Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse review: Did a wizard design this?
Alienware has crafted quality gaming peripherals in the past, but the company has finally invested in a suite of hardware designed by and for competitive gamers. While that may seem alienating (no pun intended), the Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse is phenomenal for anyone who needs precision — especially in first-person shooters.
It might sound like I’m wildly overselling the Alienware Pro, but when deep in the rush through the gothic halls of “Warhammer 40,000: Darktide” or clicking circles to my favorite songs in “osu!”, it practically disappears in my palm. It’s exceptionally light, glides across a mousepad with effortless smoothness, and features satisfying, tactile feedback with every click. It's an easy contender for best gaming mouse, and for more details on whether it’s right for you, keep reading.
Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse price and specs
The Alienware Pro is notably pricey at $149.99 on Alienware’s website, and while we tested the white Lunar Light model, there’s also a Dark Side of the Moon hue available. It features 8,000Hz wired polling with 4,000Hz wireless polling through 2.4Ghz, up to 120 hours of battery life at 1,000Hz (32 hours at 4KHz), 26,000 DPI, and a click lifespan of up to 70 million.
It’s built with Alienware’s “exclusive” magnetic-force keyplates and also uses optical switches. However, it does require Windows 10 and up to function, so this isn’t worth the investment if you’re still on Windows 8 and prior.
Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse design
The Alienware Pro is appropriately advertised as a lightweight mouse designed to suit the needs of competitive players, regardless of whether that involves a first-person shooter like “Valorant” or a team-based MOBA like “DotA 2.” But just calling it “lightweight” feels like an understatement.
Alienware claims it’s lighter than 60 grams and measures 4.9 x 2.5 x 1.6 inches, but I wasn’t satisfied with an estimate, so I took matters into my own hands and weighed it at 58 grams (2.04 ounces). This makes it the lightest gaming mouse we’ve ever tested, which is especially impressive considering it isn’t a mini-mouse, nor does it utilize a honeycomb design like the HyperX Pulsefire Haste.
The week before I began testing the Alienware Pro, a Dell representative casually told me he felt as if the mouse was an extension of his arm. I initially found the notion amusing and assumed it was nothing more than a marketing slogan. But after testing it myself, I completely understand. Its lightness and near frictionless PTFE feet make it feel like it vanishes in hand, gliding across my mousepad with minimal effort.
With its magnetic-force keyplates and optical switches, the tactile sensation of every click is resounding and satisfying. Other design features include an LED indicator that reveals its remaining battery life and status, 2.4Ghz dongle storage at the bottom, and a USB-C port for wired use and charging at the top.
Best of all, the Alienware Pro addresses a design issue I’ve had with most of the mice I’ve tested. Its shell wraps around the top and sides of the mouse in its entirety, leaving a minimal gap between it and my desk. When gaming with my natural grip, my pinkie rests at the bottom right of the shell. On most mice, this hits a protrusion where the base and the top of the shell connect, and long gaming sessions cause my pinkie to dent inwards. It hurts and is normally something I just have to deal with, but the issue isn’t remotely present on the Alienware Pro.
While the Alienware Pro is near perfect, it does miss the mark in the placement of its DPI button, as it’s located beneath the mouse. While it is configurable, most people won’t go to the effort of turning their mouse over to press it. This is especially unfortunate as Alienware claims the mouse has a six-button configuration, but that’s slightly generous, as the sixth button is the DPI button.
I do wish that the sixth configurable button was easily accessible, as seen on my previous favorite gaming mouse, the SteelSeries Rival 5. It is similarly set to swap between DPI presets by default, but once I found a comfortable speed, I bound it to an instant mute microphone button on Discord. Perhaps the inclusion of this button would unnecessarily increase its weight, but it would make the Alienware Pro my perfect gaming mouse.
Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse software
Similar to any good gaming peripheral, software is vital. And with the Alienware Command Center, everything you need is in one convenient spot. Few companies understand the vitality of aesthetics in software as Alienware does, as launching the application immediately reveals images of my monitor, keyboard, and mouse aligned with how one would set up a gaming station.
By hovering your mouse over an item, it reveals an estimate of remaining battery life. Settings include software updates, enhancing pointer precision through acceleration, swapping primary and secondary buttons (which is convenient for left-handed individuals), and modifying the five DPI presets from 100 to 26,000 and their associated polling rate from 125Hz to 4,000Hz wireless, or up to 8,000Hz wired.
Users can also modify lift-off distance and set a battery-saver threshold to reduce the polling rate when a certain percentage of battery life is remaining. Through the macro creator, users can set any button to perform a keystroke, record a macro, paste a text block, or launch a program.
Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse performance
Testing a mouse as bewilderingly lithe and buttery smooth as this had me shaking with excitement, and it was clear I had to put it through the same gauntlet I toss every mouse into. “Osu!,” a rhythm game where players aim their mouse pointer at circles and click to the rhythm, is something I’ve been playing since 2014. And from that point onwards, I’ve been on the lookout for the ultimate gaming mouse. While the Rival 5 got pretty close, the Alienware Pro earned the championship title as the smoothest I’ve ever used while immersed deep in the music.
This is where that aforementioned sensation of barely feeling the mouse present in my palm was most noticeable. I don’t have to fight against friction or put significant effort into moving it across my desk, and my performance was impeccable as I jumped between a dozen different songs.
I immediately felt comfortable with the mouse and was able to do well on tracks I hadn’t played in a long time. Since “osu!” is a game where the player has a tightened grip for long periods, and there’s very little opportunity to readjust, this was how mice with a protruding base would so often indent my pinkie. Once again, the Alienware Pro doesn’t have this issue whatsoever.
I then jumped into “Warhammer 40,000: Darktide,” a co-op first-person shooter in the vein of “Left 4 Dead” where players cleave and blast their way through swarms of enemies. While I didn’t quite feel the mouse vanish as I did in “osu!,” I was still comfortable during long sessions, alongside being swift in my flickshots to eliminate snipers and gunners before they eviscerated my team.
Building structures and sniping giants with my longbow was equally effortless in “Valheim.” While the game doesn’t require much precision in aim, I still love how little force I needed to exert to play even a casual survival game.
Bottom line
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Alienware Pro is the most impressive gaming mouse I’ve reviewed. In fact, it’s the best I’ve used, period. Lightness of this caliber is often accompanied by a honeycomb design or smaller mouse size, but Alienware has brought this thing down to 58 grams without needing either. Alongside its additive-free PTFE feet that allow it to glide across my mousepad with virtually no friction, the mouse disappears in hand while immersed in a game.
With a seamless 2.4Ghz wireless connection, up to 4Khz (8Khz wired) polling rate, DPI from 100 to 26,000, and useful software for assigning new bindings and recording macros, the mouse is packed with premium features to enhance personalization. While I wish its sixth configurable button wasn’t tucked underneath the base, the Alienware Pro is a phenomenal gaming mouse for any competitive gamer.
Need a gaming keyboard to go with it, the Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Keyboard launched alongside it and is an impressive piece of hardware in its own right if you want the matched set.
