CUSTOMIZABLE MULTI-COLOR LIGHTING
16.8 million colors + effects and game profile illumination - NO-SWEAT SIDE GRIPS
for extended slip-free play - ROCCAT DRIVER + MACRO MANAGER
for advanced customization + presets for games & apps - OPTIMUM MID-SIZE DESIGN
with perfectly-balanced weight - ULTRA-PRECISE 2D WHEEL
with lock-in incremental steps - ERGONOMIC RIGHT-HAND DESIGN
with soft-touch, ultra-comfort surface - BRAIDED CABLE
offering a robust, stylish connection - ZERO ANGLE SNAPPING
for true competition gaming - HIGHEST-QUALITY COMPONENTS
for a solid build and long life
Final Thoughts
The ROCCAT Savu is something I thought I would never need, but now that I have it, it’s something that I can not live without. It is the most comfortable mouse I’ve ever used and I really love the matte finish that is used on it. For gaming, I do find that it is a lot more accurate than my previous non-gaming mouse and you can really tell the difference. I love that you can adjust the dpi settings on the fly and make the mouse more or less accurate depending on your current situation without going into the settings menu, if you have it set up as a custom button.
Not only that, it’s also a great mouse for everyday use. Again, because you can assign custom functions to each button, it makes tasks like browsing websites that much faster. You can assign forward and back options as buttons as well as any other function like bringing up the history, and reloading pages. You can also do the same for other apps as well.
Overall, the ROCCAT Savu is an awesome mouse for those who want something better than what they are currently using, but also not too overly complicated like some of the other gaming mouses out there. Basically the Savu works right out the box as long as you install the driver software and customizing it to your needs is a breeze.
As for looks, I think the Savu is a great looking mouse. I love that most of the mouse if flat black and has a very stealthy look to it but then you have the LED light that is the complete opposite of stealth but compliments it quite well. Most mouse never draw attention from those walking by, but the ROCCAT Savu definitely does.
Shop Links
Savu – ROCCAT Savu Mid-Size Hybrid Gaming Mouse (ROC-11-600)
