For those who find Razer's Mouse Dock Pro at $69.99 a bit too pricey, MSI has something in store with the Clutch GM31 Lightweight Wireless: For the same price, you even get an entire mouse along with the charging dock! All jokes aside: While the GM31 Wireless suffers from many of the same issues that took the GM31 (see here for our review) down a notch, it likewise manages to be a worthwhile offering for budget-minded buyers.

Unlike the older Clutch GM41 Lightweight Wireless, which sported a PixArt PAW3370, the GM31 Wireless comes with PixArt's PAW3311 sensor. Essentially, the 3311 is a lower-spec variant of the PAW3335, which mostly equates to lower maximum CPI and maximum tracking speed, both of which are plenty high for most use cases still and do not affect performance directly. The only other mouse using this sensor I've reviewed is the ASUS TUF M4 Wireless, which had very solid performance, but unfortunately, the GM31 Wireless falls short of that. First, CPI deviation is all over the place on the GM31 Wireless. This has been previously observed on many 3335 implementations as well, so the 3311 appears to behave similarly in this regard. Not only do actual and nominal CPI differ greatly, the degree also varies significantly between steps, and since CPI adjustment is only possible in increments of 100, adjusting for the deviation is often difficult if not impossible. For instance, getting an accurate 800 CPI step is simply not possible on the GM31 Wireless, as the nominal 800 CPI step is way off, whereas the nominal 700 CPI step is right on target. Second, motion delay. Even in wired mode, a motion delay of roughly 3 ms is present, which is upped to 4 ms in wireless operation. Keep in mind that this does not apply to the launch firmware but only subsequent versions, though the launch firmware comes with its own set of other issues. Third, and much like on the wired GM31, all polling rates below 1000 Hz suffer from periodic bursts of off-period polls, both in wired and wireless operation. Fourth, lift-off distance adjustment. This feature simply does not exist on the 3311, so it is not surprising to see it absent on the GM31 Wireless. Still, those who want their LOD as low as possible may not be pleased by the GM31 Wireless, as the LOD exceeds a height of 1 DVD. Lastly, while not related to the sensor, at 5.7 ms in wireless operation click latency is merely decent on the GM31 Wireless.

When it comes to the wireless experience, the GM31 Wireless does well, however. In terms of charging, the dock is decently speedy at around 0.175 A, which increases to around 0.199 A when using the included charging cable. The cable is very similar to that of the wired GM31 and therefore equally as flexible, so charging while playing is perfectly possible without feeling overly impaired. Thankfully, due to the 3311 being a particularly efficient sensor, charging is rarely needed on the GM31 Wireless, as battery life is surprisingly strong. MSI Center includes a percentage-based battery indicator that is accurate and reliable, which allowed me to gauge expected battery life. Even with RGB lighting enabled, the indicator still showed 90% after 10 hours of continuous use, so a figure of at least 100 hours may be expected. This is doubly impressive given that a 450 mAh battery is used.

The modest battery size benefits the GM31 Wireless in a different area, which is weight. At 72 g, the GM31 Wireless may not weigh as little as the Cooler Master MM731 at 59 g, but compared to a competitor employing holes as a weight reduction measure such as the Glorious Model D- Wireless at 67 g, the GM31 Wireless is in a good spot considering its solid shell. Furthermore, build quality is just fine on my sample: No creaking or flexing of the shell, and actuating the side buttons by squeezing the sides is only possible by applying excessive force, but there is a minor rattle when shaking. Much like the wired GM31, the GM31 Wireless utilizes Omron main button switches, which provide a snappy yet light button response. Thankfully, and unlike on the wired GM31, lateral button movement is less pronounced on my sample, and only becomes noticeable when provoking it, but not during regular use. Huano switches once again are used for the side buttons, which have impressively low post-travel, although pre-travel is a bit higher on the back button, and actuation not entirely even, either. The scroll wheel encoder yet again comes from CF, which is pleasantly low on noise. In fact, it is among the least noisy encoders I've used on a mouse in quite some time, and tactility is good as well, providing decently separated steps and controlled scrolling. However, the scroll wheel click is incredibly stiff, to where I'm unable to actuate it without unintentionally scrolling at the same time. Those who find themselves using the wheel click a lot thus may be less enthused about the GM31 Wireless. Lastly, the feet are made of pure PTFE, and glide is accordingly very good.

These days, Dragon Center has been replaced by MSI Center, which looks and functions quite similarly. While my experience with MSI Center wasn't all that pleasing while reviewing the wired GM31 already, it made for an even bumpier ride in conjunction with the GM31 Wireless. The main issue is the sheer frequency of the software either no longer responding or plain crashing. Even simple tasks such as clicking on an innocuous button called "usage scenarios," adjusting CPI, or open the mouse settings in the first place apparently are too much to handle for MSI Center and often result in an instant crash. Changing the RGB lighting effect proved to be impossible altogether, and merely opening the options window only became possible after reinstalling the entire Mystic Light module. In general, resetting MSI Center frequently is pretty much a necessity just to get through basic configuration, which is certainly not ideal. To top it off, MSI Center also spawns upwards of ten processes running all the time, no matter whether MSI Center itself is running or set to run on startup. The only good thing about MSI Center is the fact that one isn't forced to use it.

Overall, the GM31 Wireless has a couple of flaws too many to be given our Recommended award, but for $69.99, decent enough performance, very strong battery life, good quality buttons, and the inclusion of a charging dock make for a competitive package in terms of value. As such, the GM31 Wireless earns our Budget award.

The GM31 Wireless has some stiff competition. For $99.00, the Xtrfy M4 Wireless has better performance, similarly good buttons, weighs virtually the same despite featuring holes, and can be configured without the need for software. For $89.99, the Cooler Master MM731 has similar performance but lower click latency, similarly good buttons, much lower weight yet no holes either. The Pulsar Xlite V2 Mini Wireless has better performance, similarly good buttons, weighs much less, albeit without much of a bottom plate, and has much better software, for $79.95. Lastly, the Fantech Helios Go XD5 has better performance, likewise similarly good buttons and better software, and weighs essentially the same also without holes, for $59.99.