Many of us drive a car. We grab the keys and coffee, jump in the driver's seat and commute to work or the grocery store or school. The car serves a purpose for sure, but as long as we get from point A to B it really doesn’t matter how finely tuned the car is. Sure it needs to work but other than that we don’t give it much thought.
Then there are others who drive a car. For those people who driving isn’t a task but a passion; precision, speed and responsiveness all take on a new meaning. A car becomes more than a simple tool but rather a finely tuned extension of their driving ability. These are the Nascar Drivers, stunt performers, and Rally racers; where the performance of the car can be the difference between winning and losing.
Why the lengthy analogy about cars, coffee and racing? Context, my friend. Republic of Gamers, whose excellent Azoth keyboard I recently had the opportunity to review, has recently partnered with Aim Labs, a software company that prides itself on helping train millions of gamers to improve their FPS/TPS skills, to create the ASUS ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition Wireless Gaming Mouse. This partnership is an attempt to refine the FPS experience.
The Harpe Ace was created from the ground up to help professional Gamers improve their response time, accuracy and overall performance while offering a comfortable, easy-to-use experience. While I may not be a pro gamer, I’ve reviewed quite a few mice over the years and can appreciate the differences between a 2012 Ford Focus and a 1963 Corvette Stingray.
How well does the Harpe Ace really perform? Can this mouse really help improve the user experience? Grab that coffee, kick back and find out in our review of the ROG Hare Ace Aim Lab Edition Gaming Mouse.
Specifications
- Current Price: $149.99 USD (Amazon)
- Connectivity: USB 2.0 (TypeC to Type A), Bluetooth 5.1, RF 2.4GHz
- Sensor: ROG AimPoint
- Resolution(DPI): 36000DPI
- Max Speed: 650IPS
- Max Acceleration: 50G
- USB Report Rate: 1000 Hz
- RF 2.4G Report Rate: 1000 Hz
- L/R Switch Type: ROG 70M Mechanical Switch
- Button Count: 5
- Aura Sync: Yes
- Battery Life: 90 Hours (without Lighting), 79 Hours with default lighting(Breathing)
- Shape: Ambidextrous
- Supported Grip Styles: Palm, Claw, Fingertip
- Game Type: FPS, MOBA
- Dimensions: 127.5(L)x63.7(w)x39.6(H) mm
- Wight: 54g
A Simple Elegance
The Harpe Ace is, by design, a sleek, minimalistic mouse. This five-button, 54g mouse, at first glance, looks like any other standard five-button. However, looks can be deceiving and in the case of the Harpe Ace, each element has been specifically designed for and tested by professional gamers in collaboration with Aim Labs to create an exceptionally comfortable, stable and smooth experience for the gamer.
The exterior of the Ace is comprised of lightweight nylon plastic. This bio-based material helps trim down the weight and provides a durable outer shell that fits perfectly in my hand. One of the features of the design that ROG and Aim Labs set out to achieve is a mouse that supports various gamer grip styles. While I’m accustomed to a wider shell to rest my large mitt on, I actually find the Ace surprisingly comfortable to use, even though it is considerably narrower.
The sides of the Harpe Ace have a slight texture to them that adds to their sleek yet simple design. If you are hoping for some extra grip, the Ace also comes with some fun Mouse Grip Tape. While I’ve not really had a need for it in my experience, I do appreciate it being thrown in there as a little extra. As with most ROG mice, you’ll find a stamped logo on the back side of the mouse while a small engraved Aim Lab logo can be found nestled on the left side of the mouse. Two customizable side buttons can also be found here as well. The rubberized scroll wheel is RGB enabled and has a noticeably defined stepping click when rotated.
A small compartment located on the underside of the mouse plays host to the included 24.GHz wireless dongle. To keep things looking sleek and minimalist on the surface, the Ace also includes a small button, also located on the underside, designed for preset mouse settings. This allows for profile switching without taking up extra surface space on the mouse. Finally, 100% PTFE feet help produce the smoothest glide experience possible The whole design feels like a Nascar that has been stripped down to its core elements and built back up for a single purpose, to squeeze out every ounce of horsepower it can, or in our case speed and accuracy.
It’s What’s Under The Hood That Counts
While the look and the feel of the ROG Harpe Ace is sleek and, as mentioned, surprisingly comfortable to use, it's what’s under the hood that really makes the difference. In the case of the Ace, ROG and Aim Lab aren’t messing around. The Harpe Ace comes equipped with the ROG AimPoint optical sensor. This 36,000-dpi sensor is built for precision and boasts a less than 1% CPI (counts per inch) deviation. In layman's terms, the sensor is able to track at almost a perfect 1:1 ratio of actual movement to translated movement on-screen which translates to a more precise gaming experience.
Another important note on the AimPoint optical sensor is that it can handle up to 560IPS (inches per second) speeds. IPS is a measurement of how well the mouse can accurately keep up with high-speed movement. On a standard mouse sensor, it is quite common that the computer would lose some of the tracking information on quick movements and adjustments which translates to a loss in accuracy. The Ace accounts for this with a more sensitive sensor.
The Harpe Ace also comes equipped with ROG 70M mechanical switches for the Left and Right buttons. These satisfying click buttons are rated for 70 million clicks and give a great tactile response when pressed. Interestingly, to help create what I call ‘consistent clickiness’ between the Left and right buttons, ROG even went so far as to pair up switches that are within a 5-gram force range. This translates into a consistent click experience for both mouse buttons. While I honestly have no way of objectively measuring that ratio, I can say that they feel and respond consistently while in use.
Three modes of connection are also available for the ROG Harpe Ace, USB 2.0 (via Type-C to Type-A Cable) Bluetooth 5.1, and wireless 2.4GHz via USB type-A dongle. All three connections work exceptionally well and are easy to set up. In fact, while not officially supported, the Ace has no problem connecting to a Mac. A simple Bluetooth search ad the Harpe Ace running on my Mac in a matter of seconds. Switching between modes, likewise, is as easy as flipping the connection switch on the underside of the mouse.
The Harpe Ace also supports NVIDIA Reflex. Reflex is NVIDIA’s attempt to push responsiveness to the limit by measuring and optimizing device and system latency on the fly. This translates to quicker response time, better precision, and a more accurate experience with the mouse overall.
Another key feature is the mouse's integration with Aim Labs aim training software. I'll talk more about this in the next section, but with the release of the mouse, Aim Lab has added a series of aiming exercises specific to the mouse. These exercises are designed to help you dial in each of the mouse's settings. When you're done with each, the Aim Lab recommends a particular adjustment based on your performance with the goal of maximizing your aiming skills regardless of your current skill level.
In essence, ROG is doing everything it can to create the most competitive mouse for professional gamers possible and the hardware and software support for the device reflect that. Aim Labs also plays a role in this by leveraging its own Settings Optimizer. Since the Harpe Ace is built from the ground up with Aim Lab for collaboration the software works to help refine the mouse experience for the player by analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, and style of the gamer. In turn, it then suggests mouse settings to help refine your experience. While on the surface the Harpe Ace may look like a simple, albeit elegant, five-button mouse, all of these internal components and software support work together to push every ounce of performance possible.
Mouse To Mousepad
While all of the features do sound great on paper, the real question is whether the Harpe Ace really delivers on the promise. The short answer is, absolutely. In my testing, I found the Ace to be exceptionally responsive and accurate. The lightweight, sleek form factor lends itself well to the fast-paced nature of FPS titles and I found that I had a renewed vigor for the genre after spending time using the Harpe Ace. While I didn’t necessarily move to the top of the leaderboards in Halo Infinite or master Doom Eternal on ULtra Nightmare, There is a noticeable improvement in my response time and accuracy.
The Ace has a report rate of 1000 Hz (wireless and USB mode) which translates to a lightening fast response in the game. I found each click, no matter how quickly I mashed the buttons, was registered and executed with the same level of speed. While the lightweight frame isn’t something I would normally find myself using, in the case of the ROG Harpe Ace, it felt perfect for the FPS I was testing out. I did also run the Ace through a couple of MOBA tests and was again impressed at the accuracy and precision of the moment. Landing skill shots felt much easier and moving the mouse across the map felt smooth and effortless.
The Harpe Ace includes an onboard rechargeable battery via the USB Type-C to Type-A cable. It's rated for 90 hours with RGB off in wireless mode. While I’ve not had the opportunity to do a 90-hour battery test, I have been testing it for two weeks now and am currently sitting at 58% battery life remaining. It's safe to say that you’ll have no problem running the Harpe Ace wirelessly for those long gaming sessions.
ROG also included the Hone Ace Aim Lab Edition Mouse pad for me to try out. While I’m not doing a full write-up or review of the pad I will say that it is one of the nicest mousepads I’ve ever used. The smooth surface allowed the mouse to glide over it with ease. It also has a protective nano-coating that I accidentally tested with a poorly timed mouse-to-coffee mug maneuver. Thankfully the coffee spill wiped right off and I was back in the action in no time.
Shifting gears just a bit I want to take a few minutes to unpack the software support for the Harpe Ace. While you'll adjust all of your basic parameters within Armoury Crate, which I'll get to next, ASUS and Aim Lab have also created a series of aim assessments that, when completed, will recommend the best settings for your skill level and play style. These aiming exercises take about 30 minutes to complete and do a good job of helping you dial in your mouse. While pros will likely already have their preferred settings, I found that these were a good way to "tighten up" mouse control and are a good add-on for users who may not otherwise take the time to customize each of its different settings.
While NVIDIA Reflex and Aim Lab both work great and added some nice quality-of-life adjustments to the gaming experience, Armoury Crate has some issues. While it does have a solid layout and design, the actual software is a bit unreliable. I ran into some issues with services needed for the software randomly quitting and the Crate software struggling to find connected devices. While a simple restart of the software or computer always resolves the issue, it's a frustrating process for otherwise decent working software.
As for making adjustments to the performance, buttons, lighting, calibration, and power, Armoury Crate is great, when it's working. Thankfully it doesn’t impact actual gameplay but is a minor annoyance from an otherwise amazing product. Overall the Crate software needs a little more time with quality control.
Final Thoughts
The ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition Wireless Gaming Mouse is an exceptional mouse to use. While I have reviewed a lot of premium mice over the years, the Harpe Ace is the one that really feels a cut above the rest. While it could be considered a bit of a niche mouse for ‘pro gamers’ I can’t help but appreciate the quality and pristine function that the Ace offers to even an old gamer like me. While the software could use some updating and bug fixing, the Harpe Ace itself is an excellent mouse that clocks in at a premium price point. While this might not be the mouse for every gamer, it definitely proves it's out to make a point. Priced at $149.99 USD, the Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition Gaming Mouse is a high-calibre device that aims to dominate the pro market.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes. Products purchased through our links may result in a small commission for the site. Authors are not compensated by affiliate links or clicks in any way.
