I have to admit, it's been a while since I last used a HyperX mouse. In that sense, the Pulsefire Haste really took me by surprise. Put simply, HyperX just nailed it with this one.

First of all, the Pulsefire Haste is among the lightest gaming mice currently available. At just 57 g, the Pulsefire Haste ends up weighing even less than the Glorious Model O-, all while being quite a bit larger. At the same time, build quality is rock solid, with no noticeable creaking, rattle, flexing, or anything of the like to speak of. HyperX didn't even have to resort to giving the sides the honeycomb treatment as well to achieve this weight. Buttons feel great across the board, and I'm pleased to see main button switches that aren't Omron for a change. The scroll wheel provides good tactility without being noisy or stiff to scroll. Much like on many other recent mice, the feet are made out of pure PTFE and provide excellent glide. Additionally, HyperX includes a set of replacement feet along with some grip tape, which is very welcome. The Pulsefire Haste also comes with one of those paracord-like, braided cables that have become increasingly more commonplace. In terms of flexibility, this one is easily among the best—in fact, it's so light and flexible I wouldn't be surprised if some people find it too floppy. RGB lighting has been kept to a minimum in order to keep the weight down, but the available options are quite decent, and the same goes for the customization provided by HyperX NGENUITY, which is the software. Lastly, click latency is nice and low.

As for the sensor, HyperX picked PixArt's PAW3335 for the Pulsefire Haste. Even though the 3335 is usually found in wireless mice, I've found it to perform better in wired-only mice. The implementation in the Pulsefire Haste is no exception in this regard and pretty much flawless. Of particular note is the fact that there is no smoothing across the entire CPI range. This is still something seldom seen in gaming mice and quite useful if one wants to make use of the entire CPI range without suffering from any added latency at higher steps. I've only found two noteworthy issues. The first of these concerns HyperX NGENUITY. Whenever I had NGENUITY up and running, polling stability got absolutely wrecked. Having said that, I asked someone else to reproduce this sort of behavior, but everything was just fine for him, so this issue might not even affect everyone. The second issue concerns CPI accuracy, and this one was reproducible. In gaming mice, actual CPI sometimes differs from nominal CPI. You set it to 800 CPI, but the actual measured value would end up being 835. Some degree of deviation is perfectly normal and expected, but the extent encountered on the Pulsefire Haste is of an entirely different kind. I measured inaccuracy of 30% and more, which means you actually get 1035 CPI when setting it to 800. CPI deviation of this magnitude is simply unacceptable and what costs the Pulsefire Haste the Editor's Choice.

Aside from the ridiculous CPI deviation, the Pulsefire Haste is a great all-around mouse. As for the shape, it's also special in terms of the width-to-size ratio. The Pulsefire Haste is comparatively wide for its overall size, which makes it an interesting choice for those with bigger hands looking for a generally smaller mouse. The Pulsefire Haste is fairly priced as well, which becomes readily apparent when looking at the competition. Whereas the Glorious Model O ends up being a bit bigger, the Model O- is significantly smaller, with both of them delivering similar quality and performance, at $49.99 each. The HK Gaming Mira-M and SPC Gear LIX+ are closer to the Pulsefire Haste in terms of size and shape, and also provide comparable performance, quality, and low weight, again at $49.99. The ROCCAT Burst Pro ranks a notch above the Pulsefire when it comes to quality and is outfitted with optical switches, at $59.99. Lastly, the SteelSeries Rival 3 gets outclassed by the Pulsefire Haste in pretty much every aspect and retails for $29.99. In summary, the HyperX Pulsefire Haste gets both our Budget and Recommended awards from me.