Like the B945 keyboard, there’s a lot to love about the SP80 gaming mouse. Its design is pretty simple; Left & right buttons, scroll wheel, two thumb buttons, and three more on the top under the wheel. All the buttons are programmable with the top buttons controlling sensor precision by default. Of course, the Light Strike Optical switches are present in the SP80 as well, however, I didn’t notice much of a difference compared to other mice. The mouse also has some nice RGB lighting accents along the sides, bottom, mouse wheel, and the Bloody logo right where you rest your palm.
The form factor and button placement of a gaming mouse are probably the most subjective, yet the most important aspects to gamers. In my average-sized hand, the SP80 is probably the largest mouse I’d feel comfortable using. The sides of the mouse have a nice texture to them with a lip making it easy to grip and lift the mouse when needed. The buttons are positioned well, although the top three buttons are a bit awkward to press. This is usually the case, at least for me, so I tend to use those buttons for less frequent actions. The thumb buttons are out of the way when gripping, yet placed well for quick access. The primary left/right buttons feel just right and are perfectly responsive. Scrolling the wheel is precise and snappy, but not too snappy. Pressing the scroll wheel felt a bit mashy at first, and I occasionally inadvertently scroll while pressing it, but that has improved over time.
The optical sensor boasts a 12,000 CPI resolution, which puts the SP80 at the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to precision. The high-resolution sensor coupled with the metal feet make the SP80 a smooth and precise mouse for both work and play. Being able to adjust the precision on the fly is a great feature that has become pretty standard on gaming mice, so the SP80 ticks that box adequately.
Again, the biggest issue I have with the SP80 is with the software. To make matters a bit worse, instead of distributing one piece of software to handle all their peripherals (as most gaming peripheral manufacturers do), Bloody has separate software to download for the mouse and keyboard. That means two tray icons, more precious memory, and very little integration between peripherals. The mouse software is similarly confusing due to poor translation. Again, once you get over that hurdle, the software works great, and enables all the same macro and button assignment abilities as you would expect.
As a bonus, Bloody threw in the MP-60R RGB Gaming Mouse Pad, which I can only assume was designed hand-in-hand alongside their long line of gaming mice in order to maximize precision. They did a fine job here. The cloth surface is very smooth and tightly stitched. The non-slip bottom sticks to my desk nicely and has not slipped on me once. The RGB lighting is a nice touch although the connector for the USB cable is a bit bulky and tends to get in the way of the mouse cord. That said, the MP-60R is a great surface and the SP80 glides very nicely over it.
Honestly, it pains me to see a great set of peripherals paired with sub-par software. The B945 and SP80 are truely top contenders in the gaming market, and once you understand the software, you can do quite a bit with macros, lighting effects, and button mapping. They feel great, they look great, and feature, dare I say, bleeding edge technology with their Light Strike optical switches. While the Light Strike switches didn’t seem to be significantly faster than traditional switches, they have a great feel and their durability means both peripherals should take whatever abuse I throw at them. On top of that, they’re priced reasonably in the market making them a good option for gamers on a budget. If it weren’t for the software, I’d have a hard time finding a reason not to give them a perfect score.