In the meantime, mice no longer only depend on individual features. Mice are often equipped with several features and some of them are almost standard. Additional buttons, DPI switch, illumination. That is actually already the standard for every gaming mouse. It looks different when it comes to the weight and the connection type. Lexip has integrated a wide range of features into the AR18, and we’ll take a closer look at what Lexip has to offer us here for a relatively low price.
Design and features
The first thing to look at is the external impression. At first glance, the AR18 doesn’t look particularly eye-catching. The palm rest is made in one piece with the mouse buttons. A recess in the center makes room for an extra key and the mouse wheel, which is patterned to increase grip.
At second glance, however, more time has definitely been put into the design. For example, not only has a recess been left free on the lower side of the mouse for the RGB lighting, but the focus has deliberately been placed on an angular design. The illumination runs in a kind of zigzag at the back of the mouse and then straightens out again at the sides. We also tried to create a lot of edges and corners, which makes the mouse look very playful, but still aggressive.
The aggressiveness is also somewhat reflected in the features. One doesn’t just rely on the standard stuff at Lexip, but provides for many features. So there is besides the total of three additional buttons and an RGB lighting, just also the possibility to choose two different operating modes. Does the cable bother you? No problem, pull it off, plug in the USB adapter and activate the wireless mode on the bottom. But before we look at how well this works, let’s first take a look at the technical side of things.
Workmanship and technology
The workmanship between the materials is good, but not perfect. It seems a bit like comparing German cars to American ones. They’re not bad, but here and there gaps just aren’t the same or the connectivity doesn’t sit 100%. However, this was not a problem during the test. However, those who are perfectionists through and through might be bothered by this. Furthermore, the RGB illumination is probably limited to one or only a few LEDs, since they are not evenly distributed over the designated areas. You can almost see no illumination at all in the front part.
Now let’s get to what the Lexip AR18 has under the “hood”. The gaming mouse with the six buttons hides the P3212 optical sensor on the bottom. This offers up to 4800 DPI, which seems low compared to other mice, but is still fast enough. For most, the 4800 DPI will be more than sufficient. For wireless operation, the mouse is equipped with a 450 mAh Li-Ion battery, which we did not run down during our test phase. All in all, the AR18 weighs 153 grams, which is anything but lightweight, but I personally like it. But let’s move on to the practical side of things.
Practice and ergonomics
After a short period of getting used to the weight and movements, we’re off. In different games such as CS:GO, League of Legends and Minecraft Dungeons, we once made a cross run through different games.
In League of Legends there were no issues at all, we were able to guide our champions through the arena and hit the odd skillshot, with any that didn’t hit probably being lack of skill. It was a similar story in the solo adventure in Minecraft Dungeons. Trouble-free and at the same time precise controls led us through the individual chapters.
But then it was CSGO’s turn. Here we noticed that it is possible to control precisely and make minor corrections with the sniper, but woe betide you if you had to react quickly to shots from the side or behind. The AR18 had the biggest problems recognizing the movements correctly there, and so instead of looking backwards at the opponent, you suddenly just looked straight up in the air. Even a mouse pad other than Lexip’s B10 RGB didn’t fix the problem. While other mice on the Lexip mouse pad also had no problems. This is a bit sobering for a gaming mouse, but bearable if you look at the price in combination with the connectivity. If you don’t play shooters yourself, where fast precise movements are necessary, you are more than well advised with the Lexip AR18.
Lexip also offers a well thought-out design here in terms of ergonomics. Even after several rounds, the mouse sits well in the hand and provides precise controls. We can reach all the buttons easily, only the DPI button could be a little further forward on the mouse wheel.
Software
Lexip’s software is divided into three sections. The first area is used to set different profiles for different programs. So you can set a different appearance for Minecraft than you can for LoL, while also adjusting the DPI settings. In fact, these are the other settings areas as well. The area to set the DPI additionally also gives the option to briefly override the LED colors for easier recognition. Here you can set the colors of the total of 5 levels yourself. Furthermore, the query rate can be set between 125, 250, 500 and 1000 Hz.
The third area “Backlight” offers, as already mentioned, the possibility to adjust the RGB lighting appropriately. However, the setting options are limited. Besides a fixed single-color illumination, the DPI level colors can be displayed permanently or a rainbow effect can be set. The brightness can be set in 8 levels for all effects and additionally the speed can be set between 1 and 8 for the Rainbow. If you don’t like the lighting, you can turn it off completely.
A note should also be given at this point. The software only offers the languages French and English. However, this shouldn’t be too much of an obstacle to set the mouse as desired, even without this language knowledge.
The B10 Mouse Pad
We’ll also take a quick look here at Lexip’s B10 mouse pad, which we ran our tests on. The mouse pad is 80 cm wide and 30 cm deep and enclosed in a fiber optic cable that is used for RGB lighting. For this, the mouse pad only has to be connected via USB and the illumination can be adjusted to different lighting effects via touch control. In addition, a USB hub is also directly on board. Especially helpful in the test with the Lexip AR18, because the USB receiver could be plugged in directly without having to crawl under the table first. The only drawback of the B10 mouse pad is that it has a rubberized underside, but it doesn’t really hold well on a smooth surface. The mouse pad has slipped backwards on the keyboard in more hectic situations, which was a bit annoying.
Summary of Lexip AR18 review
Let’s recap. The mouse is quite aggressive with its angular design and offers everything you need from the features of the buttons. Also the possibility to use the mouse with or without a cable is a fat plus, especially considering the price of just 40 €.
So it’s almost logical that there have to be trade-offs somewhere. In the case of the Lexip AR18, that’s the sensor. They didn’t put a super fast sensor in the AR18 and save money there. That doesn’t mean that it does a bad job, on the contrary! For MOBAs or solo adventures, it’s more than enough. However, if it is to go in the direction of shooters, there are more frequent errors, which can of course lead to frustration very quickly there. However, if you don’t play shooters or play them very little and want to take advantage of a wireless mouse more often, you should definitely take a closer look at the Lexip AR18.
Lexip AR18 Aero Speed
Workmanship
Features
Ergonomics
Software
Value for money
87/100
Very cheap, but still good gaming mouse with many features. Only the sensor has problems with fast movements, so rather nothing for shooters.
