Roccat claims its 14-button wireless Leadr mouse can hang with USB mice

One way to spark a debate is to bring up the topic of wired versus wireless mice. Some will tell you that wired mice perform better no matter what anyone says, while others claim that the best wireless mice are every bit as good as their wired brethren. Peripheral maker Roccat falls into the latter camp with its new Leadr mouse, though there's no need to bicker.

The Leadr is a switch hitter—it can step to the plate without a cord supposedly offer a lag-free experience with "virtually zero latency," or it can be plugged in and used as a wired rodent.

If going wireless, Roccat says you can game for up to 20 hours on a single charge. AFter that it needs to be docked and charged or plugged in to keep the good times rolling.

Connectivity aside, the Leadr features a 12,000 dpi Owl-Eye optical sensor (customized version of the PixArt 3360, according to TechReport) and 1,000Hz polling rate. It also has 14 programmable button, including a top fin, plus a 2D "Titan" scroll wheel. Among the arsenal of buttons is a single-axis analog thumb paddle.

Requisite RGB lighting is part of the package, as is Roccat's Easy-Shift[+] functionality that allows users to program multiple button commands.

While first debuted at CES earlier this year, Roccat is finally taking preorders for the Leader. It's a bit pricey at $140, with shipping scheduled for May 31.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).