Gigabyte Ghost GM-M8000 Gaming Mouse Review

Conclusion

As you could tell throughout this review, we thoroughly enjoyed testing, using and all around torturing the Gigabyte GM-M8000 mouse. When we first heard that we were going to be reviewing it, we admit there were some hesitations. While the occasional diamond in the rough shows up, it has been our experience that most “gaming mice” might be the best thing since sliced bread in their main niche but they usually disappoint us when it comes to day to day usage. We have probably used most mice out there at one time or another and for the most part we have found many gaming mice to be generally lacking the niceties which hold them back from being good cross over peripherals. At any one time my main rig has at least two (sometimes more) mice attached and a trackball. This is not out of some elite snobbery but out of simple necessity. One is usually set up with macros and a lowered DPI for Photoshop work, another for general usage and another for when I want to get my game on.

Will this mouse replace all the others on my main rig? No, it will not. I have spent too much time and effort on that setup to change it now and a while there are some compelling arguments for this mouse there are a few issues which negate some or all of them. Let's tackle these issues one by one.

One of the greatest attributes the Ghost has is its well implemented ergonomic design making it easy to use and thus should be pleasing to a wide range of consumers. Sadly, while it is comfortable it is not as comfortable as a true claw or palm-style mouse would be. This would be perfectly acceptable in a “multi-media” or general purpose mouse, but we have to remember that Gigabyte is trying to cater to a specific niche market (one in which perfection is the name of the game) and this mouse may turn many gaming enthusiasts off.

The Ghost also has and amazingly low sub 1ms response time and built in profiles. We really have no issue with the first feature, other than the fact that it should be set right out of the box to this speed and should not require any tweaking to get it. This is most likely to allow for a wider range of capability with older systems. That being, said it still offers an amazing lag free gaming experience and one we don’t mind having to mess with a great software program like the one Gigabyte includes. The second feature is not so cut and dry. We really like the idea of having profiles built into the mouse and thinks it’s a GREAT idea but unfortunately this mouse either needs more buttons or more profiles…or maybe even both. As we saw in testing, it was relatively easy to hit this extremely low limit of 3 profiles. Mitigating this is the software which is good enough that other companies should take note of this and get to work trimming the fat from their own bloated software.

The last big positive attribute of this mouse is its weight customizability. This really does allow you to fine-tune its feel for a better fit. However, the addition of the weights does feel clunky and heavy handed in its approach where there is only two sizes of weights available: medium and huge. A small weight or two which is half the size of the medium weight would have really allowed for some fine tuning. As it is, this is a good approach…but once again not great.

As you can see, the Gigabyte GM-M8000 does have a lot going for it and it does make for one heck of a versatile mouse. The one thing which really snatched defeat from the jaws of victory was the fact that this mouse breaks the cardinal rule of gaming equipment: at no time should the product slow down, impeded or impair your gaming experience….EVER. Unfortunately, for all the great things this mouse has going for it this crucial area; this is where the Ghost mouse fails. During testing, the main left and right buttons got down right slippery and it cost us big time in some tough situations. This is something which is not acceptable in a gaming mouse and is the biggest disappointment with this product.

If you want a good all round general purpose mouse for darn near any category but AND don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on it, this mouse should be right up there at the top of your list. However, if you are like most humans and your palms sweat, prepare for some serious frustration. We hate to come down like this on a product we like so much since the GM-M8000 really does do a lot of things well and we think even with the above caveats it proves to be a wise purchasing decision. However, if you are looking for a hardcore gaming mouse, then you may be disappointed in the Ghost. Hopefully, a future revision will have a rubberized grip, dimpled buttons or tweak which will invalidate our criticism of it.


Pros

- Comfortable
- on the fly DPI change
- sub 1ms polling rate
- 4000DPI sensor
- 3 onboard profiles
- 4 built in sensitivity settings
- Horizontal and Vertical Scroll
- No software required to USE the 3 onboard profiles
- Lightweight software interface program
- Powerful customizations options
- Adjustable weights


Cons

- Horizontal Scrolling requires software to be installed
- Weights only come in 2 sizes (really need a third, 3gram size)
- Slippery left and right buttons
- Wheel did develop a squeal later on
- Polling rate is NOT set to 1000Hz “out of the box”
- only 3 profiles can be stored in onboard memory
- Needs more and bigger low friction feet