The Xlite shape was the first design released by Pulsar all the way back in early 2021. Over the years, several refinements have been made across newer releases, but the Xlite V3 is the first thorough overhaul. The most significant change is the size: The original Xlite was somewhere between the Zowie EC1 and EC2 in size, whereas the Mini variant landed closer to the EC2. The Xlite V3, on the other hand, is offered in three sizes: Large ("Size 3"), Medium ("Size 2"), and Small ("Size 1"). Medium is close to the EC2, while Large is in the range of the EC1 and Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro. While EC2-sized right-handed ergonomic mice are very common, DeathAdder-sized ones are a rather rare commodity. Accordingly, the Large variant is arguably the most interesting member of the Xlite V3 series.
Beyond the size, the shape of the Xlite V3 has also received changes both on the aesthetic and geometric level. In an apples-to-apples comparison, the V3 is slightly shorter than the V2, the hump isn't as tall, and the grip width has been reduced, too. Compared to the V2, the comfort grooves on the main buttons are now deeper, the main buttons are furthermore framed by ledges, similarly to the DeathAdder V3 Pro, and the scroll wheel is much larger. Most notable, of course, is the total lack of holes across the entire body, though an open-bottom design is still utilized to save some precious weight. At 59 g, the Xlite V3 Large stacks up well to the DeathAdder V3 Pro and Glorious Model D 2 Pro 4K/8KHz Edition, both of which weigh 62 g, although with a closed-bottom design. Unfortunately, the build quality is somewhat disappointing, at least on my unit. Although there is no rattle when shaking the mouse, and actuating the side buttons by pressing below them is impossible, major creaking becomes apparent when applying lateral pressure. On most mice reviewed here on TechPowerUp, I've found creaking to only become noticeable when actually looking for it, but not during regular use. This is not the case on the Xlite V3 Large, where creaking is clearly audible and felt even during regular use, and without applying a death grip. For what it's worth, a prototype unit of the Xlite V3 Medium I've received last year also had creaking, albeit to a much smaller degree. Hence, two scenarios are conceivable: (1) Either my unit has an above average degree of creaking, and all other sizes could potentially exhibit a similar degree of creaking, or (2), the Large variant is particularly prone to creaking, and smaller sizes will invariably be affected less. In any case, for those strongly bothered by creaking, the Xlite V3 may be a less than ideal pick.
In terms of buttons, the Xlite V3 is improved over the X2V2 and X2H, despite using essentially the same internals. Once again, RAESHA optical switches are used for the main buttons, whose implementation on the X2V2 and X2H left something to be desired. There had been reports of sticky or otherwise malfunctioning clicks, and all units (my review copies included) suffered from a weird "pre-click" occurring at varying degrees. Thankfully, I can report that at least on my Xlite V3 unit, the latter issue is not present at all. At the same time, pre-travel is slightly higher on the Xlite V3, with the right button on my unit bordering on high in this regard. Lateral button movement is minimal, however, post-travel under control, and button response quite snappy and firm. For the side buttons, mechanical switches from Huano are used, and the forward button at least fares quite well, as pre-travel is low, and post-travel somewhere between moderate and high. The back button, on the other hand, is a different story: actuation is uneven, and when actuating it towards the rear, feedback changes to a higher-pitched, dull actuation. Overall, it just doesn't feel good, though I don't know whether this once again is exclusive to the Large size or whether I just got unlucky with this unit in general, as the Medium prototype from last year doesn't have this issue. No issues are present with the scroll wheel: Pulsar's custom Blue encoder sees use, which combines pleasantly low noise levels with nice tactility, allowing for controlled scrolling. The feet are unchanged over the Xlite V2, be it in size, shape, or materials, and still glide well.
In terms of performance, the Xlite V3 is no different from the X2V2/X2H, as the same firmware solution from CompX is used, along with PixArt's PAW3395 and a Nordic nRF52840 MCU. CPI deviation is minimal, general tracking fine regardless of whether MotionSync is enabled or not, and due to smoothing being disabled by default, motion delay stays low throughout. Occasionally, sub-1000 Hz polling rates still break, but I'm unable to reproduce this consistently, and for the most part, the target interval is met. MotionSync still carries a latency penalty, which amounts to around 0.5 ms at a polling rate of 1000 Hz. Without MotionSync, wireless motion delay is just 0.5 ms compared to the Logitech G403 (control subject), which is excellent. Unlike on the Xlite V2 with its CX52850 MCU, the 0 ms debounce time setting is actually 0 ms instead of 1 ms, which has click latency be lower accordingly at 2.4 ms. Due to its optical main button switches, running the Xlite V3 at the lowest debounce time doesn't run the risk of unintentional double-clicking, but slam-clicking will be present and noticeable, and one would have to increase debounce time to at least 3 ms to get rid of it entirely, in turn increasing click latency to 5.4 ms.
For those still not entirely satisfied with the performance, Pulsar has the 4K Wireless Dongle in store. Pairing one's mouse with the 4K Wireless Dongle is rather trivial, as one merely needs to open Pulsar's dedicated tool, set the mouse to pairing, and that will be it. However, doing so will unpair the dongle included by default, so in order to make that one work again, one would first have to pair it yet again. By comparison, LAMZU has the default dongle hard-paired to the mouse, requiring no further re-paring, which no doubt is the better solution. When it comes to performance, the 4K Wireless Dongle takes the Xlite V3 to the next level. First, and unlike with the default dongle, polling rates below 1000 Hz will be fully stable when using the 4K Wireless Dongle. Second, even when "only" running 1000 Hz, the 4K Wireless Dongle lowers click latency to 2.2 ms, and in terms of motion delay, another 0.5 ms are shaved off to achieve parity with the Logitech G403 (control subject). 2000 and 4000 Hz improve these numbers even further, and click latency at 4000 Hz clocks in at no more than 0.8 ms at the lowest debounce time, matching LAMZU in this regard. Most notably, polling is fully stable at 2000 and 4000 Hz, which is a feat other mice using this solution from CompX have been unable to achieve. In short, the 4K Wireless Dongle enables one of the best 4K implementations out there, and can be considered a straight upgrade over the regular dongle.
Of course, 4K wireless does come with a battery life penalty. The battery life indicator in the software isn't particularly accurate and thus limited to steps of 5%, which is why only a rough estimate is possible. At 4K, I'd estimate the Xlite V3 to last around 15 hours, whereas at 1000 Hz, I'd expect around 70 to 75 hours. This figure falls short of the 100 hours cited by Pulsar, which indeed strikes me as too optimistic, given the 300 mAh battery used on the Xlite V3, along with the fact that optical switches are used. Charging is relatively speedy and the charging cable flexible, which makes for a pleasant wireless experience. I have nothing to complain about the software, either, as it has all the necessary settings with minimal resource usage.
Overall, I have a hard time rating the Xlite V3. First, having a Large size is laudable, since truly large right-handed ergonomic mice aren't exactly a dime a dozen, so more choice in this regard is welcome. In addition, the V3 comes with several upgrades over the Xlite V2, though the changes to the shape may not be to everyone's liking. Rather puzzling, however, are the issues related to build quality, although I'm unable to assert whether these are specific to my unit or specific to the Large size. Since this review is supposed to apply and be largely representative of the entire Xlite V3 series, I've decided to hand out our Recommended award regardless, as I don't know if and to which degree the smaller sizes are affected by these issues, and with the caveat that the Large size seems to be struggling with creaking and its back side button.
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