Corsair Ironclaw RGB: precision and comfort for big hands

Ergonomics

Contrary to what its name suggests, the Ironclaw is not really suitable for a grip in claw grip (claw), but intended for followers of palm grip, that is to say with the palm of the hand put on the mouse. And for good reason, the beast is rather imposing, quite long and well curved, which does little to bend the fingers. Only large hands will be able to try a grip which brings a little more nervousness in the handling of the mouse.

The Ironclaw is in any case oriented towards comfort with a left edge that supports the thumb well and a fairly restful inclination of the shell to the right. Of course, this mouse is only suitable for right-handers. The grip is pleasant with a soft finish on the top and textured elastomeric coatings on the edges which prevent fingers from slipping. Thus, despite its large size, the Ironclaw RGB is easy to move and lift, which allows use in low sensitivity, which involves frequent refocusing of the mouse on the mat. Especially since the Ironclaw is light despite its size, displaying only 105 g on the scale. Enough to ensure good handling.

The buttons also fall well under the fingers if you don't have a small hand. We appreciate the slightly concave shape of the two main ones which ensure good finger position retention. Two large buttons take place on the left edge and are easily manipulated with the two terminal phalanxes of the thumb - the button most recessed being less accessible with the tip of the thumb. The clicks of all these buttons are quite responsive, special mention of course to the two main ones who take advantage of Omron switches guaranteed for a minimum of 50 million activations.

Two other buttons are located above the wheel and are used to change the usage profile or the sensitivity of the sensor on the fly. The selection of both materializes in the form of three light bands on the front of the left edge of the mouse, which light up and change color to indicate which profile or level is activated. All this can be set in the Corsair iCue software (see box below).

The wheel, finally, turns out to be rather large and pleasant to handle for scrolling through web pages or documents, but some players may deplore its not too marked notches which make it lose precision.

Question finish, we remain a little on our hunger. Corsair mice often have a plastic appearance that is not necessarily very flattering, and it is, alas, not this Ironclaw that will make us change our minds. Although we have no complaints about the assembly, we can not say that the features of this model are very fine. However, since everything is a matter of taste, we will let you decide on this very subjective point that is design. The mouse seems in any case quite robust and that is the main point, especially for a video game type mouse. On a purely aesthetic level, we should point out the presence of two zones backlit by RGB LEDs, at the level of the logo and the thumbwheel. The light effects produced are configurable in the mouse software.

Nothing to say in any case when it comes to sliding, the large PTFE pads ensuring fluid movements on both textile and rigid carpets. The braided cable of the mouse would however have benefited from being more flexible to less hinder its movement.

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Precision

The Ironclaw benefits from an excellent PMW3391 optical sensor signed Pixart. Corsair does not specify any characteristic on its website or even the box or the manual of the mouse, except the least important in our eyes nowadays, the sensitivity. This increases to 18,000 dpi, which is always perfectly useless, even counterproductive as the slightest micromotion at this sensitivity moves the cursor or the camera. Indeed, at 18,000 dpi, a movement of the mouse over 1 cm is almost enough to make the cursor cross the width of two Ultra HD screens. Even with a fairly weak field of vision in an Ultra HD game in first person view (FPS type), it is the assured dizzy and the lack of precision that goes with it. The fact remains that who can do the most can do the least and it must be recognized that the sensor keeps its promises in terms of precision - at reasonable sensitivity values - and reactivity. Impossible to get it off despite very sudden movements and no phenomenon of smoothing or acceleration to deplore, the monitoring is impeccable.

According to information we have obtained from Corsair, PMW3391 is apparently a derivative of PMW3389. It would thus support accelerations up to 50 g and capture speeds up to 10.16 m / s. Enough to meet the expectations of any player, whether using the mouse in low or high sensitivity. We would simply have appreciated a slightly lower sensor drop height, so as to better eliminate the small parasitic movements that occur when the mouse is lifted to center it.

In terms of surface recognition, if it is better to avoid glass and other reflective and transparent materials, the fact is that the Ironclaw adapts very well to the various common coatings, whether it is aa slightly satiny desk or even an improvised support. Of course, we cannot recommend the use of a good mouse pad enough, the only way to truly benefit from the precision of such a mouse and to optimize its glide by reducing at the same time the wear of the pads. Corsair also offers in its software a surface calibration option, in order to optimize the recognition of the sensor according to the nature of the coating on which the mouse rests.

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Conclusion

Pleasant to handle, the Ironclaw has something to satisfy lovers of big mice looking for a certain comfort for their big hands. Despite its imposing size, the Ironclaw can be used in fast games thanks to its lightness and its very good optical sensor while its comfort allows it to remain pleasant in office automation.

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