MSI Clutch GM41 Lightweight Wireless mouse review: Lightweight and wireless v. weighted and wired

MSI is known for its significant focus on PC gaming. The company creates everything from components to peripherals for the most serious of gamers. The company has sent their updated Wireless MSI Clutch GM41 Lightweight mouse that offers superfast charging, extended use on a single charge, and fantastic performance. For someone that has used a gaming mouse on the opposite side of the gaming spectrum — Logitech G502 Hero wired gaming mouse – was a lighter, untethered mouse better for gaming and everyday use? Or does a heavier mouse win out in the end?

MSI's Clutch GM41 Lightweight Wireless mouse offers two options for use. With the micro USB cable, you can attach the cable directly to the mouse or connect the line to the charging station to quickly charge the mouse for up to 80 hours of use.

The lightweight mouse, weighing 70 grams, is small enough not to take up a lot of desk space and is fantastic for travel. The mouse comes with a tiny USB dongle to connect to the computer and, as I am finding with MSI's selection of gaming products, installs the MSI Center that installs the Mystic Light RGB gaming software and offers a selection of QoL improvements to your gaming PCs (also known as bloatware).

The mouse also has the company's famous dragon logo, which shines with brilliant colors and different effects (steady, breath, rainbow, customized options, or reactive to the game you are playing at the time).

The feel of the mouse is smooth with the lack of pointy buttons that the Logitech G502 Hero has, and its simple form factor allows for fewer accidental taps than other mice with several buttons, such as the Logitech mouse that I mentioned.

The bottom of the mouse offers an on/off button, a quick DPI changing button, and magnetic sections to comfortably and easily attach to the charging dock.

In gaming, when playing games like Call of Duty: Warzone, Diablo Immortal, SMITE, and Fortnite, mouse moves were simple and easy, with a scroll wheel that gives enough tension that it is impossible to slide up and down uncontrollably. The Logitech mouse has two options to counter that, which I approve of more, which I will explain further in the review. The mouse moved quickly as the weight was incredibly light and allowed for pinpoint movement and accuracy in gaming.

The charging time is phenomenal, only taking several minutes to charge fully, and would last for almost four days on a single charge (this is while using in games and applications for 14 hours a day). The light on the logo is great for looks but is unnecessary as the logo gets covered by your hand. Even the games that the RGB colors are reactive to will never be seen as you will be focused on the screen and not moving your hand to watch the light show.

The left and right mouse buttons are elongated compared to the Logitech Hero G502 mouse. The thumb buttons allow for either further macro customization or can find use in Internet browsing.

The only cons I have about the mouse are the lack of additional buttons, a more significant weight difference that I find manageable for gaming and productivity, and the absurd amount of bloatware that MSI feels gamers and users need to improve their gaming experience. I primarily use the Logitech G502 wired mouse with its tethered cable (which has a more significant length than other gaming mice on the market). The weight is adjustable and offers several options as the MSI GM41 wireless mouse, such as RGB control, DPI settings, and more. However, Logitech only provides a single suite for their products and allows every button to be macro controlled or disabled in and out of gaming. The MSI Center has several options of various programs that you can install, but most are unnecessary. Standard users would see the number of applications and would possibly install all of them. In my previous experience with the MSI software, I experienced conflicts with specific apps and my PC or software, so I did not feel that much of it was necessary for use.

Also, placing the DPI quick switch button underneath the mouse is excellent, but I would prefer to have it on top of the mouse so it could quickly be adjusted, limiting any extra movement. From the smooth glide of its scroll wheel to its vast and accommodating face area, this mouse is just as comfortable for everyday tasks like browsing the web as it is for gaming.

I particularly appreciate the Clutch GM41's hand feel. Clicks consistently feel crisp thanks to each face button's durable and well-made OMRON switches (rated for 60 Million clicks). The wide symmetrical surface buttons easily accommodate my hand, and the diamond-shaped rubberized grips on both sides of this right-handed mouse were exceptionally comfortable and grippy.

The Clutch GM41 Lightweight Wireless is capable of just about any customization you see fit. Its five surface buttons and good pair of simple side buttons are customizable via the MSI Dragon Center app—adding macros, remapping primary functions, and accessible media control. The mouse's six friction-free skates support slow, smooth, and quick, sharp movements, resulting in reliably accurate tracking in every game I tested.

At first, I felt that the weight difference between the Logitech G502 Hero and the MSI Clutch Lightweight wireless mouse would negatively affect gameplay and general use. Still, it did offer more precision movement than the Logitech wired mouse. The wireless connectivity was iffy at times as I felt the connection would break and would prefer to have a dedicated wired option instead of a semi-laggy wireless response. I keep the mouse wired most of the time and have never had to worry about cables getting in the way.

The MSI Clutch GM41 Lightweight wireless gaming mouse retails for $74.99 on MSI's website and $49.99 on Amazon when the original pricing is $94.99. I feel the pricing on either the company's website or on another retailer, such as Amazon, is more affordable and fair pricing for what you are receiving.

The MSI Clutch GM41 Lightweight Wireless Gaming Mouse is a fantastic lightweight gaming mouse with not a lot of frills on the mouse itself. The software adds customization, but the design loses the RGB logo. Wireless connectivity issues aside, the lower price currently offered at the time of writing is a welcome offering to ensure a definite purchase.

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