Introduction

The Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini brings the powers of ultralight gaming mice in a package designed for those with dinkier palms.

As with the likes of the Razer Cobra Pro, Asus’ latest contender packs quite a punch in a smaller chassis, with the same 42,000 DPI sensor as the carbon fibre Harpe Ace Extreme alongside dual wireless connectivity and comfortable shape in a sub-50g chassis.

All of this power is going to run you £129.99/$129.99, making it slightly cheaper than the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 Dex and Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro. 

On the face of it, then, the Harpe Ace Mini looks to have all the makings of one of the best gaming mice we’ve tested. I’ve been testing it for the last few weeks to find out.

Design

• Smaller, but comfortable frame
• Solid build quality
• Mostly sensible button placement

As its name suggests, the Harpe Ace Mini comes with a smaller chassis that makes it more suitable for those with smaller to medium-sized hands – an area of the market that feels suitably under-delivered to.

It therefore feels a little narrower in hand than the standard and Extreme Harpe Ace models, but remains comfortable with a contoured plastic frame, complete with ribbing on either side for comfort. In addition, the sub-50g weight makes it one of the lightest mice I’ve used, helping it feel suitably nippy in games with my usual palm grip.

Despite that low weight, the plastics used here are nice and sturdy, and the Harpe Ace Mini certainly doesn’t feel cheap. It’s available in black or white, with my sample shipping in the latter, and looking rather fetching.

You get a total of seven buttons in mostly sensible positions, with two main buttons, a rubberised scroll wheel, and two grey side buttons that offset the white chassis nicely. The other two buttons – for DPI and pairing – are kept out of the way on the underside, along with storage for the receiver, and a selector switch for connectivity method.

The front of the Harpe Ace Mini is home to a USB-C port on the front for charging and wired operation, as opposed to the ailing Micro USB port that’s still found on some mice. Its packaging is free of plastic and is comprised mostly of cardboard, with the mouse itself coming in a small pouch, which is pleasant.

Performance

• Snappy, responsive feel
• Fast sensor and inputs
• Excellent battery life

Combined with its 49g weight, the fact that the Harpe Ace Mini is jam-packed with Asus’ latest tech, including its AimPoint Pro sensor with up to 42,000 DPI of sensitivity and its optical switches, easily makes it one of the most potent mice I’ve tested.

In use, it’s fast, with responsive and tactile clicks and ample sensitivity for easy wrist flicks when you need to turn around quickly to deal with an enemy. In my usual testing grounds of Counter Strike 2, the Harpe Ace Mini proved itself as one of the best mice I’ve used in a while.

The 1000Hz polling rate is fine for most people, although we are seeing higher polling rate choices enter the fray up and down the price ladder, such as the G Pro X Superlight 2 Dex and the Lemokey G1.

You can add this functionality to the Harpe Ace Mini, although it comes at an additional cost with its Polling Rate Booster accessory.

The move to optical switches is similar to other high-end choices in their attempt for outright speed – it removes the traditional mechanisms associated with more standard mechanical mouse switches in favour of ones that operate via the speed of light.

In practice, it can lead to even faster clicks when you need to be the one that gets a shot away first.

Wireless connectivity is handled either by the bundled 2.4GHz receiver or over Bluetooth for convenient and versatile operation. I had no troubles using the Harpe Ace Mini with either my main Windows gaming PC over the receiver, and with my MacBook Pro over Bluetooth – pairing was nice and simple.

As this mouse isn’t a high-polling rate monster, it does have the benefit of improving the Harpe Ace Mini’s endurance to no end. Asus rates it to last up to 139 hours with no RGB, and if it’s connected via Bluetooth. Use the receiver, and this’ll go down to 105 hours. Even with RGB on, its 79 hours of runtime is still fantastic against key rivals.

Software and Lighting

• Bright, single RGB zone
• Software has good customisation, but it looks clunky

In a move that’s perhaps a little off-the-wall for a super light gaming mouse, the Harpe Ace Mini has a smattering of RGB present. It’s one zone – the scroll wheel – but is nonetheless bright and offsets its white colourway nicely in the case of my sample.

Software duties are handled by ROG Armoury Crate, which has always felt a little clunky against offerings from the likes of Razer and SteelSeries. In spite of its layout and look, there is a decent array of features present, such as four-stage adjustable DPI, RGB lighting configuration, angle snapping, and even configuring the mouse to work on different surfaces.

Should you buy it?

FAQs