Today, our friends over at Gearbest.com were nice enough to send in one of the more budget orientated gaming mice they sell. The Combaterwing CW-80 Gaming mouse comes in with a price tag of only $17.64 so in terms of price, is the cheapest mouse we have had the pleasure of reviewing. The Combaterwing CW-80 features an Avago 3050 sensor, 10 programmable buttons, LED illumination all in a lightweight and ergonomic package. This is one of those mice that you will either hate it or love, there won’t be much of a middle ground thanks to its bold design.

With PC gaming on the rise, it’s nice to see some more wallet-friendly peripherals available. Not everyone will be able to afford the top of the line gear so it’s very important companies like Gearbest also cater to all budget ranges. Looking at the Gearbest.com website and they have a wide range of budget friendly peripherals so if you are in the market for a new set, do make sure to check out what else they have to offer.

Specifications

The CW-80 comes in two different colours, black or white. Getting our first proper look at it and we can see it definitely features a bold ergonomic style design, this is certainly not your average-looking mouse. The mouse does have some chrome plastic on it that does give it a bit of a cheap look but don’t let it fool you.

The Mouse 1/2 or left/right buttons each have an extra button. These extra buttons are to be used as forward/backwards buttons as per their standard settings. The big red button in the middle is to switch the DPI should you need to and the scroll wheel features a small grip on it, something I wish would have been done a bit better. When using the mouse, I always felt as if I was just using the side of the scroll wheel due to how it feels, I think a bit wider grip on the wheel would have been nicer.

While there isn’t a complete space for your fingers on the right side of the mouse, there is a nice curve that does help to make things more comfortable. You will also notice a hex-screw that looks as if it can help allow users customize the size of the mouse a bit. However, they did not include a tool for this in the box so I didn’t push my luck with trying it out.

Towards the butt of the mouse, there looks to me another piece you can spin for various reasons. However, it is in a very awkward place and I couldn’t manage to turn it if I tried.

On the left side of the mouse are a few extra buttons and a nice big thumb pad to rest your thumb on. The bigger red button towards the front of the mouse is a fire key by default while the others are designed to be a sniper key, which lets you lower the DPI only while you hold it in and the last one is a screen key which actually flips through open programs, something like an ALT-TAB effect.

While budget orientated, they have still gone with a braided cable on the Combaterwing CW-80 which is nice to see, it has a red and black theme to go with the overall looks of the mouse.

As mentioned, the mouse does have some LED effects that can be controlled by software. However, I don’t have a CD drive in my PC so could not install the drivers even though they came on a mini-CD inside the box with the mouse.

I have been using this mouse for a couple of weeks now and must say, I am actually surprised by the performance it has to offer. Looking at it from a purely superficial standpoint and it doesn’t look to be the best, but as mentioned it does have that Avago 3050 sensor in it which has come out on top. The Combaterwing CW-80 is a decent performing gaming mouse that offers some extra features and won’t break the bank.

While the design may not be to everyone’s liking, it is still a very functional design and works well at this price point. If it wasn’t for the cheap chromed out plastic parts, I think this mouse would look much better. they could have left them out, or at least made them black, or maybe even red to go with the overall colour scheme. I’ve just always found that plastic chrome looks cheap and I am not a fan of it.

When all is said and done, this mouse is coming in at around $17 which is a good price considering the performance on offer. While I may not agree with all the design features, choosing the Avago 3050 sensor has not let them down! IF you’re in the market for a cheap gaming mouse, this may very well be one you should check out.

I would like to thanks Gearbest.com for sending in the Combaterwing CW-80 for review!