Reviews

Wired or wireless mouse—Dell’s 2-in-1

It is a delightful superfast product.

Jon Peddie

The Alienware Pro gaming mouse boasts an unprecedented 26,000 dpi resolution, surpassing typical monitors at 300 dpi. Despite this nearly unimaginable detail, it offers lightning-fast response times of 0.25ms at 4 kHz and 0.125ms at 8 kHz when wirelessly connected. Its lightweight design, merely 60g, enhances gameplay immersion by minimizing awareness of the mouse. Alienware’s engineering ensures rapid button response and prevents stuck buttons. Beyond its technical prowess, the mouse provides a delightful user experience akin to Apple or Mercedes products, offering smooth operation, precise buttons, and surprising features. In a market often lacking innovation, the Alienware Pro stands out with its exceptional performance and user satisfaction.

Dell gamig mouse
The innards of a gaming mouse. (Source: Alienware)

You can’t visualize, or possibly even imagine, 26,000 dpi. If you’re reading this on a really good monitor, you’re seeing maybe 300 dpi. Try to imagine every point (that you probably can’t see either) divided by eight—you can’t do it; your brain and imagination will fail you. Don’t take it personally, everybody’s does. But, despite its nonhuman characteristics, that’s exactly what Alienware’s new Pro gaming mouse does—it resolves 26,000 points within an inch as you slide it across your desk or mouse pad.

But that’s just one science-fiction-like feature. The Pro gaming mouse at 4 kHz, connected wirelessly, can react with a 0.25ms response. And if connected with 8 kHz capability, it can sense a 0.125ms response. The controller polls it at those frequencies.

But constant high-speed polling and crazy optical resolution come at a price—power. Nonetheless, the internal polymer Li-ion rechargeable battery offers up to 32 hours of playtime at 4 kHz or 120 hours at 1 kHz. And it only needs five minutes of charge time for up to six hours of gameplay at 1 kHz polling.

It weighs a scant 60g—I think it’s the lightest mouse I’ve ever held. The benefit of that is you actually lose awareness of it. Other mice, even my beloved Dell wireless that I (used to) use all day, make you aware that you are pushing a weight. That is a distraction, however tiny, and it’s just one thing more for your brain to process. And if you are a competitive gamer, any distraction is not welcomed.

Dell gaming mouse
User’s view of the Alienware Pro mouse. (Source: Alienware)

The Alienware engineering is superb. The mouse has the fastest button debounce times available (the time it takes for the switch to register a mouse lock) using Alienware’s Magnetic Force Keyplates and optical switches. The keyplates prevent stuck buttons when rapidly clicking and provide the perfect balance between sound and feel.

Delightful

Some products are delightful. Apple and Mercedes get compliments because they give the user a delightful, often surprising experience. Little things like texture, easy commonsense UI, lights, etc. The Alienware Pro does that. Its lightness, its smooth-acting but positive buttons, its amazing speed and resolution… just delightful features that are there but not the main selling points.

We’ve been using mice since the early 1980s, and they’ve evolved a lot. We take them for granted and don’t expect much from them, and certainly not any surprises. This one is different, and it will surprise you.

It comes with a limited two-year warranty and sells for $149.99.