Introduction
With the DW series, ZOWIE finally brought wireless functionality and 4000Hz support to their entire main lineup, which obviously includes the S2. Despite being a mouse that kind of flies under the radar in the pro scene, many fans have been waiting for the S2 to go wireless, and that day is finally here. In our full ZOWIE S2-DW review, we’ll take a look at whether or not ZOWIE’s sleeper shape is worth your hard-earned cash or if it’s something you’re better off skipping.
At A Glance
ZOWIE S2-DW
Used by 3 players ()-
Mercury
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KaiR0N-
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Moseyuh
Sometimes, simplicity is key, and ZOWIE seems to have distilled that saying into this amazing mouse shape.
Pros
- Great build quality
- Very versatile shape
- Comes with extra skates as well as a set of alternative skates
- Good coating
- Excellent click implementation
- Enhanced receiver can also be used as a charging dock
Cons
- Battery life isn’t the best (this is offset by the charging dock though)
- Lack of optical switches might not sit well with everyone
Specs
| Sensor | PAW3950 |
|---|---|
| DPI | 400, 800, 1000, 1200, 1600, 3200 |
| Polling Rate | 125 / 250 / 500 / 1000 / 2000 / 4000 Hz |
| Button Switches | Huano |
| Connection | Wireless |
| Shape | Ambidextrous |
| Length | 12.0cm |
| Height | 3.8cm |
| Weight | 65g |
| Width | 6.4cm |
First Impressions
Packaging
In the box, you’ll find everything you’d expect from a modern ZOWIE release:
- The mouse itself
- Quickstart guide
- Enhanced receiver (which also acts as a charging dock)
- 1000Hz dongle with extender
- USB-C charging cable
- One set of control feet (black)
- One set of speed feet (white)
- User documentation
ZOWIE never cuts corners when it comes to their packaging, and I love that. Not only do they include a set of replacement feet, but they also add alternative feet.
The dual receiver setup also gives some flexibility. It’s great for users who use their mouse for work and play, as you can leave the enhanced receiver in your gaming PC and stick the other one in your laptop or work PC.
ZOWIE gives a lot of bang for your buck with their packaging, and most other brands can learn from this.
The Mouse
If you’ve seen one ZOWIE DW mouse, you’ve basically seen them all. The shape is different between each model, but aside from that they’re all the same. Matte black shell, subtle branding, no RGB, no holes. The S2-DW can be used in an office setting without anyone batting an eye.
Something that might catch the eye of ZOWIE fans are the feet. The new DW models all come with ZOWIE’s white speed skates installed by default instead of the more controlling black skates that were part of the standard setup for years. If that’s a change you weren’t waiting for, there’s no need to be upset though. As I mentioned, ZOWIE includes a set of the old feet in the box.
Shape, Coating, and Mouse Feet
For reference: I use a regular claw grip and my hands are 18×10.5cm.
Shape
I would argue that, across ZOWIE’s entire lineup, the S2 has the safest shape in the sense that it kind of feels like a middle ground between the various, more specialized, ambidextrous ZOWIE mice.
The only thing that can feel a bit ‘forced’ if you’re not used to it is the hump, which cuts off rather abruptly at the back. It’s not a very high hump though, so unless you’ve only used flat ambi mice in your career, odds are you won’t have any trouble adjusting to this one. This section of the mouse was specifically designed to give users a good ‘lock-in’ while still allowing for smaller vertical movements and as far as I’m concerned they nailed that. The hump doesn’t force its way into your palm, and if you want to play with this mouse while having minimal palm contact, you absolutely can.
Moving on, the curves are kept very subtle all across the design. There are some comfort grooves in the main buttons, a slight overhang near the front, and a mild widening towards the back. The sides are lightly curved with no aggressive inward bend, which means that your fingers can be placed pretty much anywhere without being forced into a groove.
All of this results in a mouse that feels very safe. It’s the kind of mouse that adapts to you, not the other way around.
Shape vs Other ZOWIE Mice
As I mentioned, I see the S2 as ZOWIE’s ‘jack of all trades’ design. It has a relatively straightforward and adaptive design, while the other ambi mice each have one ‘specialty’. There’s the high-humped ZA13-DW, the flat FK2-DW and the narrow-grip U2-DW. Obviously, I’m painting with broad strokes here, so if you want to learn more about these specific mice you can always check out my reviews on them.
Coating
The coating is consistent with the rest of the DW series. It’s got a matte texture that feels pretty smooth and grippy. The grip holds up well with both dry and sweaty hands. Additionally, I didn’t encounter any slippage issues, even during longer sessions.
Performance-wise, it all checks out, but ZOWIE coatings aren’t the best at hiding oil or fingerprints. If you’re picky about keeping your mouse looking clean, you’ll find yourself wiping this one down fairly often. The actual performance and feel is up there with the best of the pack though, so if you don’t care about aesthetics that much then you’ll have no issues here.
Mouse Feet
ZOWIE includes both their speed skates (white) and their older control skates (black) with every DW mouse, and I love that. It allows you to test both styles and see which one works best for your specific setup and preferences. In case you’re someone who’s used to the old ZOWIE stock skates: those are the black ones that come in the box. The pre-installed white ones are ZOWIE’s ‘speed skates’.
In terms of performance, the speed skates are a little smoother and glide with slightly less resistance. The control feet, on the other hand, give you a bit more stopping power. Neither set is extreme in either direction though, so if you like your feet to be at the extreme edge of the speed spectrum, you may want to invest in an aftermarket pair. For me, that’s absolutely not necessary. Both sets of feet glide smoothly straight out of the box, and I don’t like extremely fast or slow skates either way.
Recommended Grip Types
I would say that the S2-DW is generally best suited for claw and fingertip grips. Due to the cutoff hump design, palm grippers might want to look somewhere else, unless they have smaller hands.
As I mentioned, though, the S2-DW is a very accommodating shape. Even if it’s not exactly to your liking, you should be able to find a comfortable way to hold it.
Buttons and Scroll Wheel
Buttons
ZOWIE are sticking with their trusty mechanical Huano switches for their DW mice. This means that the brand is not following the optical switches trend. That’s not a dealbreaker for me personally, but I would like to see them explore some optical options in the future. There are tons of great opticals out there at this point in time, so it must be possible to find a switch that matches their design philosophy.
In any case, what matters most to me is the implementation of the switches, and that’s done very well here. Both pre- and post travel are tuned pretty much perfectly, and there’s no sideways movement either. There’s also no switch grinding or button rubbing when a button is being held down.
ZOWIE mice are primarily aimed at competitive shooter players, and for that reason their clicks are on the more robust side. I personally love that, but if you play games where you constantly have to spam your buttons, you might find these to be a little bit too crispy and heavy. For me, though, they are great. They make tap-firing in games like CS2 consistently reliable, and the actual button implementation leaves nothing to be desired.
Scroll Wheel
The textured and rubberized scroll wheel on the S2-DW is typical for ZOWIE: fairly rigid, on the louder side, and with clearly defined steps. This might not be ideal for desktop usage, but for gaming purposes, it works well.
You get precise control over individual scrolls, which is useful for things like weapon switching or grenade selection. The press tension on the wheel is also great. I didn’t run into any accidental scrolls or clicks during my testing.
ZOWIE wheels used to be extremely polarizing due to their loudness and the fact that they used 16 steps instead of the more traditional 24 steps, but those days are gone. The volume has been reduced significantly (though I still wouldn’t call them ‘quiet’) and the steps have been upped to 24. For gaming, these are some of the best scroll wheels in the business.
Side Buttons
The side buttons on the S2-DW feel great. They’re clicky, don’t have any noticeable travel issues, and feel consistent no matter where you press them.
I don’t have much to say here. These are some of the best side buttons in the business right now if you ask me.
Build Quality
The build quality of the ZOWIE S2-DW is excellent, just like it is with most ZOWIE mice. The shell is solid, with no creaking or flexing anywhere, no matter how hard I press. Shaking the mouse doesn’t produce any rattly sounds, and everything feels secure and super solid.
This is a mouse you can put through the wringer and it will come out the other end just fine.
Sensor and Everyday Performance
Sensor
The S2-DW uses the same 3950 sensor as the rest of the DW line. That’s currently the top option on the market and allows for polling rates up to 4000Hz. As far as I can see in my testing, tracking is flawless, and I had no issues with responsiveness or sensor accuracy.
Like I’ve said in other reviews, modern gaming sensors have been flawless for for a while now, so you shouldn’t really worry about spinouts or other annoyances these days. It all comes down to how the sensor is implemented, and as far as I can tell ZOWIE did a good job here. The wireless implementation is completely lag-free and flawless as well.
Whether or not 4000Hz actually gives you a competitive advantage is a hotly debated topic. In order to even notice any difference, you need a very beefy PC (and high refresh rate monitor) to begin with, so if you’re on a budget machine with a casual monitor, there’s no need to shop specifically for high polling rate mice.
Still, it’s good to see that ZOWIE has gone with the times and is now giving you the option to up the polling rate. This was a massively requested feature, and they delivered.
Configuring The Mouse
Like every other ZOWIE mouse, the S2-DW is entirely plug-and-play. All customization is done using physical buttons on the mouse. You can adjust things like DPI, LOD, and polling rate, but there’s no software for remapping buttons or setting macros.
I personally don’t mind this approach. It’s fast and consistent, and I don’t have to worry about software interfering with my settings when I play on a different PC. With that being said, I do think ZOWIE should consider adding a lightweight optional customization tool for their offerings. Even if it’s a really basic piece of kit that only allows you to do the basics like finely tuning the DPI and rebinding buttons, it would make their potential market a lot bigger.
Battery Life
Battery life at 4000Hz is around 24 hours, which isn’t great on paper. In practice, though, the battery life doesn’t really matter to me. Since every DW mouse comes with an enhanced receiver that doubles as a charging dock, you can simply just place your mouse on said dock when you’re not using it, and it will always be charged.
Back when the first (1000Hz) ZOWIE wireless mice came out, the charging dock was seen as something quite gimmicky, but now that more brands are pushing 4K polling (and the increased power drain that comes with it), ZOWIE’s dock solution feels like the right way to handle the drastically lowered battery lives of top tier gaming mice.
I’d love to see a charging dock included with more mice from this point on, and as far as I’m concerned ZOWIE is setting the right trend here.
Alternatives
It might be tempting to suggest neutral mice like the Logitech G Pro X Superlight as an alternative to the ZOWIE S2-DW, but that would be a mistake if you ask me. The S2’s rather sudden drop at the back makes it feel quite different in the hands than the Superlight or the Razer Viper V3 Pro, which both have a much more gradual back section.
That’s not to say that the S2 has an unsafe shape. It can, as mentioned, be used by a large variety of grip styles and hand sizes, but it does have quite a unique design. I personally can’t think of any mouse that I’ve reviewed that can serve as a true replacement or alternative. I’m sure there are some Chinese brands out there that have cloned this shape over the years, but I do not have any experience with those so I cannot recommend them.
Conclusion
The ZOWIE S2-DW isn’t the flashiest mouse on the block. The same could be said about its predecessors. It’s not the lightest mouse on the block, it doesn’t have the craziest specs, and it doesn’t have an outlandish shape or radical design elements. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, simplicity is key, and ZOWIE seems to have distilled that saying into this amazing mouse shape.
With the DW refresh, ZOWIE finally brings wireless functionality and 4000Hz support to what is arguably their most adaptable shape, making it competitive with today’s top offerings on the specs side.
It’s a great buy if you’re looking for an ambidextrous mouse with a very safe shape that feels a bit more formed and filling than the usual suspects like the Logitech G Pro X Superlight and the Razer Viper V3 Pro.
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.
