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. Lastly, when slamming the mouse down, no accidental clicks occur.

Buttons

Main buttons on the Chakram 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 excellent. Pre and post-travel are virtually nonexistent, resulting in a satisfying click response. The pressure point is even across the button as well. Button size and placement is quite good as actuation is possible rather easily by rolling one's thumb over these. Unbranded tactile switches are used here.

The joystick can be used in analogue or digital mode. In analogue 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—principally, 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 are a button for pairing the mouse with the wireless USB dongle and a CPI button, which is used for cycling through the set CPI steps. Their click feel is decent. Additionally, there's a slider which changes between 2.4 GHz mode, Bluetooth mode, and the off state. In terms of quality, it's just fine.

Scroll Wheel

The scroll wheel is good. It's fairly quiet when scrolling, but the tactility leaves something to be desired as the individual steps lack clear separation. The encoder comes from Alps. The middle (scroll wheel) click requires little force for actuation. The switch is another unbranded tactile switch.

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

Much like the Strix Impact II, the Chakram is remarkably easy to disassemble. After removing the back cover as well as the two magnetically clipped-in main button pieces, "simply" unscrew the four screws in the four corners of the shell and remove the top shell. I'm putting "simply" in quotation marks here since they are of the dreaded Y-type, which somewhat counteracts the otherwise user-friendly design of the Chakram. When removing the top shell, some caution ought to be applied not to rip the ribbon cable.


The interior construction isn't too complex. Aside from the main PCB we can see another PCB screwed into the top shell, which holds the scroll wheel click switch and an LED for illumination. Additional PCBs hold the side buttons and the joystick. They all are connected to the main PCB through ribbon cables. Since the battery sits where the external illumination used for the sensor would normally be located, the sensor has been angled by 90° (counter-clockwise). All PCBs are of moderate thickness. Production week for the auxiliary scroll wheel PCB is the 40th week of 2019. Unfortunately, I'm unable to identify the MCU as the marking proved inconclusive.

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