The Pulsar X2V2 not only looks good, it is good too

In order to survive when playing against demons, you need to be fast above all else. Tanjiro and Nezuko from "Demon Slayer" know this too. A light mouse helps when playing games. So it's perfect that the ultra-lightweight X2V2 rodent from Pulsar is available in the design of the two heroes from the manga. The mouse not only impressed me with its design, but also with its features and functions.

Design: Changes on the inside

The "V2" in the name of the mouse stands for "Version 2". The X2V2 is the successor to the X2. Externally, it only differs from its predecessor in terms of colour. Inside, Pulsar has tweaked the shape and position of the circuit boards. This makes the case extremely stable, despite the large cut-outs on the underside. Stability was a major criticism of the first version.

The mouse comes in two sizes: a smaller one in Nezuko guise and a larger one in Tanjiro guise. At 53 grams, the latter weighs just two grams more than the former. I find the Tanjiro model very comfortable to hold. The smaller one also works, but only for the claw or fingertip grip. If you have no idea what this means, the following illustration will help you:

The shape is symmetrical. I could therefore also operate the rodent from the left. However, as the side buttons are only on the left, it is not a true left-handed mouse. The two main buttons are slightly curved downwards in the centre, which means my fingers never slip.

The manufacturer has dispensed with RGB lighting. This is probably also to reduce the weight of the mouse to a minimum. There is only an LED next to the side buttons. This indicates which CPI value is set. CPI stands for counts per inch. This value indicates how many pixels the cursor jumps when the mouse moves one inch. You can adjust this either using the switch on the underside of the mouse or with the "Pulsar Fusion" software.

Processing: poor coating

In addition to the housing, the main buttons on the predecessor were criticised. These had too much play on the left and right sides. This is hardly noticeable in the second version. The keys can still be moved, but only to a very limited extent.

The surface coating is less pleasing. This magically attracts fingerprints. This is less of a problem with the Nezuko version because the pattern and the pink colour make the marks less visible. On the partly black Tanjiro version, on the other hand, it is very easy to see where I touched the mouse. It is also difficult to clean - I need a damp cloth for this.

Buttons: feel good

For the switches on the two main keys, Pulsar relies on optical switches from Raesha. The advantage of optical switches compared to mechanical switches is that they have no debounce delay. These are the milliseconds that a mechanical switch needs to return to its original position. Another advantage of this type of switch is that no accidental double-clicks should occur. The Titan switches are designed for 90 million clicks.

No matter where I press on the main buttons, the X2V2 always triggers at the same time and the same amount of force is required throughout. There is a short keystroke before and after triggering. For gaming mice, the shorter the stroke, the better. My test sample performs well.

The side buttons are also perfectly positioned. I can rest my thumb comfortably under them and reach them without much effort when needed. They release evenly and feel good.

The mouse wheel is also in a good place. It is rubberised, which is why it offers a lot of grip and also clicks into place comfortably. It is barely audible when scrolling. When I press the wheel, there is hardly any noticeable stroke. The clicking noise is similar to that of the main buttons.

Good battery, better cable and even better gliding feet

The X2V2 can be operated via cable or 2.4 GHz dongle. However, to benefit from the high 4000 Hz polling rate, you need to buy a separate dongle. The polling rate indicates the interval at which the mouse sends information to the PC. The more frequently it does this, the faster button presses and movements can be processed. With a polling rate of 1000 Hz, the update time is one millisecond. Or the other way round: the mouse sends information to the PC thousands of times per second. At 4000 Hz, this corresponds to 0.25 milliseconds.

According to Pulsar, the battery lasts up to 100 hours. This measurement probably refers to the lower polling rate. If I set this to 1000 Hertz, the battery discharges by ten per cent every eight hours or so. In this case, the battery life is around 80 hours. This is drastically reduced at 4000 Hz. Here, 15 to 20 hours are possible. These are good values and in the range of the competition.

If the mouse needs to be charged, this can be done via USB-C. An extremely flexible cable is included, which is slightly bent towards the top when connected. As a result, it does not drag on the surface and the mouse glides almost weightlessly even with the cable.

Three gliding feet made of PTFE, better known as Teflon, also ensure almost frictionless movements on my Deskmat. One foot is attached at the front and one at the back. A third is located around the sensor in the centre.

The sensor shows only one weakness

The sensor of the X2V2 seems to react very reliably. But I have this impression with (almost) all newer gaming mice. That's why I always measure the sensor.

The mouse contains the PixArt PAW3395. It has over 26,000 CPI. Such a high CPI is usually not really necessary. Personally, I never play with more than 1600 CPI. Turtle Beach specifies 650 for the inches per second (IPS). IPS indicates how fast you can move the mouse so that the sensor can still perceive the movements accurately. 650 is a good value.

I test how accurate the sensor is with MouseTester v1.5. The programme carries out various tests and helps me to determine small differences in precision.

CPI precision

When testing, I measure three times and calculate an average value. To do this, I move the mouse ten centimetres along a ruler and the programme records the CPI. The closer the recorded CPI is to the set CPI, the better.

The built-in sensor is great. I usually classify anything under five per cent deviation as good. Here, it's always less than one per cent deviation.

Polling rate consistency

The dots on the following graphic show you how long it takes for the signal to be updated. The closer to the set polling rate, the better. The first graphic shows the polling rate at 1000 Hz, the second at 4000 Hz.

There are isolated outliers at 1000 Hz. Overall, however, the deviations are not too large and they correspond to the results of other current gaming mice. Things are wilder at 4000 Hz. Although it is usually around the expected 0.25 milliseconds, there are significantly more outliers towards the top and bottom than at 1000 Hz.

Tracking speed

The mouse must correctly reproduce fast movements. During the test, I move the mouse quickly at different CPI settings. MouseTester registers these movements and displays a diagram. The dots on the diagram are the registered characters. The closer the dots are to the line, the more accurately the mouse registers my movements. These should be as close as possible to the curve. Movements on the Y-axis are red, those on the X-axis are blue.

There are hardly any deviations in the X2V2. They are in a maximum range of 0.3 metres per second. These are good values.

Speed-related accuracy variance

If I move the mouse quickly in one direction and then slowly back to its original position along the same path, the same CPI should be registered by the sensor. To test this, I move the mouse quickly diagonally from a point A at the bottom right to a point B at the top left. Then I slowly drag it the exact same way back to the original point A. MouseTester registers the movement. I move the mouse along an angle ruler so that I can do this successfully. Ideally, all registered characters should be on the same line.

The sensor weakens during this task. No matter how often I repeat the test, I never reach the same starting point. However, I didn't notice this difference when playing games - but I don't move the mouse along an angle ruler there either.

Tidy software with all the important functions

I configure the X2V2 in the "Pulsar Fusion" software. This allows me to make various settings via three tabs. In the first, I can reassign buttons or set the debounce time, for example. The second allows me to adjust the CPI, polling rate or lift of distance. In the last tab, I can define macros.

The software offers everything I need and is easy to use. I can save all the settings on the mouse and no longer need them after the initial configuration. If I don't want to change the factory settings, I don't need the software at all.