Asus ROG Chakram Wireless Optical Gaming Mouse

Overview

The Asus ROG chakram wireless optical gaming mouse features an adjustable DPI button for settings between 100 - 16,000 DPI, 400 IPS optical sensor, programmable and removable joystick, detachable magnetic covers, Asus aura sync RGB lighting, wireless Qi charging and can be connected via a wired USB cable, dual-wireless 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth LE.

Key Feature

With the Chakram, the analog stick is, of course, the star of the show. The default, short version of the stick actually looks more like a disc, which fits flush against the side of the mouse.

Technically, the stick can operate as a four-way directional pad or a 360-degree control stick, akin to one of the sticks on a controller gamepad. In theory, the analog stick mode allows you to get that naturalistic, fine-tuned movement in third-person action games that normally require a controller.

The Chakram, by contrast, feels like the first mouse that has figured out a way to add a joystick that works without a painful configuration process. Essentially, one of the mouse's three onboard profiles can be recognized and programmed as a gamepad. It isn't 100 percent plug-and-play, but it isn't hard to manage once you do it for the first time.

That said, I'm not entirely sure that you should. Though the thumbstick works, it isn't especially convenient or comfortable. For one thing, pushing and holding in any direction feels like stretching a rubber band. Unlike gamepad analog sticks, the Chakram thumbstick moves 100 percent horizontally, so you feel that it wants to snap back into its natural, centered position.