The HyperX Pulsefire Core is not the best gaming mouse I've ever tested, but it is a good contender for the title of best inexpensive gaming mouse. Not only does the Pulsefire Core work great in-game, but it also offers plenty of customization options, with smart switching between dot-per-inch (DPI) sensitivity levels.

The Pulsefire Core's design has one serious flaw and its software has a few weaknesses, but this mouse does almost everything else. If you want a simple, straightforward gaming mouse, don't spend more than $30 for the Pulsefire Core Read the HyperX Pulsefire Core review.

With its ergonomic design and RGB logo, the HyperX Pulsefire Core should look familiar to anyone who has seen a gaming mouse before. It comes in plain black or a stylish pink casing, but either way, it's more stylish than your average office mouse, with sharper angles and more pronounced curves.

This mouse has many buttons, all of which are easy to reach. There is a left button, a right button, a clickable scroll wheel, two DPI adjustment buttons, and two thumb buttons. They all have a solid clicking feel and accurately parse the commands programmed in the HyperX nGenuity software.

The one drawback here is perhaps the biggest criticism I can make of the Pulsefire Core. While the left side of the mouse feels good with the textured thumb grip, the right side of the mouse simply feels wrong.

Instead of curving inward to follow the ring and pinky fingers, it curves inward, leaving the two outermost fingers nowhere to rest. This is a nagging and persistent problem that makes the mouse far less comfortable than it should be.

The HyperX Pulsefire Core doesn't have too many bells and whistles, not surprisingly for a $30 mouse. You won't find the wireless connectivity, adjustable weights, interchangeable side panels, and other features you'd expect from a high-end peripheral. However, the device is quite customizable through the capable HyperX nGenuity software.

We have written about nGenuity several times in the past. Sometimes it worked correctly, sometimes it malfunctioned, but in any case, it was a bare-bones experience compared to something like the Razer Synapse or Logitech G Hub.

With a mouse as simple as the Pulsefire Core, "bare bones" is not necessarily a bad thing. The buttons can be reprogrammed, profiles can be set for individual games, and RGB lighting can be adjusted. However, the logo does serve the useful function of changing colors in response to the current DPI level. This is a useful feature that many high-end mice shy away from.

Still, nGenuity is not a perfect program. Setting up multiple profiles is a bit cumbersome, as is removing superfluous DPI levels. (As soon as you click on a number, the DPI is set to that level, making it difficult to go back and right-click to remove it.) The stand-alone executable from the HyperX website is not always the latest version, so if possible, download it from the Microsoft Store Microsoft Store if possible.

One of the things the HyperX Pulsefire excels at is in-game performance; we tested this mouse in Age of Empires IV, Doom Eternal, Cyberpunk 2077, and Final Fantasy XIV, Overall, consistent results were obtained. It did not favor any particular genre, and it parsed commands quickly and accurately, whether ordering villagers to build a castle or synchronizing a pistol with a cybernetic implant.

It is worth pointing out that the versatility of the pulse fire core may be a disadvantage for those who prefer a specific genre. They are not as light as esports mice, have fewer buttons than massively multiplayer online (MMO) mice, and lack the "sniper" button found on FPS mice. However, to get a mouse specifically designed for this genre, one would realistically have to spend $30 or more.

The HyperX Pulsefire Core is one of the least expensive gaming mice on the market, at least from a major manufacturer. Despite its low price, there is one major drawback to this device: the price. This is not a negligible drawback, but it is not a deal-breaker, especially considering the mouse's performance in games. For everyday PC gaming, we can recommend the Pulsefire Core.

In terms of competitive products, the Pulsefire Core is not significantly better than the SteelSeries Rival 3, which also costs $30. In fact, the Rival 3 is superior in some ways that the Core is not, especially when it comes to writing and software. The good news is that you can't go wrong with either.