While the X2/X2 Mini was a very good mouse, there was room for improvement still, which is why Pulsar decided to come out with the X2V2. The main novelty of course is the mouse now being compatible with Pulsar's 4K Wireless Dongle, enabling true 4000 Hz polling, but even for those not interested in that, the X2V2 has something new to offer. Most prominent is the structural design having been revised across the board. Much like on releases from LAMZU or G-Wolves, the side-button PCB in particular has been designed in such a way that it aids with structural rigidity. As a result, when applying lateral pressure, there is only minor creaking and no flexing of the shell whatsoever, and actuating the side buttons by pressing below them is plain impossible. In addition, there is no rattle when shaking on my sample, either. Remarkably, Pulsar managed to achieve this while also lowering the weight, to just 51 g on the X2V2 Mini ("Size 1").

The overhaul of the shell structure also includes the main buttons, which have been a common area of criticism on the X2/X2 Mini. Lateral play of varying magnitude in particular wasn't uncommon on the X2/X2 Mini, but this has been addressed fully on the X2V2. Even when trying to provoke horizontal movement of the main buttons, they essentially do not budge at all. Another criticism was related to the switch choice for the main buttons, as the Kailh GM 8.0 switches found on the X2/X2 Mini often developed unintentional double-clicking relatively early. On the X2V2, Pulsar has addressed this by moving away from mechanical switches entirely, and instead opted for optical switches from RAESHA, which cannot double-click ever due to not bouncing to begin with. That said, slam-clicking, which describes unintended main button actuation upon resetting the mouse after lift-off, continues to persist at lower debounce time values. Furthermore, the switch implementation on the X2V2 has its own set of issues. On the X2V2, Pulsar relies on mylar pads on the button stems for reducing pre-travel, which unfortunately doesn't work too well. For one point, the adhesive used on those can eventually leak at some point, leading to sticky clicks, or, if the pads aren't placed perfectly, actuation may feel inconsistent. Even though my sample doesn't suffer from these issues, there have been reports of these issues occurring. Curiously, pre-travel isn't fully eliminated by the mylar pads, and the moderate pre-travel still present has the main buttons feel somewhat "weird," for lack of a better word, at times, as if there is a pre-actuation before the switch is fully actuated. In any case, while not bad overall, the main buttons still leave something to be desired on the X2V2.

Another point of criticism on the X2/X2 Mini was the durability of the scroll wheel encoder. To address this, Pulsar has moved away from the TTC Gold encoder used on the former and instead had F-Switch develop a new, custom encoder dubbed "Pulsar Blue." Most notably, this one uses a different mounting for the wheel, which has the scroll wheel click benefit the most. In terms of tactility, the new encoder still provides clearly defined steps but at much lower noise levels compared to the TTC Gold. In short, the new encoder is an unequivocal upgrade. The side buttons design and the switches (Huano White) used for them are largely unchanged, which is why pre-travel is still quite low and post-travel minimal, accompanied by an even actuation. Likewise, the feet have received no changes either, be it to the material or shape and size, and glide accordingly continues to be very good.

The X2/X2 Mini already came with PixArt's PAW3395 sensor, albeit combined with a CX52850 from CompX (Beken). On the X2V2, the 3395 is still used, and the firmware also comes from CompX, but the MCU now is a Nordic nRF52840. As a result, the X2V2 performs slightly better across the board. CPI deviation is minimal, general tracking fine regardless of whether MotionSync is enabled or not, and due to smoothing being disabled by default, motion delay stays low throughout. A legacy issue familiar from the CX52850 continues to be around, however: In wireless operation, polling rates below 1000 Hz suffer from instability of varying degrees, leaving 1000 Hz as the only fully stable one. Furthermore, MotionSync still carries a latency penalty, which amounts to around 0.5 ms at a polling rate of 1000 Hz. Without MotionSync, wireless motion delay is just 0.5 ms, which is excellent. Unlike on the X2/X2 Mini with its CX52850 MCU, the 0 ms debounce time setting is actually 0 ms instead of 1 ms, which has click latency be lower accordingly at 2.4 ms. As mentioned above, running the X2V2 at the lowest debounce time doesn't run the risk of unintentional double-clicking, but slam-clicking will be present and noticeable, and one would have to increase debounce time to at least 3 ms to get rid of it entirely, in turn increasing click latency to 5.4 ms. Still, the showing by the X2V2 in this department is a clear improvement over the X2/X2 Mini.

For those still not entirely satisfied with the performance, Pulsar has the 4K Wireless Dongle in store. Pairing one's mouse with the 4K Wireless Dongle is rather trivial, as one merely needs to open Pulsar's dedicated tool, set the mouse to pairing, and that will be it. However, doing so will unpair the dongle included by default, so in order to make that one work again, one would first have to pair it yet again. By comparison, LAMZU has the default dongle hard-paired to the mouse, requiring no further re-paring, which no doubt is the better solution. When it comes to performance, the 4K Wireless Dongle takes the X2V2 to the next level. First, and unlike with the default dongle, polling rates below 1000 Hz will be fully stable when using the 4K Wireless Dongle. Second, even when "only" running 1000 Hz, the 4K Wireless Dongle lowers click latency to 2.2 ms, and in terms of motion delay, another 0.5 ms are shaved off to achieve parity with the Logitech G403 (control subject). 2000 and 4000 Hz improve these numbers even further, and click latency at 4000 Hz clocks in at no more than 0.8 ms at the lowest debounce time, matching LAMZU in this regard. Most notably, polling is fully stable at 2000 and 4000 Hz, which is a feat other mice using this solution from CompX have been unable to achieve. In short, the 4K Wireless Dongle enables one of the best 4K implementations out there, and can be considered a straight upgrade over the regular dongle.

Of course, 4K wireless does come with a battery life penalty. The battery life indicator in the software isn't particularly accurate and thus limited to steps of 5%, which is why only a rough estimate is possible. At 4K, I'd estimate the X2V2 to last around 15 hours, whereas at 1000 Hz, I'd expect around 70-75 hours. This figure falls short of the 100 hours cited by Pulsar, which indeed strikes me as too optimistic, given the 300 mAh battery used on the X2V2, along with the fact that optical switches are used. Nominally, the X2/X2 Mini was claimed to have 70 hours of battery life, though in practice, it tended to be lower than that, so achieving that figure for real this time around is certainly a step forward. Charging is relatively speedy and the charging cable flexible, which makes for a pleasant wireless experience. I have nothing to complain about the software, either, as it comes with all the necessary settings at minimal resource usage.

At $99.95, the X2V2 only costs $5 more than the X2/X2 Mini, which is a very moderate premium considering the wide range of improvements. The $19.95 surcharge for the 4K Wireless Dongle is slightly stiffer, but given the upgrade in performance, I'm inclined to call it a worthwhile buy for those looking to get absolutely everything out of their mouse. In any case, the X2V2 with the 4K dongle is still much more affordable than the Razer Viper V2 Pro at $149.99 (plus $29.99 for the HyperPolling Wireless Dongle) or Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 at $159.00, the latter of which arguably is the worse mouse anyway. Competition comes from LAMZU with the Atlantis Pro and 4K in particular, as the latter already comes with the 4K dongle by default and performs essentially the same, while also having the better main buttons, for $99.99. Of course, there is also the VGN Dragonfly F1 Pro Max, which likewise delivers similar performance to the X2V2 at virtually the same weight, for roughly $70 in total when including the 4K dongle. Still, provided one gets a good copy, the X2V2 is a compelling option, and rightly earns our Recommended award.