Review: Asus ROG Sica

Introduction

The Asus Republic of Gamers brand has expanded considerably in the past few years to include more and more products designed for a gaming audience. The Asus plan to create an entire PC ecosystem under its gaming sub-brand has seen it release desktops, headsets, laptops, mice, monitors, SSDs and sound cards in addition to the graphics cards and motherboards that have been with the mainstays of the ROG brand since its inception.

On that theme HEXUS has the Asus Sica gaming mouse in for review, which is one of two gaming mice currently offered by the Republic of Gamers brand, with a third is expected later this year named Spatha. The Sica is the entry-level mouse making use of a compact ambidextrous design with a 5,000DPI optical sensor. The other ROG mouse, the Gladius, is the best the company has to offer with a 6,400DPI sensor, changeable Omron switches, a 2,000Hz polling rate and built-in flash memory for storing macro profiles. To finish off the ROG-themed peripherals, Asus recently launched its Whetstone mouse pad constructed from a fray-resistant fabric sporting a Mayan-inspired pattern and non-slip silicone base.

Design and Hardware

The first point of note about the Asus Sica is that the mouse sports no additional macro buttons making it a mere 3-button mouse - left-click, right-click and the scroll button. A mouse with a price of £30 may struggle convincing gamers who are already used to the benefits of thumb buttons and macros but not every gamer will need, or want, macros on their mouse.

Furthermore, Asus claims the thumb buttons simply don't make sense given the ambidextrous design and that the benefits of the Sica are in the finer details. The company also believes the buttons aren't useful for the competitive MOBA and RTS gamers it is targeting.

At the core of the Sica's design is a no-frills philosophy - gimmicky extras have been tossed aside in favour of a well-thought-out design and a high-quality optical sensor. The Sica deploys the Pixart (Avago) PMW3310 optical sensor which ships with a default 5,000DPI and has DPI adjustment options provided in the Asus software. The left- and right-click switches are both provided by Omron and feature the same socketed design as the ROG Gladius mouse meaning end-users can swap the switches out for a different set of their choice.

The body of the Sica mouse is relatively unique in that the left and click buttons are separate from the main chassis of the mouse. This creates a shorter actuation length for the mouse buttons as well as increased tactile feedback. Asus claims these two aspects give the gamer better control of the mouse and a more reliable clicking action. That control is enhanced by a lightweight plastic cable which sacrifices a quality braided finish to deliver reduced resistance. Unlike with the Gladius Asus doesn't provide users with a choice of braided or plastic cables.