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The NZXT Lift Elite is a Lightweight Win for PC Gamers

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Wireless gaming mice have come a long way and the NZXT Lift Elite is a prime example of that. It boasts the latest and greatest technology that the industry has to offer, coupled with a comfortable shape that most users will appreciate. The company is on its second generation of Lift gaming mice, but the Lift Elite is a sidestep from that. While the Lift 2 series is available in both ergonomic and ambidextrous shapes, the Lift Elite wireless gaming mouse only has an ambidextrous design, but it doesn’t compromise on comfort. I have been using the NZXT Lift Elite wireless gaming mouse for over a week and found it to be an excellent lightweight gaming mouse.

NZXT has been in the gaming gear space for quite some time now, having started its operations in 2004 with a focus on the DIY PC-building community. Over the years, their portfolio has expanded, and now it is one of the more recognizable brands when it comes to PC cases, motherboards, streaming devices, and cooling hardware. It entered the mechanical keyboard space in 2017 and only recently did it release its first gaming mouse, in 2022. With the Lift series of gaming mice, NZXT is hoping to become a bigger player in the wireless gaming peripheral space.

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What’s in the Box?

  • NZXT Lift Elite wireless gaming mouse
  • USB Type-A dongle
  • Extension adapter
  • USB Type-C to USB Type-A charging/data cable
  • Grip tape

A fairly straightforward unboxing experience, the NZXT Lift Elite comes with everything you need to get started. The compact box presents the mouse on top with the accessories underneath. It’s great that NZXT includes grip tape for the left and right clicks, but even without it, the mouse feels quite grippy, due to its textured surface. More on that later.

NZXT also sent over the Zone Elite XL cloth mousepad that measures 750x400mm. It is made from nano-weave cloth for the top surface with a microcellular PU foam underneath, giving it a 4.5mm thickness. The mousepad comes with a spill-resistant coating and the edge stitching is reinforced to prevent tearing and fraying. The top surface feels very smooth with minimal friction, making it great for gaming and general use. The PU foam and overall thickness allow it to flatten in no time after taking it out of the box.

Specifications and Features

The NZXT Lift Elite, like most other gaming mice on the market, focuses on being lightweight and comfortable. It weighs only 57 grams, which is not the lightest, as the Burst II Air from Turtle Beach takes the crown with its 47-gram construction. However, this does put the Lift Elite in the same category as the Glorious Series 2 Pro (55 grams) and the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 DEX (60 grams). The lightweight nature of the mouse, coupled with its 100% PTFE feet, translates to smooth cursor movements with minimal resistance. Swinging my arm for quick flicks in first-person shooters felt buttery smooth.

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The heart of the mouse is the PixArt PAW3395 optical sensor capable of up to 26,000 DPI. This sensor is also capable of up to 8000 Hz polling rate, but only in wired mode. That’s one thing to consider when purchasing the Lift Elite wireless gaming mouse if you only play competitive shooters, and ones that support 8000 Hz polling rate. In wireless mode, you can get up to a 4000 Hz polling rate and that is also more than enough for most gamers. This also lets you conserve some battery. Speaking of which, the mouse is rated for 70 hours of use at 1000 Hz and using the mouse for over a week, with light gaming sessions on weekdays and heavier sessions over the weekend, I only needed to recharge once. Fortunately, a quick 15-minute charge will give you over 15 hours of use.

As for the left and right clicks, they sit on top of TTC Optical 60 gF switches rated for 100 million clicks. Both the sound and click feel are premium and satisfying. No complaints here. The scroll wheel has nice defined steps, but the click can sometimes feel a bit squishy. I noticed some missed inputs in PUBG, which requires a double press of the scroll wheel to mark enemy locations. However, that doesn’t impede the ‘scroll to switch weapons’ experience whatsoever.

There are no RGB lights, which seems to be a trend with performance-focussed lightweight gaming mice.

Design and Build Quality

Being an ambidextrous gaming mouse, the NZXT Lift Elite cannot offer the comfort of an ergonomic mouse. That said, the arch of the shell and the grippy sides made the mouse feel quite comfortable in my medium-sized hands. Claw and fingertip grip styles work perfectly in games and for regular Windows navigation, I was able to rest my palm on it comfortably. The large side buttons are easy to reach as well. Interestingly, it has a flatter arch than both the Burst II Air and the Glorious Series 2 PRO. But the slope at the back is more gradual than the other two, giving more of the palm something to rest on.

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NZXT managed to keep the weight at 57 grams without any perforations on the shell. They did, however, cut out a chunk of the body at the bottom to do this, so you may want to clean the underside from time to time. The power button is located at the bottom as well and, staying with the company theme, it is purple, giving the mouse a nice accent along with the white PTFE feet. There are no markings on the button to suggest it doubles as a DPI switch, which I feel the company could have done a better job clarifying, since there is no user manual in the box either. I discovered that a long press lets you turn the mouse on and off, while a short press changes the DPI.

NZXT Lift Elite mouse

As mentioned earlier, the sides of the NZXT Lift Elite are covered with bumps for excellent grip, but that also leads to dirt and grime getting stuck. The left and right clicks are textured, making them feel a lot more grippy than something like the Burst II Air. Most users will not need to use the included grip tape, but it’s always good to have.

There is a white and a black version of the mouse, and I was sent the black version. It doesn’t show any stains or marks from my use, even though my hands get quite sweaty while gaming, but it’s too early to tell whether this will become an issue later on. The NZXT Lift Elite feels well-built with no creaking sounds when grabbing the mouse tight though, which is a good sign for its overall durability. Without adding to the weight, the company designed the mouse to have reinforced structural points that ensure it can withstand a lot of pressure. NZXT says the structural component has been rigorously tested with 50N of force.

Performance & Software

The performance is as you would expect from a well-built wireless gaming mouse with a top-tier PixArt sensor. The PAW3395 in the NZXT Lift Elite is still second to the newer PAW3950 sensor, but the difference in performance is negligible in real world use. The PAW3950 supports up to 30,000 DPI, but that doesn’t really make a difference when gaming. The Lift Elite is accurate and responsive.

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The shape is comfortable and grippy, making it ideal for gaming for people with small to medium-sized hands. Gamers with larger hands may find the mouse to be a bit compact. The battery lasts long enough for multiple heavy gaming sessions and the cable is light enough to not give too much resistance when using the mouse in wired mode. By the end of the week, I had no complaints about the performance of the NZXT Lift Elite.

NZXT CAM is the desktop app that lets you configure everything from changing the polling rate to assigning macros. It is well laid out and user-friendly. It also lets you create up to five profiles that can be stored on the mouse. What’s great about NZXT CAM is that it incorporates all of NZXT’s products, as well as system monitoring tools, so one software is all you would need for every NZXT product in your setup, unlike some other manufacturers.

Price and Final Thoughts

Buy on NZXT

The NZXT Lift Elite is priced at $80, putting it in the mid-range of gaming mice. The Burst II Air, in comparison, is priced at $100, though it is currently discounted to $80 and comes with additional Bluetooth connectivity. The Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 DEX costs over $150, so the Lift Elite is certainly a much better deal. It is a well-built, high-performing wireless gaming mouse that will not break the bank. NZXT has been able to achieve this price point because of the wired 8K polling rate. If the mouse supported 8K over a wireless connection, it would also have been priced at over $100. This, I feel, is the perfect compromise for most gamers.

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As for the Zone Elite XL cloth mousepad, it is priced at $45, putting it a bit on the pricey side. There is a Large version available for $30 and also an XXL version priced at $55. The tightly-knitted polyester does deliver a silky-smooth experience that is hard to achieve with standard cloth gaming mousepads. If you already own an extended mousepad, getting the Large variant and placing it on top of your current one may just be a better deal.

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