Software

This section is largely copied over from the Ironclaw RGB Wireless review, since the same version of software was used for both reviews, and it works largely the same for both mice. The text has been amended to reflect differences where relevant, and the screenshots here were captured while using the Glaive RGB Pro.

The current iteration of iCUE is very powerful for peripheral and lighting customisation and is basically the central software hub for Corsair’s massive product portfolio. We’ll limit our discussion to the mouse, but there’s plenty more you can do if you have more compatible Corsair gear.

The iCUE navigation relies on collapsible menus on the left. First up is Profiles, which selects the current profile you’re using and customising and lets you add/edit them with ease, including the ability to assign profiles to certain apps or games. Changes to profiles occur in real-time, so you can easily test things out. The software also cleverly limits what you can do if you’re editing a hardware profile, so it won’t let you do anything that can’t be saved directly onboard like more complex lighting effects. Once you’re happy with how your hardware profile is, you then need to manually program it with a few clicks. This will ensure custom commands and lighting effects carry over to PCs that don’t have iCUE installed – I verified this as working with a bunch of different lighting settings, macros, and DPI levels.

The Actions menu is where custom commands are chosen and assigned for the current profile. The layout and options make everything self-explanatory, and you can import and export macros using the comprehensive editor. You can also put Actions into your global library so they can be easily accessed by other Corsair peripherals.

The Lighting Effects menu makes quick work of layering different effects, and while it’s hard for me to assess iCUE with fresh eyes these days, I do feel it is one of the most intuitive parts of the software. You can even assign custom gradient effects with specific, sub-second timings; Corsair’s early start in the RGB madness is paying off.

The DPI menu grants you control of three DPI levels per profile plus an additional sniper one, for which you’ll need to assign a sniper command to one of the buttons in the Actions menu. I appreciate that you can even tweak the colour of the LED indicator zone.

There’s also a Performance menu with some basic options I suspect most will leave at default, and a surface calibration tool which I didn’t bother using on account of not finding any real issues with the mouse’s sensor.

Conclusion

The Glaive RGB Pro is a solid mouse both literally and in terms of its feature set and performance. The interchangeable sides are perhaps a bit gimmicky and unnecessary, but the choice brings with it no downsides. The sensor is top notch, and the iCUE software is excellent at getting things customised to your liking.

My only real complaint is the price. At £70, it’s the same launch price as the Ironclaw RGB Wireless. Yes, the sensors are the same and both use Omron switches, but the former also has both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity options, and three extra buttons as well as two more onboard profiles. The excellent value of the Ironclaw RGB Wireless thus counts against this mouse (and many others), but pricing from Corsair’s competitors for similar mice is more in-line, so its recommendation stands.