Capsule Review: ROCCAT's Kone XTD and Kone Pure Gaming Mice
by Dustin Sklavos on February 27, 2013 1:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Gaming
- Mouse
- ROCCAT
ROCCAT's Kone Software
Both of these mice, the ROCCAT Kone XTD and the Kone Pure, feature half a megabyte of on-board memory along with a dedicated 32-bit processor. It's kind of crazy when you think about it, given that these are mice, but the key to unlocking them really is in ROCCAT's software. Unfortunately, that software does have a slight learning curve. The common problem of having a lot of features is that it can be overwhelming, and peripheral designers have almost never gotten the software right.
Frustratingly, ROCCAT doesn't have a unified software package for all of its peripherals. That means you'll need to download and install different drivers for different peripherals. This is kind of silly when you realize just how much is duplicated between the suites; the XTD's software suite was only slightly different from the Pure's. Note that both mice can store up to five different profiles, and these profiles are extremely detailed.
The first page of the Kone software contains extremely detailed control for all of the mouse motion and allows for up to five dpi settings per profile. It's self-explanatory, but it's still very busy, and I've honestly never had a great need for this much detail. Your mileage may vary, though.
In my opinion, the Button Assignment page is practically the Kone's ace in the hole. These "shift" functions are becoming increasingly common, and the Kone adds a little to its learning curve by configuring the typical "back" button to be a shift button. Hold the shift, and the "Easy-Shift" profile is available. I love that ROCCAT treats virtually every function of the mouse like a button, though. Just about every function you could want can be configured, though, including media keys, DPI shift for aiming, and macros. If anything I wish they'd found a way to include another button to use as the "Easy-Shift," one that doesn't basically replace the back button.
The remaining pages include even more detailed and precise pointer control functionality, color configuration, and ROCCAT even has a mouse-related achievement system. This last one could probably be done without in favor of simplifying the software some. It's not in the way, necessarily, but it's kind of silly.
You can also use the software to update the firmware of the mice, and configure the software's voice. Whenever you switch profiles, a gravelly voice says "Profile Up" or "Profile Down." He thunders and is actually a little off-putting, but you can turn disable him.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
50 Comments
View All Comments
Azethoth - Thursday, February 28, 2013 - link
I think the most important thing is to match your hand size to the mouse. I have large hands and most of the hotly recommended mice are for tiny child hands. I cramp up using them. For me the Cyborg RATT MMO 7 is just the thing. It adjusts to hand size. It is not cheap though. There are plainer versions of the mouse that are FPS oriented.Goodtwist - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
My first generation Kone would be perfect if it wasn't for the silicon/gummy surface. Makes your palms sweat like crazy.Wall Street - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
I wonder how many of these reviews Dustin can do before he discovers the world of polling rates, angle snapping, error speed and liftoff distance.kagey - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
I'm still waiting for a good mouse to surface and these may be it.As Dustin is still using a G500 I am still using a G7 cause I like the quick swap batteries that are rechargable right in front you and being able to swap them out. It's got a few configurable buttons, nice feel and it's comfortable. Kinda like my wave keyboards.
BrightCandle - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
For a lot of reviews Anandtech has a good reputation, rightly earned by using the best known testing techniques you can find. But when it comes to mice you haven't even tested the first thing or laid out the basic specs. I don't know why you even bothered. For mice reviews we need to know:- What sensor it is based on
- How centrally placed the optical port is
- Tested for jitter, acceleration, deacceleration, lift off distance, snapping and angle correction
- Maximum tracking speed and how it behaves after that
- How the sensor handles different types and colours of mouse mats
- Its weight
- The cord weight and type
Your review doesn't contain a single technical component of what makes a mouse a mouse. With there being so few actual mice that do well in these tests it seems kind of vital to actually do these tests, because for gamers they matter. More to the point gamers might not know they matter and you ought to be breaking through and testing mice properly and showing gamers why they should care.
This review was pointless like all your other mice reviews, get it to together or stop wasting your time.
five_seven - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
u mad bro?WeaselITB - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
No, I agree with BrightCandle and Wall Street (above).Imagine if there was a monitor review that went up saying "Well, it can move up and down, the base is pretty, I like the feel of the buttons, and the colors are nice and color-y. There's an on-screen display, but it takes 10 seconds between button pushes to adjust the brightness, but that's a small gripe." Comments would be setting that reviewer on fire for not testing color accuracy, uniformity, etc. You know ... the things that actually matter when differentiating between monitors?
This review, as BrightCandle said, doesn't cover ANY technical details about what makes this mouse different/better/worse than another mouse. The default 800dpi is all well and awesome, and the ability to adjust it is great (with a delay of up to 20 seconds in between settings, apparently), but if the polling rate is 10Hz I don't care what dpi setting you use, the mouse performance is going to suck. This review doesn't even get that far.
Dustin, no offense to you personally, man, but these reviews are not up to the usual Anandtech quality standards. $90 is an awful lot of money to drop on a mouse when the best a review can come up with is a completely subjective "It's a good mouse."
-Weasel
Mumrik - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
The design doesn't exactly look foreign...http://imgur.com/rZ8Tgzd
meshugge - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
Any chance for a review of the available mice for us left-handers?Spydermag68 - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - link
I am still using my Logitech left handed mouse that I bought 10 years ago. This is the last left hand mouse I have seen. I wish manufactures would make more left handed mice.