Corsair Raptor M4 Laser Gaming Mouse Review

I should really, really watch what I ask for. For years I’ve complained about the size of my ham hands. Finding a good gaming mouse to fit my mallets is like trying to tailor a dress for Lady Liberty. Sure I’ve found some larger mice that get the job done well enough and a few ergonomic mice that fit, but have lackluster performance or sensor response. Our favorite mice thus far have come from SteelSeries and Corsair, and only the latter one is of a larger size.

So it was with excitement and high anticipation that I welcomed the Corsair Raptor M4 gaming laser mouse. Unlike the Corsair Vengeance M60, this is a large ergonomic gaming mouse with room and finger indents for all four fingers on your right hand. The mouse is capable of reaching 600dpi and features 6-programmable buttons. It’s definitely not the swiftest mouse on the block. But we’ve stated time and again, that anything above 3000dpi runs the risk of being too uncontrollable unless you’re working on an ultra-wide 4k HD monitor or television. It also ships with a mouse storage bag and extra PTFE mouse slider feet.

The Raptor M4 is a surprisingly simple mouse, which is unlike the MadCatz Eclipse. It’s massive but not heavy at all. To be clear, removing any weights made it too light. The weight system, in general, is a bit misleading. There are two sets of 8-weights affixed with adhesive so the individual weights themselves cannot be easily removed from the pads to which they are stuck. You can simply remove one pad of 8-weight or the other. Not much in the way of weight adjustment.

The limiting options don’t stop there, either. The Raptor M4 software is just as slim and is not the same or compatible with Corsair’s more familiar Vengeance gaming software. After a quick download from the company product page, Raptor Gaming Technology installs in seconds. But the interface seems very dated, with blurry text that is out of focus. Within, you can’t set specific dpi settings. You can only choose from 600-, 1200-, 1800-, 240-0, 3200-, 4800- and 6000dpi presets. However, on the Cooler Master MM710, you can reach higher DPI options.

Adding insult to injury, there is no option to set, import, export, or record custom macros. You can create 1 or 2-button “Key Combinations,” but that’s just as limiting as it sounds. The utility allows you to set buttons using drop-down windows filled with more presets. You can’t assign applications to launch from the mouse button presses. But you can set keyboard commands to the 6-different buttons by using a single button in the Key Combinations feature. It works, but it’s a bit constricting compared to the software for competing mice.

The Raptor M4 is an uncomplicated solution that can be had for simple money. But I must stress, this mouse is for very large-handed folks–of which I am surprisingly not included. The new behemoth from Corsair is simply too big for my hand. I can play RTS and RPG games fine. But games even requiring the slightest twitch factor render the Raptor M4 slow and lumber by comparison. For the size, I would like to see more buttons, a better-implemented weight system, and a slightly more sophisticated software suite. I appreciate what Corsair has done here. This is just what some large-handed gamers need. But size it’s the full package, functionality, and versatility are still lacking. In that case, I recommend taking a look at the top-rated ambidextrous gaming mice.

That said, it’s not all bad for the Raptor M4. The 6-programmable buttons are responsive, the left-side thumb buttons are well-positioned, the metallic scroll wheel spins softly and quietly, and the DPI switch is out of the way but easy to reach.