Friday, March 29, 2024

The only gaming mouse I use is on sale for under $100 this Prime Day

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The Aerox 9 Wireless sits on a table.

If you’re looking for a great Prime Day deal on a gaming mouse, you might want to check out the Aerox 9 Wireless. SteelSeries’ lightweight MMO mouse is 40% off right now at Amazon, taking it down to $90. That’s a solid deal considering that I haven’t even thought about switching to another mouse since I started using mine.

The Aerox 9 is unique for a few reasons. For one, it has an “MMO” layout, which is a rare breed of gaming mouse that’s known for its massive number of programmable buttons. MMO mice tend to have a grid of buttons that sit under your thumb, allowing you to have easy access to a dozen commands — a step up if you’re used to a few well-placed side buttons. The Aerox 9 features 18 programmable buttons in total, 12 of which neatly sit on its side panel.

Usually, the one drawback of an MMO mouse is its weight. You can’t add 12 extra buttons without expecting a bit of heft. That’s what makes the Aerox 9 special, though: It’s only 89g. That’s mind-bogglingly light for a mouse like this, giving it a clear advantage over something like Razer’s Naga Pro.

I reviewed the Aerox 9 back in April. Usually once I’ve finished testing a mouse, I’ll swap it back out for whatever I was using at the time. I have a drawer full of gaming mice that I just end up giving away to friends. My PC gaming setup is a constant game of King of the Hill where every peripheral I get has to fight for its place. Months later, the Aerox 9 stands at the top of the mountain uncontested. Nothing else has gotten close to taking it down.

Part of that is due to its signature gimmick. The MMO grid has changed the way I play titles like Destiny 2, allowing me to map pretty much everything to the 12 side buttons. I never use finishers when I play on PC because I hate moving off WASD to reach the button. Now, I essentially never need to stop moving to do anything, which has me using every tool in my arsenal much more.

It’s not even the mouse’s flashier features that have won me over, though. The Aerox 9 is just plain comfortable. With its light weight and smooth glides, it still smoothly moves around my desk. I figured that its Achilles’ heel would be its open mesh design, as I feared it would be filled with cat hair come shedding season. While there is a bit of hair and dust lodged down there, it’s not nearly as much as I feared considering that everything I own is constantly coated in a layer of white fur.

The Aerox 9 is the rare piece of tech that’s made me up my gaming standards. Usually, I’m happy to just use any old mouse so long as it clicks and moves well. Now, I can’t imagine using anything else — including other, heavier MMO mice. Even if I don’t take advantage of all its buttons, the fact that they’re there and don’t weigh it down makes this my go-to PC gaming companion.

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