Build Quality

Build quality is very solid. There is a slight rattle from an indeterminable location when shaking the mouse. When applying lateral pressure, no creaking of the shell can be observed. It's impossible to activate the side buttons by squeezing the sides. Lastly, no accidental clicks occur when slamming the mouse down.

Buttons

Main buttons on the Chakram Core are very good. Pre-travel is very low and post-travel low, resulting in a firm and snappy click response. Since the clicks are separated from the main mouse body, some button movement can be provoked, but it's barely noticeable during use. Button stiffness is light. Omron D2FC-F-K (50M) (China) switches are installed by default, but can be replaced with either Omron D2F Series (D2F, D2F-F, D2F-01, D2F-01F) or Omron D2FC Series (D2FC-F-7N, D2FC-F-7N (10M), D2FC-F-7N (20M), D2FC-3M) switches.

Changing the switch is as simple as pulling the old one out and putting the new one in. It's a bit more finicky than on the Strix Impact II though, so using the included tweezers is definitely recommended.


Side buttons are very good. Pre and post-travel are virtually nonexistent, resulting in a satisfying click response. The pressure point is even across the button as well. For some reason, the buttons don't feel quite as solid as on the regular Chakram, however. Button size and placement is quite good as actuation is possible rather easily by rolling one's thumb over these. A set of unbranded tactile switches is used here.

The joystick can be used in analog or digital mode. In analog mode, it functions as a regular joystick and can be used as such. In digital mode, the joystick provides four programmable directions. The joystick can be further customized with a long or short stick or removed entirely if the functionality is not needed or wanted. As for the placement, I'd say it's pretty good—generally, having larger hands and using the mouse in palm grip will be beneficial when it comes to properly reaching the joystick.

At the bottom of the mouse is a CPI button, which is used for cycling through the set CPI steps. Its click feel is decent.

Scroll Wheel

The scroll wheel is good. It's rather noisy when scrolling, and tactility isn't all that great either. The encoder comes from Alps. The middle (scroll wheel) click requires little force for actuation. Another unbranded tactile switch is used for this one.

Coating

While the sides have a riffle pattern, the top appears translucent and lacks any special coating. Still, grip is fine, and it doesn't attract fingerprints, dirt, or the likes too much. It's easy to clean, and there are no signs of wear left after doing so.

Button Sound Test

Disassembly

Disassembling the Chakram Core is quite easy. Unlike on most mice, removing the feet isn't necessary. Instead, simply unclip the magnetically held back cover as well as the equally magnetically held main button pieces before proceeding with the four screws holding the top and bottom shells together. Much like on the regular Chakram, the use of Y-type screw heads makes things more complicated than they need to be.


Interestingly, the PCB is similar to but not identical with that of the regular Chakram. Scroll wheel and side buttons still sit on their own PCB, each connected to the main PCB through ribbon cables. The sensor is yet again rotated by 45 degrees even though there is no real reason for it in the absence of the top-mounted battery—I reckon it was easier to merely change the PCB in some parts instead of redesigning it altogether. The MCU is a STM32F072CBU6, whose datasheet can be found here. I also identified a Texas Instruments SN74AXC4T245PWR bus transceiver (marking SN4T245), whose datasheet can be found here. All PCBs vary in thickness, but tend to be on the chunkier side of things. Production date for the main PCB is the 30th week of 2020.

As for the soldering and general quality of the PCB, I'm unable to find any noteworthy flaws.