Software

Much like other recent HyperX products, the Pulsefire Haste 2 Wireless is compatible with HyperX NGENUITY. NGENUITY is a fully UWP-integrated app exclusively available through the Windows Store. These days, NGENUITY thankfully no longer instantly crashes when having MSI Afterburner running. While analytics functions are present, one has the option to opt-out. Curiously, saving settings to the mouse takes uncharacteristically long. In addition, after updating the firmware, NGENUITY would no longer detect the mouse, which could be solved by restarting NGENUITY and re-plugging the mouse.

All options are distributed across three pages. The first page concerns lighting options and is detailed below. The second page has button remapping to mouse, keyboard, media, and macro functions. The third page has CPI adjustment for up to five color-coded levels ranging from 200 to 26,000 CPI in increments of 50. Values can be input manually, and any non-native values are truncated to native ones. Furthermore, options for polling rate (125, 250, 500, or 1000 Hz) and lift-off distance (1/2 mm) are present.

All settings changes can be saved to the on-board memory, so the software does not need to be running (or be installed) all the time. On my system, the software had a RAM footprint of 94 MB on average along with considerable CPU cost when running in the foreground, which drops to 24 MB and no CPU cost when minimized to the system tray. Upon exiting the application, all processes are terminated, as they should be.

Lighting

The Pulsefire Haste 2 Wireless has a single physical zone for RGB lighting, which is the scroll wheel. A total of three pre-defined lighting effects are available in the software: Solid, Cycle, and Breathing. For most effects, brightness and the speed of transitions can be adjusted. Of course, the lighting can also be disabled altogether.

Color accuracy and vibrancy are excellent throughout. Below is a short demonstration video in which I go through the Cycle and Breathing lighting effects:

Battery Life

HyperX states a maximum battery life of 100 hours, though no details are given whether this applies to 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth, and with or without illumination. The software includes a percentage-based battery charge indicator with single-digit precision, which appears to be accurate and reliable. With illumination enabled and in 2.4 GHz wireless operation, for every hour of continuous use, the indicator went down by 1%. Hence, assuming linear consumption, we can assume that HyperX's estimate is indeed accurate.

The mouse enters a sleep state after exactly 30 seconds of inactivity, from which it can be woken by clicking a button or moving the mouse.

Using the included USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable, I measured the charging speed during the constant current stage. When the mouse is lifted, 0.194 A can be measured, which drops to 0.180 A when not lifted. The battery has a capacity of 370 mAh (3.7 V) and utilizes a 3-pin JST connector.