RELATED: ASUS ROG Phone 06 Review – The Peak of Smartphone Gaming
The variety of items is created to enhance your video gaming efficiency. By producing an ultra-lightweight video gaming mouse and matching it with the Aim Lab innovation, the items were created to evaluate your motions and patterns in your gameplay and advise modifications. The suggestions are targeted at enhancing your actions to produce a more rounded technique to how you video game. The concern, nevertheless, is whether you can enhance your efficiencies, even after years, if not years, of video gaming. Let’s learn.
For this evaluation, the ASUS ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition Mouse was accompanied by the ROG Hone Ace Aim Lab Edition mousepad.
Build and Design
Unlike lots of other gadgets tailored towards players, the ASUS ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab is especially small and light-weight. Upon raising it out of its box for the very first time, you’ll feel this immediately.
Another element that captures your attention is its shape. The Aim Lab Edition provides a really special build compared to lots of other ASUS video gaming mouses. It has a narrow body, that makes it simpler to grip for the majority of users. However, if you have much bigger hands, it might feel a bit too compact and unpleasant as an outcome. Its size and weight do make it a lot simpler to move however it takes a little getting utilized to in regards to control with its fluidity. Some practice is needed, as an outcome, however that’s where the Aim Lab Edition takes control of. More on that later on.
The 2 thumb buttons are located fairly high compared to other systems too. This makes it less prone to accidental clicking and actually more comfortable to use during those hardcore gaming sessions.
As stated previously, the unit came paired with the ASUS ROG Hone Ace Aim Lab Edition mousepad. This was designed in conjunction with the Harpe Ace Aim Lab for better movement. Harpe’s PTFE feet at the bottom and the hybrid cloth surface make it easier to glide across for an even faster and more precise aim.
Lastly, it uses the ROG Micro Switch in its left and right-hand buttons. These minimise the switching force between the 2 buttons while also having gram-force deviation. The features make for more accurate clicking, ensuring a consistent feel every time.
Overall, the design and build, while unique, work really well. It may take some getting used to, but after a few days, you’ll be at your accurate best.
RELATED: ASUS ROG Strix XG32UQ Review – A Premium Gaming Monitor
Setup and Configuration
On the surface, the ASUS ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab is quite easy to setup. As with many modern devices, it offers multiple options for connectivity. In this case, it includes the removable USB cable, the WiFi dongle, as well as through Bluetooth. These are all fairly straightforward to setup and no different from any other device.
Where the device does stand out in terms of setup is its fine-tuning. Firstly, by means of the Armoury Crate, you can configure its buttons, DP modes and more. However, the real fine-tuning comes from the Aim Lab game via the Steam store.
Via the Aim Lab software, you can view the Settings Optimizer. Here, the first objective is to run through a series of tests, and thereafter, it’ll configure your most optimal setup for your style. Further to this, you can then start adjusting this further with more tests available within the game. These are a series of shooting and movement objectives. Some of them can run quite long, up to or even beyond the 30-minute mark.
Overall, the aim of the training is a repetitive task. Irrespective of the first run-through that adds the suggested configuration, the more you practice, the better you’ll become. These tests record your sessions as you hopefully get better over time while it continues to add suggestions.
While the Aim Lab game can be used with any mouse to improve your performance, it is streamlined for the ASUS ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab and ROG Hone Ace Aim Lab Edition products. The latter can also add to your testing by measuring your movements across the mousepad designed to track your movement better.
Performance and Battery
The performance of a gaming mouse is sometimes relative. In many cases, its size, dimensions, weight and adding elements may not be to everyone’s taste. That said, when the device is designed to ultimately improve the performance of most of its users, then it makes the task easier to recommend it.
For starters, using the device natively is great, regardless of anything that accompanies it. However, adding in the ROG Hone Ace mousepad as well as the Aim Lab software makes for quite an improvement. With the smoothness offered by the mousepad and the optimised software to gradually improve your performance, it makes the entire configuration quite useful.
In terms of the battery life, while using two wireless options, it lasts around 80-100 hours, depending your setup. Keeping the RGB light on, you’ll tend towards the former while closer to 100 hours with it turned off. There’s also fine-tuning with the DP and other options. That said, this is a pretty extended period of time to utilize between charges.
RELATED: ASUS ROG XG Mobile Radeon RX 6850M XT Review – Powerful Mobile Gaming
Does the ASUS Harpe Ace Aim Lab Improve Your Gaming?
At the end of the day, the ASUS Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition Gaming Mouse does a good job of improving your skills somewhat. Using the tools available, I was able to get higher scores and more accuracy throughout the few weeks of testing. That being said, there are no measurements when it comes to actual video gaming performance outside of the Aim Lab software, so you can only really base that on a self-evaluation.
It’s a non-complicated design with an ambidextrous approach in a lightweight shell. It feels good in the hand and even better gliding across the ROG Hone Ace Aim Lab Edition Mousepad. If you’re serious about your gaming and looking at ways to optimise your gaming, whether for eSports or as a casual gamer, then the system is definitely worth your attention.
RELATED: ASUS ROG Flow Z13 Review – Powerful But Not Practical
The Review
ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition
PROS
- Super lightweight (54g)
- Multiple connectivity options
- Long-lasting battery
- Improved performance over time
- Ambidextrous style
CONS
- Takes a bit of getting utilized to at very first
- Costs a little a premium