NZXT Lift Elite Wireless review: "a fantastic option for those steering clear of luxury prices"

The NZXT Lift Elite Wireless is the PC-building brand’s first dedicated wireless gaming mouse, and while it makes some sacrifices to reach its particularly competitive price tag it offers excellent value compared to flagships from more established brands.

At $79.99 / £79.99, it’s cheaper than other pointers in its class; the Glorious Model O 2 Mini comes in at $99.99 / £89.99 and the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed hits $99.99 / £99.99. In dropping Bluetooth functionality and a few nice-to-have sensor features, the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless keeps its spec sheet impressively lean. The result is a fantastic mid-range rodent that looks to threaten some of the best gaming mouse models on the market for sheer value.

Design

I’ve used $150 mice that feel like they could be $50, so the premium build quality of the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless took me by surprise when I first opened up the box. There’s a little creaking when squeezed in at the sides, but the plastic chassis feels solid where it counts. In an age where the best Razer mice and the best Logitech gaming mice are all opting for smoother plastic surfaces, I was relieved to feel a little grit under my paws this time around. Small bumps on the Lift Elite Wireless’s plastic frame provide a tactile sense of grip, even if their application is a little more slap-dash compared to the Razer Viper V2 Pro. Still, if you’re worried about the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed’s surface getting clammy after a few hours of use, this is a fantastic alternative.

Measuring in at 118.8mm in length and 60.8mm in width, this is a fairly compact device, though I got on fine with my smaller hands. Those with larger hands might struggle to maintain comfort during longer sessions - the extra footprint of the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed (125.2mm x 63.3mm) provides extra space to work with. In practice, the dimensions of the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless felt natural and intuitive personally, and I appreciated the extra dome height compared to the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless when it came to a palm grip. NZXT has lifted its hump to 38.3mm at its highest point, for a more relaxed hold than Glorious’s 35.5mm.

That said, I generally prefer a claw hold when working and gaming, and that’s where the extra grip panels on each side come into their own. It’s rare to find these days - a lot of more premium mice have ditched these textured panels in recent releases, save for the fantastic Corsair Darkstar Wireless, but the extra support they provide in fast-paced games can’t be beaten. The grip panels on the Lift Elite are made up of small, almost rubbery-feeling, dots spanning the thumb and pinky portions of each flank. It’s a well-positioned section, providing a reliable surface just below the side buttons and making for much easier fine-adjustments with the thumb. If you need even more control, the Lite Elite Wireless also comes with additional grip tape in the box - though I found it to be slightly overkill when I applied it.

NZXT has kept this mouse’s weight impressively low. At 57g, this is much lighter than some of the best wireless gaming mice on the market. It matches the Glorious Model O 2 Mini without requiring honeycomb cutouts across the main chassis and far surpasses the 82g Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed. The DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed does have NZXT beat with its own 55g form factor, though.

That weight is generally well distributed, though a little front-heavy. Peering inside (which is pretty easy to do thanks to the hollowed-out chassis), the Lift Elite Wireless’s innards are housed entirely under the main clicks. I’d certainly prefer a mouse that leans slightly forward in its weight distribution over one that drags to the rear, but it is noticeable when lifting off.

Features

I talk a lot about mouse polling rates when trying to consider the value of each rodent scuttling across my desk. With so many mice shipping with high price tags and ‘8,000Hz polling’ slapped across their marketing materials, it’s easy to get swept up in feature lists and end up paying for something you won’t use. The vast majority of players won’t need this kind of speed, and yet they’re sold it under the pretense that it makes a better mouse for all. That irks me. In reality, it’s only the hyper-competitive among us who will notice the difference between a 4,000Hz rate and an 8,000Hz rate. This is why NZXT’s approach to polling is exemplary.

This is a particularly low price for a gaming mouse that can poll at 4,000Hz wirelessly. That’s the kind of speed that provides a runway for improvement for more casual players setting their sights on tournament glory. NZXT isn’t cutting its esports players out entirely though - 8,000Hz is within reach, you’ll just need to plug in for it. That brings the final cost of the Lift Elite to a much friendlier level, while still providing the extra features that more professional players will need.

PixArt’s PAW-3395 sensor runs the show here, a step down from the slightly beefier PAW3950 but still excellent value with its 26,000 DPI. Very few players will need to move all the way up to the top end of this scale but there’s still enough scope to fine-tune tracking settings at a more granular level. The sensor also features a 650 IPS tracking speed (that’s faster than the 500 IPS on the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed), with overall specs that match the Glorious BAMF 2.0 optical sensor.

Under each main click, NZXT has opted for TTC Optical switches with 60gF of actuation force. These are light and snappy, a crisp relief from the soft-feeling Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse I tested before this, with a 0.2ms rated response time.

Two side buttons and a clickable scroll wheel make up six total programmable inputs (there’s no side-to-side action on the wheel itself). These are all configured in the NZXT CAM software, a piece of kit I much prefer to the more bloated options from the likes of SteelSeries and Corsair. This is a clean interface with a single page of customization options - no digging through unintuitive nested menus like you would with Glorious’s Core program. It’s relatively CPU-light and provides a quick look at your battery and DPI settings with simple sliders for personalized configurations across five presets.

There are six buttons, but only four programmable inputs mapped across the middle click, two side buttons, and DPI clicker (located on the bottom of the device). Actually setting up these keybindings can get a little tedious. The program locks a setting when it’s been assigned to a macro, which means I needed to delete each macro before I could remap. A selection of handy Windows functions is included in the keybinding menu, but I quickly found that the “Copy” option was non-functional. NZXT has assured me that an update to the program is in the works to fix the bug.

The software houses customization options for polling rate, lift-off height (set to 1mm or 2mm), and motion sync. I prefer to keep that last feature turned off - it’s designed to keep your mouse’s polling in line with the 2.4GHz receiver’s own rate but I find it generally just translates into a slightly woolly tracking experience. Handy power management features allow you to customize the time it takes for your mouse to sleep when not being used.

These software features generally play nice with the rest of the market’s offerings, though Razer does go a step further with the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed. Its Focus X sensor supports a sensor orientation feature that makes repositioning after lift-off much more precise as well as a dynamic ramping of DPI based on your own pre-set sensitivity curve.

There’s one omission to this feature list that puts Glorious’s competitor out in front, and that’s Bluetooth. The NZXT Lift Elite Wireless only connects via its 2.4GHz receiver or through a wired connection, whereas a good range of other gaming mice also provide Bluetooth support for extra versatility. In truth, it didn’t make much of a difference to the way I play. I’m quite happy unplugging a dongle when switching computers, and I don’t tend to use a mouse with my iPad.

It does, however, limit the Lift Elite Wireless’s use outside of its core functionality - and many players do prefer a mouse they can easily connect to different sources without any faff. The only time I felt this pinch was when connecting my Asus ROG Ally to a monitor with only an HDMI converter. It’s a sacrifice that the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed also makes, but one that plenty (like the Model O 2 Wireless) don’t. Still, the cheaper Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed even does away with wired connectivity further down the price scale.

Battery life sits pretty strong at 70 hours with a 1,000Hz polling rate in play. That’s towards the bottom end of the market, but considering the price point matches this scale I’m not too mad. I was able to run the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless for a week and a couple of days of full work and play before needing to plug in. Bumping things up to 4,000Hz wireless polling did cut that charge short, dropping me down to around 25 hours. At 1,000Hz, the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed can zoom for up to 100 hours, while the Glorious Model O 2 Mini tops the chart at 110 hours. The cheaper Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed does win with its 280-hour life span, but you’re relying on AA batteries for that one.

Performance

A lightweight mouse with a zippy sensor and speedy clicks is always going to perform well, but the NZXT Lift Elite comes in at a fraction of flagship prices and still nails both speed and accuracy in-game. The allocation of weight towards the front did slow things down a little in more frantic moments, putting slightly more strain on my pinky grip when lifting off. The skates aren’t as super-smooth as those of the Alienware Pro Wireless. The side buttons take a smidge longer to reach due to their higher placement on the body than some. At the end of the day, though, I had a blast with this pointer.

I was able to maintain my usual speed in Counter Strike 2 and Apex Legends, panning with accuracy and fine-tuning aim points with as much precision as I can muster. The sensor keeps up with the action particularly well, never jittering over smoother tracking surfaces. Dialing between weapons was particularly easy thanks to the generous gaps in between notches on the scroll wheel - plenty of more expensive gaming mice feature much smaller steps, which often leads to overextension.

There was a little more resistance to smaller mouse movements than I’m used to with more premium pointers. I’d chalk that up to the aforementioned front-loaded weight, but it sometimes made inching over a few millimeters when lining up a sniper shot feel less responsive.

The main clicks feel particularly energetic, though. The low travel distance and super-fast debounce make for a lightning-fast click that registered within the time of a twitch reflex. The side buttons feel a little more hollow but generally better than the far more expensive clickers on the Alienware Pro Wireless. A similar low-travel action is present here, making for fast inputs once I had made my way up the side of the chassis itself.

One strange behavior kept coming up in my testing, though, particularly in the first week. I was regularly misclicking the right main button. It’s not something I come up against in other gaming mice, so my grip isn’t to blame. The switches themselves never felt super-sensitive during regular gameplay, so it’s not a case of low actuation pressure.

The slightly narrower front width does force my ring finger onto the main click area where it wouldn’t normally sit on a larger device, but I didn’t have the same issue with the similarly built Glorious or Razer devices I’m comparing against here. That leads me to believe there’s something about the overall shape that’s putting a slightly different pressure on my middle and ring fingers than usual. Move in a certain way and they accidentally hit the switch. This generally only happens with slanted designs, though, and I can’t see any heavy gradient in this form factor.

Should you buy the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless?

The NZXT Lift Elite Wireless is one of the best value gaming mice on the market, but it doesn’t have the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed beat overall. Yes, this is $20 cheaper than Razer’s alternative but that little extra cash gets you a lighter device with a better battery as well as more software and sensor features. If you don’t need to fine-tune more aspects of your sensor’s behavior and would rather prioritize a grippy feel over a lower weight it’s a must-see.

It has better software and the space for a more relaxed grip compared to the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless, which could well be the deciding factor if you use a palm hold. However, it’s worth noting that the $20 you save compared to Glorious means you’re dropping Bluetooth functionality and that extra battery life.

Overall, the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless is perfect for those looking to upgrade their entry-level gaming mouse and still pick up a set of excellent features. 8,000Hz polling isn’t to be taken for granted at this price, even if it is via a wired connection, and the smooth sensor response and snappy click buttons speak for themselves.

How I tested the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless

I used the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless gaming mouse for two weeks’ worth of everyday work and play. I spent a lot of that time exploring Avowed and making my way through Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, while also testing faster scenarios in Apex Legends and Counter Strike 2. I used the mouse on both a bamboo work surface and Corsair MM700 RGB Extended Mouse Pad, across 1,000Hz and 4,000Hz wireless polling and 8,000Hz wired polling. For more information on how we test gaming mice, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

I’m also hunting down all the best mouse pads for gaming as well as the best gaming keyboards for those who truly want to finesse their setup. Or, take a look at the best left-handed gaming mouse models for more ambidextrous designs.