Speedlink KudosZ-9 & INVICTUS Core Gaming Review
Category : Mice
Published by Luca Rocchi on 12.11.14
The Kudos Z-9 is the last high-end gaming mouse from Speedlink. This peripheral offers nine buttons as well as up to 8200 DPI. The entire surface is made of soft touch material with different grip. Next to the gaming mouse we're also having a closer look at the INVICTUS Core Gaming that features a dual polymer surface with an aluminum core and a plastic surface.
Article in English |
Artikel in Deutsch |
Article en français |
Articolo in italiano |
Today, we are taking a closer look at a new gaming mouse from Speedlink, the Kudos Z-9. The new Kudos Z-9 gaming mouse uses a laser sensor with up to 8200DPI resolution, features customizable LED lighting and has a full soft touch grip.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Photo Gallery
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Features
| Model number | Z-9 |
| Keys | 9 |
| DPI | 8200 |
| Materials | ABS |
| Polling Rate | 1000Hz |
| Interface | USB 2.0 |
| Cable | 1.8 m |
| Dimensions | 127 x 82 x 47 mm |
| Weight | 110g |
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Closer Look
At a first glance, the Kudos Z-9 shows that this is a harmoniously designed and ergonomically shaped gaming mouse. This mouse has been built to fulfill the needs of right-handed people, with the shape that allows you to hold it with all your fingers. In addition, the Speedlink Kudos Z-9 features a very grippy surface with a black and red matte finish. The materials used are of good quality, and even the soft touch is well made and very comfortable. The back of the Kudos Z-9 features a little graphic with a small LED indicator. The Speedlink Kudos Z-9 gaming mouse features a total of nine buttons which are fully programmable via software. The top of the mouse features two classic buttons devoted to the DPI rotation as well as two additional buttons and a solid backlighted wheel almost entirely covered with rubber. Despite the fact that Kudos Z-9 is a gaming mouse, the scroll wheel features a 4-way mode. Overall the buttons are placed in a good way, but in our opinion, only the top four buttons are not so easily reachable. The weight of the entire mouse is at about 110g and the Kudos Z-9 is well balanced.
Back
Speedlink decided to equip the Kudos Z-9 with a PixArt ADNS-9800 sensor. The maximum resolution is 8200 DPI, which is more than enough for any kind of gamer. The laser sensor is placed on the left and if you are looking for additonal weight, you will be disappointed, since this gaming mouse does not have that type of customization. Net weight of this mouse is 110g, which actually puts it in the light category. Speedlink decided to provide the Kudos Z-9 with big glide pads made of teflon, which means that these will last a very long time. A closer look at the cable reveals that it has been braided with a black and red sleeve.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Software
Speedlink included the software in the bundle. In case you lack an optical drive, you can also download the latest version from the manufacturers website. The software GUI is perfectly in line with the attractive design of the mouse and it is practical as well as easy to use. With the supplied software, you can configure basically anything you might like to set yourself, such as for example, lighting colors, DPI, macros and much more. Bundled with the supplied software is also a PC cleaner tool that we were surprise to see bundled with a gaming mouse.
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| The Speedlink Kudos Z-9 is a solid product, and overall, we were impressed by the build quality and a very good shape. The build quality is good and all the materials are perfect. The weight and size of the Kudos Z-9 make it suitable for palm grip users. Even the pads are excellent, generous in size and good on any surface. For our test we also used the INVICTUS Core Gaming gamepad which allowed us to get very good performance and movement smoothness. |
- Weight
- Design - Build quality |
||
| Performance / Ergonomics | + | - | |
| As usual, we used the gaming mouse in both 2D and 3D environments for our tests. After a few days of use with standard office applications we can say that, despite being a gaming mouse, the Speedlink's product behaves very well in those scenarios as well as in gaming. We tested the Kudos Z-9 with RTS and FPS games without any problems. With only 110g of weight, the Speedlink's device is a very light gaming rodent and thanks to its particular shape it is also very comfortable. In our opinion only the upper buttons are hard to press because they are simply too small and too close to the palm. |
- Comfort
- Palm Grip - Glide pads - Tilt |
- Upper buttons | |
| INVICTUS Core Gaming | + | - | |
| In order to test the perfomance of the mouse, we decided to use the mousepad provided by Speedlink, the INVICTUS Core Gaming. The mousepad is composed by two elements; the rubber structure that includes a practical palm rest and the pad itself. The latter features a dual polymer surface with an aluminum core and a plastic surface. The mat is designed for "low-sense" and "high-sense" users and is compatible with gaming mice that feature up to 13.000 DPI. Overall the smoothness of both sides is great, however, we found some issue on the placement system since the mat is hard to be placed. In other words, we would like to find a more solid support, which is rigid and capable to hold the mat in the right way. | - Retention system | ||
| Software | + | - | |
| The Speedlink's software is a pleasant surprise. It is well-structured, easy to use and with a tons of options. You will be able to change the aesthetics as well as all the functional aspects. In addition, the software is very light and even its RAM usage that is very low. Although this is a gaming mouse, during the installation process is easy to install also a PC Tool Cleaner that is inside the CD software installation. | - Easy to use | - PC Tool Cleaner | |
| Recommendation / Price | + | - | |
| If you are looking for a highly customizable gaming mouse
with nine buttons, then the Speedlink Kudos Z-9 is worth a closer look. The Speedlink Kudos Z-9 is available
for 49,99 euro, which we think is a fair price. The INVICTUS Core Gaming mousepad is also available with a official price of 29,99 euro, excluding shipping costs. This is a decent mouse pad but a bit on a steep side when the price is concerned. |
- Price Kudos Z-9 |
- Price INVICTUS Core Gaming | |
| Rating | |||
| We gave the Speedlink Kudos Z-9 4 out of 5 stars. | |||
 |
|||
| Rating | |||
We gave the Speedlink INVICTUS Core Gaming 3 out of 5 stars. |
|||
 |
|||
| Page 1 - Introduction |
| Page 2 - Photo Gallery / Delivery |
| Page 3 - Features |
| Page 4 - Closer Look |
| Page 5 - Software |
| Page 6 - Conclusion |