Genius is one of those dark horses in gaming tech. As a relatively unknown company in a field of giants, they’ve been putting out quality gear for a while now. They may not be top of the line peripherals, but they’ve become an easy option for me to recommend for gamers on the budget. So, when I was asked to take a look at the Gila GX mouse, I was excited to see how they had upgraded on what has traditionally been a very solid foundation of gear. Unfortunately, however, I just didn’t find something deserving of the praise I had given them in the past.
The Gila GX doesn’t pull any punches with its sensitivity, ranging from 200 all the way up to a borderline insane 8200 DPI. Quite honestly, outside of aiming tanks in the Battlefield series, I’m hard pressed to come up with situations where I really need that level of sensitivity, but it’s definitely nice to have. However, Genius missed a step in the actual implementation here.
The DPI is fantastic, but there’s no great way to cycle through them, as the software only allows you to cycle through the 6 different DPI settings as opposed to jumping up and down. This is a massive oversight for a gaming mouse. Being able to have that insanely high DPI for tank controls and extremely low DPI for sniping doesn’t do me any good if I have to hit the button five times to get back where I want to be. There’s not even a really great work around here outside of trying to juggle different profiles.
Outside of this glaring fault, the rest of the software is phenomenal. Every button outside of the left mouse button can be reassigned to handle everything from media keys, switching profiles, rapid fire clicks and macros. The DPI can be set in 200 DPI increments, and even the lift up distance can be customized.
The build quality feels pretty phenomenal, which really is the norm for Genius mice at this point. You can even add up to six separate 4.5 gram weights to the mouse to find that perfect feel. Going further, the sides also have a fantastic textured rubber that not only offers a bit of extra grip, but also looks kind of cool.
Unfortunately, I simply can’t get over the ergonomics of Gila GX. I know I’m a bit of an outlier here, but I’ve got larger hands than most people. This naturally taints my opinions on mice, but I like to think I’m professional enough to try and be subjective. That being said, I’m having a hard time imagining how this mouse can feel natural for just about anyone with reasonably large hands.
The mouse is definitely on the smaller side to begin with, and all of the stylish bumps and edges just seemed to get in the way of my enjoyment. I traditionally use a palm grip that allows me to sprawl all over the mouse, but I just couldn’t find a comfortable position here. I tried adapting to a claw grip, which worked a bit better, but made the already slightly cumbersome button placement absolutely useless to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a few extra buttons on a mouse, but the layout has to be perfect for me to even consider using them. The M1 and M2 buttons hug the side of the left mouse button, making it cumbersome to hit M1 while clicking normally and damn near impossible to hit M2. M3 and M4 are on the right mouse button, and I ran into similar issues. Hitting M3 with the side of my finger wasn’t too bad, but M4 seemed unwieldy. I was able to consistently hit them with my ring finger sitting on the button as well, but it’s just a very unnatural grip for me.
M5 and M6 weren’t as bad, but I did have to raise my fingers off the left and right buttons to push down with my middle knuckle. Still, for some situations that would be a fine compromise. I do, however, want to compliment the thumb buttons, because they’re damn near perfect. Just low enough that I can hit them without having to move my thumb by simply rolling up a bit, and sensitive to the right amount of pressure.
While the thumb buttons are only on the left-hand side, the mouse is symmetric outside of that, and with a simple rebind can be used for those of you who are left-handed.
There are a few RGB lighting options that do look pretty awesome, but there is one questionable choice here. That is that there are two LEDs on the front of the mouse that look like headlights. These are admittedly pretty badass, but you’ll never see them with normal use. It wasn’t until someone else pointed them out to me that I even really realized they were there.
The Genius Gila GX is undoubtedly packed with features, however, I can’t really recommend it to most people. This is marketed as an RTS and MMO mouse, so fans of those genres may be willing to learn how to juggle the awkwardly placed buttons. But with my large paws and a gaming catalogue spread out across all genres, there are just better options for the money.
This review is based on an accessory that we were provided with.
Middling
The Gila GX may be a fine mouse for people with smaller hands or MMO/RTS players willing to deal with strange ergonomics in order to have more control, but the average gamer will probably find it to be too crowded.
Gila GX Review