At $90 the Thunder M7 is up against the Logitech G600, Corsair Vengeance M95 and Razer Naga – some serious competition.
Like the Thunder K7 keyboard, the M7 is another no expenses spared product and this is evident right from the get go. Out of the box gamers will find a soft-texture carry case, ideal for transporting the Thunder M7 to LAN events. Included in the case is a pair of replacement Teflon pads in case you wear out the shoes.
The picture on the box makes the Thunder M7 look like a chunky bit of kit and given how massive the K7 keyboard is we were expecting a rather over-weight MMO mouse. In reality the Thunder M7 is actually quite compact, measuring just 116mm long, 70mm wide and just 44mm tall, those dimensions are very similar to the Logitech G600. Additionally, the Thunder M7 also weighs just 110 grams and doesn’t feature a weight system. The compact claw grip design is quite comfortable, though if you have large hands like myself, it can cause hand cramps after lengthy gaming sessions.
Pointing a finger at the Naga and G600, Aorus says that an MMO mouse doesn’t have to be all about buttons, and while I am not a MMO gamer the M7’s layout is much easier for me to use. There are 16 buttons in total, which include the standard left and right clickers as well as a clickable scroll wheel. There is also a lone button on the right side of the mouse that’s used to switch between profiles. Then there are two smaller buttons on top which allow for in game on-the-fly DPI changes followed by another two on the left edge of the mouse. Remaining are the six macros buttons above the thumb rest.
The Thunder M7 uses Omron switches which are rated for 20 million clicks and the laser sensor used is the Avago A9800. There has been some controversy surrounding the Avago A9800 sensor due to hardware acceleration issues. Apparently the issue was corrected with updated firmware. Based on my experience with the M7 when playing first-person shooters I had no issues with acceleration.
As this is a gaming mouse you can expect to find all the typical bling and perhaps a bit more with the Thunder M7. Aorus says they have designed the front of the Thunder M7 to mimic that of a sports car and have even included headlights…
The scroll wheel is also backlit, as is the Aorus logo. If this proves to be too much bling, it can all be turned down or even off via the provided software.
