Corsair Nightsabre Wireless review: versatile and precise gaming mouse

Mar 22, 2024

Nightsabre is the name of the latest member of the ever-growing family of gaming mice from Corsair. The wireless rodent leaves hardly anything to be desired from a technical point of view and relies on eleven programmable buttons, a 26,000 DPI sensor and a 6-zone RGB illumination. What the wireless mouse has up its sleeve is clarified in our Corsair Nightsabre Wireless Test.

The Corsair Nightsabre Wireless unmistakably continues the manufacturer’s design language. Thus, the rodent relies on black and dark gray color scheme, which is repeatedly interrupted by small details.

Be it the carbon fiber-look part around the scroll wheel or the slightly lighter contrasting area on the sides, which keeps the fingers securely in position with a non-slip triangle texture. The Nightsabre relies on an anodized finish for the two primary keys, which underlines the noble look once again.

In typical Corsair fashion, we find the name of the peripheral set off in light gray on the top, directly above the left strip that is responsible for the RGB lighting. Or rather, an RGB zone, because the wireless gaming mouse has a total of seven individually addressable RGB lighting zones at the front, back, top, sides and rear.

Six generously sized, light gray PTFE gliding feet directly catch the eye on the underside. These frame the optical sensor in the center. Above that we find a toggle button, which we first use to turn the mouse on and switch between wireless and Bluetooth mode.

Smart detail: the manufacturer hides the USB-A receiver in the compartment with Corsair lettering on the bottom of the Nightsabre Wireless. The design is rounded off by a USB-C port on the front.

With dimensions of 129.41 mm x 63 mm x 40.41 mm, the mouse is in the mid-range segment in terms of size. The same goes for the weight of 97 grams, which I personally find very pleasant.

Although the mouse relies on a symmetrical design, it is only suitable for lefties to a limited extent. This is mainly due to the fact that the left side – where righties place their thumb – is home to two additional buttons. Or rather four keys: two on the side and two more on the top, directly above. The side keys protrude a bit from the case, making the design feel a bit wider on the left than on the right.

So not only does the Corsair Nightsabre Wireless look extremely chic, the build quality is also on an excellent level – just as we’ve come to expect from the manufacturer. It is robust, feels valuable and scores with a pleasant feel.

With a full eleven programmable buttons, the Corsair Nightsabre Wireless offers quite a bit of customization. This surpasses, for example, a SteelSeries Aerox 5 Wireless (our review) by another two buttons. Or rather a four-way scroll wheel, because this can also be triggered to the left or right to execute additional commands.

Once again, the manufacturer’s patented Quickstrike buttons are used for the two primary keys, which trigger almost latency-free thanks to their suspension and implement inputs immediately.

Below the pleasantly grooved and very well gridded mouse wheel, we find two more triangular buttons, which we use to switch between the up to five saved profiles in the standard setting.

The two side buttons on the left are very easy to reach and pleasantly clicky. Above them, somewhat offset to the front, are two additional buttons. These are initially used to set the DPI resolution, but can also be freely reconfigured. It is noticeable that the front button is difficult to reach with the thumb in medium to small hands – then the index finger has to come to the rescue.

Another interesting feature is the LED indicator in the center of the upper side, which has various functions. For example, it informs you when the mouse is connected via USB dongle or tries to pair via Bluetooth. It also shows, for example, which DPI level is currently set – even though the meaning of one or two blue lines needs to be understood first.

Which brings us to the RGB lighting. Here, the Corsair Nightsabre Wireless is enormously versatile. On the software side, we can customize each of the seven zones individually and provide them with their own effects.

Especially cool are the so-called murals. Here we can position a thumbnail of the mouse on moving effects and scale the rodent, which has an effect on the lighting. This is possible not only with some predefined effects, but also, for example, with your own images, videos or reactive audio effects. Never seen it like this before.

The Corsair Nightsabre Wireless makes use of the 26,000 DPI fast Marksman sensor, which we already know from the Corsair M65 RGB Ultra and M65 RGB Ultra Wireless (our review), for example. It offers a tracking speed of 650 IPS at an acceleration of 50G and thus sets an excellent prerequisite.

With a polling rate of up to 2,000 Hz, even demanding users are well served in my eyes – in my opinion, more is hardly necessary and often just marketing.

The sensor’s precision and tracking are beyond reproach. The resolution can even be increased or decreased in 1 DPI steps within the accompanying software, and 50 DPI steps are possible purely on the hardware side.

In practice, the Nightsabre coped very well with pretty much all surfaces. I also really liked the gliding feet and they accelerate the rodent excellently on the table or a mouse pad.

As is typical for Corsair, there is the option to use the mouse on a hardware basis or to use it in software mode. The latter on systems that have the iCUE companion software installed (and running). For both options, there is the option to separately adjust all settings such as button mappings, RGB lighting, and DPI levels.

Thanks to Slipstream Wireless, I noticed almost no latency when used with the USB-A dongle. In Bluetooth mode, for example, the mouse is immediately recognized by my notebook and can be paired in conjunction with a pop-up window. Again, the latency is on a very good, because low, level – but competitive gamers will notice the difference to wireless operation.

The Corsair Nightsabre Wireless achieves a peak battery life of up to 100 hours. This is true for Bluetooth mode with the backlight disabled. In wireless mode, a maximum of 65 hours are in there, which also marks an excellent value.

Charging is also pleasantly quick: 15 minutes on the USB-C cable is enough to supply the rodent with energy for 20 hours of use.

If you like, you can select an energy-saving mode within the software, increase or decrease the brightness of the illumination, or set after how many minutes of inactivity the mouse goes into sleep mode. The option to display the gaming mouse’s battery status in the notification bar is also practical.

As always, Corsair’s iCUE is used as the companion software. After the initial startup of the Nightsabre Wireless, the program restarts, whereupon the mouse can be selected and customized.

Within the app, it is possible to set the button assignments and RGB lighting separately on the hardware and software sides. Up to five profiles can be stored in the onboard memory, which can be quickly switched between.

Furthermore, the DPI settings can be adjusted in five levels plus an additional sniper mode. You should definitely do that, because the resolution is limited to 3200 DPI in the factory, which only uses a fraction of the mouse’s potential.

Besides a surface calibration, for which the connection via cable is necessary, additional options can be found in the device settings. All in all, a very tidy software with which many fine adjustments are possible.

With the Corsair Nightsabre Wireless, the manufacturer once again proves its expertise in the field of high-performance gaming mice. Design and build quality are excellent, although the positioning of the front side button on the top is not ideal for medium-sized hands.

The extensive connectivity and versatile customization options are pleasing, as is the excellent battery life and fast charging time. Sure, the weight is not particularly low and the dimensions are not too small either, but I find both very pleasant.

The sensor also works impeccably and very precisely. I would actually have to look for points of criticism with a magnifying glass. Right-handers looking for a high-performance, highly customizable and excellently manufactured gaming mouse will be excellently served by the Corsair Nightsabre Wireless in any case.

The Corsair Nightsabre Wireless is an excellent wireless gaming mouse with superb build quality, top-notch sensor and strong features.