The Nixeus is one of the best value gaming mice available right now, it’s currently #3 on our cheap gaming mouse list. The Revel gives you a lot for its mid $30 price, a great safe ambidextrous shape and a flawless sensor in a sturdy shell with 3 surface options.
The buttons are a little disappointing on the mouse being a little mushy but they’re more than unusable especially for that price.
Pros
- Low price
- Flawless sensor
- Great safe and familiar ambidextrous shape
- Soft-ish rubber cable
- 1 year warranty
- 3 different surface options
- Comes with software for configuration
- Low weight at 85 grams
Cons
- Super soft and mushy primary clicks
- Side buttons really close together little separation
- Really poor quality on scroll wheel on our version, shifts to the side
- Rattles when shaken
Shape, Weight & Design
The shape of the Revel is reminiscent of the classic Steelseries Sensei shape and is immediately familiar to anyone who has used a mouse of that style. The Revel is a smooth shape with a rounded shell, the sides of the mouse curve inwards slightly, the combination of the side shape and the light 85 gram weight makes the Revel a really comfortable mouse to use.
There are no comfort grooves on the buttons and the buttons themselves are part of the shell, because of the low-ish profile and lack of comfort grooves, I found this mouse better suited for claw grip than palm grip. The DM1 from Dream Machines has a similar shape with a slightly higher hump that might be better suited for palm grip.
This is a top tier shape for medium sized hands, if you’re looking for that Sensei shape then look no further, you’ve found it. This and the DM1 are definitely the top two mice that sport this shape.
The feet on the bottom of the mouse are competent, 3 large curved strips line the outside of the mouse and do a good job of gliding, the mouse is definitely moving well with its light weight and soft-ish rubber cable. There is one set of replacement feet in the box, which is a nice touch considering the price point of this mouse.
The Nixeus Revel is a barebones mouse in terms of design, the Nixeus logo is backlit with a thing light strip at the heel of the mouse, outside of that there are no embellishments or unique design factors on the Revel.
Build Quality & Materials
The Revel comes in 3 surface versions:
- Glossy white
- Matte white
- Rubberized black
Outside of the surface the mouse is completely the same, pick the surface that suits your preference, if you have dryer slippery hands go for glossy or rubberized, if you find that you sweat a lot in the hand when gaming, go for the matte. My version is the matte white and this surface has a good feel no complaints at all.
The shell is solid in construction, there’s no flexing or creaking when pressed and squeezed.
The scroll wheel is another story, I have some major concerns about the quality and quality control of the scroll wheel, my mouse had scroll wheel that could essentially tilt click to the right despite this mouse not having this functionality. The scroll wheel is still fully functional when shifted over but definitely concerning. When shaken, the scroll wheel rattles quite a bit, it has quite a loose installation.
Buttons & Scroll Wheel
The Nixeus Revel uses the ever universal Omron switches, but the implementation on the Revel is a little bit disappointing as someone who likes crisp clicks. The buttons feel a little mushy on the press, there is some pre-travel on both mouse buttons of the Revel. Weight wise the buttons aren’t too stiff or too light, a good middle range but the pre-travel on the buttons do make it a little fatiguing if you like to spam click in MOBAs or RTS games. I’d argue that the Revel is much better for FPS over other games because of the buttons.
The left and right buttons sound slightly different from each other which is pretty common in mice.
The scroll wheel has a good weight and response, the scroll is quiet with distinct steps and in general is a good scroll wheel, the only issue I have with the wheel is the quality control on it.
The side buttons are another weak point on the Revel, they’re thin and close together and for me, a little too far back on the mouse. The click on the side buttons is light and have a hollow click that is not at all satisfying. In game, I had a lot of issues hitting both side buttons due to the placement and general lightness of the buttons. This clicking issue is likely something that you can get used to.
Sensor & Performance
The Nixeus Revel has a top-tier flawless sensor in the Pixart PMW 3360, no issues here with acceleration, tracking, jitter or prediction. The mouse doesn’t suffer from any spin outs, and the lift off distance is low below 1 CD thickness, as you would expect from the PMW3360, the implementation in the Revel is flawless.
A budget mouse with a flawless sensor is very welcome, a lot of lower priced mice have sensor with slight tracking inconsistencies or concerns.
Here’s the paint test:
Features & Software
The Revel is a streamlined mouse with a focus on getting the shape and performance right, it’s only natural that this mouse is light on features and that’s a good thing.
The Revel actually comes with software that lets you do some light customization.
The key page lets you re-map any button on the mouse to a custom function, the software lets you record macros to map to a button as well as the ability to store 4 profiles on the mouse, quite a nice surprise for a budget mouse.
The mouse supports up to 8 steps to cycle through as well as independent x/y axis sensitivity. The language here is a little unclear, the “Acceleration Setting” option here is actually just the windows mouse sensitivity setting, which should be at the recommended 6/11 setting. Enhance pointer precision is also representative of the windows setting.
Other than that, pretty standard settings, you might as well pick the highest polling rate.
Pretty limited options here, you can select colour based on 8 pre sets with standard brightnesses and speeds, that’s it.
Warranty & Reliability
The Nixeus Revel comes with a 1 year warranty:
Nixeus REVEL Mouse – 1 Year Limited Warranty:
Nixeus warrants this product will be free from material defects in workmanship and materials under normal use from the original date of purchase.
• Product (excluding power supplies): 1 Year Limited Warranty.
• Accessories: 1 Year Limited Warranty.
• Spare parts and spare kits: Ninety (90) days
• Nixeus 1 Year Limited Warranty does not cover physical damage or abuse.Under this 1 Year Limited Warranty, will be, at Nixeus’ option, to either repair or replace the defective Product during the Warranty Period at no charge to the original owner excluding shipping and handling fees. The replacement product needs not to be new nor have identical make, model or part. Nixeus may replace the defective Product or any part thereof with any factory reconditioned product that Nixeus determines is equivalent in all material respects to the defective Product. Replacement or repaired Product will be warranted for the remainder of the original Warranty Period or ninety (90) days, whichever is longer.
Source: https://www.nixeus.com/revel-warranty
Conclusion & Value
The Nixeus Revel gives a lot of pure performance for not much money, if you’re tight on budget but you don’t want to sacrifice comfort or sensor then the Nixeus Revel is a definite consider.
There are a couple of places where you definitely feel the budget pricing, the buttons on the Revel leave a good amount to be desired, they’re a little mushy and unsatisfying but it’s not a deal breaker considering the pricing of the Revel.
The Revel is #3 on our best cheap gaming mouse list for being an overall good performer with a great shape and flawless sensor, the buttons are a little mushy but they aren’t unusable.
