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Roccat Kone[+]

HEN THE ORIGINAL ROCCAT Kone was released, it set out to take the gaming mouse crown from Logitech. Unfortunately for Roccat, my mousepad was home to the Logitech G9x at the time, which, when compared to the Kone, dominated in almost every way. Now, a year later, the Kone[+] has arrived for review. With nothing new to top the Logitech G-range, its Roccats turn to make the other guy feel insignificant. The Kone[+] not only has a clever name (it looks like an aiming reticule, in case you hadnt noticed), but features a number of improvements over its predecessor, not limited to improved technical specifications. The biggest benefits are the drivers. Over time, Roccat have been fine-tuning their mouse software and now the Kone[+] is extremely usable out of the box, without the need to fiddle with any settings. As soon as you do start tinkering, the mouse becomes even more precise, and thanks to the Tracking & Distance Control Unit, will work at optimal performance levels on any mousepad. A number of customisation options are available from within the Roccat software: Typical settings such as sensitivity (with optional separate settings for the X and Y axis), scroll and tilt speed for the wheel; and individual DPI settings for the five modes that can be selected from the mouse itself. You also have the option to change the colour of four LEDs that run along the sides of the mouse, as well as adjust their blinking/breathing speed and style (or turn it off altogether). While some users might find it to be a little too big, the Kone[+] is comfortable used in both palm and claw grips thanks to its large surface area and hourglass shape. In addition, every inch of the mouse feels durable and well-constructed. Really the only part that doesnt ooze a sense of quality is the cable Id prefer the tanglefree variety that Logitech is so fond of. If youve ever been tempted to buy a mouse with a lot of buttons, then the Kone[+] will be perfect. Not only can every button be assigned to a macro (programmable in the software) or Windows commands such as volume adjustment or media playback control, but the rear thumb button is a modifier to give each other button an additional function. In addition, the software includes pre-set macros for a number of popular games and applications. When you change volume, DPI or sensitivity, youll receive audio feedback telling you exactly what button youve just pressed. Up to five profiles can be stored on the device itself, each with their own settings for macros, sensitivity and everything else, with the option of setting each profile to activate whenever a particular application or game is started. If youd like, you can even set the LEDs to illuminate different colours based on your profile.

Specifications

Tracking: 6,000dpi Polling Rate: 1000Hz Storage: 567kb (five profiles) Weight: 126g (excluding cable) Weight adjustment: Additional 5-20g It might come as a surprise to you (its not what I was expecting when I began this review), but the Roccat Kone[+] is a better mouse than the Logitech G9x. Its not significantly better, and might not warrant an upgrade if you already have a G9x, but if youre coming from anything else, including the MS Sidewinder and the original Kone, then the R800-odd youll spend on the Kone[+] will be well worth it. Geoff Burrows
+ Accurate + Comfortable + Customisable

- Needs a better cable

This is the best mouse you can buy right now.

out of ten

4 www.nag.co.za

21 February 2009

By: Traian Teglet, Hardware Editor
ROCCAT Kone Gaming Mouse Review
A device for a truly high-end gaming user
The Roccat Kone gaming mouse Roccat Studios
There's no doubt that the gaming business has become a significant part of the PC industry, as we are seeing more and more companies focusing on products that are specifically built to meet the requirements of gaming enthusiasts all over the world. I am talking about PC hardware and PC peripherals that are crafted and then marketed as gaming-focused products, meant to help gaming users improve their skills or just take advantage of a better overall gaming experience. On that note, we start our review of the ROCCAT Kone Gaming mouse, a product designed by the Germany-based ROCCAT Studios, and released on October 1, 2008, although it was announced back in late 2007. A product that, given by its specifications and overall design, will be competing with some of the most popular gaming peripherals on the market, like Logitech's G9 Laser Mouser, Razer's Lachesis, or even Microsoft's Sidewinder X5. Basically, like all the products from this category, the ROCCAT Kone has been designed and marketed with gaming in mind, providing gaming enthusiasts with a set of high-performance and unique features. When the Kone mouse arrived at our door step, it brought along a "friend," more specifically, the ROCCAT Taito, a 400 by 320 mouse pad, also designed with gaming in mind. Dare we say that the entire package was a rather interesting and welcome surprise, especially since we were about to test one of the latest gaming peripherals on the market, one released just a month ahead of the 40-year anniversary of the computer mouse. Now, if you were to look at the Kone and the first prototypes created by Douglas Engelbart, you would likely think that you are taking a long journey through history. The Kone, as its aforementioned competitors, isn't your everyday computer peripheral meant to provide an easy interaction with you computer system. The Kone falls in a different market segment, as it offers a load of features that most computer mice can't deliver. That certainly comes at a price, but there are plenty of users out there that will gladly jump at the opportunity of purchasing one of these devices. After all, if there's no demand, there will certainly be no offer. But that's enough with the chitchat, as there are plenty of things to talk about when presenting the mouse. [[BREAK=Design and Technical Specifications]] The ROCCAT Taito Now, as mentioned above, the Kone mouse came to us accompanied by a ROCCAT-designed mouse pad, as it appears that as far as gaming is concerned, you will require more than a high-performance gaming mouse to stay at the top of your game. This is exactly were the Taito mouse pad comes into play, as it provides the user with a surface upon which the mouse performs at its best. Also, you will have to keep in mind that the Kone has been designed so that it can take advantage of all these features, meaning that it can adapt to whatever surface you are playing, consequently enhancing the overall performance. We haven't really tested the Taito with other gaming peripherals, as we decided to describe both products in a single article. As you can see from the pictures, this gaming pad has been designed with a shiny black finish, sporting some noteworthy dimensions, like 400 by
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320mm, or "Gaming Size," according to ROCCAT. The pad is 3.45nm thick and combines a rubberized backing with a heat-treated nano pattern, which the company claims to provide the ultimate solution for an increase in glideability into all directions. This design enables the user to take full advantage of a fast gaming mouse, while the mouse pad remains on your desk, even when put through some heavy stress on part of the user. According to ROCCAT, the pad should be an adequate solution even for resolutions of up to 8000 dpi (which is the least to say, impressive). I'm not really sure how long you will be able to benefit from the pad's shinny finish, especially if you are used to going to different LAN parties and taking the pad on the road with you. However, according to its creator, the ROCCAT Taiot is built using a long life material, but that is a statement that needs time to be proved. Tech Specs: Heat-Treated Nano pattern; Improved Axis Flow;  Dimensions: 400 x 320mm; 3,45mm thickness; Rubberized backing; Long life material. The ROCCAT Kone When you buy a ROCCAT Kone gaming mouse, you will not only have a product that provides you with an alternative to your own gaming mouse, but also a key into a new world of gaming. That statement isn't as far-fetched as it may initially sound, as the Kone gaming mouse package includes a ROCCAT ID card, which is bundled in every ROCCAT hardware product you will buy. This, in the words of the company, will provide the user with free access to "a whole world of benefits and confidential information, such as discounts on game servers, behind the scenes information on TEAM ROCCAT, competitions and many more." Design The Kone has some similarities with other gaming mice on the market, especially if you look at some of the products in Razer's portfolio. But the ROCCAT mouse (we can call it that as it currently is the only mouse in the company's product range) is a different mouse altogether. It has no less than eight customizable buttons, that is if you don't count the two left and right buttons featured on any traditional gaming mouse.

There's also a customizable lighting system, which is made out of the two lines on each side of the mouse and the ROCCAT logo on the back of the mouse. Featuring an ergonomic hybrid shape, the Kone allows its users to take advantage of an optimum grip, combined with a level of comfort that you will immediately sense. The Kone just feels right in your palm. On the back, the ROCCAT Kone features a weight adjustment system that enables the user to easily adjust the weight of the mouse, according to their preferences. This isn't exactly a new feature, as other products on the market are also taking advantage of a similar solution. However, the software solution that is provided with the mouse will be able to tell
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you what weight is installed thanks to a weight detection system. The Kone offers support for four easy to clip in weights, which are provided in the sales package. Users can choose any of the four weights, ranging from 5g to 20g, for best performance.
The weight adjustment system isn't the best feature of this gaming mouse, especially since you can find similar solutions on competitive products. What the ROCCAT has delivered with the new Kone mouse is an integrated Tracking Control Unit (TCU), a technology that you aren't likely to find in other gaming mice on the market, at least that we know of. To better put this into perspective, the Kone is the only mouse that analyzes the mouse pad's surface and adapts itself so that it can provide the end user with the best gaming performance money can buy. Aside from all of the above, on the back of the mouse, users will see a 3200dpi laser sensor, which is basically at the heart of the performance achieved by this mouse. As you might imagine, at least two of those ten mouse buttons have been specifically designed to enable users a fast and easy DPI switch for in-game configuration of the speed of the mouse. Tech Specs: Laser Sensor: 3200dpi; Processor: 72MHz TurboCore processor unit; Memory: 128kB memory, update-/flashable; Interface: 16-bit data channel;7080fps; 6.4 Megapixel, 20g acceleration; Response time: 1ms; 1000Hz polling rate Special features: - Integrated Tracking Control Unit;                                   - Weight Adjustment System;                                   - Ultra-quiet and low-friction mouse feet; Dimensions: ca. 13cm x ca. 6.5cm maximum length; Weight: 118g; Connectivity: USB 2.0 port Compatibility: Windows XP/Vista 32-/64-bit. [[BREAK=Hardware Performance]] This is the part were we detail our experience with the mouse, while using well-known gaming applications. Unfortunately, unlike other products that come in our test labs, this gaming peripheral can't be tested using a regular benchmark, which can provide us with a generally accepted score, based on the performance achieved in a series of tests. This basically means that the evaluated performance of the Kone mouse is somewhat subjective and is reported to our experience with similar devices on the market.

Before we start, we should unveil the gaming titles that we used in order to get the real feeling of what ROCCAT's Kone can deliver. First of all, we went for an old-school, Counter Strike first person shooter, which has been for a long time now somewhat of a benchmark
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for testing out a gaming peripheral. Secondly, we chose to play another, somewhat old PC game, namely Unreal Tournament 2004. For our last gaming session, we decided to change the gaming category and go for something like the world's most popular MMORPG, namely Blizzard's World of Wacraft: Wrath of Lich King. As already mentioned, Counter Strike 1.6 is probably one of the most popular games around, taking into consideration the period it was released, but also the number of fans it gathered in time. In our first experience with the mouse, there were few noticeable effects on your gaming performance. In fact, one could say that there were only few differences between a regular, mainstream gaming mouse and the Kone. However, after turning to the software application of the mouse and tweaking some of the settings, there were considerable changes for the better. [IMG=21][IMG=22] The same happened with Unreal Tournament 2004, but there we had to do some more adjusting of the mouse's features and performance capabilities. Ultimately, these settings differ from user to user, as well as from gaming application to gaming application, but we have to say that the options provided by the Kone mouse are more than one could ask for, which is certainly a plus. WoW: Wrath of Lich King is another game where users can really take advantage of the button customization features enabled by ROCCAT's Kone mouse. You will certainly see a difference when you find yourself in a battleground, PVP arena, or one of those Heroic mode dungeons. [IMG=23][IMG=24][IMG=25][IMG=26] All and all, we can easily say that for in-game performance, the Roccat Kone gaming mouse provides some noteworthy features, which you will most certainly find a use for, especially if you are one of those gaming enthusiasts playing games long into the night, or participating at different LAN parties, where having the best gaming gear can mean the difference between winning and losing. There are certainly a number of other applications that we could have put good use of Kone's features, but as we've already said, the hardware performance of a gaming mouse is somewhat subjective. [[BREAK=Real-Life Performance]] As we mentioned throughout the article, the Kone has been specifically built for gaming and consequently, gaming enthusiasts. However, we can easily say that if you are one of those users that like to customize their rig, than Kone is an alternative worth taking into consideration. That has nothing to do with its performance capabilities, but rather with the mouse's overall cool factor. The truth of the matter is that the Kone is a really cool mouse, as it provides the user with a number of customization options, unavailable with other similar products on the market. [IMG=27][IMG=28][IMG=29] The installation process is relatively simple and the package comes with everything you will require in order to install the new mouse. Once you get past the Kone's exterior design, you will truly be able to see what this device is capable of, thanks to the provided software application. This enables the user to tweak all the features of the mouse ranging from key assignment to changing the color of the lighting system or enabling the Kone's TCU.

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We could say that, because of the provided application, the Kone enables the best level of customization a gaming mouse can provide. In the Main Control tab, users can change the sensitivity options, the mouse's DPI, scroll speed and double-click speed. The Main Control tab also provides users with the option for assigning the functions of each of the four customizable mouse buttons. A list is provided for every key, but if that isn't what you are looking for, then you have the option to record a macro of your own. [IMG=30][IMG=31][IMG=32] The Color Control tab is probably where you can have the most fun, as this is where users can change the coloring of the Kone's integrated light system. You have the option to turn the light on, or off and select what color scheme you want for your mouse. There are five points in the lighting system that can be customized. This creates a wider range of coloring schemes, as you can choose from a lot of colors for each point.   Additionally, you can choose to add some light effects to the mouse, further increasing the cool factor. The application has three effects (four, if you count the full lightened mode) including "Pulsating," "Blinking," and "Heartbeat." This tab also informs the user what weight is installed and enables him to choose the effect speed. The Advanced Settings Tab is where you really get to see what the Kone can provide you, especially if you are a high-end user. There are six different customization options available within this tab, including the unique Tracking Control Unit. Users can change the mouse's advanced sensitivity, acceleration, polling rate and even the window's pointer speed. You can also reset the mouse to its factory default and start all over with the other settings. If you choose to turn the Kone's TCU technology on, you will be prompted with a window that tells you to place the mouse on the surface on which you will be using it (in our case, the Taito mouse pad) and leave it so for five seconds, without moving it in the process. The calibration is required for every difference mouse pad or surface you will play on; so each time you change your mouse pad, you will have to recalibrate your mouse. [IMG=33][IMG=34][IMG=35] The Update and Help/Support tabs are strongly related to the online support provide by ROCCAT, providing users with the latest firmware or just technical support. An Internet connection is required for these two functions. Throughout the application, you will be able to create, load, save or edit your mouse's profile, depending on the different settings you will customize. Thanks to the built-in memory, users can take advantage of up to five different gaming profiles, a feature that truly demonstrates the Kone's gaming orientation. [[BREAK=Conclusions]] The Good We could go on and on about what makes the Kone mouse stand out from the crowd. That is because this mouse has certainly been created with the gaming user in mind, providing them with not only a high-performance piece of hardware, but also a series of features that will certainly come in handy. As far as the Taito mouse pad is concerned, we can say that these two products should go together for an ultimate gaming experience.

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[IMG=41][IMG=36][IMG=37] The Bad We have tried so hard to find something bad about the Kone, as throughout our review we have gained the utmost respect for the product. However, after stretching our minds for a while, we came to the conclusion that ROCCAT might have sweetened the offer by providing its customers with a choice for replacing the mouse feet, which can deteriorate quite rapidly if the owner is a gaming enthusiast. There's hardly anything you could hold against the Taito game pad. However, we can say that you will probably not be able to take advantage of its glossy finish after a few months of use, although that is to be demonstrated. Overall Impressions The ROCCAT Kone gaming mouse is a product to really consider for your high-end gaming PC. We could say that, even if you aren't a gaming enthusiast, the Kone can provide you with some features that you won't be able to find on any other competitive product currently on the market. We can actually say that the customizable light system could easily fool you into thinking that you have a different mouse whenever the color changes. Packed along with the Taito gaming pad (which is sold separately), these two ROCCAT products should please even the most demanding of gaming users. [IMG=38][IMG=39][IMG=40] Sales Package ROCCAT Kone Gaming Mouse; Fastclip Weight System (four weights) with Hard Case; Inari Case Mission Book with ID Card; ROCCAT Driver CD ; Quick Install Guide.
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