MSI Clutch GM50 Gaming Mouse Review

Conclusion

The MSI Clutch GM50 is a good option at the top of the midrange mice.

Anyone who has ever spent any time considering their next peripheral will know that the market is absolutely swamped with mice or keyboards from every manufacturer under the sun, at price points ranging from ‘so cheap it must be awful’ all the way up to ‘so expensive it must be made of gold’. For the majority of us when we’re choosing a product we want something in the sweet spot where the quality will be good enough to last a long time, and come with enough fancy features that we feel like we’ve got something new to play with. There is nothing worse than spending the money and ending up no better off than you were before. Maximum value for your investment is the key element.

The GM50 definitely gives you that. A quick checklist of the hardware shows that there are no compromises made to bring the latest addition to the Clutch range in at an affordable point. The button switches are Omron, the legendary brand which absolutely dominates all mice switches on every mouse worth its salt. With crisp and responsive feel every single press and a lifetime of 20 million clicks they are sure to give years of reliable service, even if you spend every waking moment streaming your Diablo exploits. Often the tell-tale mark of some cost cutting comes when you press the side buttons. It’s the litmus test of any mouse. Thankfully the Clutch GM50 has side buttons which feel as clean and responsive as the main two. They are well placed too. Often a manufacturer will attempt to hide the side buttons away beneath an overhang as if they are ashamed of them, but the MSI design team have placed them loud and proud on the side crease. This allows them to be hit with regularity regardless of whether you prefer the claw or palm style. Additionally this freedom of grip ethos continues into the chassis itself. The GM50 has narrow hips but a wide flare at the front meaning that any and all personal grip quirks can be catered to in comfort.

It is worth also mentioning the excellence of the Dragon Scale rubber grips. They cover a large surface area on both sides of the Clutch GM50 and give huge amounts of grip, keeping the mouse firmly under your control during even the most frantic moments. The chassis itself is very light, so easy to move around, but this lightness hasn’t come at the expense of fragility. If you push the side buttons hard the main body doesn’t creak and flex in the way that some other mice can do. Combined with the large low friction pads on the bottom and any misses are entirely your own fault, rather than a limitation of your tool. The PixArt PWM3330 Optical sensor has gained many plaudits for its accurate tracking and responsiveness and all those awards are well given as it is spectacular. Obviously it wont hit the insane DPI heights of more expensive mice, but 7200 DPI is more than enough for almost everyone but the most skilled gamer and the available steps mean you should find a comfortably spot. Lastly the lighting is good on the main shades but slightly muted in those inbetween colours and suffers from the normal problem of all but the best RGB systems that the yellow is too green and the white too blue. There are, however, plenty of options in the software from simple colour cycling to reactive options so you should be able to tailor it to your preference.

All in all the MSI Clutch GM50 combines some good design choices with high quality hardware to bring a mouse which hits the sweet spot for most peoples requirements. It isn’t dominated by any particular piece of hardware (like a V8 in a Mini) and all the bits work harmoniously together to give a good product which sits neatly at the top of the midrange mice and will please anyone who wants a quality product without busting the bank.

  

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