Corsair Glaive RGB Gaming Mouse Review: A More Mainstream Flagship

The Corsair Glaive RGB is perhaps Corsair’s attempt at a more mainstream flagship mouse, as before, the M65 served as Corsair’s halo product at the top of the stack. However, the M65 is an FPS-centric gaming mouse with some very questionable design choices that aren’t for everybody. The Corsair Glaive RGB is a more conventionally shaped mouse, lending itself well to both palm and claw grippers. 

Here, we’re going to look at Corsair’s offering in the Corsair Glaive RGB. Corsair’s purported advantages in the Glaive RGB rest within the custom PixArt PMW3367 optical sensor, as well as the interchangeable thumb grips, which adds a bit of modularity and helps it appeal to a wider audience who might otherwise hesitate about its ergonomics.

When the Glaive RGB launched, it was priced at $69.99, making the offensive most aimed at nearby contestants like the Razer DeathAdder Elite and Razer Lancehead. Currently, it sells for between $50 and $60, depending on the style (black or aluminum).

I’ve spent quite a bit of time using the Glaive as my daily driver. My experience with it ranges from various projects in MS Office, photo editing, scouring my music collection in Spotify, and of course, gaming.

Specifications

Warranty	Two years
DPI/CPI	16,000 (100 – 16,000, 1 step increments)
Sensor	PixArt PMW3367 optical sensor
Switches	Omron (50M clicks)
RGB Lighting	Yes (three zones)
Programmable Buttons	6
Polling/Report Rate	1000/500/250/125Hz (selectable)
Onboard Memory	Yes
Weight	122g (without cable)
Mouse Feet	PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene)
Dimensions	125.8 x 91 x 44.6 (millimeters)
Software	iCUE
Cable Length	1.8 meters
Mouse/Game Type	FPS
Grip Type	Claw/Palm

Packaging

Corsair’s packaging of the Glaive RGB adheres to the company’s recognizable black and yellow palette but does offer a nice front that folds away like a door, showing you more inside about the mouse.

Once inside, you’ll find the product documentation, additional magnetic thumb rests, and the mouse itself. The thumb grips come with a soft felt bag for storage, which is a nice touch and certainly helps sell the Glaive RGB as a premium mouse.

Design and Features

The Corsair Glaive RGB is presented as a high-end ergonomic mouse for right-handed users. Measuring 4.95” x 3.6” x 1.8” (L x W x H) and weighing in at 122g, the Corsair Glaive RGB is far from a small mouse.

Thanks to its contoured shape, the Glaive RGB naturally suits a palm grip. Corsair obviously placed ergonomics foremost in their design, as the Glaive’s body uses a well-proportioned, contoured shape that is extremely comfortable, and perhaps reminiscent of designs such as Razer’s DeathAdder.

The weight may be a point of contention for some; at 122g minus cables or accessories (like the thumb grips), it’s a chunky rodent, to say the least. Speaking as someone who prefers a mouse with heft, I find the Corsair Glaive RGB to be perfectly weighted and balanced. I tend to have trouble with inadvertent lift-off while using lighter mice.

The finish on the Corsair Glaive RGB is a matte black, the kind that’ll probably fade and wear over time, or get that “shine” after continued use. Nevertheless, it does give that tactile, grippy feel, which can’t be obtained on glossy finishes like that of Corsair’s M65 RGB Elite. The Glaive comes in two aspects: one with aluminum accents, and one that’s of all plastic construction. The all-plastic version is a touch lighter, weighing around 120g.

Three-zone RGB lighting is present on the Glaive and is slickly executed, although the palm area gets a bit warm from the backlit logo. Also, atop the mouse are five DPI indicator lights, relative to the DPI setting being used. For the most part, the DPI indicator lights are cleverly placed, but they can be easily obstructed with your hand.

One of the most notable features is the inclusion of three different thumb grips, as to make the Glaive’s style as inclusive as possible by not estranging those who might prefer something different. While this subject is a matter of extreme preference, I can attest to the quality of the grips. All of them feel very durable, usable, and fit in place very securely; there’s no chance of them dislodging or rattling.

Performance

At the core of the Glaive is the PixArt PMW3367 sensor, a custom Corsair derivative of the vaunted PMW3360. The PMW3360 is still regarded as one of the best sensors on the market and has since spawned the newer Corsair variant, the PMW3391.

I used a rather wide gauntlet of games to assess the Corsair Glaive RGB – Destiny 2, Anthem, The Division 2 open beta, Battlerite, and Final Fantasy XIV. The Glaive is touted as an FPS mouse, but it doesn’t really possess any innate features that make it a more suitable choice for FPS titles over others. Through tests, I found the Glaive performed equally – and admirably – across the different genres.

In FPS titles like Destiny 2, the Glaive tracked quickly and accurately, and there were no signs of adverse behavior from the sensor. Aiming felt precisely as expected, and while the Glaive doesn’t offer a dedicated sniper button, one of the side buttons can be easily programmed as a replacement.

I like to use more “clicky” MOBA and MMORPG games like Battlerite and Final Fantasy XIV to assess button quality. Corsair doesn’t cut any corners here, as the usual Omron switches rated for 50 million clicks are present. During my time with the titles mentioned above, I noticed no signs of pretravel, and the switches felt tactile and produced responsive feedback.

Lastly, the Corsair Glaive RGB didn’t show any signs of inborn angle-snapping or jitter.

Software

I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat it for the sake of context here. While Corsair’s iCUE software is among the better options out there for peripheral software, it could use a bit more polish. Maybe not quite as good as Logitech’s or SteelSeries’, but not as rough as Cougar’s UIX System.

The Corsair Glaive is replete with many customization options within iCUE. The first thing that should be done is surface calibration, then visit the DPI tab to set DPI levels. And, of course, there is the obligatory RGB lighting to play with.

You can also set things like angle-snapping (not recommended), lift-off distance, and enhanced pointer precision.

Final Verdict

With the Glaive RGB, and the newer Ironclaw RGB (which we’ll be looking at soon), it seems Corsair is trying to hold a more mainstream flagship mouse. As a company that is probably more well known for keyboards than mice, in terms of peripherals anyway, it would certainly make sense for them to have an iconic zenith product, similar to what Razer has done with the DeathAdder line.

There’s no denying the Corsair Glaive RGB is a more comfortable mouse than some of Corsair’s other designs, especially for gamers with large hands, or those who prefer a more traditionally shaped mouse. The thumb grips also offer a reasonable amount of customization not found on a lot of the nearby competition, that that’s a plus.

The Corsair Glaive is a versatile mouse that fares well in just about any genre you throw at it, despite being marketed as an FPS mouse by Corsair. It’s more than suitable for RPGs, MOBAs, etc. It’s well-built, the buttons are satisfyingly clicky, and the sensor performs reliably.

That said, the Glaive may not be for everyone. It’s a heavy mouse, weighing anywhere between 120g and 127g, depending on if you opt for the aluminum version. It’s also a big mouse, and if you’ve got smaller hands, you may find it a bit unwieldy. Lastly, although cheaper than it was at launch, it’s still not exactly a cheap mouse.

Still, I find that the Corsair Glaive RGB is still one of the more comfortable and compelling gaming mice out there.