Gigabyte Aivia M8600 Mouse Review
Conclusion
The Gigabyte Aivia M8600 Wireless Macro Mouse has a lot going for it, but similarly to it’s K8100 brethren, there are a few little quirks that stop it from achieving true greatness.
The packaging is fantastic. Not only is it a very rare thing to find a mouse that comes in a tube, but the amount of stuff you get in it is exceptional. The cables are high quality and the ends fit very snugly into both the mouse and the charging dock ensuring they wont wiggle free. Speaking of the charging dock it’s a clever piece of design. It’s the wireless receiver, contains a port for the spare battery so you can charge as you go, but also it’s possible to dock the mouse on top and charge it up without removing the battery. If you so choose. Should you fancy charging on the go then Gigabyte supply another cable so you can use the M8600 as a wired mouse so you can charge and play.
As for the M8600 it looks very sleek and reminds us of with its sharp angles and blackness of Stealth Fighters and their kin. We love the ambidextrous nature which is always a plus. The scroll-wheel is very tactile and has the perfect balance between the notchiness necessary to switch weapons accurately, but also the smoothness so you’re not driven crazy by clicking as you’re making your way down a webpage. The battery compartment deserves a special mention as being a perfect solution to the problem of keeping your wireless mouse charged. Lighting is bright but not distracting and it’s easy to see your current profile selection and rough level of charge.
Being a wireless mouse there are the normal little stutters that come from not being attached to the computer, but they are far fewer than many other wireless offerings we’ve experienced. The battery saving standby mode kicks in after a suitably lengthy pause, but restarts the mouse very quickly when you move it. Battery life is pretty good. We managed to obtain 60 odd hours of constant usage before the battery needed charging, and the ease of switching the batteries, a five second job at most, means your downtime is near zero.
Running the cable into the M8600 to use it as a wired one naturally eliminates these issues, so it really can be all things to all people. If you want the freedom of wireless, you have it and if you need the ultra-responsiveness of a gaming mouse, a quick cable plug and you’re good to go.
Problems with the Aivia M8600 are few. The biggest one is that even the very latest version of the Ghost software still left us with a Macro Edit button that did nothing. We tried with the K8100 software installed and without, but to no avail. Of course this can be easily sorted with updated software, so it’s by no means a deal-breaker. The only other issues are with the design and this therefore can change for you depending on how you hold it. The ridge in the back of the mouse looks great, but if you’re a palm style player it can quickly become uncomfortable. Equally there is a slight ridge above the side buttons which can make pressing them in a rush a bit hit and miss.
However these are slight niggles on an otherwise stellar product. As a wireless mouse it’s one of the best around although the usual problems of wireless haven’t been wholly eliminated. However the design allowing for wired use turns it into a very capable gaming mouse for even the hardcore player, although not the absolute finest. To say it’s a jack of all trades is doing it a disservice. It’s very well packaged indeed, performs well either wired or not, and certainly fits the bill for all but the most demanding gamer. Although seemingly pricey at around £80 it’s about par with other wireless gaming mice and certainly comes with an array of extra bits, including that spare battery, that make the price one worth paying.
A worthy winner of our OC3D Silver Award.
   
Thanks to Gigabyte for providing the Aivia M8600 for review. Discuss in our forums.
