When it released roughly a year ago, the Razer Orochi V2 (see here for our review) proved to be a great mouse whose shape has been warmly received. However, both its very small size and the fact that it runs on AA/AAA batteries limited the appeal of the Orochi V2 somewhat. This is where the Aria XD7 comes in: While the shape of the Orochi V2 has been retained, the Aria XD7 is substantially larger and comes with a rechargeable battery. Remarkably, despite being significantly larger, the Aria XD7 with its internal battery weighs virtually the same as the Orochi V2 without one. The fact that this has been achieved without having to rely on externally visible holes is of particular note. Moreover, build quality is more than solid on my copy: When shaking the mouse, there is a minor rattle, but creaking is kept to a minimum, the shell does not flex, and actuating the side buttons by squeezing the sides is impossible.

When it comes to performance, the Aria XD7 does not disappoint, either. Using the same CX52850 MCU as the Pulsar Xlite Wireless and X2/X2 Mini, Xtrfy M4/M42/MZ1 Wireless, and Fantech's own Helios Go XD5 and XD3, the Aria XD7 performs as expected. CPI deviation is decently low, polling stable aside from polling rates below 1000 Hz in wireless mode, wireless motion delay sits at just 1 ms, and motion delay in general is consistently low, owing to there not being any smoothing across the entire CPI range. Since PixArt's latest PAW3395 sensor is used, MotionSync likewise is present, although unlike on the X2 and X2 Mini, there is no option to disable it. Being able to do so would have been worthwhile, as much like on the X2 and X2 Mini, MotionSync does add 1 ms worth of sensor motion delay across the board. The benefit is more consistent sensor tracking, but I don't think this is a good trade-off. That said, I have been informed by Fantech that this is being looked into, and Fantech is planning to either fix the added delay with MotionSync enabled or provide the option to disable MotionSync. In any case, click latency is on the expected level, sitting at 3.9 ms in 2.4 GHz operation when using the lowest debounce time value.

In addition to 2.4 GHz wireless, the Aria XD7 also comes with Bluetooth, which is quite handy for office work or for when battery life is paramount. In my testing, polling isn't entirely stable when using Bluetooth, but considering that this isn't meant to be used for proper gaming, I believe this can be forgiven. The general wireless experience is quite pleasing on the Aria XD7, as a wireless extender for the best possible connection at all times is included in the box, and charging is reasonably fast, important since the charging cable isn't particularly flexible, making charging while playing less than desirable. Using 2.4 GHz wireless, Fantech cites a battery life of around 30 hours, which is surprising insofar the Aria XD7 features a 300 mAh battery, the same capacity as the Pulsar X2 and X2 Mini, which are claimed to have more than twice the battery life. Given the parity in terms of specifications and internals, either Pulsar is overestimating or Fantech underestimating expected battery life. Unfortunately, the battery life indicator within the software is very inaccurate and unreliable on either mice, which makes it difficult to determine what the actual battery life may be. Speaking of the software, it has all the important options and minimal resource usage, in short: perfect. Running the software at least once is recommended to lower the high default debounce time of 12 ms, which would result in non-competitive click latency.

As with the Fantech Helios Go XD5 and XD3, the Aria XD7 comes with Kailh GM 8.0 switches for the main buttons, which provide the usual firm and snappy button response expected from this model. Huano switches are used for the side buttons, which score with low pre and post-travel, along with pleasing actuation. The scroll wheel encoder comes from TTC, and while noise levels are fairly high, tactility is great, with clearly separated steps and controlled scrolling. The feet glide perfectly fine, and an additional replacement set being included is certainly more than welcome. For those struggling with grip, a set of grip tape is also included, which is quite remarkable given the price point.

This brings me to the most important part: the price. While Pulsar charges an extra $15 for their X2 and X2 Mini over the Xlite Wireless V2, which is fairly substantial for what amounts to a sensor upgrade, Fantech is much more modest in this regard, as the Aria XD7 costs barely $9 more than the previous generation of mice featuring PixArt's PAW3370 sensor. Furthermore, the amount of accessories included with the Aria XD7 wouldn't look out of place on a $100 mouse, not to mention that Bluetooth connectivity typically isn't found on mice in this price bracket, either. While the Aria XD7 isn't perfect, the level of quality it displays at its price point is virtually unrivaled. Accordingly, the Aria XD7 is more than worthy of both our Editor's Choice and Budget award.

When looking at alternatives, the Aria XD7 doesn't have much competition. The Razer Orochi V2 is battery-driven, weighs more no matter which battery is used, has lower click latency, but otherwise similar performance, and suffers from its resource-heavy software, for $69.99. The Logitech G305 typically retails for $49.99, has a comparable shape, comparably low click latency, great performance and buttons, but weighs significantly more. Lastly, the Corsair Katar Pro Wireless likewise weighs substantially more, suffers from poor sensor performance and a resource-heavy software, but comes with good buttons and build quality, for $39.99.