ROCCAT Pyra (wired) Review

Deleted User 135096

3624 Posts

January 17 2012 21:26 GMT

I've been in the market for a new mouse for a while now ever since I realized that the mouse I was using was the exact opposite of what I needed. Having finally gotten the mouse, and have used it for almost a week I figured now would be a good time to share my thoughts on it, and also the copious amounts of data that I've collected in testing the mouse. I should note right off the bat that I do not have much knowledge on interpreting the data I collected, so I will need some help in parsing it into what the data means, performance wise.

[image loading]

Overview/Specs

5 button mouse
CPI 400/800/1600 (software controlled, you can set Easy Shift up so that you can control the CPI via the buttons and scroll wheel)
Sensor Type: Pixart PAW3305DK-H (Optical LED)
Size: 95×61×36 (lwh)
Weight: ~90g
130ips / 30g acceleration
1000Hz polling rate
PTFE Teflon feet
Easy Shift[+] allows for a dual function on each button, save for the assigned ES[+] button, for a total of 12
rubberized cable

Contrsuction/Design

Overall the mouse is of a relatively simple construction (reminds me of my first basic logitech optical). It doesn't feel like as tightly constructed mouse as previous products I've owned, partially because of the plastic for the body (a very minor concern), but mostly this feeling comes from the main switches/buttons.

If I place my fingers on the main buttons and move from side to side, they make a rattling noise due to the fact that the buttons are mostly free floating. Compared with my old Logitech it feels a little flimsy, whereas I never got that impression from the latter. I don't know if this is the same with Razer mice of similar construction. The trade off design wise is that it is a very light mouse, and after using a +150g mouse, it is a welcome change.

The main switches also do not require much pressure to activate which is ok most times, though accidentally clicking the right button occasionally has been a problem. To alleviate this I cannot rest my finger on the right switch almost at all, and they end up hovering just above the switch. This hasn't been an issue in CS:S or other FPS, but I have been somewhat concerned about it in SC2, with regards to misclicking (see ergonomics section for more thoughts). The other side and middle buttons do require a greater amount of force to activate, especially the wheel, but that's something I could get used to and don't see as a problem.

The side concave design with the rubber grip panels make for a pretty sturdy grip and I haven't ever felt that I was losing the mouse, during play.

Oh yea, and there's a throbbing LED...ok, it's actually not too disruptive, though why gaming companies insist on doing this crap in the first place is beyond me. :/ Edit: for some reason, the throbbing led is no longer pulsing anymore, have no idea why.

Ergonomics

I have basically a fingertip grip, except that the palm of my hand just barely touches the mouse (it does not rest on the mouse). Changing from my Performance MX (being both a much larger, heavier and ergonomically designed mouse) has been a really funky issue. On a first impression, I originally felt like the mouse for my grip style was actually too short by about 15mm because of the size of my hands (I can easily reach a 10th on a piano, or approx 9.5 inches/23cm of distance between my pinky and thumb when fully stretched), but for someone with smaller hands, or a true fingertip grip, this mouse would be a really good size.

Regarding the right switch issue, I think is due to the fact that I have been using ergonomic mice for more than a decade and have gotten used to the right-tapered design and therefore my fingers are used to a position where my middle finger is naturally lower than my index. Only time will tell if I will get used to a non-ergonomically designed mouse, and it seems that the more I use it, the more that this is proving to be the case.

Performance/Test Data

Below is the data that I collected, trying to test the sensor in various ways in order to see about prediction, jitter, and other potential issues. Some of this information is floating around on forums, but I have yet to see anyone do any actual testing. Again, I could use help in interpreting the data, as I do not have enough experience to make a concise judgment about it.

All of these images were tested on a Steelseries Qck at 6/11, disabled acceleration, and 5/10 sens in the settings panel. Also of note, I have heard that this mouse cannot track on blue surfaces due to something with the blue LED?

+ Show Spoiler [settings panel] +

The series of images below are used to show various amounts prediction, interpolation, jitter, and other effects that are visible by drawing in ms paint.

+ Show Spoiler [enotus] +

+ Show Spoiler [ms paint] +

With the MouseRate program most of the time there was little +/- accel save for the occasional +/- pair next to each other as in the first image. This usually was a long line of white numbers with an occasional +/- pair occurring. The second image shows the worst that I was able to produce with the mouse. I have not been able to reproduce anything nearly looking like that in further tests.

+ Show Spoiler [mouserate] +

LOD on the qck was barely reading at 2 CD's and stopped tracking altogether at 3. I have a crappy hard pad from x-trac and the LOD was exactly the same, just 1 CD less than on the qck.

Audio Diagrams: ~~I don't have a really good idea on how to read this, but I figured I'd at least collect it so that someone with more experience can interpret this better.~~I've removed these because how I tested them wasn't exactly applicable, that and they were misleading because of that. See the Enotus tests.

Final Thoughts

I have developed two somewhat separate opinions about this mouse, and they stem from the type of activity that it's being used for. Regarding FPS, or in activities that involve non-rts tasks (unit selection/boxing, move commands), I have found that I almost immediately loved the overall feel and sensitivity. In trying it out in CS:S it only took me about an hour or so to get a pretty good feel for the mouse.

My opinion on RTS usage is somewhat different in that I have found that the constant boxing/unit selection and move commands didn't quite feel as natural. Having spent some extra time trying to familiarize myself with the feel of the mouse, I have gotten much more comfortable with it, though still not as much as with FPS games, but I may be still trying to figure out a way to handle the mouse as I have gone through such a drastic change in size/form/weight from my last one.

New Update 2.15.12: So I finally decided to open up and see what components were inside, but also to see if there was a way to get rid of the LED (there is only one screw to remove in order to open, underneath the back skate/foot). Below are a number of pictures showing the process. It was also nice to confirm that the Pyra does in fact use the PAW 3305DK-H and Omron D2FC-F-7N Switches. there are Omron switches on the side, but I couldn't find a name, or have access to be able to see it better.

Psychobabas

2531 Posts

January 17 2012 21:56 GMT

great read, but can you please post a few pics of the mouse as well? just makes things easier for lazy bums like me

I really want to try one of the Roccat mice. Would you recommend this for a "pure" fingertip user? ie, nothing but my fingers touch the mouse

Deleted User 135096

3624 Posts

January 17 2012 22:25 GMT

On January 18 2012 06:56 Psychobabas wrote:
great read, but can you please post a few pics of the mouse as well? just makes things easier for lazy bums like me

I really want to try one of the Roccat mice. Would you recommend this for a "pure" fingertip user? ie, nothing but my fingers touch the mouse

done with the pic. As for the fingertip grip, it depends on what your fingertip grip is. Mine had always been one where my fingers rest on the main switches, but aren't really 'controlling' the movement of the mouse ever. Those are left to my thumb and ring and pinky finger. The actuation of the main switches is really light so if you use a lot of pressure with your index and middle fingers (claw/fingertip) on them, you either will have to be super careful not to accidentally press them, or modify your grip slightly. I have started to keep my fingers slightly raised above the mouse so I don't run into this issue. I've attached a pic so it makes more sense.

Deleted User 135096

3624 Posts

January 24 2012 18:06 GMT

It just dawned on me that in my use of this mouse over the last two weeks, I have not noticed or come across the pixel jump bug that is apparent in both the Zowie MiCO and the new Steelseries Kinzu v2/Kana mice. I will say that after two weeks, there's something about the mouse that feels somewhat odd (I only get this feeling in sc2), but that maybe because of the different sensor type (i'm assuming my old logitech had an avago) and still trying to get more used to the feel of the Pixart sensor.

On another note, I will (hopefully soon) be getting the Azures Mini, and am very excited to see how it performs (centered avago 3080, omron switches, 4/8/16cpi, and only slightly larger than the Pyra). I'll write up a review once I get it.

Edit: No, after some more thought, I think this mouse might just be slightly too short (height wise) for my hands which is why it feels a little less than optimal.

Heweree

United Kingdom497 Posts

March 15 2012 06:38 GMT

Thanks for the review.

KJSharp

United States84 Posts

March 18 2012 22:16 GMT

Is 1600 DPI too low for a gaming mouse? What is the minimum DPI one should have to play Starcraft II?

Deleted User 135096

3624 Posts

March 18 2012 23:05 GMT

On March 19 2012 07:16 KJSharp wrote:
Is 1600 DPI too low for a gaming mouse? What is the minimum DPI one should have to play Starcraft II?

lol, KSHARP?! sick. :D Anyway, no 1600 is actually way more than most people can actually use effectively in SC2. A good rule of thumb for how much CPI you can use without losing precision is to take the width of your screen resolution, and use less than that. For example if you have a 1920x1080 screen resolution, your max useful CPI in SC2 is actually between 1400-1800. Beyond this range you will still gain speed but lose precision at an increasing rate, which is why I would not recommend it.

1600 is pretty fast though, even on a 1080p screen.

snowbird

Germany2044 Posts

March 19 2012 01:09 GMT

Thanks for the review.
I bought the mouse because I was looking for a small mouse, similar to the old Logitech mini optical, but with modern specs.

I'm overall very happy with the mouse, the size is just right and perfect for claw gripping.
I'd recommend anyone who is looking for a small gaming mouse to take a look at the Pyra.

zarathosss

2 Posts

September 22 2012 11:30 GMT

Hello,

Thank you for the review. I've found the same problem when buying this mouse to play SC2 : the right click is to light and I often miss-click by right-clicking instead of left-click...
Have you found a way to make the right click harder (as you have opened the mouse) ? Would be really great, as for now, using it for SC2 is a problem for me.

Thank you in advance for your answer.

Deleted User 135096

3624 Posts

September 22 2012 12:11 GMT

#10

The only way to make it harder would be to excise the omron switch and use a different one like TTC or Huano. The other option could be to file down the plastic portion that activates the switch that would make the actuation distance longer, but idk how that would affect the actual actuation process overall, could screw with it but idk.

If you have just gotten this mouse I would give it some time to get used to it though, maybe your grip will adjust to the shape better over time.

zarathosss

2 Posts

September 22 2012 12:39 GMT

#11

OK, thank you very much for the answer! And you're right, this is a new mouse, so I'll try to get used to it. If not, well, I'll try your advices

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