CM Storm Alcor and Mizar Mice Review

Conclusion

The Alcor and Mizar, whilst not a pair as such, are so similar in many elements that they can be considered as siblings.

The design is a great blend of form and function. No sharp edges, nor are there any curious button placements for the sake of being different or expressing artistic flair. There is hardware in which we love a bit of the designers expression, but compromising comfort in something we use only slightly more than our monitor isn’t one, and so CM Storm deserve some respect for sticking to a tried and tested formula. Everything is readily to hand, exactly where your muscle memory expects it to be. The size of the mouse is near perfect too, fitting small hands with the compact length, but equally matching those with big flappy hands due to the generous bump to fill out your palm.

When it comes to usability the two mice are very similar. They both come with a sensible selection of DPI profiles. Naturally this is less important for the Mizar as you can use the software to tweak it to your preference, but it demonstrated the level of thought that CM Storm have put into them. Both utilise the Omron switches that are now so ubiquitous we cannot remember the last mouse we reviewed that use another type. Equally the Avago sensors are found in both Alcor and Mizar, with the Avago 9800 Laser sensor being particularly common in high DPI gaming mice.

Whether you prefer an Optical mouse or a Laser mouse is very much a case of personal preference. We think that if you’re within the DPI range of the Alcor and have a good gaming surface then there is little reason to go with the Mizar, especially as the Alcor is a tenner cheaper. That isn’t to say for a moment that the Mizar isn’t equally brilliant. It has a few touches that elevate it above the Alcor such as the braided cable, the ability to choose the colour of the CM Storm logo and lights around the DPI change buttons and the scroll wheel. It’s a bit of a shame that you can’t change the colour of the button and scroll wheel lights. We prefer a uniform colour scheme ourselves, and if you’re in a similar vein then you’re bound to leave the CM Storm logo white. You can’t spell OC3D without OCD. 

As they both utilise a common choice of sensor and the ‘there can only be one’ choice of switching, pricing becomes a big factor. You know that, within reason, any high-end mouse you buy will handle the same and feel the same, so design and pricing are everything. To this end it’s great to see CM Storm have chosen such competitive price points for the two mice, with the Mizar at £39.99, and the Alcor available for a bargain £29.99. The Mizar has software, more lighting, that high DPI Laser sensor, a nicer cable and slightly nicer side panels and wins our OC3D Gold Award, whereas the Alcor is aimed more squarely at the gamer of average skills and slightly more cost-effective design choices and yet is still excellent and thus wins both our OC3D Gold Award and our Value For Money Award too.

Alcor

      

Mizar

   

Thanks to CM Storm for supplying the Alcor and Mizar for review. Discuss your thoughts in the OC3D Forums.