Asus ROG Harpe Ace Extreme Review

Introduction

The Asus ROG Harpe Ace Extreme ups the ante even from one of the best gaming mice we’ve tested in recent years.

This is largely because of its all-new predominantly carbon fibre frame that tips the scales at just 47g, as well as its AimPoint Pro sensor that comes with a maximum DPI of 42,000 DPI. 

On specs alone, that makes the Harpe Ace Extreme easily one of the most powerful gaming mice I’ve tested. At £250/$250 though, it’s one of the most expensive too. It costs more than some of our top contenders such as the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 and Asus’ own ROG Keris II Ace, which utilises the same sensor.

Design

• Incredibly lightweight frame
• Symmetrical and comfortable fit
• Limited button layout

With that carbon fibre frame, the Harpe Ace Extreme is easily one of the most enticing mice to look at I’ve had on my desk in a long time. It gives off quite the aggressive vibe, although reminds me a lot of a Caterham, being especially light and packing such a punch.

The 47g weight easily makes this one of the lightest mice available, being a full 12g less than the G Pro X Superlight 2 and its Dex variant. That’s quite the feat, and arguably down to that carbon fibre top frame. It’s more of a material you see in the construction of modern hypercars, let alone gaming mice.

It means the Harpe Ace Extreme has a pleasantly smooth finish, although is wonderfully comfortable in hand with the grippy nature of the frame. While feeling extremely light, it isn’t cheap thanks to the carbon fibre finish.

While the Harpe Ace Extreme has a comfortable, symmetrical finish, it has a very limited button array owing to its super light nature. There are the two main mouse buttons, a scroll wheel and two small and wonderfully tactile navigation buttons on the left side. The likes of the DPI switch and a pairing button have been relegated to the underside of the Harpe Ace Extreme, deemed to be unimportant enough for frequent use.

There isn’t any storage for the wireless receiver on the underside of the Harpe Ace Extreme, nor is there any room for extravagant RGB lighting beyond the scroll wheel. The mouse comes in some quite extravagant paper packaging though, with a box that unfolds in all directions, before being contained in a shaped neoprene bag for stowage. That’s a handy extra for the high asking price.

Performance

• Immensely powerful sensor
• 8000Hz polling rate is here
• Battery life is a little underwhelming

As well as offering a ridiculously low weight, the ROG Harpe Ace Extreme comes with an uprated sensor against the normal Harpe Ace. This new model comes with Asus’ ROG Aim Pro sensor that comes with 42,000 DPI’s worth of sensitivity, the same as is found in the more affordable Keris II Ace.

In addition to that, this new Asus offering features support for the zany heights of an 8000Hz polling rate with its Polling Rate booster accessory when used over its 2.4GHz wireless connection. This means it reports its inputs and position a lot more frequently than more ‘standard’ gaming mice, leading to an even more responsive gaming experience. The ROG Harpe Ace Extreme is therefore part of an exclusive club of mice that have this feature, which can make all the difference for more competitive players.

The heinously low weight, powerful sensor and that 8000Hz wireless polling rate make the Harpe Ace Extreme a seriously potent gaming mouse for FPS titles. In testing it in my trusty rounds of Counter-Strike 2, it felt wonderfully brisk and responsive with accurate tracking, movement and lighting-fast inputs. The sheer lightness of the Harpe Ace Extreme took some adjustment for me as I’m used to heavier mice, but it felt immensely powerful in my grasp.

Speed is also key for the Harpe Ace’s switches, as it comes with Asus’ optical ROG 100M switches. As their name suggests, they’re durable switches with a rated lifespan of 100 million actuations. Being optical also means they’re especially brisk in terms of input speed, working on the speed of light as opposed to traditional mechanisms. This means responsive inputs galore, and it makes the Harpe Ace Extreme wonderfully speedy in use. The only thing to note here is that the switches are quite loud, which has the potential to disturb those around you if you’re particularly trigger-happy.

Connectivity comes in three flavours, with the aforementioned 2.4GHz USB-A receiver, Bluetooth 5.1 and wired means over USB-C. The wireless receiver unlocks the full potential of this mouse with the Polling Rate Booster accessory, while Bluetooth is there for more convenient means and wired is for charging. Pairing is simple with the dedicated button on the Harpe Ace Extreme’s underside and the selector switch for easily toggling between each one. Intriguingly, using the Harpe Ace Extreme over wired means limits the polling rate to 1000Hz, and it only has the 8K option with the receiver.

The only chink in the Harpe Ace Extreme’s armour when it comes to its performance is its endurance. Asus rates it to last for 70 hours over the wireless receiver with no RGB lighting and with a 1000Hz polling rate. Turn the RGB lighting on, and results drop to closer to 55 hours. While this isn’t a bad result per se, a lot of the competition can last for upwards of 90 hours these days. 

Software and Lighting

• Decent scope of customisation
• Limited scope for RGB lighting

The Harpe Ace Extreme’s software support comes with two different apps, either Asus’ classic Armoury Crate or its lighter sibling, Armoury Crate Gear. The two offer the same suite of features, although the Gear variant goes without some of the extra Asus branded items, such as interactive wallpaper and such.

There is a solid array of features here, including ways of remapping buttons and configuring DPI, polling rate and angle snapping, as well as fiddling with the single RGB lighting zone, configuring the mouse to work on different surfaces, and updating the firmware of both the receiver and the Harpe Ace Extreme itself.

Even if this is quite a simplistic mouse in terms of looks, there’s a lot inside the software for you to fiddle with. Where Armoury Crate is let down is its annoying amount of pop-ups and additional advertising of sorts, which can detract from the overall slickness of the UI.

As for the RGB lighting, the Harpe Ace Extreme comes with a singular RGB lighting zone around the scroll wheel for some extra flair. It’s there if you want it, although I kept mine mostly off for the sake of improving longevity and the generally cleaner aesthetic of the mouse. For what it’s worth, the RGB lighting is reasonably bright, though.

Should you buy it?