Unrolling the MM700 will be no easy task if your desk is on the narrower side. It’s also dark and almost completely unpatterned, with only some discrete CORSAIR branding to identify it on the bottom-right. That in itself might be enough of a selling-point to those who appreciate a cleaner canvas upon which to bestow their RGB largess.
The MM700’s mousing surface is a dense fabric weave that’s pitch black. Brand new it will pick up some light, but should dull a little with wear. The surface is relatively fast/low friction for a fabric top, but slower than hard surface pads in our experience. It will also readily pick up dust and particulates so keeping it clean will be a must.
The mat is backed by 4mm thick rubber, giving it a little bit of cushioning while also holding it tight to the desk.
To the uninitiated the MM700 RGB looks like a standard XL mousemat with white edging reinforcement, but there’s more to it than that. The key is the module at the top-right, which acts as both lighting controller/emitter and USB 2.0 hub.
Said module has a USB-C input and two USB-A outputs, and the bundle includes a 1.8m USB-A to -C cable for connecting PC to pad (and taking the guess-work out of installation). Use of Type-C rather than Type-B also keeps the module relatively short.
Here’s where the smart bit comes in. Rather than utilising dozens of LEDs to edge the mat, CORSAIR have opted for plastic lighting conduit illuminated by an LED emitter at either end. Not only does this keep costs down, it also makes the mat much more durable in the long run. It also means that two of the three lighting zones are not completely independent, but more on that later.
An unintended side-effect of the use of plastic conduit and storing the mat rolled is that it takes some time for it to settle flat on the desk. The conduit is relatively rigid compared to the mat and so it might lift off the surface of the desk at the edges. It’s possible to help the process by gently rolling the mat in the opposite direction but best practice is generally to let it do its thing over time.
Overall we’re left with a very positive first impression of the MM700 RGB. It certainly feels like a high quality mousing surface and there are no major downsides immediately apparent.
