This tiny Asus gaming mouse is never leaving my travel bag

Most wireless gaming mice make you choose between top-tier desktop performance and the sorts of features that’d come in handy when away from your gaming laptop, like Bluetooth connectivity and a small size. Their makers don’t seem to realise not everyone wants to buy two separate rodents for home and away – or can afford to. The Asus Harpe Ace Mini has quickly become that best-of-both-worlds mouse for me.

It has a speedy enough sensor for twitch gaming, but the dimensions and wireless ease needed to toss it in a bag for travel. There’s a choice of wired, Bluetooth, and 2.4GHz wireless play, the integrated battery lasts for what feels like forever, and you aren’t forced to fiddle with software to get the best from it. At $130/£130 the Harpe Ace Mini isn’t exactly pocket change, but the price isn’t unreasonable given the hardware inside.

Asus’ own ROG AimPoint Pro optical sensor is good for a whopping 42,000 dpi, and can track 50G of acceleration. The optical switches underneath the main mouse buttons are very satisfying to click, and the side buttons aren’t far behind. In my experience tracking accuracy has been excellent, over pretty much any smooth surface. I’ve not felt the need to cart a mouse pad around with me for the most part, though I probably wouldn’t jump into a competitive multiplayer match if the only option was a glass or metal table.

A dedicated DPI button on the base of the mouse lets you tweak the most important setting whenever you like, whether you’ve installed the software suite or not. That’s a good thing in my book, as I find the Asus Armory Crate clunkier to use than apps from the likes of Steelseries and Logitech. There’s also a slot to store the 2.4GHz wireless dongle, though I’ve not found much need to use it; the dongle has been a permanent fixture in the back of my PC, and I’ve switched to Bluetooth when working on my laptop.

I don’t personally need the 8000Hz Polling Rate Booster dongle, which is sold separately; the bundled dongle’s 1000Hz is hardly the limiting factor when it comes to my FPS abilities. But it’s great to have the option if you demand pro-level polling.

Size-wise it’s roughly a third smaller than the Razer Deathadder I was using previously, and at 49g it’s also impressively light. I remember a Logitech rep explaining they left out Bluetooth from the G Pro X Superlight 2 to keep its weight in check, but that mouse still tips the scales at 60g. Going small is a surefire way to also go lightweight.

I use a palm grip when gaming, and found that despite the smaller dimensions there was still plenty of surface area to hold onto. I rate it over the Corsair M75 Air for how cosy it feels under my grip. Claw- and fingertip-style players will feel even more at home here. That said, anyone with especially bear-like paws might find it just a little too shrunken down for comfortable use long-term.

Battery life? Outstanding when using Bluetooth (and disabling the RGB lighting), at over 130 hours between charges. Or more than a week’s worth of daily use for me, meaning it’s one less thing to think about charging while on foreign trips. It hovers closer to 80 hours using the 2.4GHz dongle and with the lights blinking, but that’s still plenty for a marathon play session. And as the battery is built in, you don’t have to worry about disposable batteries, like you do with the Razer Orochi.

I like that Asus hasn’t stuffed the Harpe Ace Mini full of RGB lighting; there’s just a single colour-changing LED, which illuminates the scroll wheel. It glows red when you’re low on battery and green while it’s charging over USB-C; you can tweak the pattern and brightness in Armory Crate, too.

With few negatives other than the price, it’s a fantastic pick for a regular mix of desktop and travel use.

• Related: Here’s why the Razer Deathadder V4 Pro is the ultimate evolution of my favourite ever gaming mouse

Tom Morgan-Freelander Deputy Editor

About

A tech addict from about the age of three (seriously, he's got the VHS tapes to prove it), Tom's been writing about gadgets, games and everything in between for the past decade, with a slight diversion into the world of automotive in between. As Deputy Editor, Tom keeps the website ticking along, jam-packed with the hottest gadget news and reviews.  When he's not on the road attending launch events, you can usually find him scouring the web for the latest news, to feed Stuff readers' insatiable appetite for tech.

Areas of expertise

Smartphones/tablets/computing, cameras, home cinema, automotive, virtual reality, gaming