human palm for these updates and
must rather settle on improvements
that benefit both left and right hand
users. Naturally this means changes
to the design in addition to being
symmetrical, need must not disturb
the balance and overall comfort.
What we are looking at with the
Kova is a 10 button mouse, but since
three are near impossible to reach,
that gives you a practical limit of
seven at any given time. ROCCAT
claims that the Kova has eleven
buttons in total, but I tend to disagree
as the mouse wheel is in most games
a single function, cycling up or down
through your weapons load out or
inventory so that functionality with
the out of reach buttons brings it all
down to seven. The Kova features
Easy-Shift [+] as you’d expect, but a
more traditional version where that
functionality is assigned to any one
of the other buttons. I would have
preferred to see this as executed on
the Tyon if it were possible. However,
there are practical limitations as
to why this could not be done, so no
marks were taken off from the KOVA
for this implementation. It’s simply
the most viable way to do it without
ruining the symmetry and price point
of this offering.
We finally come to the related but
somewhat separate visual elements
of the KOVA. The Kova-Plus featured
two LED lights on the primary
buttons. These lights have been
removed entirely. Instead we find
a rear RGB LED that runs across
the rear of the mouse. Almost as if
it’s a parking braking on some of
the most exotic Hyper Cars on the
market (think of the Bugatti Chiron’s
tail light). Unfortunately, because
of the rear moulding - you’ll rarely
if ever see this light in action as it
is covered by body’s contours and
as such folded under the mouse. So
too is the rear diffuser design which
again speaks to the automotive
visual influence on the KOVA. There
are those who are likely going to
remain fans of the Plus model, but
when the two are side by side, I
definitely prefer the newer model.
Add the fully lit scroll wheel and
you have a great looking mouse that
seems a lot more expensive than it
actually is. I will admit though that
in Grey, the Kova isn’t as striking as
it is in pure white. In white, along
with the customizable LED lighting
make for some great contrasts
which again draw parallels between
the mouse and high performance
exotics.
As equally compelling if not more
so is the performance. Once again
ROCCAT has managed to create a
mouse that moves with absolute
precision and has pin point accuracy
that is rarely - if ever - found at this
price point. In truth, it is difficult
these days to find a terrible mouse
from a reputable vendor, but do
keep I mind that this is a precision
instrument tailor made for FPS/
MOBA games. In that context it
is right up there with the best of
them delivering sensitivity that is
second to none despite its Optical
sensor when so many vendors use
laser options exclusively for their
high end models. By default, it is
limited to 3,500dpi via the Pro-Optic
R6 sensor, but with an overdrive
feature is able to increase that
sample rate to an effective 7,000 dpi.
How true that is, one is unable to
measure as I do not have hands that
are that nuanced in motion when
it comes to controlling any mouse
that can sample at 4,000 dpi or
higher. It could purely be academic,
but even if the mouse was found
to be misguided in that claim, it
would make no difference. It is fast,
responsive and most importantly
has angle snapping disabled by
default. There’s no way to change
this in the SWARM software, but
it is better to have it off than on by
default.
Within the SWARM software, you
can configure everything possible
on recent gaming mice, save for
lift-off distance and of course
angle snapping. Even with these
omissions, it makes little to no
difference in how well the KOVA
glides across multiple surfaces and
how light and quick it is to use. For
the going price, it’s not going to be
possible to find a better mouse at all
I believe. There’s just too much that
the KOVA does right to persuade
one to go another direction. For a
budget, single purpose mouse, there
isn’t much that it can be faulted on.
Sure enough when compared to
its more expensive stable mates it
may be found to be lacking in some
areas, but where ambidextrous
FPS/MOBA mice are concerned, they
don’t come much better than the
KOVA. This mouse I would not only
recommend, but encourage you add
to your arsenal of high performance
gaming peripherals.
[ The Overclocker ]
Issue 37 | 2016 The OverClocker 35