Abstract

• The HyperX Pulsefire Fuse is a price range gaming mouse that delivers good wi-fi efficiency and is reasonably light-weight, but nonetheless bottoms out as a consequence of low-cost parts.
• Among the points are an uncomfortable design that is not ambidextrous as marketed, unhealthy facet buttons, and a design that is too small for medium and enormous palms.
• Customization choices are minimal and barely price downloading HyperX’s app for, although the 12,000 DPI most ought to swimsuit most gamers’ wants.

For the reason that high quality of a mouse could make or break the PC gaming expertise, the price range market has to experience a superb line between making the suitable sacrifices with out feeling low-cost. The HyperX Pulsefire Fuse is a primary instance of the mistaken concessions being made.

Worth and Availability

The HyperX Pulsefire Fuse retails for $49.99 and comes solely in black. Included within the field is a USB-A 2.4 GHz adapter, one AAA battery, and a storage pouch.

What the Mouse Will get Proper

Earlier than digging into the place the HyperX Pulsefire Fuse goes awry, let’s discuss the place it satisfies nicely sufficient.

The wi-fi connectivity works with out challenge, with the two.4 GHz mode providing the industry-standard 1000 Hz polling rate. Its most decision of 12,000 DPI can be going to be loads sufficient for practically any person. The mouse buttons are additionally stable, with a satisfying and dependable click on that doesn’t require a lot power.

Rounding this off is a weight of 75 grams (calculated by HyperX when an AAA battery is inserted). You’re not going to discover a a lot lighter mouse that doesn’t have a chargeable battery, one thing not frequent on the $50 or lower cost level. I additionally discovered the battery that got here with the mouse lasted me an excellent few weeks of standard use earlier than I swapped it out. The selection to go for a lighter AAA as an alternative of a longer-lasting AA was a sensible one which shouldn’t trigger any want for concern about battery life.

One final little bit of reward: it’s tremendous straightforward to take away the highest cowl of the mouse to interchange the battery. There’s even a nifty slot to retailer the two.4 GHz receiver when you’re utilizing the mouse in Bluetooth mode or have to journey with it. (The included pouch makes this use-case all of the extra viable.)

Low-cost Elements In every single place

Sadly, context is king with regards to these upsides, and none of that context works within the HyperX Pulsefire Fuse’s favor.

Merely put, it doesn’t really feel good to make use of this mouse. It’s each small and low-profile, making it so all however the smallest palms might want to hover above it and drag their wrist behind it, even utilizing a claw grip. This wrist friction counteracts the mouse’s reasonably mild weight.

Additionally, the try at an ambidextrous design backfired right here, because the stiff, protruding facet buttons make left-handed use uncomfortable to the purpose that I discovered it unusable. Talking as a lefty myself, I’d have most popular a extra comfy right-handed button orientation. In all equity, few mice really accommodate ambidextrous use, however HyperX made this a significant a part of the Pulsefire Fuse’s advertising and in flip much less forgivable.

The mouse’s two facet buttons are a low level basically. They’re small, uncomfortably rounded, and product of shiny plastic that feels completely low-cost. Getting my thumb in place to press them is unnatural and really urgent them is uncomfortable given their stiffness. This implies they’re not suited to fast reactions, and I ultimately ignored them altogether regardless of being a feature I regularly use on other gaming mice. When you’re like me, this can be an entire non-starter for you.

The scroll wheel is equally small. It’s much less of a hindrance than the facet buttons, however not conducive to comfy gaming or internet searching. That is the kind of cutback that will really feel extra acceptable in a price range controller if different areas had been of a better high quality, however since they aren’t, it solely emphasizes the price range nature of the mouse additional.

Another elements I didn’t love included the tough grip texture etched into the perimeters of the plastic, and the small skates which create undue friction and—presumably as a result of they’re too small for the divots made for them—trigger the mouse to scrape in opposition to surfaces. They’re additionally magnets for mud buildup, one thing that grew to become obvious inside only some weeks of testing.

The Customization Falls Flat

HyperX touts the customization options of the Pulsefire Fuse, but it surely’s not far more than a advertising gimmick. Sure, the customization works (and the HyperX NGENUITY app is fairly stable), however there are so few choices that it doesn’t even really feel price downloading.

The app can management three elements of the mouse: DPI profiles that may be swapped between utilizing a button on the underside of the mouse, the features of mouse buttons (one thing often overwritten by in-game settings anyway), and the RGB lighting.

On this final level, the RGB is de facto unimpressive right here. The setup consists of a surprisingly formed strip going through the person and a lightweight ring contained in the scroll wheel. It’s good for little greater than acknowledging the controller is awake, however don’t anticipate this to enhance your RGB gaming setup in any aesthetically significant manner. I’d somewhat RGB have been reduce totally with a view to fund upgrades to different ailing elements of the controller.

Ought to You Purchase the HyperX Pulsefire Fuse?

Whereas HyperX has its fair proportion of well-regarded mice, its try at cornering the low-end market with the HyperX Pulsefire Fuse simply doesn’t pan out. There are tons of different mice chances are you’ll wish to take into account at this value level as an alternative. The Logitech G305 Lightspeed is a extremely regarded selection, and it’s typically discounted beneath its $49.99 retail value.

When you’re seeking to keep within the HyperX household and are keen to pay a premium, How-To Geek was so impressed by the corporate’s new modular Pulsefire Saga line that we awarded it our favorite mouse of CES 2025.