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NZXT launched its first-ever gaming mouse earlier this year. The Lift was launched alongside the Function keyboard. The mouse and keyboard are supposed to be additions to the NZXT ecosystem, a lineup of products filled with high-quality and minimalist offerings.
Acro was kind enough to send the NZXT Lift to us for review. Thus, in this article, we will test the mouse and determine whether it is a good addition to your setup.
Contents
Pre-delivery
The Lift is NZXT's first gaming mouse. The mouse packs a minimalist design. With an affordable $50 price tag, this mouse has some serious competition. The major competitor to this mouse is the Glorious Model O Minus.
However, the Lift looks promising. It packs the flagship Pixart PMW3389 sensor. The company also allows ample customization options to ensure the mouse fits the overall aesthetic of the users' PC setup.
To start things, the NZXT Lift is available in two variants, black and white. Add to that, users can customize the accent color of the mouse. There are six accent colors available, cyan, purple, red, blue, yellow, and white.
The NZXT Lift is based on a lightweight design. According to the company, the mouse weighs 67g. Other specs published by the company are listed in the table below.
Product name | NZXT Lift ambidextrous gaming mouse |
Sensor | Pixart PMW3389 optical sensor |
DPI | 100 - 16,000 (fully customizable) |
Switches used | Omron mechanical switches |
# of rated keypresses | 20 million+ |
Polling rate | 500 Hz, 1000 Hz |
Cable length | 2m |
Cable quality | Paracord sheath |
Dimensions | 126.8 mm x 67.23 mm x 38.35 mm |
Weight | 67g |
Price | $49.99 |
The NZXT Lift seems to be a solid mouse pre-delivery.
Unboxing experience
The packaging of the Lift is super minimalist. NZXT is consistent with the white and purple layout in every product they make. The box shows a top-down view of the mouse with a features list and branding.
Inside this box, users find another cardboard box that contains the mouse and some paperwork inside.
NZXT did not include any unnecessary frills with the unboxing experience. It is the standard layout with just the things users would require. I am awarding the Lift a 7.5/10 in the unboxing aspect.
Shape
The NZXT Lift is an ambidextrous mouse. Thus, lefties will not have any problem trying to get adjusted to it. However, the thumb buttons of this mouse are only present on the left side. This might cause some problems with left-hand users.
The structure of the Lift ensures that users will have no problems gripping the Lift. This mouse is suitable for lag, claw, fingertip, and palm grip. Also, the mouse is a bit larger than any gaming mouse. This can be an issue for users with smaller palm sizes.
Surface and build quality
Being based on a minimalist design, the Lift has a matte finish. This makes the mouse look clean and elegant.
The company sells a black and a white variant of this mouse, as mentioned earlier. Acro sent the white variant of the Lift over for review. And, like any other white product, it did pick some dirt out of nowhere.
The surface of the Lift is not much of a fingerprint magnet. However, I am not sure whether the matte finish will last throughout the lifetime of this mouse. In my three weeks of testing, the matte finish had worn off and replaced by a glossy texture at places.
The Lift has been built well. The mouse has no flexing issues. It feels sturdy in hand. Despite being built out of plastic, it delivers a premium experience.
The mouse weighed 69g in our testing, which is 2 grams more than the advertised weight.
The USB connector and cable are high-quality as well. NZXT uses a paracord sheath cable. Although the material is good. the cable gets tangled.
Overall, the surface and build quality are quite well built. Considering the few complaints I have, this mouse deserves a 7/10.
Buttons
The NZXT Lift might have some of the best buttons I have ever used. The clicks feel very satisfying. Once you get your hands on this mouse, you will click it because you want to, not because you have to.
The mouse has a total of six buttons. The layout is pretty simple. There is a left and right click button, a scroll wheel, a DPI button, and two thumb buttons. Despite being marketed as "ambidextrous", the Lift has thumb buttons on its left side only. This might be a problem for left-hand users.
The scroll wheel is high-quality too. But, it is not as well built as the other buttons on the mouse. It feels a bit flimsy.
But, the Lift might have some of the most responsive mouse buttons in its range. I am giving this aspect a 9/10.
Mouse Feet
The Lift has three feet. The first of them is a big chunk towards the base of the mouse. The second one is an ellipse around the sensor. The third foot is towards the top.
The mouse feet are high-quality and they do a good job of holding the mouse together. They are not meant to be taken apart. This allows for a better grip but is underwhelming for us geeks.
Overall, I like the mouse feet. It gets a solid 8/10.
Sensor
NZXT has opted for the high-end PMW3389 sensor from Pixart. This sensor is one of the best budget options for gaming. Also, NZXT has paired an unaltered version of the PMW3389 with this device.
The PMW3389 sensor goes from 100 to 16,000 DPI. The DPI is fully customizable. The sensor also comes with a programmable LOD function and customizable polling rates.
The tracking is quite good. The sensor in the mouse is very responsive. I did not run into any pixel skipping or acceleration issues with the Lift. Overall, the PMW3389 is a great sensor for mice priced at around $50. I am giving this an 8.5/10.
Performance
We thoroughly tested the mouse to verify its reliability. The results are pretty impressive.
LOD Test
In the LOD test, we verify the maximum lift-off distance (abbreviated as LOD) of the sensor, i.e. the maximum height up to which the sensor tracks movements.
The Lift has configurable LOD. Users can choose between a distance of 2mm and 3mm.
When set to 2mm, the mouse stopped tracking at the 2 DVD mark. Each DVD is around 1.2mm high. Thus, the LOD lay between the 1 and 2 DVD mark (1.2-2.4 mm).
When set to 3mm, the mouse stopped tracking at the 3 DVD mark. Thus, the LOD lies between the 2 and 3 DVD mark (2.4-3.6 mm).
Jitter Test
In the jitter test, we measure the noise created by movements that never happened.
The Lift shows some interesting results. At low DPIs, like 800 and 1,600, we see negligible jitter. However, at high DPIs like 10,000 and 16,000, the jitter is notably high.
Most users will never use high DPIs northwards of 5,000 daily. Thus, the jitter will not cause problems.
CPI Divergence Test
The CPI divergence test measures the deviation in the counts per inch when a particular setting is chosen from the software.
The Lift showcased pretty accurate results in this test. For every set CPI, we get some deviation. But, the results are consistently below 1%, which is within the margin of human error.
Perfect Control Speed Test
Note: Zoom into the above graphs for a better understanding of the results.
The perfect control speed test measures the maximum speed at which the mouse tracks movements.
The Pixart PMW3389 advertises a maximum tracking speed of 400 inches per second. However, those speeds cannot be achieved by a human.
In our testing, the mouse achieved a maximum of 4.8 m/s and it did not fail to track movements at the speed. High speeds of up to 5m/s are quite difficult to attain during normal gaming uses. Thus, esports gamers will not have tracking issues with the Lift.
Speed Related Accuracy Variance Test
The speed-related accuracy variance test measures the accuracy of the mouse at different velocities. For this test, I did a fast swipe with the mouse and then slowly brought it back to its original position.
The Lift produces a rock-stable graph. Although there are slight deviations in it, they are within the margin of human error.
Polling Rate Test
The polling rate test measures the reporting frequency of the sensor. For this test, I rapidly flicked the mouse to and fro for a horizontal distance of 600mm approximately.
The polling rate of the sensor can be customized between 500 Hz and 1000 Hz. In both of these frequencies, the results are all over the graph.
Although the NZXT Lift is not a perfect mouse in terms of benchmark results, it delivers accurate performance in several tests. Thus, I am awarding it a 9/10.
Software
The NZXT Lift packs the extremely polished NZXT CAM software. The UI of this software is clean and very minimalist.
Customization options are well baked into the CAM software. Users can set the DPI in four stages. The settings are stored on the mouse's memory. So, users do not have to fire the software up to revert to their settings.
DPI can be set between 100 and 16,000. It can be customized in steps of 100 each. Users can also customize the LOD and polling rate via the CAM software.
The Lift software also allows users to remap buttons and add macros. However, the left and right clicks cannot be mapped.
The lighting customization is adequate. Users can alter the brightness of the LEDs. In terms of lighting, users can choose between a base and a reactive or both. But, the number of presets can feel limiting to a few users.
However, the color customization options are plentiful. Users can choose between a custom color picker, enter the hex code of the particular color, or even choose between RGB values.
Overall. NZXT CAM is polished software. But, it is extremely CPU intensive. Considering the few complaints I have with it, I am giving the software an 8/20.
Lighting
The lighting of the NZXT Lift is wasted potential. This mouse has no RGB on the ventral side. To maintain a minimalist look, all LEDs have been moved to the dorsal side. Although there is a chunk of LEDs on either side of the mouse, they are barely visible.
The LEDs on the Lift can warm the surface of the mouse up considerably. In my testing, the mouse surface got considerably warm after keeping the LEDs turned on at maximum brightness for 2 hours straight.
The lighting of the mouse needed some more work. I am giving this a 7/10.
Value
The NZXT Lift costs $50 in the USA. In India, the device faces a major stock issue. Potential customers will hardly find it in stock.
At $50, the Lift has some serious competition to stand up against. Although NZXT did not design to destroy the competition, the mouse does stand up pretty well against the Glorious Model O Minus. For users who want to get into the NZXT ecosystem, the Lift is a worthy option.
I am giving the mouse a 7/10 in the value aspect.
Conclusion
Pros | Cons |
+ Minimalist design language | - NZXT CAM software is CPU intensive |
+ High-quality Pixart PMW3389 sensor | - LEDs on the surface can warm the surface up |
+ Ambidextrous layout | |
The NZXT Lift is a great competitor for the price. It looks minimalist, has awesome performance, and feels sturdy on hand.
The mouse scored a 7.95/10 on average. Following our standard reviewing methodology, this mouse gets the Cyber Tech Tok Gold award.
For users looking for a minimalist mouse with great performance at $50, the NZXT Lift is a solid option.
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