Cooler Master MasterMouse MM520 and MM530 Review
How Did It Perform?
To fully appreciate the Cooler Master MM520 and MM530, we have to look at its history first. Back in 2011, Cooler Master introduced their CM Storm Spawn mouse. This introduced a very unique body shape that was misunderstood during its time. At that point, the only wide-bodied mice available were trackballs and the CM Storm Spawn’s body shape is much rounder than most people are used to. While the shape design had its detractors, those who appreciated it were very much thankful that such a mouse shape existed. I am one of those and I in fact, still use my CM Storm Spawn to this day.
The MM530 on the other hand owes its design history to something very iconic: The Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. Cooler Master used a similar body design with their CM Storm Mizar and CM Storm Alcor gaming mice as well. Those who did not appreciate the CM Storm Spawn body shape would appreciate the classic-inspired design of the MM530.
Unlike the alternate sensor approach of the Mizar and Alcor, Cooler Master uses unified hardware inside both the MM520 and MM530. They both use the same PixArt PMW3360 optical sensor which is the most popular (for a good reason) high-end optical gaming sensor right now. It can reach that high-DPI which marketers love but it also tracks extremely well across different levels. There are no jitters or acceleration (both can be enabled via software if needed). In terms of lift off-distance the MM520/MM530 stops tracking immediately after only 1CD height. It is also adjustable via sensor calibration or with a toggle in the software.
Each also have a 32-bit ARM Cortex M0 MCU with 512 KB of onboard memory so implementing changes happen instantly. Plus, users can store up to five profiles on each. The software itself could use some bug fixes (read the previous page for more details), but otherwise I’m glad to see Cooler Master moving towards a unified software layout rather than having separate ones back in the CM Storm days.
Cooler Master really knocked this one out of the park and should make many gamers happy. I reviewed the Mizar before which is pretty much the MM530 with a laser sensor and that earned a Must Have award. Now the MM530 and the MM520 both earn my Editor’s Choice approval.
