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

Upon my initial browsing of this product, I was a tad worried that I was settling for one due to its cheaper price than other similar programmable mice, however I was stunned at its quality! Before even testing the mouse, I must say I found it quite ingenious and even a bit cute at how the drivers were included in such an awesome and unexpected way! They also include a direct link within to their page with an offer for an additional thank you! product, though I personally havent gotten around to that yet. The mouse itself has a great feel; compared to my Logitech G600, I actually find the size of this mouse to be much comfier as well as the locations of the grooves for the fingers (the added thumb rest is an amazing luxury). I have skinny hands that are long and lanky, and so they take up a lot of space anyways and this mouse caters to that quite well! While the weight of the mouse isnt very heavy, it still has enough to it that it wont go flying across your pad if you are gaming. The programmable buttons are also positioned in a way that is less strenuous on my thumbs to access them quickly, and I do so VERY often with the keys I have programmed them for. The scroll wheel has no right/left side button functionality, but thats hardly a deal breaker with it being a rare find nowadays to begin with. The lights are, of course, a GORGEOUS display on my station, and you can set them to only engage if a button is pressed or the mouse is moved. The program itself is also intuitive, user friendly, and quite simple to use, providing quick and easy access to all of the programmable functions for the mouse. I personally prefer to have my mouse wired straight to my computer, so I cant talk much on the battery life, but the cable is indeed of a nice, high quality fiber-wrapped material and I havent had it loop or bunch up on me very often at all! There are a few downsides, however: to switch the programmed profiles, the button for this is on the bottom of the mouse, which could be annoying to some who cant fit all of their keys onto one profile and need to switch regularly. The other downside--to me personally--is that the lights are turned on/off by a separate switch on the bottom of the mouse. This wouldnt be a downside normally, except I find the switch to be quite a tight fit, and to turn them off requires you to flick the switch to the middle between the constant and touch-based functions, though hopefully this will slowly begin to wear in. All-in-all I am SO glad to have purchased this product; I was pleasantly surprised with how WAY over-the-top the mouse surpassed my expectations! & for that I am glad, especially after having initially worried that I was going to have to shell out an absurd amount of money for the Logitech brands for life to appease my need for this type of mouse! I can firmly say that I will gladly be buying from this brand--if not this specific model--again in the future and recommending it to my friends who work/play often on their computers!!

This is a comparison of the Razer Naga Chroma/Trinity and the UtechSmart Venus from a long time Naga user and someone with very small hands (7” from wrist to end of middle finger and 3” wide palm). Due to a lemon naga mouse and the cost differential I decided to abandon my decade long use of the razer naga and try Utechsmart’s venus. Mouse and software loaded easy. Software seems less bloaty than razer synapse. In all easy to figure and set up. Would be made sweeter if I could have imported naga settings and macros but that was probably too much to hope for. I love the mouse weight and the fact I can adjust the weight and the glide (points for Venus). For my hands, I feel like the Venus is too much mouse. I kept going back and forth and the main reason the Venus felt clunkier/larger (very little actual difference in size) is the slope of the left/right mouse click buttons forces your fingers to very specific locations where as the naga allows you to shift them side to side plus has a slightly narrower mouse wheel. The result of this design is my index finger and middle finger sit 5/8ths of an inch apart on the Venus and only 3/8ths of an inch apart on the naga. This feels awkward but could also be a factor of 10yrs of Naga use. The real issue in the right/left mouse buttons in my fingers fall about 1/2” short of the end on both the Naga and the Venus. However, on the naga the click of those buttons is roughly the same if you are at the end of the mouse or halfway up. On the Venus the click is notably firmer/longer 1/2” from the edge than on the edge. Points for naga on this (smaller hand) ergonomics. Next the side 12 buttons. I use these extensively every button is bound and most have a shift and an alt modifier. The actual 12 buttons seem nicely designed, where I prefer the naga’s less tilted buttons with increasing size as you go up I assume this is from long term use and with adjustment/practice I shouldn’t have any issue with the Venus. So, I’ll call this a push. However, on both the Naga and Venus I am forced to canter my hand slightly in order for my thumb to reach the 1 button and this is how my hand sits. The forced index finger and middle finger contours/buttons on the Venus makes this feel more awkward (and/or 10 yrs of comfort with the naga). On the Venus my middle finger crosses over the dpi down button (but not in such a way as to accidently click it). All that adds to the clunky feel and further spreads my index and middle finger which makes me feel less control in those fingers (though practice might overcome this). However, the real issue is the design of the palm rest on the Venus. The palm support peaks over the 9 key and then drops all the way to the mouse pad, leaving only the palm area under my little finger doing most of the mouse control --my palm barely makes contact with the lighted symbol. The naga palm area stays elevated to the 12 button and then only drops to 1/2” from the ground rather than all the way. It is a much gentler drop with more contact space allowing my entire palm to connect (even cantered to reach buttons) and thus providing far more control. An optional/changeable plate to offer different palm connection would go a long way to improving this mouse for small hands. Bottom line: Price (Venus); Software (Venus); Weight/movement (Venus); small hand button/mouse ergonomics (Naga)

This is definitely not made with FPS in mind. I really like the availability of customizable buttons at thumbs length. The program is simple, options a plenty, and 5 profiles to cover all game types after you set them up. Basic but plenty of options for polling rate, DPI, double click speed. I really like the weighted pegs you can add or remove to your liking (I use half of total). The conventional mouse buttons are wide and have satisfying feedback when pressed, DPI buttons customizable for any DPI level or new functions all together. The side buttons give a soft feedback when pressed but are reliable, easily accessible with the thumb, although I assign important binds to the buttons in the corners of the panel because its easy to lose your place with the middle buttons without a little extra attention of a direct press with thumb tip. RGB is nice enough, could use more light designs than just breathing. Scroll wheel is smooth and functions as it should. Now here is my main issue, which is entirely based on my own situation. The sides of the body have a wing for the thumb and a third groove to rest either the ring or pinky finger. However in order to rest ring finger you have no place for the pinky, and if use it for the pinky then your forced to ADS with the ring finger, resting the middle on a tiny spot between mouse buttons and beyond the scroll. This grip feels horrible in that case most definitely not whats intended. So back to having a floating pinky you are forced to squeeze against the mouse body to avoid dragging it on your pad. Back to the thumb wing, its the perfect length to feel impractical, as if you have to balance or squeeze to keep it on the mouse. I have a moderate hand size (I feel) and in order to control my movements accurately under the entire design, I have to use a claw grip leaving the cup of my hand above the curve designed to support it. And in order to maintain the grip Im stuck using my pinky and thumb to keep it against the base of my palm, this frequently fatigues the muscles of my thumb in my palm. If I was to rest my entire hand against the mouse body then Id have to use the last knuckles/pads of my fingers (farthest from nails) which isnt as practical as striking with fingertips. This is an mmo mouse and not comfortable for what I need. However thats my issue between buying it for the wrong games and my hand size. That all said its dependable, sturdy, and functions amazing for $30. Thats the takeaway, its amazing for its price. I still perform very well using it in COD:MW but thats probably because Im so used to it. Definitely worth $30 if you know what you want it for.

The Good: I purchased the wired version of this mouse in October, 2014. I have had 0 problems with it and I LOVE it! Its by far the best mouse I ever owned. I got my mouse covered in liquid so I decided to get a new one. I was checking out the wireless version since Ive been wanting the same mouse in a wireless version. So, I went ahead and bought this one. When I got the moue, I was BLOWN AWAY! It has almost everything I wanted and I didnt think it would have. For example, the cord that comes with it to charge and make it a wired mouse, isnt just a cheap usb cable. Its actually the same thick, long, and sturdy cable that comes with the wired version. It has an unbelievable texture I cant get over! I wish all my gaming controllers had this texture too. The only thing thats different is that it doesnt have the little weights to change the weight of the mouse. I like the mouse weight the way it is though so Im ok with it. The mouse glides so smoothly as well. It comes with these little stickers like the wired one that I think are just to raise it maybe? Im not sure I just put them on like the first one. I think maybe the help with the gliding of the mouse. The Bad: The UI is a little confusing in the app. The place to save and load profiles is in a drop down arrow which may confuse people also since its called Export and Import profile. With this option, its a little different from the way it was done in the wired version. Its not that big of a deal really. The only other thing that I dont like is the fact that you cant choose individual colors for the side button section, the wheel section, and the logo. I believe it was something like that in the wired version. With this mouse, you can only change all the lights as one. It really isnt big deal which is why I still rate it a 5. I would rate it a 4.8 maybe if that was possible on Amazon but it isnt. NOTES: There are 2 other things to mention that may be important to future purchasers. 1. There is the ability to create and assign macros. May be very important to some. For those who dont know what it is, its the ability to do several key presses assigned to one button. For example, you could assign a macro to the side button 1 that will make the computer think you pressed Control and C to copy. Then you could make a macro for the 2 button that does, control and v to paste something. You can do any number of things like this. 2. There are 4 light modes. A. Steady which stays on always and you can chose brightness. B. Respiration which slowly goes dim then back up to max brightness which you can change the speed. C. Neon which just alternates between several colors and has no options. D. Off which obviously keeps lights off completely. Verdict: I would 100% recommend this mouse to anybody for ANY purpose. You could game and use it as a regular mouse of course. I havent tested it yet but I think the fact that you have granular control of the pointer, the effortless glide, the ergonomic design and the gripping texture of the mouse, I think this would be an AMAZING mouse for drawing, using programs that need this kind of control such as 3D software. If youre looking for the best mouse you can get to do it all, this is the one! Its also WAY cheaper than other mice with nowhere near as high quality and options.

So Im coming from a whole host of cheap no-name mouses, i am by no means the authority on mice! Ive never had anything remotely customizable as this. This mouse just oozes quality, even the packaging was beautiful and well thought out. The USB stick hiding inside of a business card is absolute genius. The cable is super strong, fits nicely into the USB outlet, and is instantly recognized by my computer. Okay UTechSmart, you have my attention! I am rather stunned by its performance considering how cheap it was, having no idea how useful it could possibly be to me. The software is very nice and you can really fine-tune your experience with it. I am an audio editor and graphic artist (and gamer, of course), and there seems to be no end to the uses I can put this to. Its completely streamlined my workflow when it comes to Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop. So many keyboard shortcuts are now at the tip of my thumb. I expected to only want this for gaming, but Im finding myself playing around more in my Adobe programs getting my creative juices flowing, all because its become more fun and streamlined by the programmable buttons on this mouse. Note: Be aware that with the software, its going to lag for a couple seconds when you switch from one profile to the next. This screwed me up for a few minutes before I realized that its shifting every single button, even the light settings over to a new profile, so it makes sense that its not instantaneous. I was concerned with the way it might fit me because of my rather large man-hands, but its like slipping on a pair of super comfy well fitting socks that feel like they just become a part of you. The rubbery grip feels amazing in my palm, and the thumb and middle finger rests fit me perfectly. Every last button is extremely easy to reach, even the ones that other reviewers had me thinking would be in an awkward placement. This mouse feels so natural and really has to be the most ergonomic mouse Ive ever held. At the time of purchase, this mouse was right around the same price ($33) as the heavily discounted Logitech G600, which is a famously awesome mouse (that Ive never tried.. and it should be awesome for 80 bucks..) I poured over reviews and comparisons of the two and was leaning toward Logitech just because it has a great reputation behind it. I honestly cant remember what made me choose this UTechSmart mouse, but Im so happy I did. My only regret now was not coughing up the extra 20 bucks and springing for the pro wireless version of this same mouse. If youre on the fence, you wont regret hitting the buy button!

So I have had this mouse for 7 years. And Im now replacing it with the same exact model because its worked so well. The 1 2 and 3 buttons on my current mouse are starting to not read prompts which is really annoying. I have such a fear of finding things that dont work and this works!

I have small hands and most mice (?) Ive used have been unwieldy for my hand. I have been looking for a fairly small mouse with at least 9 buttons and have tried a lot of them. I saw a review that said they had small hands and recommend this mouse so I decided to try it. It is completely perfect (for now, things may change over time). I received this mouse about a month ago and have been using it gaming and I love it. I also have a neurological problem that is sometimes worse on some days and adjusting the dpi to my daily needs is truly lovely. Its not as ergonomic as my vertical mouse, but it is definitely more useful. This is a must have mouse for any small handed person.

Firstly I would like to say that this is an amazing mouse and I would definitely recommend it to anyone with or without a budget. Feel: The mouse has an incredible conformity to your hand. It feels natural, it fits all of the curves of your hand nicely and has good resting areas for all fingers. Its design fits in the palm nicely, and handles easily. Look: Its absolutely beautiful. It provides that nice amount of color that isnt incredibly flashy but just enough to make it look cool. Its breathing lights look incredible in the dark, and the color customization is quite mind blowing. DPI: The DPI is shown by 4 red lights on the top of the mouse, next to up and down buttons. Its very easy to change and easy to determine what DPI setting you are on. The DPI is quite insane, though, as the highest level will take you to the other side of the screen with a slight twitch of the hand. I dont know if its just me, but I feel like it could be too responsive. I generally use it on the first level, with one light on. Program: Its a bit confusing, the profiles are a bit weird, but its generally okay and just takes some messing around with. Changing Profiles: To change between 5 different possible profiles, there is a button on the bottom of the mouse that you push to change the coding for the buttons. This will also change the colors you have set for the profiles. I wish it was a bit easier to change profiles, but its not that big a deal. Weights + Extra Pads: Weights were incredibly useful in determining the right feel and weight for the mouse, and is definitely a good customization feature of the mouse. It comes with 8 weights, already inside of the mouse, and a case for the weights so you dont lose them. The company has also put in extra pads for the bottom of the mouse, when the current ones get worn out. Buttons: Not including the regular clicking buttons, the DPI settings, and the profile button, there are 13 other programmable buttons on this mouse. One of them is right next to the left click, on the outside/top of the mouse, and it is preset as a double click. The other buttons are on the side, numbered 1-12 and preset to 1-12. So if youre a Minecraft player such as me, this is a wonderful mouse. You can program these buttons with the program downloaded with the mouse, and store them in the profiles. Issues: I have very few of these, and I may have touched on some earlier. First off, the scroll wheel. Personally I like a mouse to have very clear notches in the wheel for gaming, so I can tell how many times I need to scroll to get to the certain weapon or tool I need. The scroll wheel for this mouse feels pretty loose, with no hugely defined notches. Theyre still there, but they arent quite as sharp as I like them to be. The next problem is one Ive mentioned, changing profiles. Its a bit tedious to have to turn over the mouse every time I want to change a profile, so an easier method would be nice, though its not a huge deal. Third: Sometimes when I jitter click (click very fast), the mouse squeaks a bit. Its just a bit annoying to hear. Lastly, the scroll wheel isnt fully customizable with colors like the other parts. It only has 5 presets of red, blue, green, yellow, and pink. Compatibility: This mouse is meant for Windows, at least the program is. If you use it for a Mac, the buttons on the sides are still preset to 1-12, but you cannot program them without an external program, and you cannot get the full customization of colors. I believe other methods have been suggested like program the mouse and profiles on a Windows computer and then transfer the mouse to the Mac, but Im not sure how well that works or if it works at all. This is an excellent mouse, and I would recommend it to anyone whos looking for something incredible thats under $80. EDIT: Its been over 2 years since Ive had this mouse, and its finally starting to degrade a bit software wise. However, the only issue Im having right now is that it becomes a bit unresponsive with a couple buttons and tracking for a few seconds.

Ive been using the previous Wired Venus MMO Mouse from Utech for the last three years and just decided to upgrade. The quality and shape of the products are the exact same and they still feel as strong as ever. My first impressions when firing up the mouse is that it feels great for my large hands and the buttons are all the same with the top buttons being the great, clicky kind and the 12 on the side being membrane buttons. The mouse is noticeably heavier than the last and the mouse wheel has more friction to it. I expect the mouse wheel to loosen over time but the weight of the wireless mouse is set and cannot be changed like with the wired version, likely due to the extra space taken up by the wireless module and battery. Once I started to try and modify my settings with the software was where things started to get a bit worse. Firstly, the included USB key is not a simple flash drive and when plugged in will run Win+R and type in the link to a Dropbox with the software and instructions for making a review in return for an extra gift like a mouse pad or headphone stand. I really recommend the company moving to just using a USB drive with the bundled software and PDF since the key scared me when it started doing things. Once i got the software installed and started using it however, I noticed that the DPI up and DPI down buttons are not configurable which is something possible on the wired mouse. It is not a big deal to me but I only use one DPI setting and could want to make extra use of the buttons in the future. I also tried setting up my macros from my previous mouse but the one i use the most which is Ctrl + PrintScreen is not able to be set in the macro software. It will only recognize the release of the key when using the recording function. Here I tried to import my settings from the older software but the exported configurations are not compatible with the new software. I also ordered a macropad in the same order which is where my macros will go now. Finally, when plugged in and charging with the mouse and lights on, the lights will flash on and off with a pale/white color. I do wish that the lighting behavior for charging and low battery could be configurable in the software. Overall, I do still like the mouse and the included extra pads helps so I may use it for a longer time. I am also watching the battery level which came and is still at 90%. It has been about an hour and a half since I first turned it on and I am expecting it to last close to 70 hours. If you have big hands and dont mind a heavier mouse, then I do recommend this mouse to you. It still feels great and I can see me using this mouse for many years to come.

This is a great value for a programmable MMO gaming mouse. There are two components to this product: the mouse itself and the software. I will be comparing this to the Logitech G600 MMO mouse, as thats the only other mouse of this type Ive used. MOUSE: The mouse itself is comfortable for my hand, more so than the Logitech. The ring finger rest is great, but the thumb rest is so small it might as well not even be there. Thats not a big deal for me, as Im used to mice with no thumb rest. The main buttons are obviously mechanical and have satisfying clicks and feedback when used. The scroll wheel is smooth; there are haptic notches as you turn the wheel, but theyre fairly subtle. The scroll wheel click is a little stiff, but that may loosen up as time progresses. The side buttons are obviously membrane, but thats to be expected at this price point. They are a little mushy, but definitely usable and not worth dropping a star, in my opinion. The location is comfortable to use for 9 out of the 12 buttons; the last three (#s 10, 11, and 12) are a little difficult to get to, but theres really no easy way around that for any mouse. There is a fire button just to the left of the main mouse button that can be reprogrammed. Since the default profile switch button is on the underside of the mouse, I changed this to switch profiles. Its simply too awkward to reach to use on a regular basis; at least for my hands. The DPI is incredible -- with my limited resolution, it is almost unusable at the max 16,400 DPI. The setting just below, which defaults at 8000, works very well for high-precision applications. I typically leave it at 4000 DPI for normal use. The DPI can be changed on the fly with dedicated buttons on the top of the mouse. SOFTWARE: The software could definitely be improved. The developers seemed to spend a lot of time on aesthetics and design instead of actual functionality, and it is sorely lacking compared to Logitechs offering. You are given five profiles that are saved to the mouse itself. Each profile can be configured independently of the others. The lights can be configured manually, but cannot change on their own -- each profile can have only one color light assigned. It does have a breathing mode where the lights fade in and out that works well. Every button, including the three main buttons on the top of the mouse, can be programmed independently. The programming feature of this mouse is the only reason I dropped a star from my rating. There is no way to open a custom application or web page using a button (Windows Explorer and the RUN command are included as hard-coded options) -- the closest workaround I found is to create a recorded macro that opens the start menu, searches for the name of the app, and hits ENTER. This is slow and kludgy, at best. There is simply no reason why this feature cannot be added, especially since Logitechs software has had this feature for quite some time. The software does have the ability to save and load profiles, which can be handy if you have a lot of games or applications that need specific settings. Also, since all settings are stored in the mouse itself, the software does not actually have to be running unless youre making a configuration change (even when moving from computer to computer!) CONCLUSION: In short, this mouse is a great value and works well for gaming and other applications that have many keyboard shortcuts. For general use, the shortcut feature is limited since one cannot open applications or web pages using a macro button. I dont regret the purchase by any means, but I do wish the software would be improved to allow custom applications and web pages to be added to the macro buttons.