Introduction

ASUS is a Taiwan-based computer hardware and electronics company founded in 1989. Compared to the Chakram and Chakram Core, no changes have been made to the right-handed ergonomic shape of the Chakram X. Internally, however, the Chakram X has been thoroughly revised. The Chakram X debuts ASUS’s latest AimPoint sensor capable of 36,000 CPI, which I believe to be a PixArt PAW3395 variant. Much like the Gladius III and Gladius III Wireless, the Chakram X comes with push-fit sockets for the main button switches, which are compatible to both 3-pin mechanical and 5-pin optical Omron switches, with ROG switches rated for 70 million clicks installed by default. Furthermore, the Chakram X offers triple connectivity: wired, 2.4 GHz wireless, and Bluetooth. In wired mode, a polling rate of up to 8000 Hz is possible, coupled with support for NVIDIA Reflex at a polling rate of 1000 Hz, whereas 2.4 GHz wireless allows up to 1000 Hz. ASUS cites a maximum battery life of up to 150 hours using Bluetooth, and up to 114 hours using 2.4 GHz wireless, albeit without illumination. Speaking of which, the Chakram X comes with extensive RGB lighting which can be configured in detail within Armoury Crate, along with all the other usual customization options. This of course also includes the joystick, which can be used either in digital or analog mode. A practical application of the joystick would be using it with the Steam Deck, where the ABXY functions could be mapped to the joystick, or the joystick could work in analog mode as well (e.g., push to walk, push further to run, etc.). Compared to the Chakram and Chakram Core, the Chakram X has two additional side buttons, which amount to a total of 11 programmable button functions. Charging the Chakram X is possible either via cable or wireless Qi charging.

Disclaimer:


Using the launch firmware, the ROG Chakram X suffers from significant motion delay in wireless operation. Among other things, firmware version V22.02.17 fixes this, which is why updating to said version is strongly recommended. All assertions related to performance made in this review are based on said firmware.

Specifications