Setup, Design & Observations
Wired or wirelessly, the Spatha seems to function fine without drivers, though for the full benefits including latest firmware updates, it is recommended that you install the ASUS Armoury software.
In the hand, the smooth, cool material of the outer shell feels fantastic, though the first thing that anyone will notice with the Spatha, is that it is 1. HUGE, and 2. Heavy. Weighing 175g without cable and comfortably forcing your hand into a palm grip due to sheer size, this one is certainly for people that prefer large, heavy mice. Even when trying my natural claw grip, I was forced into submission by the size of it and forced into a palm grip (despite it's claims to be ergonomic for palm/claw grip types. This wasn't an issue however due to is having a comfortable, good quality feel.
The mouse clicks felt great as did the mouse wheel, though I found that the forward/backward buttons on the top/left side to be very stiff and difficult to use. This may be intentional to prevent accidental actuation, though they did feel too stiff to an extent that I thought I was going to break them by pushing them too hard.
The side buttons when actuated felt good too, though the layout felt somewhat confusing. The upper most two buttons felt too high, the bottom most button was difficult to press as my thumb had to fight against the rubber grip, while the most central button got lost between the front top/and front bottom buttons that protruded out farther, thus requiring a fair amount of attention to press without accidentally hitting a different key. As far as hand shapes go, I have rather stubby thumbs. Yet I always seem to find that on many mouse designs, the side buttons are always too high, or too far back, and in the case with the Spatha, my natural thumb position was resting at the front tip of the side buttons and I found it difficult to distinguish between the ridge of the side buttons, or the hard ridge surrounding the side buttons. This made it difficult to determine which buttons I felt most comfortable using, with the lower front, and central rear being the easiest for me to hit. The two upper most buttons were fairly easy to use also, but I personally found them a little too high. This is somewhat disappointing as ASUS clearly but a lot of design consideration into the side buttons, but the uneven layout seems to suffer from a touch too much over design, rather than opting for a more outright functional/comfortable array of side buttons.
The charging dock was actually interesting to use as the magnet is actually on the mouse and it does a great job of holding it firmly to the dock without slipping or falling.
The included carry case is a little tight on space, and if you wish to use it while travelling to a LAN, it would be best to leave the dock at home as you will not be able to fit the mouse and the dock inside together. The fit for the mouse in the foam cut out seemed rather tight and may require a squeeze, though it will work for its intended function.
Performance
The responsiveness of the mouse was difficult to determine between 1000/2000hz after switching between wireless and wired modes. Though as great as it sounds on paper, the 2000hz polling rate didn't 'feel' as responsive as the sensor we observed in the Logitech G900. The Spatha did a great job of providing precise tracking across various surface types including stable performance on coloured card, cardboard and bare, glossy veneered desktop. It did however, feel a little less reliable on white paper with an increase in jittery behaviour. This shows that the ADNS-9800 sensor will generally provide great performance and reliability, though it would be best to make sure that you use it with an optimal gaming surface.
In DOTA2, I felt that the sheer size combined with awkward side buttons really diminished my confidence in game. The click spamming and movements became tiresome while I was constantly having to reassure myself of which button was assigned with what. This resulting in various tragic hiccups. So it would seem that the unorthodox side button layout may take a fair bit of getting used to.
