This is latest model from ROCCAT company. Germans decided to show everyone how to make good gaming mouse, although Kova is not top model of the company but it has all prerequisites to be very successful. The symmetrical design is similar to racing car and optical sensor with high resolution are sufficient for us to give this mouse high ratings and warm recommendations.
ROCCAT is a Germany based company which become popular and well known for its peripherals designed especially for gamers, and we have already tested many models from ROCCAT. We conclude that ROCCAT is very serious in their task to conquer gaming market. After Kone model, they released Kova, which is simple and cheaper mouse, but still very interesting because of its design and function. Although this is definitely not a top model, this mouse can compete with many better known and more expensive models. On the other hand, price of 60 ? is not small, but it there a lot of factors that makes price worth it. ROCCAT definitely improve a lot of new things on the market of gaming peripherals, and this mouse is a good indicator of what can be expected in the future.
Roccat Kova key features
Attractive racing car design
Very high quality materials
Fits left and right handed users
No drivers installation
Backlights
Excellent performance
Sensor: Pro-Optic Sensor Gaming
Resolution: 3200 DPI, real-time adjusting of resolution
Interface: USB
Keys: 7 + scroll wheel
Features: 20G acceleration, speed of 40 inch/s
Additional: Lighting
Dimensions: 12 x 6.5cm
Weight: 90 grams
ROCCAT Kova
Mouse has relatively small dimensions and it’s very light, only 90 grams, which fits perfectly for someone, but not for those who get used to heavier models and it would not be so easy for them to adapt. Design is completely symmetrical ( if you neglect ROCCAT logo engraved on the right), manufacturer calls it V-Shape, and it fits great in the hand, regardless of whether for left-handed or right-handed users. We test it and it really feels great in the hand, and despite sharper lines (which definitely looks like Lamborghini) fits into one of most comfortable designs. Good grip is provided and also because of rubberized area on the left and right. Plastic used for a mouse was made of matted materials, and it works very well, what is perhaps most important feature of any gaming model. Since it is very light, even if it falls on the floor there will be no danger of damaging. Otherwise, USB cable (connector itself is also designed to match with mouse) is 2 meters long, and it’s plain plastic cable (it would be better if cable was braided).
When you look closely, there is a backlight on the front (at the very edge) similar to headlights and rear tail lights, and it was made in different colors which except visual effect has function to indicate an active DPI sensitivity. To our surprise, manufacturer decided not to use optical laser sensor, but high-resolution 3200 DPI instead. There are two functions that can be changed, color brightness and DPI resolution. Since there are no drivers and software, this is done by pressing corresponding keys. There are two regular keys on the upper side and two keys on each side. This essentially works quite well, except that requires some adaptation and this will initially not be so easy. Sensitivity can be set to 400, 800, 1600, and 3200 DPI, while available colors are green, blue, red and purple. Finally, we should mention that scroll wheel is rubberized, and almost double wider than usual and completely smooth, and we didn’t like this.
Summary
How does it work in practice? Mouse runs very quickly and there are no more questions asked about why they did not used a laser sensor, a 3200 DPI should be enough for everyone. Design is very interesting and we believe that it will be most appealing for left-handed players because they will be able to use it completely normal. Performance are excellent and there is really no room for any objections, and only thing that could be better is the DPI sensitivity changing option (and color lights), which initially seems too complicated. Price could be a bit lower, but as gamers are generally not cheap, this probably would not be huge issue.
