Cooler Master MM831 Review: Wireless Ergo Mouse

This mouse is built like a tank and feels very sturdy

We’re taking a look at the Cooler Master MM831 today. This mouse was released back in 2020 and was actually Cooler Master’s first wireless mouse. The MM831 is an ergo mouse that supports dual wireless modes with 2.4GHz and Bluetooth. Charging can be performed with a USB C cable or wirelessly with a Qi device. The MM831 comes with a 32,000 DPI optical sensor and has 4-zone RGB illumination.

So the MM831 is an ergo mouse but has very gradual curves, making it more accessible for non-palm grip styles like fingertip and claw. The inward curve on the left is very modest and the finger grooves on the primary buttons aren’t pronounced. On top of the mouse, the left side is slightly raised but the drop-off isn’t big towards the right. Overall it has a lower profile than most ergo mice, and it almost looks like a fingertip mouse when viewed from the side. There is a rubber pad on the left for increased grippiness. This shape caters for a wide variety of grip styles, and it felt pretty good for my palm-fingertip hybrid grip.

Mice have gotten considerably lighter since 2020, and by today’s standards the MM831 is rather heavy at 123g. When you look at modern wireless ergos, the DeathAdder v3 Pro weighs only 63g and the G502 X comes in at 102g. But a higher weight is not necessarily a bad thing, as it depends on personal preference and use case. My sweet spot is around 60g, but I know many people who prefer something heavier, even for gaming. I did find the MM831 quite back heavy, which isn’t ideal if you use a fingertip grip.

Heavier mice usually have good build quality, and that rings true with the MM831. This mouse is built like a tank and the shell feels very sturdy. Build quality has become more important to me, as I’ve had many bad experiences with honeycomb mice. So it’s comforting to know that box is checked, and you won’t run into issues like loose parts, creakiness, or bending areas. The wireless receiver is actually stored in a cavity inside the mouse, and you’ll find this underneath the detachable magnetic palm cover.

The dual connectivity modes are quite nice, but just note that the Bluetooth maxes out at 125Hz polling rate, so if you’re gaming you’ll want to use 2.4GHz or wired mode as those modes can go up to 1000Hz. There is a switch underneath the mouse where you can toggle between the three modes. The 2.4GHz is plug and play, and there is a pairing button underneath the mouse for Bluetooth. I was very impressed with the cable, especially when compared to my G Pro X Superlight. Not only is it a USB C cable, but it is braided, meaning this mouse is perfectly usable even when you’re charging. Qi charging is a great feature as you can just leave the mouse on your phone’s Qi charging pad overnight.

I found the MM831 decent for gaming, and with heavier mice I typically play at a higher sensitivity to maintain my speed. The PixArt PAW3335 is a quality sensor with 450 IPS and 40G acceleration. Lift-off distance is very low as well. I enjoyed the lighter Omron switches and they are very spammable. The weight was a bit challenging when trying to perform flicks and swipes, but the higher sensitivity mostly made up for it.

The clicking experience is another highlight of this mouse, especially the primary buttons. I have found that a lot of ergo mice have excessive post-travel and mushy feeling primary buttons, but that wasn’t the case here. The pre-travel is also very low for an ergo mouse. I like the bigger scroll wheel as it’s easy to access. The scroll wheel clicks have a nice tactile feel. The side buttons were average however, and they did feel quite mushy with excessive post-travel.

Cooler Master promises 16 hours of battery life with the RGB on and 60 hours without it, so you can expect 3 to 4 days of use with RGB and 10 to 12 days without RGB. This is pretty good battery life for a mouse released in 2020.

Where the MM831 really shines is with its RGB. There are four RGB zones on the mouse, which includes a dazzling ring that almost runs around the entirety of the mouse. Then there is also an illuminated logo and a lighting zone on the scroll wheel and DPI area. This mouse will look right at home in a flashy setup.

The MM831 can be tweaked with the Masterplus+ software, and just remember that the mouse has to be running in wired mode to be detected. You can create up to five profiles with the software, and profile switching can be done on the fly by pressing the DPI button and right mouse button simultaneously. You can also change the RGB mode with the mouse by pressing the first side button and DPI button at the same time. Cooler Master’s software is quite robust, and you’ll find all the expected features here. The Buttons tab is where you can do your button remapping. The Lighting tab lets you choose RGB modes, and what’s nice is that you can set the colours of most modes and also set the speed. The Performance tab allows you to adjust the five DPI levels, and these are all saved on the mouse and can be selected with the DPI button. Another useful setting here is the LOD distance. You can record your own macros which can then be assigned back in the Buttons tab. Lastly there are some wireless settings, where you can set how long before the mouse enters sleep mode. Sleep mode means you have to click before being able to use the mouse. By default it’s set to five minutes.

In summary, the MM831 is a good mouse, although it has some stiff competition in 2022. The MSRP of $80 isn’t too bad, as it undercuts most flagship mice from competing brands.

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