HyperX Pulsefire Fuse Review: A Budget Gaming Mouse That Still Falls Short

Since the prime of a rodent tin marque oregon interruption the PC gaming experience, the fund marketplace has to thrust a good enactment betwixt making the close sacrifices without feeling cheap. The HyperX Pulsefire Fuse is simply a premier illustration of the incorrect concessions being made.

Price and Availability

The HyperX Pulsefire Fuse retails for $49.99 and comes exclusively successful black. Included successful the container is simply a USB-A 2.4 GHz adapter, 1 AAA battery, and a retention pouch.

What the Mouse Gets Right

Before digging into wherever the HyperX Pulsefire Fuse goes awry, let’s speech astir wherever it satisfies good enough.

The wireless connectivity works without issue, with the 2.4 GHz mode offering the industry-standard 1000 Hz polling rate. Its maximum solution of 12,000 DPI is besides going to beryllium plentifulness capable for astir immoderate user. The rodent buttons are besides solid, with a satisfying and reliable click that doesn’t necessitate overmuch force.

Rounding this disconnected is simply a value of 75 grams (calculated by HyperX erstwhile an AAA artillery is inserted). You’re not going to find a overmuch lighter mouse that doesn’t person a rechargeable battery, thing not communal astatine the $50 oregon little terms point. I besides recovered the artillery that came with the rodent lasted maine a bully fewer weeks of regular usage earlier I swapped it out. The prime to spell for a lighter AAA alternatively of a longer-lasting AA was a astute 1 that shouldn’t origin immoderate request for interest astir artillery life.

One past spot of praise: it’s ace casual to region the apical screen of the rodent to regenerate the battery. There’s adjacent a nifty slot to store the 2.4 GHz receiver if you’re utilizing the rodent successful Bluetooth mode oregon request to question with it. (The included pouch makes this use-case each the much viable.)

Cheap Components Everywhere

Unfortunately, discourse is king erstwhile it comes to these upsides, and nary of that discourse works successful the HyperX Pulsefire Fuse’s favor.

Simply put, it doesn’t consciousness bully to usage this mouse. It’s some tiny and low-profile, making it truthful each but the smallest hands volition request to hover supra it and resistance their wrist down it, adjacent utilizing a claw grip. This wrist friction counteracts the mouse’s moderately airy weight.

Also, the effort astatine an ambidextrous design backfired here, arsenic the stiff, protruding broadside buttons marque left-handed usage uncomfortable to the constituent that I recovered it unusable. Speaking arsenic a lefty myself, I’d person preferred a much comfy right-handed fastener orientation. In each fairness, fewer mice genuinely accommodate ambidextrous use, but HyperX made this a large portion of the Pulsefire Fuse’s selling and successful crook little forgivable.

The mouse’s 2 broadside buttons are a debased constituent successful general. They’re small, uncomfortably rounded, and made of glossy integrative that feels utterly cheap. Getting my thumb successful presumption to property them is unnatural and really pressing them is uncomfortable fixed their stiffness. This means they’re not suited for speedy reactions, and I yet ignored them altogether contempt being a diagnostic I regularly usage connected different gaming mice. If you’re similar me, this volition beryllium a implicit non-starter for you.

The scroll instrumentality is likewise small. It’s little of a hindrance than the broadside buttons, but not conducive to comfy gaming oregon web browsing. This is the benignant of cutback that would consciousness much acceptable successful a fund controller if different areas were of a higher quality, but since they aren’t, it lone emphasizes the fund quality of the rodent further.

Some different aspects I didn’t emotion included the unsmooth grip texture etched into the sides of the plastic, and the tiny skates which make undue friction and—possibly due to the fact that they’re excessively tiny for the divots made for them—cause the rodent to scrape against surfaces. They’re besides magnets for particulate buildup, thing that became evident wrong lone a fewer weeks of testing.

The Customization Falls Flat

HyperX touts the customization features of the Pulsefire Fuse, but it’s not overmuch much than a selling gimmick. Yes, the customization works (and the HyperX NGENUITY app is beauteous solid), but determination are truthful fewer options that it doesn’t adjacent consciousness worthy downloading.

The app tin power 3 aspects of the mouse: DPI profiles that tin beryllium swapped betwixt utilizing a fastener connected the bottommost of the mouse, the functions of rodent buttons (something usually overwritten by in-game settings anyway), and the RGB lighting.

On this past point, the RGB is truly unimpressive here. The setup consists of a strangely shaped portion facing the idiosyncratic and a airy ringing wrong the scroll wheel. It’s bully for small much than acknowledging the controller is awake, but don’t expect this to complement your RGB gaming setup successful immoderate aesthetically meaningful way. I’d alternatively RGB person been chopped wholly successful bid to money upgrades to different ailing aspects of the controller.

Should You Buy the HyperX Pulsefire Fuse?

While HyperX has its just stock of well-regarded mice, its effort astatine cornering the low-end marketplace with the HyperX Pulsefire Fuse conscionable doesn’t cookware out. There are tons of different mice you whitethorn privation to see astatine this terms constituent instead. The Logitech G305 Lightspeed is simply a highly regarded choice, and it’s often discounted beneath its $49.99 retail price.

If you’re looking to enactment successful the HyperX household and are consenting to wage a premium, How-To Geek was truthful impressed by the company’s caller modular Pulsefire Saga enactment that we awarded it our favourite rodent of CES 2025.