UtechSmart Venus Gaming Mouse RGB Wired, 16400 DPI High Precision Laser Programmable MMO Computer Gaming Mice [IGNs Recommendation]

Noice it is

This mouse works very well. Would buy again. I liked this mouse more than my Razor Naga.

Disclaimer: - I bought this mouse myself. I did not receive it as any part of a promotion, therefore the below is entirely my own thoughts & opinion. The 1st thing I noticed was the texture on the outer layer of the mouse. For lack of a better term, its gritty and its frankly a game changer. Not that your hand ever gets so sweaty where a smooth mouse causes an issue, (or perhaps it does) but it allowed for light grip that still allowed total control. This is the first mouse Ive owned that has had this type of outer layer and like most of you here, Ive owned a LOT of different mice over the years. For me, one of the biggest selling points was the ability for it to be used either tethered to your PC (wired) which charges the onboard battery whilst in use or completely wireless. To switch to wired or wireless there is a selector switch on the bottom side of the mouse, just to the left of the sensor. You can also turn the RGBs on from this same location should you want to. The 12 programable buttons on the side will come in handy when extra rebindable keys are needed, especially for RPGs. They have a soft feel when pressed and are silent, vs. the regular clicking sound the 2 primary mouse buttons make. This may be why some people thought they felt mushy when they were just silent? Last but not least, the mouses sensor is absolutely smooth as silk. I immediately noticed a difference over my current mouse, which is from a major brand (Ill not bash them publicly and so will not use their name) and cost more than the Venus Pro but isnt even in the same league as it. The difference is that pronounced, though Ill most likely still suck in-game lol! The mouse came with a USB-C cable for charging and wired use, along with the USB dongle for wireless use. It also comes with an flat USB thumb drive that you pop-out of a credit card shaped holder and insert into a USB port on your PC or laptop. Keep in mind that It does not look like your standard USB drive, but more like a long & narrow MicroSD with the contact facing up so you might need to try out which way it inserts into the USB slot on your end. Once it does, itll automatically take you to the page where you can download and install the software where you can then change the RGB colors, custom configure the keys, change the polling rate and configure the 5 levels of DPI settings. (100 DPI to 16,000 DPI which is switched to on-the-fly by the up & down arrows just below the scroll wheel. Its nice as each press turns a light on next to the up & down arrow showing you which DPI the mouse is currently set at.) The software itself is both intuitive and so easy to navigate. Time will of course be the ultimate judge, but so far, its proving itself to be an excellent mouse!

Wireless Version Review: After many years, it was finally time to replace my beloved wired Venus gaming mouse. The left click button was consistently double clicking when I only clicked once, but after 7 years everything else was still working great including all the other buttons and profiles in the software. Unfortunately when I bought the same mouse last year, the software and drivers no longer work and made using the profiles and changing settings in the UtechSmart application impossible. I decided to go back to my old (although dysfunctional) one and this year decided to try the wireless version. Set up was surprisingly easy given how much trouble I had last time, I really like how the software and drivers come on a usb flashdrive now instead of on the website or a mini disc. This ensures you have some drivers that should make the mouse work in its most basic iteration. It worked as soon as I plugged it in, and the flash drive as well. You can only have two profiles with the wireless version (and switch between then using the button on the bottom of the mouse), but all the buttons are still programmable and you can the light settings on the mouse or turn them off entirely if you dont like the feature or want to save battery, and you can do this on both the app or the mouse itself. The light also goes into sleep mode until you move it again if you dont use it for awhile but leave the mouse on. One thing I dont like is that I think it was easier to program the buttons in the old version, now you have to use macros multi-key input if you want to set hotkeys for buttons that arent already in its drop down menu. The buttons and scroll wheel feel as nice as I expected. The side buttons are a little less mushy than the wired version, but to be honest that never bothered me much. I dont play competitive games and like having a mouse like this for MMOs and sandbox games like Ark that have a lot of actions that we can hotkey. Overall I think this mouse will still fit my needs and I have always loved the design. The only other mouse Ive ever seen that was similar is by Razr but their products have always felt really cheap for how expensive they are. This mouse is half the price and feels a lot nicer. The slightly rubberized texture feels nice in the hand and wears well over time. The curve is very ergonomic for my average to smallish sized hands. Im really happy to have found a version that still works for me. Below is my original review for the wired version from 2015, not sure it combines them and Im unable to write a separate/new review. I have been using this mouse for about 10 months. Im not sure when exactly but at some point it started to turn off and on if I accidentally bumped the USB part of the cable when it was plugged in. For the longest time I thought it was just my computers USB port (the mouse and cable itself still look physically perfect and I took very good care of it) but over the last few weeks it started to do it quite frequently when even just moving the mouse and eventually it stopped turning on all together when plugged in. At that point I realized it had been the cord all along as it would not turn on no matter what USB port I plugged it into. I had purchased an extended warranty when I bought the mouse but when I called the provider they directed me to contact the manufacturer first as they offer an 18 month warranty. It was a bit difficult to find any contact information on the UtechSmart website (and all I did find was an email address) but I was pleasantly surprised by the level of customer service I received in response. They responded within 24 hours (they were more responsive at night which I thought was a bit weird but this worked well with my schedule) and after a few email questions back and forth over the next business day agreed to send me a replacement. The replacement was sent within one business day and was sent with One Day shipping. Needless to say I was very happy as I had already been without a working mouse for my gaming for a few days. The new mouse seems to be working perfectly but there are a few differences Ive noticed from the first one I received 10 months ago that I think are worth noting. The braided cord feels more durable now, the profile color selection now changes the scroll button glow as well, and the texture of the mouse itself has changed. Previously it had a smooth grip texture which I really liked but the new one has a rough/grainy texture which caught me off guard at first. After a few hours I actually came to like it better than the smooth grip the mouse had before. I have read some of the previous views as well and wanted to comment on the mouse and software itself. I have never used a Razer mouse but based on a previous experience with their products and some feedback from my friends I have never been impressed with their quality or durability (a console controller should not break after two months of normal use). I dont really play competitive online games but this mouse has been great for the games I do play (Dragon Age, Rebel Galaxy, Skyrim, Guild Wars 2, etc). I wanted a quality mouse with tons of side buttons to make it easier to get to and use a lot of skills quickly. This mouse has worked out perfectly for that. Yes, the buttons may be considered a bit squishy compared to some of the name brand mice as they are not mechanical but the keys are easy to reach and work well, after a few hours your thumb develops the muscle memory to use the side buttons without issue. Yes, you may not have quite as much control over the settings as you would with one of the name brand mice. However there are still tons of settings you do have control over and I found the software very intuitive and easy to use (especially considering I have not had much experience using these settings in the past). I love the glow feature because it helps me remember to change profiles depending on which game I want to play and its also just aesthetically pleasing (lol!). Like all the other reviewers have said the mouse is also just super ergonomic, it is probably one of the most comfortable gaming accessories I have ever used. If you are on a budget but need a new gaming mouse this is definitely a great option. For the price, quality and level of customer service I would definitely buy again and recommend to any of my friends who are considering a customize-able gaming mouse. Update: Two years later and this mouse is still working great. I havent had any issues with ghosting or dpi like some other users have mentioned. I would highly encourage any users with these issues to contact the manufacturer to see about a replacement, every once in a while there will be a lemon. Update 5 Years Later: I have been regularly using this mouse every day for five years now with zero problems, I am actually really surprised. The cable has held up well, and Im considering replacing it with the same model just because mine has gotten kind of gunky and gross from so many years of use. Still love this mouse. Update July 2021: I did end up purchasing a new one, but unfortunately the drivers are broken and dont recognize the mouse when you go into the customization software. Luckily my old mouse still works so when I plugged it back in, all of my settings were still saved on the old mouse which means this is an issue with the new model. In researching this issue seems to have been going on for a few months now, I hope they fix it soon. It does work as a normal mouse, but if youre buying it for its intended purpose (gaming) you wont be able to change the settings to fit your preferred keybinds/button configurations. Very disappointed and contemplating returning and waiting to see if a new version comes out.

So I have been looking for a mmo mouse a mouse with 12 or more buttons for mmo games and other things fi years bough this mouse a year ago works fine has full band RGB for those interested thought that it would work as a wired mouse while charging and find not the case, but not a real issue to be honest. only wireless mmo mouse with reasonable dongle unlike the razors charging stand dongle making in m=not portable in the least only real annoying thing in my experience is when turning off the rgb when you turn it back on its a 50/50you rgb setting s wil be reset and you will have to reset your color and th display preference for the color.

its a great mouse with really good software. I used the wired version for years until the middle mouse button gave out, so i was quite happy to see they had an updated wireless version. It was a breeze to set up my macros and hotkeys, I really like this new software. Old wired version got super buggy for me, but so far so good with this version. The best feature about the wireless version for me is the battery life. I got this mouse a month ago and the first and only time I charged it was the day I got it. Ill admit Im not using the lights on it, but still its absolutely amazing.

I own two of the previous wired model of this mouse (work & home). I love it. My wife bough the wireless version recently and loved it as well. I then bought the wireless version for work so I wouldnt have to have my go to meetings mouse in addition to my main wired mouse. The pricing (on both versions) is also very reasonable. There are good & bad between the models. There are aspects to the new software that I like and some that I dislike. The wired version was hampered by having to use older software to get all the functionality. This one can use the new software. Lighting: There are additional lighting effects that were not available on the wired version. These features are still lacking in variety and options, but that is a minor complaint. Specifically, while plugged in it pulses a color (based on battery charge) rather than the light setting chosen. Id love to just use it wired when at my desk and wireless when off to meetings and such. I love the light color cycling and miss that when it is plugged in. Weight Compartment: The wired version had the bottom compartment with additional weights. This version is lacking that and thus a bit lighter than I am used to. While I liked the heavier weight it isnt a deal breaker for me. Software: The software, while newer, has fewer options for programming the keys compared to the older version. The older version had a ton of pre-made keys that were easy and available. You can get to the same functionality, but you have to add them as key combinations. An example was the old software had a pre-done entry for copy, paste, and other basic functions. On this one I had to manually create a ctrl + c hotkey. Again, not a huge issue for me, but I could see it being less useful for others who may not have an idea of what to put on all the keys. It certainly felt like a step backwards on that aspect. I suspect this has to do with them storing the profile on the mouse directly rather than in a file. Profiles: The software not having the profiles or way to toggle between them was odd. There is no indicator for which profile you are on. The button on the bottom to toggle profiles just felt odd as well. This might be worth the trade-off for having the two profiles on the mouse though. I absolutely hated that I couldnt convert my current profile onto the new mouse (.pdf profile in older version vs .jmk in this one). This forced me to re-create all my macros and re-assign them. Again, not a deal breaker as it is a one time setup and only impacts people with prior versions. Note, the software is PC only. You can set the mouse up on a Windows machine, it stores the profiles on the mouse, then you can use the mouse without issue on a Mac. Misc: The slot for the dongle on the bottom of the mouse is a bit odd. It sticks out just far enough that you cant use the mouse with the wired charger while the dongle is put in the mouse for storage. I dont understand why they didnt do the recessed tabs on top/bottom of it so you could grip it to pull the dongle out (like most other dongle storage layouts are). I suspect it is mostly a non-issue since you dont remove the dongle while you have it plugged in, it just seemed like an odd design choice (maybe something they can fix in the next hardware revision/version). The Good: Good size that fits hand very comfortably with the nice textured finish Good quantity of buttons to program High precision with adjustable DPI to get mouse movements just right Multiple profiles for different tasks Better lighting options compared to prior versions profiles stored on mouse (limit 2) The Less Good: no additional weight compartment in wireless version (wired version has it) lighting options, while better, are still underwhelming lighting option when plugged in is not existent less pre-created macro/key options in software compared to earlier versions (can manually create for functionality, just lose the ease of it) The Bad nothing that would sway my purchase decision Summary: This is a great mouse for the price. It is very comfortable to use and ticks off all the quality items needed for a functional mouse for gaming or customization of buttons. The software is its greatest weakness, but not detrimental to the point where it has a functional impact (just the area they should focus more effort on). I back this up with this wireless mouse version being my third of this style/brand of mouse for my own use (2 wired, 1 wireless) plus my wifes use of both the wired and wireless version too. Mac users need to be aware of the software limitation so they can get it setup on a Windows machine first, then theyll be ready to go.

Im sooo glad I returned another mouse (a certain color serpentine) that had non-functioning software and a squeaky left-click button. FUNCTIONALITY: The software for this Venus Pro device just works. The colors and operations change so easily. Try using it in your documents and productivity. Youll know youre in Heaven when you find you can change the 7 and 8 buttons to copy and cut and the 10 button to paste. Or of course to whatever functions you like. I set buttons 1 and 4 to forward and back for web browsing. Note that there is a profile button beneath the device, so you can press the button to either match your mood or to another persons settings should you be sharing the device. The left and right buttons have a very soft click to them - just enough to hear but not loud enough to perturb. GAMING: My current game responds flawlessly to the 12-button panel and lets me choose any button for any function, such as crouching or standing. I simply couldnt ask for more than this. Many games simply dont register extra buttons. And the play is smooth and responsive in practice. STYLE: Its a beautiful device. The logo is understated. The wheel lights brightly. One thing I noticed strikingly is that the DPI buttons are lit as well, making it easy to tell which buttons do what without having to inspect them closely. Most other such devices have the DPI buttons all black and you cannot see what youre choosing easily. TEXTURE: The texture of the mouse is unique and has a matte black sandpaper, gritty feel to it. Im able to deduce that there shall be no sticky/greasy fingerprints on the device. I could expect furthermore that its not as slippery in your hand during long work or gaming sessions. OUTSTANDING FEATURES: I enjoy the way it subtly turns the RGB off quickly and softly when not moving and it wakes just as softly when you touch it again. All the number keys illuminate. The wheel illuminates brights. The front of the device illuminates brightly and calls to mind the fog lamps on a car. They shine warmly in front of the mouse and are a welcomed feature. The type-C port and cable are exceptional characteristics in terms of modernity and functionality. And, the cable is long and generous. I connect the velcro to the velcro I have near my desk to keep it in sight and off the floor. CONCLUSION: I fully expect to have a lot of fun with this mouse. Its got a beautiful design, enviable features, lovable customization options, and is priced less than other devices with far less features. The RGB LEDs go perfectly with my PC & keyboard RGB setup. Its weighty and responsive and I love that I can set the colors to whatever color scheme I have my PC in at the time. Im more than happy with this purchase. Thank you UtechSmart.

This mouse is quite pleasantly sized. I use a kind of a broad claw grip and prefer it when the butt of the mouse rests in the palm of my hand, which this does comfortably while still leaving my fingers well positioned on the buttons. Its also remarkably comfortable, almost as if it was designed with my hand specifically in mind. Obviously your mileage may vary on this one but the at rest position for the third (ring) finger on my hand is well placed, with just the right bit of additional contour to aid in gripping the mouse when lifting it. In addition the descending curve of the side allows my pinky finger to rest against the mouse, partially touching, instead of awkwardly dangling in space as with so many mice, while at the same time allowing me to feel a bit of the pad below so I can judge distance precisely. I cannot over-emphasize how pleasant this is to hold an d use. The action on the scroll wheel is not too stiff nor so soft that I fear accidentally scrolling. The wheel is a straight two axis forward/backward with a distinct rest at each stop (no free spinning here) which is just as I like it. Since theres no tilt wheel theres no risk of accidental presses from the first and second fingers at rest or while scrolling, but the wide position of the buttons is such that this frame could accommodate a four axis scroll wheel without trouble. The action on button1 and button2 is unremarkable and adequate, quite average and nothing worth mentioning. There is an additional button to the left of button1 which is well positioned and is not at risk of accidental pressing, is easily found by touch, and easy to click at will. The DPI control buttons in the top center are raised and sufficiently stiff that there is essentially zero chance of accidental adjustment even during furious use. There are four DPI settings and LEDs clearly indicate which is chosen at any given moment. On the thumb side is a 12 button num bearing the digits 0-9 which act as num keys as well as minus on 11 and plus on 12. I had thought that having so many buttons on the side where the thumb rests would either make accidentally depressing them hard or deliberately pressing them hard, and in any case detract from the ability to grip, move, and lift the mouse but this turns out not to be the case. My thumb can rest such that I can with grip the forward edge of the button enclosure--and do so as firmly as I like--without any accidental clicks. Rocking the thumb back and working by feel makes it fairly easy to click most--but not all--of the keys. I find 1-3 and 7-9 to be easy, 10-12 to be awkward, and 4-6 to be somewhat difficult without accidentally also depressing buttons on adjacent rows. This is far better than I anticipated and leaves me with a gratifyingly large number of buttons available at a twitch. I am a bit disappointed not to find a more usual thumb button on the side forward from the num pad buttons. It seems that there is sufficient space for one and such a button would fit nicely with my grip style, where the num pad position does not. Its not an insurmountable problem to move my thumb back for clicks but forward would be far more compatible with my grip. I suspect the designers anticipate a grip where the thumb rests naturally in the middle of the num pad with the pad of the thumb on the 5 key; indeed, in this position clicking all of the buttons does become easier. Still, I am not about to adapt my style to fit a mouse! There are adjustable weights but honestly the difference between empty and filled is not very much. I prefer it with all weights added (because I like my mice heavy) but I fear that if you prefer a feather-weight mouse even with all removed you will not be satisfied. A toggle button on the bottom cycles through five different LED colors. I understand that each color also corresponds to a (configurable) macro set, and certainly each remembers it DPI setting independently. Unfortunately the control software for this mouse is not compatible with Linux and I have not found a working way to alter the mouse behavior on Linux. This is, for me, a deal breaker, because I cant control which key codes are emitted when I use the thumb buttons--and since they correspond by default to keyboard keys I in effect have only three extra buttons on this mouse despite the 16 it has by appearance. The right click button is button2, and the mouse wheel button3, both as usual, but the left click button and the extra button next it are both button1. Since all of the thumb buttons emit by default not button events but regular key events I am obliged to either redo my RPG keybinding layout to accommodate that or suffer redundancy. I could remap the thumb buttons in to hard-to-each keyboard keys that I dont use for anything now, but this is tedious and irritating. Still, this is not an issue on a platform supported by the manufacturer so Im only knocking off one star from the review rather than the 3 that this problem really deserves. For most people this will not at all be an issue. Because of the above problem I did not review the macro capability of them mouse, which is purportedly one of its main selling points. Even without that feature there is a lot to like here: inexpensive, nice and large, comfortable grip, nice action, good weight and feel. For non-gaming and light gaming use I have no problem using this mouse, but for serious gaming where more buttons means more power I cant personally consider it. If I figure out a convenient way to control macros from Linux, or if I find a good way even to remap the key events in to button events, I will report back here and raise the rating.

I moved to this mouse from a Razer Naga 2014. I must say that I prefer the Venus for a variety of reasons. I like the Venus so much, I sold my Naga to a buddy for $45. This review will compare and contrast the two, as I was unable to find a review that discussed a few things I had questions about. Weight: I prefer a heavy mouse. With that in mind, the Naga felt surprisingly light in my hands, almost to the point of being cheap. It weighs only slightly more than the Naga with no weights inside the carrier. Surface: The surface of the Naga was very nice. I actually liked it quite a bit, though I must say I find the surface of the Venus to have more grip. The slick looking portion on actually grips quite well when my hand starts to heat up. The surface of the Venus does need to be cleaned much more frequently, though. It is quite convenient, then, that is much easier to clean than the Naga surface. Overall Construction: The plastic the Venus is made out of seems to be a bit thicker, but just may be slightly less rigid (in a good way). In addition to this, I prefer the shape of the Venus. The Naga felt good when I would first rest my hand on it, yet my hand would ache after extended gaming sessions. I think the Nagas palm rest just didnt quite fit me right. Also of note: the Naga is a $80 that does not even possess event the smallest amount of on-board memory for storing default button mappings (more on this point later). Buttons: This is the primary reason for this style of mouse. The side buttons on the Naga win... by far. A quick click, with just the right resistance. Middle row just slightly raised at one end or the other, to feel where your thumb is on the pad. This is the best feature of the Naga. The Venus side buttons are not bad, just not as good. Pressing the Venus side buttons results in a slightly muted, but satisfying click that requires more force than the Naga. I do like that the Venus has a button just to the left of the primary mouse button, but the Naga has a tilting scroll wheel. Both put the forward/back buttons behind the mouse wheel. Software/Button Mapping: This is where the Nagas feature set is absolutely unacceptable for me. Razer Synapse 2.0 requires you to register to utilize any functionality. This includes button mapping and even local backup of profiles created. As the Naga is recognized by OS and treated as a mouse, with the side buttons registering as 1 through = on the top row, not installing the drivers might be an option. An issue arises, though, because the default mapping (without drivers installed) maps the mouse wheel tilt left/right to scroll up/down, respectively. This eliminates 2 buttons on the mouse when Razer software is not used. This is why on-board memory would be useful. Razer requires you to login to their driver software with your registered account to access your profiles if you wish to use your Naga on another computer. It should also be noted that you have to login to the driver software and be online to backup and restore profiles saved to the local computer. Seriously. On top of all of this, Razer has no plans for Linux drivers. Needless to say, I was disappointed to find that I paid more for limited functionality. The Venus has simple driver software that looks a bit outdated, but works. The Venus also has on-board memory, for 5 profiles. This is important to me, because I was able to install the driver software, configure my preferred button mapping, save this button mapping to the mouse, back up the mouse config to my HDD, and then uninstall the driver software and have my mouse function consistently, regardless of the operating system I boot into. A final note on Lighting. The Venus has more options for lighting than the Naga. The emblem lighting can be on/off/pulse while the Naga only allows off/pulse. I believe it is the same for the side buttons and headlights, but dont quote me on that. I sold the Naga months ago. Colors for the emblem, side buttons, and headlights can be selected from a pallet, with varying shades of luminosity on the Venus. Naga says no, you get green. I was able to match the green on my Razer Tournament Edition very closely. The lighting on the mouse wheel is not configured in this way. There are 5 presets, for the 5 profiles stored on the mouse. These are accessed via software, or a button on the bottom of the mouse. This makes for a strong, consistent indication of the profile one is working in. It should also be noted that any button can be configured for the profile button, if one wishes, not just the bottom one.