With the Katar Pro Wireless, Corsair tried to compete with the Logitech G305, but wasn't quite successful in doing so. With the Katar Pro XT, things are different. This time around, the competitors are the Logitech G203 Prodigy and LightSync, and both get beaten handily.

What sets the Katar Pro XT apart is its sensor. Typically, budget mice are equipped with budget sensors, but Corsair made absolutely no compromises in this area on the Katar Pro XT. Essentially an improved PMW3360, the PMW3391 performs incredibly well, and ranks at least a notch above the sensors found on competing mice, such as the G203 Prodigy and LightSync, ROCCAT Burst Core, or SteelSeries Rival 3. The same goes for the components used: The Corsair Katar Pro is outfitted with switches usually found on much more expensive mice, resulting in great button quality across the board. The scroll wheel provides tight and tactile scrolling, and the sturdy yet lightweight construction (75 g) is another asset. As far as click latency goes, Corsair has found a reasonable middle ground on the Katar Pro XT. Previous Corsair releases, such as the Dark Core RGB Pro, had remarkably low click delay, but suffered from so-called slam clicking; i.e., when dropping the mouse even from minimal height, the buttons would actuate without being pressed. This is not the case on the Katar Pro XT, yet latency is still nice and low. Though there's still room for improvement, progress has also been made in the cable department. Unlike prior Corsair mice, the Katar Pro XT comes with a fairly soft and flexible braided cable, similar to the paracord-like cables found on many other mice these days. Lastly, I have no complaints about the mouse feet.

In fact, when it comes to the hardware side of things, I have pretty much nothing to complain about. Some may be irritated by the shape or, to be more specific, the heavily slanted sides, but that's pretty much it. There's also some CPI deviation, but the 3391 allows for highly granular adjustments, so correcting that is very easy. I can't say the same about the software, however. Corsair iCUE continues to be a major resource hog, and not just in terms of RAM, but also CPU cycles. What's more, those wanting to make use of macros or more advanced RGB lighting effects are pretty much forced to use iCUE as the on-board memory on the Katar Pro XT only saves three CPI steps, CPI colors, polling rate, surface calibration, and one of two lighting effects. Having said that, I don't think the limited on-board memory is much of a problem. The Katar Pro XT doesn't have a lot of buttons anyway and is generally tailored more towards FPS players. Still, those wanting macros to any degree will have to deal with iCUE.

All things considered, the Corsair Katar Pro XT is a remarkably good deal—it performs like a $60 mouse, but only costs $30. This becomes even more apparent when looking at the competition. The ROCCAT Burst Core comes with similar build quality, optical main button switches, but a worse cable and sensor, for $29.99 as well. The SteelSeries Rival 3 has a worse cable, worse sensor, and slightly worse build quality, for $29.99. The Razer Viper Mini costs $39.99, has optical main button switches, but a worse sensor and slightly worse build quality. Lastly, the Logitech G203 LightSync has similar build quality, a better cable, but significantly worse sensor, for $39.99. The Katar Pro XT is easily among Corsair's strongest releases in recent years and therefore gets our Budget and Editor's Choice awards from me.