Speedlink Fortus wireless gaming mouse review
Speedlink Fortus wireless gaming mouse
£27.95Pros
- Looks pretty good
- Comfortable to use
- USB dongle stows away
- Decent performance
- Great price
Cons
- Battery bulk could put some off
- Need to have back-up batteries
Speedlink has sent us their new Fortus wireless gaming mouse. The price is definitely enticing as are the on-the-fly DPI controls and lighting.
We’ve been following Speedlink and their range of PC peripherals for a while now. They impressed us with their Parthica Core gaming keyboard, will their Fortus wireless mouse do the same?
There is no mistaking that the Fortus has been designed with gamers in mind. The more aggressive styling and metallic red finish underline the fact.
Is it all show and no go, though?
Speedlink Fortus design
The Fortus is of the right-handed ergonomic design camp. This means that its asymmetric design will be well suited for 90% of the population.
The Fortus is clothed in a brilliant red colour that has a metallic sheen to it. This is contrasted by black accents on the left and right sides, and in between the two primary buttons.
Combined with the LEDs embedded on the back and sides, you have a pretty distinctive look.
You can select one of the four “breathtaking” colours. This means that you can select an LED highlight to match your rig.
The left side has two thumb buttons, bound to back and forward in browsers by default. You also get several grooves for extra grip.
The right side is buttonless but does have more grippy grooves. This includes a long channel for your ring finger, making the mouse perfect for those of you who prefer palm grip.
The front of the mouse has two generously sized primary buttons. There is the standard scroll wheel and DPI adjust button tucked in between.
The bottom of the mouse features the 2400 DPI (Dots Per Inch) optical sensor in the centre. There is also a tiny on/off switch and a compartment for the two AAA batteries. Speedlink kindly bundle a pair of cells in with the mouse.
In the battery compartment you’ll also find the receiver dongle stowed away. Great for when you take the mouse out and and about.
Speedlink Fortus performance
Many PC gamers refuse to trust wireless mice. Back in the day they were hobbled by connectivity issues and reliability concerns. Things have changed but I for one still have a wired mouse plugged in to my main machine.
However, for my laptop and living-room media machine, wireless makes a lot more sense.
The Fortus also packs its dongle away in its battery compartment. Handy when packing your laptop away you reduce the risk of the tiny USB connector going missing.
Set up
Setting the Fortus gaming mouse up takes less than a minute.
Just open up the battery compartment and pop in the supplied batteries. Whilst here, flick out the tiny USB dongle.
Close the compartment back up and switch the mouse on using the tiny on/off switch.
With your computer already on, plug in the USB reciever and your PC will recognise the new device. Now you’re golden.
Pressing the button before the scrollwheel will cycle through LED colours as well as the dpi settings.
Connectivity
I’ve used the mouse with my laptop mostly and I really didn’t suffer any connectivity issues.
The Speedlink Fortus utilises 2.4GHz wireless technology that has a range of up to 6 meters. So, this not only makes it a good choice to pack with your laptop, but also for those of you with media centres that allows a mouse. Let’s face it, having a wire trailing across your room is silly (I do remember my first toploading VHS recorder having a wired remote!).
Not only did the mouse keep its connection, I didn’t detect any lag or interruptions.
In use
The main thing to remember when using a wireless mouse is to remember to switch it off when not in use. The Fortus will ‘hibernate’ when it hasn’t been used for a while. But it’s best to save that charge. I would also recommend packing some spares. Rechargeable batteries are the way to go in my opinion.
Regarding those batteries. These might make the Fortus a little weighty for some.
This Speedlink 5-button mouse weighs 125 grams. Personally, I like a decent bit of bulk in my mouse. My chosen mouse at present, the Rival 700, tips the scales at 135 grams, so the Fortus feels light to me. However, I do realise that a lot of you prefer something lighting to sling about.
The extra weight of the Fortus will become more noticeable if you have it set at the lower DPI settings. Basically, this will have you putting in a little more effort to get the mouse to cover the distance at speed. This in turn could lower your precision and increase your reaction time. This is where raising the sensor’s DPI comes in, however.
I do like the slightly wide-bodied design. It’s quite reminiscent of my Corsair M65 mouse.
The buttons don’t feel as sure-footed as those on either of my current mice, but there’s also quite a difference in price. With that in mind, the Fortus never let me down.
It is a shame that the buttons are not assignable to other handy things. Perhaps macros are too much of an ask at this price point too.
Speedlink Fortus mouse review conclusion
The Fortus wireless gaming mouse is certainly a handy thing to have. Whether you want something a little bit more fancy to use with your media box, to use with your laptop or have as your main PC mouse, the Fortus has much to offer.
It is comfortable in use and the colour-coded DPI settings work well. On the subject of DPI, the sensor feels quite accurate and has been able to deal with a range of surfaces.
If you are a low-DPI first person shooter, you might have to note the weight of the Fortus, but I really had no issue with this.
True, some more definite button feedback would be great but then there has to be a limit to expectations at this price point.
Overall though, this is an impressive mouse. The Amazon reviews also seem to bear this out too.
s, and it’s a fair price too. The only users I wouldn’t recommend trying the Fortus are low-DPI shooter players, as the weight of the mouse precludes it from accurate use. For everyone else, give it a go – you may be as pleasantly surprised by this little-known brand as I was.
Speedlink Fortus price and availability
You can grab yourself a Speedlink Fortus wireless gaming mouse right now for £27.95 from Amazon.
For that price it’s worth getting one just to keep in your laptop bag!
