Cooler Master MM520: a mouse that requires its handling

Ergonomics

What immediately strikes you with this MM520 is its design. Rather wide (78.5 mm), it recalls mice like the Logitech G600, the Naz by Razer (Naga Chroma and Naga Hex V2, 75 mm wide) or the Naos 8200 by Mionix (84 mm wide) and Func MS-3.

Indeed, the MM520 also offers a protuberance on its right edge to support the ring finger. The mouse is therefore pinched between the thumb and the little finger, a rubberized insert helping the latter to stay in place when lifted to center it on the carpet.

Like the right edge, the left edge is hollowed out to better accommodate the thumb, but does not benefit from a rubberized insert. However, this is not too annoying for the intended grip, rather of the claw grip type.

And precisely, this type of recommended handling does not seem so obvious to us, insofar as the mouse is not particularly long and can just as easily invite a grip in the palm or even with your fingertips. For our part, with our hand of about 20 cm in length by 10 in width, the palm comes just at the base of the mouse, bending the fingers well to keep the little finger in particular on its dedicated rubberized area. We are thus close to a finger tip.

Small hands, for their part, will be happy to be able to rest entirely on the mouse, in palm grip; a position which, for our part, makes protrude our fingers on the front of the mouse. It's not as simple as what Cooler Master recommends. In all cases, the fingers are in any case well separated from each other, which is not uncomfortable, but can be confusing if you are used to narrower mice. To consider depending on the shape and size of your hand, therefore.

Apart from these ergonomic considerations, the MM520 proves to be rather well constructed and its adjustments are careful. The slightly grainy plastic that makes up the entire hull is PBT, renowned for its robustness. Not very dirty, it resists perspiration well and remains free of fingerprints. If it is not as pleasant to the touch as a plastic of the soft-touch type, it is quite comfortable despite everything and does not slip too much. The main buttons are also slightly concave, making it easier to hold in position.

These two buttons are associated with Omron switches guaranteed for a minimum of 20 million activations, offering a fairly frank and reactive click. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the edge buttons which, if they are very well placed, are based on switches of the tact-switches type. The touch is much less convincing.

No particular problem, however, on the side of the wheel which, for its part, benefits from a mechanical switch. It is also well notched and generally pleasant to handle. A last button finds its place above the wheel, dedicated to the change of sensitivity of the sensor.

In terms of gliding, the 3 PTFE pads ensure fluid movements on a mouse pad, but not particularly silent. The handling of the MM520 remains easy, the mouse not being too heavy (104 g measured, cable placed next to the scale), failing to be particularly light.

Strangely, however, Cooler Master chose to weigh down his mouse by adding a small metallic mass of about 12 g under the hull! It is easy to remove if you want to make the MM520 a really light mouse (92 g).

On the aesthetic level, finally, it is difficult not to notice the multicolored RGB backlight, illuminating both the translucent wheel, a border running through the base of the mouse on its back and around the Cooler Master logo on the top. You can choose from a list of various effects to take advantage, for example, of a color cycle, a breathing effect, etc. The color transitions could have been a little smoother.

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Precision

Never change a winning team. As on the other MasterMouse - and many other mid and high-end competing mice -, Cooler Master trusted PixArt for the sensor of its MM520. We therefore find the excellent PMW3360 and its high flight characteristics, among which a maximum capture speed of 6.35 m / s and a maximum acceleration of 50 g. The most subtle movements or on the contrary the most abrupt do not scare him and in practice, we find the excellent behavior of this sensor on the MM520. No acceleration to report, monitoring is precise and faithful, pixel by pixel.

The maximum sensitivity reaches 12,000 dpi, which is much more than is necessary, even with a multi-screen configuration in UHD. Indeed, at this maximum sensitivity, a movement of less than a centimeter is enough to cover the entire width of an Ultra HD screen (3,840 x 2,160 px). Difficult to be precise in these conditions, but who can the most can the least.

In terms of surface recognition, no miracle: it is indeed an optical sensor and not a laser sensor, but there is still good behavior on a wide variety of coatings. However, we always recommend a good mouse pad to optimize gliding and precision, gain comfort and limit wear on the pads.

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Conclusion

This Cooler Master MM520 mouse is distinguished by its studied shape to support and accommodate the fingers well. If comfort is generally there, it is better to know what we are committed to with such ergonomics, because depending on the size and shape of the hand, not all grips are optimal. Those who will be comfortable there will benefit from an excellent optical sensor that has originated itself.

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