ASUS ROG Strix Impact III gaming mouse review

ASUS continues to develop a line of gaming controllers under the Republic of Gamers brand — we recently got acquainted with a very interesting model
ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition, and today we are reviewing a cheaper ASUS ROG Strix Impact III, the updated version in the Strix Impact line, released three years after the previous model, ROG Strix Impact II.

Specifications

Design, ergonomics

ASUS ROG Strix Impact III is a relatively small mouse (126x62x39 mm) with a symmetrical body and a “minimalist” design: it does not have a large number of additional buttons, ergonomic “stands” on the sides or any additional design elements.

The set is minimal: in addition to the actual manipulator, in the box you can find only the user manual and a simple cloth “bag” for the mouse.

As already mentioned, the case is symmetrical – the mouse has no difference in inclination to the right or left, so theoretically you can hold it in any hand; “theoretically” — because the side buttons are only on the left side, and the left-handed person won’t have access buttons under the thumb.

“Lift” is moved to the back of the case. The main buttons are of medium size, their comfortable click zone begins approximately at the level of the far “part” of the wheel, that is, quite far from the center of the manipulator.

The case in the ASUS ROG Strix Impact III is narrow, the sides are not vertical, but have a slight but noticeable slope, and the lower part of the body is significantly narrower than the upper part – this, as well as the light weight of the mouse, allows you to comfortably lift it off the mat, despite the fact that the sides not rubberized, but made of the same matte plastic as the rest of the body. However, the sides have a fine texture in the form of thin inclined lines, but against slipping from a sweaty palm, this solution is no better than the usual matte surface of the rest of the body.

Due to the fact that the body is relatively small and narrow, for large and medium-sized hands, claw or finger grips will be optimal, while for smaller ones, the palm grip can be quite comfortable.

The ASUS ROG Strix Impact III has five programmable buttons — two main, a scroll wheel, and two side buttons, plus a DPI switch button at the bottom, next to the sensor. The side buttons are located in the zone of comfortable reach with the thumb – even a person with average hands and a “palm” grip will be able to reach the far button without any problems.

If you compare the ROG Strix Impact III with the previous model, you can pay attention to a slightly different shape of the main buttons, which are now slightly smaller in size and better “fit” into the body, smaller side buttons and a more streamlined body in general. It is also worth noting the significantly lower weight of the third version – 59 g compared to 79 g in ROG Strix Impact II.

The branded ROG Paracord cable is very flexible, woven in fabric, 2 meters long – very convenient and does not interfere with the movement of the manipulators at all.

Sensor, ASUS ROG Strix Impact III functionality

PixArt PAW3311 sensor is installed in the manipulator. Its main features are a maximum resolution of 12,000 CPI, a maximum tracking speed of 300 inches per second, and a maximum acceleration of 35g. As you can see, today the specifications are not record-breaking, but they are quite sufficient for a gaming mouse that is not focused on eSports competitions.

The default sensor sensitivity button toggles between 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 CPI. Also, in combination with the side buttons and wheel, it can be used to quickly switch between three settings profiles stored in the mouse’s memory.

ROG Micro switches are installed under the main buttons – the manufacturer claims 70 million actuations. If desired, the user can easily replace these switches with any others: the ROG Strix Impact III case is not sealed and can be disassembled without damaging the legs – the process is described in detail in the user manual.

Two screws are hidden under special stickers – it is unlikely to be possible to carefully glue them back, but they do not affect the operation of the manipulator in any way. The ability to easily disassemble the mouse, by the way, can be useful not only if the user wants to replace the switches, but also for banal cleaning of the wheel from debris.

ROG Strix Impact III has an RGB illumination of the scroll wheel and the ROG logo on the back of the case. The controller supports Aura Sync technology, so the backlight can be adjusted in the proprietary Armory Crate utility and synchronized with other ASUS devices.

Software

The traditional setting of the parameters of the manipulator is performed in the proprietary utility Armoury Crate. It allows you to change button values, record macros, configure the RGB backlight, change the sensitivity of the sensor and the polling frequency, create user profiles and save them in the mouse memory, update the firmware, etc.