You'd be forgiven for thinking that every computer mouse is just like every other computer mouse. It clicks things on your screen and lets you move your cursor around. Believe it or not, there are quite a few ways companies can differentiate their mice from each other, especially when it comes to gaming. Gaming mice can range from just a few dollars to well over a hundred dollars, but you don't always get what you pay for. That's why I'm here.
You might recognize Cherry as the company that's dominated the mechanical keyboard switch market for decades, but it also makes great mice. The top-tier, e-sports-inspired M64 and M68 mice are very well designed, with the basic gaming features you need, but don't quite live up to their asking price.
What I like about the Cherry M64 and M68
CNET / Jason Cockerham
The M64 is an ergonomic, right-handed mouse while the M68 is symmetrical. Even though I have small hands, I prefer the feel of the M64 since it just sits a bit better in my grip. With that in mind, I focused mostly on the M64. Both versions come in black and teal, blue and orange and white and teal. Sadly, there's no RGB lighting.
The soft-touch plastic on the M64 feels really nice to use. It's cool to the touch and softer than a lot of the hard plastic you see on other mice. I much prefer it over Logitech's mice and many other mice I've used. I appreciate that my hand never got sweaty or felt sticky during long periods of use, even in the warm Texas weather. It doesn't feel cheap either, though I would hope not given the price tag.
The buttons are responsive and clicky, even if they aren't the strongest I've used. The two-tone color scheme is subtle, but I like it. It's also impressively lightweight for not having any holes in it, only 53 grams. Personally, I hate those honeycomb-style mice, so I'm very happy Cherry was able to keep it so light without making it look like Swiss cheese.
Solid, yet limited performance
I enjoyed using the M64 and never experienced any performance issues. It was effortlessly smooth and great for both gaming and daily use. Cherry claims you can get up to 75 hours of continuous use between charges, but your mouse would probably be at settings that would be far too slow to be usable. I never had an issue with battery life though. While using it as my primary mouse for work and play for about a month, I only had to charge it once.
The sampling rate tops out at 1,000 Hz on the base M64 I reviewed, but there is a Pro version available for $30 more that goes up to 8,000 Hz if you need that. For me, the performance was spot on.
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