Introduction
The Corsair Sabre v2 Pro was a surprising release for many. It was lauded for its lightweight design and focus on modern features such as a web driver. But, like many products, it wasn’t exactly flawless, with the build quality and battery life being often-mentioned drawbacks. With the release of not just one, but two new versions, Corsair is hoping to expand the reach of their Sabre v2 Pro line. To see if these new products hit the mark, we’ve sent them over to our reviewer. In our full Corsair Sabre v2 Pro CF review, you’ll find out everything you need to know.
At A Glance
Corsair Sabre V2 Pro CF
Used by 2 players ()
-
jcobbb
-
Gumayusi
The only reason to really consider this over other, more affordable top-tier gaming mice is the carbon fiber shell.
Pros
- Extremely solid build quality
- Web-based driver is nice
- It’s cool to see some more premium options from a big brand
Cons
- Side buttons feel mushy
- Very expensive
- Not that light for a carbon fiber mouse
Specs
| Sensor | Marksman S 33K |
|---|
| Polling Rate | 1000 / 2000 / 4000 / 8000 Hz |
|---|
| Button Switches | Corsair Mechanical Switches |
|---|
| Connection | Wireless |
|---|
| Shape | Ambidextrous |
|---|
| Length | 12.3cm |
|---|
| Height | 3.9cm |
|---|
| Weight | 55g |
|---|
| Width | 6.4cm |
|---|
First Impressions
Packaging
Inside the box of the Corsair Sabre v2 Pro CF, you’ll find:
- The mouse itself
- Grip tape
- Alcohol pads
- A pair of additional mouse feet
- User documentation
- A USB-C-to-USB-A charging cable
- The USB receiver
- A carrying case
That’s exactly what I want out of a premium gaming mouse’s packaging. Notable here is the carrying case. This is a sturdy, high-quality case, similar to what you’d find with premium headphones for example. I love this addition, and it’s definitely something that more brands can consider adding with their flagship products.
The Mouse
Obviously, the carbon fiber unibody shell catches the eye almost immediately. It’s not the first time I’m reviewing a carbon fiber mouse, but I am always impressed by just how strong the material feels. Obviously, carbon fiber immediately makes a product look performance-oriented, so this is by no means a ‘stealthy’ mouse. Sure, there’s no RGB, but the carbon fiber body has the Corsair sails logo on the back and a neon yellow scroll wheel. Additionally, there’s also a decal on the front of the side panel that’s accompanied by the //SABRE name.
Personally, I’m not in love with the looks. I feel like it would’ve looked much cleaner had they left the decals off of the side panels and gone for a black logo and scroll wheel.
Shape, Coating, and Mouse Feet
Shape
My hand size is 18.5×10 cm and I use a claw grip.
The Sabre v2 Pro CF’s body is notably larger than the regular Sabre v2 Pro. For me, that results in more hand-to-mouse contact, which feels comfier.
In terms of the overall shape, the Sabre v2 Pro offers a very neutral and safe ambidextrous shape. You have a gradual, centralized hump, a slight indentation towards the middle section of the mouse, and a minor overhang near the front. There are no sudden curves or bumps that guide your fingers towards a specific point or force you to hold the mouse in a certain way.
Some people might not love this very neutral shape, but I find it difficult to imagine anyone actively struggling to find a good grip here.
All in all, this feels like a mouse that was designed to fit as many people as possible, and it succeeds at that. It’s perhaps a little bit too flat and neutral for my liking, but I managed to find a comfortable way to hold it pretty much right away.
Coating
The carbon fiber unibody feels nice and grippy to me. It should be noted that my hands are almost never completely dry when gaming, though. If you have bone-dry hands, I can imagine this mouse feeling a bit too slippery at times.
In terms of feeling, the body feels like a very lightly textured mouse. The carbon fiber body looks shiny, but doesn’t feel the way a traditional glossy mouse does. I like that, since I really dislike the super sticky sensation that a glossy mouse offers.
Aside from offering a good amount of grip, the mouse also handles oils and fingerprints really well. It keeps looking pristine even after multiple days of sweaty gamer sessions, and even if you start to feel some oils building up, cleaning the mouse is easily done with a slightly damp cloth.
Mouse Feet
Just like on the regular v2 Pro, the CF version comes with thin UPE feet pre-installed. I’m not a big fan of these. They feel slightly scratchy (not as much as on the regular v2 Pro though) and I prefer larger skates to begin with.
As such, I installed the larger skates that the mouse comes with quite quickly, and I was satisfied with those. They offer a glide that’s a bit more focused on control rather than speed, and I like that. If you want a super smooth glide with pretty much no friction, however, you’ll have to resort to aftermarket skates, since the Corsair Sabre v2 Pro CF won’t offer that.
Recommended Grip Types
I would consider the Corsair Sabre v2 Pro CF to be an ideal mouse for claw- and fingertip grippers. Due to its slightly larger size, it’s also more suited for palm gripping than its plastic predecessor, but I still wouldn’t call this mouse a specialized palm grip mouse or anything like that. The hump in particular doesn’t really feel tailored to that type of grip.
Buttons and Scroll Wheel
Buttons
Corsair is using mechanical switches underneath the buttons in their mice, and while I don’t have an issue with mechanical switches in most mice, I do find the lack of optical switches in a mouse that’s priced at $199.99 to be a bit of a puzzling omission. I know that a lot of the cost comes from the unibody carbon fiber shell (carbon fiber is a difficult material to work with) but a mouse like this is obviously aimed at serious competitive players, and optical switches quite simply offer a number of advantages over mechanical ones.
Some people prefer the better, crispier feeling (generally speaking) of mechanical switches over the admittedly small advantages that optical ones bring, but I am someone who’s in the camp of optical switches, so for me this is a bit of a miss.
Luckily, the switches themselves feel nice and are really well-implemented. You get a very tactile actuation feeling, and there’s no undue pre-, or post travel on my unit. There is some side movement, but you have to be pressing hard and moving horizontally quite a bit for this to really become apparent while gaming. So, in terms of the overall click feeling and performance, I have no complaints.
Scroll Wheel
The scroll wheel has a nicely textured rubber element on top that helps with grip. The click tensioning is also done really well. On my unit, the steps feel a bit loose, however. I’m not having any issues with missed or duplicated scroll steps, but it doesn’t feel as reassuring or precise as it could be when the wheel enters the next notch.
Side Buttons
The side buttons feel a little too loose, especially the mouse 4 button. There’s a bit too much pre- and post travel, and that combined with a click that feels and sounds more hollow than the mouse 5 button results in a side button that feels underwhelming. Mouse 5 feels a little bit better, but it’s still not a fantastic side button or anything like that.
Build Quality
Using a carbon fiber unibody and costing $199.99, I of course expected no less than perfection. Luckily, that is pretty much what you get here. The body is extremely sturdy. I could not get it to bend or flex even a bit, and this is simply one of the most solid-feeling mouse shells I’ve ever tested. Moving or shaking the mouse rapidly also does not reveal any unwanted noises. So, in terms of the overall construction, the Corsair v2 Pro CF is playing in the highest leagues.
But there is one question that keeps bugging me. Why carbon fiber? I know that this material is used to achieve lower weights while retaining structural integrity, but the Sabre v2 Pro CF weighs 55 grams. That’s lightweight for sure, but there are plenty of mice that achieve that weight with just a plastic shell. And while the v2 CF is one of the most structurally sound mice I’ve ever tested, I can’t really say that I’ve often had instances where the shells of plastic mice were giving me problems in-game.
So, for me, it feels like going with carbon fiber has missed the mark a bit here. It’s cool to see a big brand offer some different options by going with more exotic materials, but the main benefit of this particular exotic material (weight savings) isn’t really apparent because there are plenty of regular mice that weigh the same while still offering a solid shell. Sure, the v2 CF is stronger than those plastic mice, but unless you have the grip strength of a gorilla, you won’t really notice the difference in practice. And in terms of feeling, the mouse feels like a regular (lightly textured) plastic mouse.
Sensor and Everyday Performance
Sensor
Inside Corsair’s flagship gaming mice, you’ll find the Marksman S sensor, which is a customized version of a PixArt sensor.
As far as I can tell, everything is working fine on this mouse, save for some minor polling rate instabilities at 8000Hz. Latency falls within normal parameters, tracking feels fine, and gaming with the mouse in general feels exactly as it should.
Some people will say that they can feel the difference between sensors in-game, but that is only reserved for a very small portion of the player base. For most players, once you’re in an actual game and are used to the mouse, there isn’t really a noticeable difference between modern sensors that have been well-implemented. This sensor seems to be implemented properly, so you can expect modern-day performance from the Corsair Sabre v2 Pro CF.
Configuring the Mouse
Configuring the mouse can be done via Corsair’s Web HUB software. This allows you to rebind buttons, create macros, and change settings like the DPI, polling rate, and so on.
I personally love Corsair’s move towards a web-based driver. I don’t like having to download or open heavy software every time I want to make a change to one of my peripherals, so having a browser-based program is amazing.
However, I do know that many people are invested in Corsair’s ecosystem and would love to use iCUE to configure all their peripherals and compatible (PC) components. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be an option anymore. Back when the original Sabre v2 Pro released (along with some other products), Corsair indicated that iCUE support would follow soon, but this Sabre v2 Pro CF does not get recognized in iCUE at the time of writing.
For me personally, this is not an issue. I greatly prefer web drivers myself, and there are companies that have only ever offered web drivers, but I can understand that people who are used to iCUE find this to be an annoying limitation. If you’re heavily invested in iCUE, you should probably take note of the fact that this mouse cannot be controlled through that software.
Battery Life
Compared to the original Sabre v2 Pro, battery life has increased quite a bit. Now, you can expect up to 120 hours at 1000Hz and 21 hours at 8000Hz. That’s pretty respectable, and I did not have any issues with the battery life during my testing. Given how I use my mice at 2000 or 4000Hz instead of 8000Hz, I went for multiple days without having to charge the mouse. Even at 8000Hz, I didn’t feel like the battery life was especially limited.
Alternatives
When considering alternatives, it’s important to think about what you want an alternative for. If it’s the carbon fiber feature, then there aren’t very many alternatives in the mainstream market.
However, if it’s a shape/performance alternative that you’re looking for, then there are plenty of options. The Corsair Sabre v2 Pro CF weighs 55 grams and has a safe ambidextrous shape, so heavy hitters like the Viper V3 Pro and the Logitech G Pro X Superlight and their many clones can all reasonably be considered as an alternative.
Corsair Sabre v2 Pro CF vs MG
Corsair has two ‘premium material options’ out right now. This carbon fiber one, and the magnesium alloy version. Between the two, the MG easily wins out if you ask me. It is as sturdy as the CF (you do have holes in the shell, though), is built better, has the exact same shape, and costs $50 less. If you’re looking for a mouse from a mainstream brand with exotic materials, the choice is easy. Unless you really want a carbon fiber mouse, the MG is the better mouse.
Conclusion
The Corsair Sabre v2 Pro CF is an interesting mouse, but it’s an extremely niche product. It has an MSRP of $199.99 and comes with a carbon fiber shell, yet it weighs the same as many cheaper mice and has a similar, super safe shape as many popular choices. In terms of performance, it also doesn’t bring anything new to the table. All of that doesn’t make it a bad product (it isn’t) but it just doesn’t present the potential user with any reason to consider this over the myriad of other options out there.
The only reason to really consider this over other, more affordable top-tier gaming mice is the carbon fiber shell. If that’s something that you really want, and you’re willing to pay a premium for it, then this is a great choice.
But the big reason brands implement a carbon fiber shell is to lose weight without losing shell strength. And the v2 Pro CF weighs the same as the Razer Viper V3 Pro, and that’s not exactly a mouse that’s known for having structural integrity issues. Even in Corsair’s own lineup, there’s a Magnesium Alloy Sabre v2 Pro that achieves the same weight and performance at $50 less.
The Sabre v2 Pro CF is a nicely designed product that comes with a really nice carrying case to amp up its status as a premium mouse, but I don’t see this being the best option for a lot of gamers out there. If you want a Corsair/mainstream mouse that uses an exotic material, look towards the Magnesium Alloy Sabre v2 Pro. If you just want a safe shape with an 8000Hz sensor, there are dozens of other options to consider.
This product was received for free from the manufacturer and given to our reviewer to test and review. Brands and manufacturers have no editorial control over our reviews. For more information, check out our review FAQ.
Former semi-pro gamer turned writer, product reviewer, and community manager.
