Raptor-Gaming M3 Platinum review

To most of us, a mouse is a boring necessity.

It moves the cursor around. Er, that's it. For a select few, however, it's more than that. Like a golfer's clubs, it's an essential part of their life. If you're one of these PC gamers, or are unfortunate enough to live with one, you'll know what we mean.

Raptor's newest mouse, the M3 Platinum, is aimed at those Olympians of the videogame world. It differs from your average workaday mouse in a number of subtle but allegedly crucial regards. The first thing you'll notice is the peculiar removable flange that extends around the edge. While standard mice leave your hand resting on the desk or mouse mat, the Raptor supports it. This avoids your hand dragging behind the mouse and causing unwelcome friction. Flick your wrist and the M3 glides smoothly and rapidly to the intended position. It's a subtle difference, but a noticeable one, even for relative amateurs such as ourselves.

Raptor's tweaks don't stop there. Peek underneath and you'll find two compartments, one at the front and one at the back, that conceal a number of steel weights. By adding or removing weight fore and aft, you can subtly change the way the mouse feels in the hand to suit your personal preference.

Like any gaming mouse worth its salt, the M3 Platinum boasts incredibly high sensitivity. While your average mouse makes do with discerning 800 dots per inch (dpi), the Raptor is capable of detecting a ludicrous 3200. We say ludicrous, because at 3200dpi the M3 is just unbelievably sensitive. For first-person shooters we settled on around 2000dpi as a comfortable maximum, and for navigating Windows the lowest 800dpi setting was preferable.

At £78, this is one of the most expensive mice we've ever clapped eyes on. Sure, it's customisable, comfortable, well built and incredibly flashy, but will it turn you into a gaming ninja overnight? Nope. If you're already near the top of the leaderboard, it might just give you the edge you need. For mere mortals, it's overkill.