Find the right gear for your gaming needs thanks to IOGEAR and Kaliber Gaming.
Looking for new gaming equipment can sometimes be like finding a needle in a haystack. There are hundreds of brands out there and you don’t want to second guess a purchase. IOGEAR has some pretty remarkable products specifically made for gamers under their Kaliber Gaming moniker. The equipment features high-quality components and materials that are specifically designed for gamers and their special needs. I’ve been fortunate enough to test out two of their gaming products – the SYMMETRE II Pro FPS Gaming Mouse and the SURFAS II Gaming Mouse Mat.
SYMMETRE II Pro FPS Gaming Mouse
The SYMMETRE II Pro FPS Gaming Mouse is designed for gamers “looking for a perfect mouse experience.” It’s designed specifically for players of first-person shooter games like Call of Duty as well as third-person shooter games like Fortnite. The mouse is also designed to be ambidextrous so that left or right-handed people can enjoy it. It has eight programmable buttons and is optimized for accuracy. The mouse also makes it possible for you to increase your speed or control by changing the weight of the device. The mouse comes with an adjustable weight system. You can add or subtract up to 20.3 grams to your mouse to fit your gaming style. It also includes RGB backlighting. In addition to the already named features, the SYMMETRE II Pro also has customizable profiles for work or play. The mouse features 256k built-in memory so that it can be configured with up to five different profiles. The buttons can be turned into hotkeys for controlling media playback or other automatic functions.
FEATURES
- USB 2.0 eSports professional optical gaming mouse
- 8 programmable buttons with custom programming software
- Up to 16,000dpi with shift-on-the-fly adjustment
- Adjustable weight system for precision tuning
- Instantly switch between multiple profiles
- Ambidextrous housing designed for left and right handed gamers
- Non-slip rubber coated click wheel
- Includes magnetic delete panels for left side and right side buttons to avoid ring-finger interference
- RGB LED backlighting with “breathing” effect
- Pixart PMW 3389 sensor
- 125/250/500/1000Hz adjustable report rate
- 16,000 fps frame rate
- 400 ips speed
The SYMMETRE II Pro comes in a black and green box with the Kaliber Gaming branding included on it. The box features an image of the mouse on the cover and some of the details on it as well. The cover of the box opens up to reveal the device inside. I like that you can see the device inside the package before you buy it. The mouse is wired, which makes it a little less appealing to me, but it is very functional. I’ve been very impressed with how easy it is to use. I am currently running a MacBook Pro as my main computer but jump back and forth between my gaming PC. This actually ended up limiting my usage of the mouse a bit because the custom programming options are only available for PC users. IOGEAR has a specific software package you can download (iogear.com/Product/GME640) from their website, but the quick start guide that is included with the mouse states that it is “PC Only.” While I wasn’t surprised by this fact, I was a little disappointed that it doesn’t work with Mac. As for as it working on my PC it worked great with no complaints.
Still, the basic functions of the mouse were available to me on my mac. Out of the box, the mouse is lightweight and very easy to glide around a desktop. I love the RGB colors on the mouse. They are centered around the back of the mouse and around the click wheel so that they are visible to the user. This was something I really appreciated because I like brightly colored lights with my computer set-ups and RGB mouses sometimes focus the lighting effects elsewhere on the device. I do like the placement of the side buttons. They are easy to reach with natural hand placement on the mouse. The click wheel is very responsive and I didn’t have to do any kind of speed adjustments in my system settings to be able to use the mouse to my liking. I do wish I had the opportunity to use the side buttons for hotkeys on my MBP, but other than that, it’s a really nice piece of hardware.
SURFAS II Gaming Mouse Mat
A nice complement to the SYMMETRE II Pro is the SURFAS II Pro Gaming Mouse Mat. I remember when mousepads were a dime a dozen. People had to use them in order to get the best response from their mouse. If you have a glass top or reflective desk you still have to use one, but if you don’t, a mousepad sometimes just becomes decoration. I’ve been using XL extended mousepads to protect the top of my desk for quite some time now and I was intrigued by the SURFAS II Pro mouse mat because it is much closer to a standard size mouse pad. I just haven’t seen one in a long time.
The SURFAS II Pro Gaming Mouse Mat is designed for tournament-level performance with either laser or optical sensor mice. It’s textured with polycarbonate for accuracy and control. It has a finely grained finish and is incredibly strong and durable. The material is both waterproof and abrasion-resistant. It also shows minimal wear and tears. The base is a non-slip silicone, which keeps the mat from sliding around. It’s less than 1mm thick so it’s perfect for travel and tournament use. The mat measures 15.75” x 11.8”.
FEATURES
- Textured polycarbonate surface for increased accuracy and control
- Ultra-long life surface outlasts cloth mouse pads
- Great for both optical and laser sensors
- Non-slip silicone base keeps pad in place
- Incredibly thin design is less than one millimeter thick!
- Rolls up for easy travel and tournament use
- Size: 400mm x 300mm
The SURFAS II Pro Gaming Mouse Mat is also part of the Kaliber Gaming collection and its retail packaging matches the packaging of the SYMMETRE II Pro mouse. The mat is rolled up tightly inside the box and it takes a while for it to unroll and flatten out. When I first started using it, I unrolled it and placed my keyboard on one corner and my phone on another to help it flatten out. I will say that it does seem to make the SYMMETRE II Pro mouse more responsive than using it on a desktop alone. It is a bit larger than a standard mouse pad but not as large as the XL ones I’m used to using. I love the feel of it and the fact that it’s so thin. It’s almost like you aren’t using a mouse pad at all. I didn’t find myself having any issues with running off of the mat or my wrist being rubbed by the edge of the mat. It’s comfortable to use and great. accessory for the SYMMETRE II Pro mouse.
CONCLUSION
The SURFAS II Pro Gaming Mouse Mat and the SYMMETRE II Pro FPS Gaming Mouse are both high-quality pro-level gaming accessories that I think IOGEAR has done a great job with. The mouse retails for around $50 and the mouse mat retails for around $20 (at the time of publishing). I think both prices are in line with other products that are similar and both products are worth the investment.
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Pro FPS Gaming Mouse offers PC and console gamers a truly customizable optical mouse experience.