Back at Computex 2018, we visitied GAMDIAS’s booth and we got to experience their new wireless gaming mouse with Qi wireless charging. Those technologies are rather innovative to be implemented in a mouse. Months passed since Computex 2018 and now we got our hands on the new GAMDIAS Hades M1 – a wired/wireless gaming mouse that does not have Qi wireless charging.

Special thanks to GAMDIAS for this review unit so that we can review the GAMDIAS Hades M1 in-depth.

Unboxing

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

GAMDIAS products have a very consistent packaging design throughout the years, even through multiple different generations of products. Looking at the Hades M1’s packaging, the front is packed with feature highlights at the front.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

At the back, we have another angle at the exploded view of the Hades M1 with all the feature highlights. There is a specs list in different languages as well.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

Sliding the sleeve off the box, we can see a fancy box design here.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

Digging out everything from inside the box, we find out there are two swappable magnetic wing tips, one micro USB cable (which you should not lose), the weight system that is found in the Hades M1 itself, and the wireless USB receiver.

The GAMDIAS Hades M1 wireless mouse itself

Looking at the mouse itself, a few things pop into mind. Firstly, the Hades M1 has an ambidextrous design with a high-ish profile. It is symmetrical and splits at the center perfectly. However, the buttons are meant for right-handed users only.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

Then I realized that the wireless USB receiver has no place to be stowed within the mouse itself. This is a big problem as I usually stow the wireless receiver in my wireless mouse all the time – and in the case of the GAMDIAS Hades M1, it’s an even bigger issue. Why?

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

That’s because when we look at the Hades M1 from the front, we can see that it is using a micro USB port for charging. Take note of the little notch at the micro USB port though – as that means the micro USB cables that actually fit in this mouse is very limited. We have seen similar “proprietary” micro USB cables on the new Razer Mamba Wireless as well.

At the right side of the GAMDIAS Hades M1, we find the removable magnetic part where it can be swapped with the two included different sizes and shapes of wing tips. Depends on your own personal preference, you may or may not like the wing tips.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

At the bottom of the mouse we can see that the sensor part has RGB LED light leaking through. From my experience using it, the leaked light does not interfere with the sensing part – so don’t worry.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

From here we can also find the on/off toggle switch and also the removable weight system. That weight compartment is superbly difficult to take out – especially when all weights are removed. GAMDIAS provided a total of 4x5gram weights and if you choose to remove any of them, then make sure you have your own dedicated place to store the weights. GAMDIAS did not include any pouch or case to store the weights or the wireless USB receiver dongle.

GAMDIAS Hera software

GAMDIAS Hades M1 wireless gaming mouse HERA software

This time around, the GAMDIAS Hera software is different from the other ones in the past. It now comes with a semitransparent background which only makes things much more difficult to read, and the UI is – honestly speaking – quite poorly designed.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 wireless gaming mouse HERA software

With that said, the Hera software is still powerful as ever as it still offers macro recording and remapping buttons on the mouse to perform other functions. However, it needs to be plugged in via micro USB to reprogram the buttons on the mouse. Why?

GAMDIAS Hades M1 wireless gaming mouse HERA software

Luckily, the GAMDIAS Hades M1 does have on-board memory so I can use all of my already-programmed buttons when it connect it to another PC. However, the on-board memory seems to be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease as my setting just disappears suddenly.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 wireless gaming mouse HERA software

There’s option for RGB lighting control as well. Rather basic since there are only 3 modes to choose from.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 wireless gaming mouse HERA software

It does have a menu for software updates, but for some reason – there is a button for firmware update but it just shows “not support” even when I connect it using via USB.

Using the GAMDIAS Hades M1

For me, I was ticked off the moment I looked at the GAMDIAS Hades M1. It is supposed to have an ambidextrous design, but the side buttons are only meant for right-handed users. And then when I saw the magnetically removable part on the right side, I cringed. Changing the wing tip at the right side meant that my wrist will be skewed towards one side.

If the GAMDIAS Hades M1 has the Razer Mamba’s shape, then the swappable wing tips would be a great addition. In this case, it seems like a terrible afterthought that only ruins my user experience. I got a wrist strain immediately after using the Hades M1 for 30 minutes!

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

The buttons on the Hades M1 is surprisingly good, though – especially the side buttons. They are very clicky and lightweight enough to be triggered quickly but not accidentally.

Then comes the weight system. Once again I have no idea why GAMDIAS did not include a simple pouch or case to keep those weights somewhere safe. Same goes to the wireless receiver. The “proprietary” micro USB is absolutely unnecessary too. Just let me use whatever micro USB cables I have lying around, please?

Battery life

Apparently, there is a battery indicator right in front of the scroll wheel. That indicator LED shifts from green to red, indicating the battery is estimated around 100% to 0% respectively. By the way, the HERA software’s battery indicator is not working. It always reports 100% battery even though the mouse is so out of juice that it shuts itself down.

With one charge, I manged to use the Hades M1 for about 3 days of intensive use, maximum RGB brightness in cycling mode and at the fastest speed. Turning off the RGB obviously can cause the battery of the Hades M1 to last even longer.

Though if you have multiple PCs, I recommend using the Hades M1 with micro USB to your main PC and leave the wireless receiver plugged in to your secondary PC. For me, that meant wire to my desktop and wireless receiver to the laptop.

Though, I have absolutely no idea how big is the battery in the Hades M1 since GAMDIAS’s own website did not list it out. We can only assume that it has a decently large battery inside because the GAMDIAS Hades M1 does feel heavy even with all the weights removed.

Concluding the GAMDIAS Hades M1 review

As a standalone mouse, I actually like the Hades M1 as a wired, no-frills mouse. It is decent. However, once the wireless and and weight system comes in – they both feel like an afterthought that was retrofitted into an already-good mouse. And that is ironic since I am pretty much recommending you to get the Zeus series of mouse at this point.

GAMDIAS Hades M1 Wireless Gaming Mouse

Without a dedicate place to stow the wireless receiver, then I honestly recommend you to leave the dongle plugged in and to never touch it. If you lose it, then the mouse can only work in wired mode. And you can only plug in their “proprietary” micro USB cable only – which suffers the same fate if you lose it.

The wing tip though – depends on your personal preference. It is definitely not my cup of tea.

Pros

  • Has wired and wireless mode
  • Fantastic button tactility
  • Has on-board memory
  • Decent battery life

Cons

  • No place to stow the wireless dongle inside the mouse
  • No pouch/case to store the weights
  • Symmetrically shaped for ambidextrous use but swappable wing tips and buttons are meant for right-handed users only
  • “Proprietary” micro USB cable
  • The on-board memory has Alzheimer’s
  • Only programmable when connected via micro USB

Tech Critter Bronze

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