That ZOWIE finally enters the wireless gaming mouse! “ZOWIE EC-CW” detailed report-GAME Watch

BenQ’s gaming brand ZOWIE held a press conference in Tokyo on December 7th and officially announced the new gaming mouse “EC-CW”.

The content of the recital was officially an introduction to the 360Hz compatible gaming monitor “XL2566K” released on November 16th, but in the second half of the recital, a gaming mouse was announced as a surprise. However, the product name, release date, and price were not announced, and the spec sheet was also undisclosed, making it an unusual announcement.

At the recital, it was just a brief announcement and moved to the e-sports athletes’ “CSGO” BOT shooting tournament, but it was a gaming mouse that was enough to excite us game media.

Mr. Chris Lin of BenQ headquarters who was in charge of explanation

The production process of the wireless mouse was introduced, but it was a strange presentation where even the important product name did not come out.

Listing the facts found in the field, the base is the current wired model ZOWIE EC-C, and the product name has a new W meaning wireless. There are three sizes, L, M, and S, and the color is black. The main body design follows the EC-C, but adopts a new mold that is more ergonomically designed. It is easier to grip and has evolved. It has a built-in battery for charging, and after use, it can be stored in the standard charging dock so that it can be used with a full charge next time.

Internal information such as sensors, switches, weight, battery capacity, etc. is completely private. When I used it, I didn’t have the impression that it had changed much from the EC-C, but only the weight was slightly increased due to the built-in wireless parts. In any case, it should be noted that the nine EC-CWs placed at the presentation this time are all prototypes and may change further in the future.

The biggest feature of the “EC-CW” wireless gaming mouse is the presence of a receiver with a charging dock function. The receiver, named “Enhanced Wireless Receiver”, is as big as a wireless gaming mouse receiver, and has the impact of a charging station for a robot vacuum cleaner.

What’s great about this receiver is that it gives a huge boost to the most important thing in a wireless gaming mouse: the wireless connection, its stability and performance. What was emphasized at the presentation was the absence of adverse effects in environments where many wireless connections are flying, such as e-sports competitions and LAN parties.

[Enhanced Wireless Receiver]

A major feature is that Enhanced Wireless Receiver is standard equipment

Stylish design.You can charge it by connecting it to the terminal on the front.

back

In the demonstration, a router, a smartphone, and three wireless mouse receivers were installed in a soft-type cooling bag with a metallic aluminum permanent sheet attached to the inside. Verify how much you can demonstrate the original performance without being adversely affected.

The gaming mice selected for comparison are ZOWIE’s “EC-CW”, Logitech G’s “PRO X Mouse”, and Razer’s “Deathadder V3 Pro”. All receivers are standard USB dongles, and only EC-CW uses “Enhanced Wireless Receiver”.

Demonstration was conducted in an environment with increased radio load

State of the inside

From the left, Logitech G “PRO X Mouse”, ZOWIE “EC-CW”, Razer “Deathadder V3 Pro”

When using each mouse to draw a circle, PRO X and Deathadder could not draw a circle well, it was stuck in the middle, the cursor flew in the direction of the day after tomorrow, etc., and it could not operate normally. , EC-CW draws a beautiful circle with the same performance as usual. The report rate is also stable and maintains almost the upper limit of 1,000. In other words, in this demo, I would like to say that ZOWIE has overwhelmingly surpassed Logitech G’s LIGHTSPEED and Razer’s HyperSpeed, both wireless technologies.

[Demonstration results (independent test by the author)]

Logitech G “PRO X Mouse”

Razer “Deathadder V3 Pro”

“EC-CW” by ZOWIE

As a gaming mouse, Logitech G should be verified with the G502 X PLUS / LIGHTSPEED that uses the 2nd generation LIGHTSPEED, and Razer should be compared with the optional part “Razer HyperPolling Wireless Dongle” that raises the report rate up to 8 times. So, I would like to point out that “the comparison target is not fair”, but the important thing here is that no matter what you bring to the comparison target, in a tough wireless environment, “EC-CW” and “Enhanced The fact that the combination of “Wireless Receiver” was the strongest is unshakable.

Just in case, I dared to reconnect the EC-CW to a conventional USB dongle and actually tried the demo, but there were delays and hitches, although not as much as PRO X and Deathadder. In other words, this receiver certainly works. A former FPS player said, “If I were you, I would always carry and use this receiver (Enhanced Wireless Receiver).” With the EC-CW alone, it achieves stable wireless communication that is as good as the PRO X and Deathadder, and also pushes its rivals with a receiver. A very unique product.

As a ZOWIE fan, the price will be a concern. If this is too expensive, the attractiveness of the product will be greatly reduced. ZOWIE’s gaming mouse boasts one of the best cospas in the gaming mouse world, with a simple design, 3200 DPI that is sufficient for game play, and specialization for wired. Of course, this EC-CW can’t be too high either. The wireless model is about twice as expensive as the wired model, but in the case of “EC-CW”, in addition to the portable USB dongle, the featured item “Enhanced Wireless Receiver” is standard equipment. A simple calculation is likely to exceed 20,000 yen, but I would like to pay attention to what will happen.

The release date is set for the first quarter of 2023, but it seems likely that February will be the earliest, and March is realistic. Since it is expected to be a popular model that is in demand not only by ZOWIE fans, but also by many FPS fans, it should be released after securing a stable production system and sufficient inventory. I’m a little worried about the lack of detailed specs, but first of all, I’m honestly happy that a powerful rival has suddenly appeared in the world of wireless gaming mice. It is one that I am very much looking forward to release.