Build Quality

Overall build quality is solid. When shaking the mouse, a rattle comes from the main buttons. When applying lateral pressure, no creaking or flexing of the shell can be observed. Activating the side buttons by squeezing the sides is impossible. Lastly, accidental clicks when slamming down the mouse do not occur.

Buttons

Main buttons on the Dark Perk Ergo are good. On the left button, pre-travel is low and post-travel moderate, whereas on the right button, pre-travel is very low and post-travel is high, resulting in a fairly snappy yet somewhat muted and dampened button response. Being visually separated from the shell, button movement is minimal on the right button yet moderate to high on the left one when provoked. Button stiffness is medium. A pair of Omron D2FP-FN2 (China) optical switches are used.


Side buttons are good to very good. Pre-travel is low to moderate, whereas post-travel is minimal, and the actuation point is even across the entirety of these, leading to a fairly pleasant button response. Button size and placement are good, as actuation is possible rather easily by rolling one's thumb across. A set of 2-pin, low-profile switches from TTC (blue plunger) are used for these.

At the bottom of the mouse is a button for cycling through the set CPI steps, which works fine. A seemingly unbranded tactile switch is used for this one. A slider at the bottom switches between on and off-state, which also works fine.

Scroll Wheel

The scroll wheel is very good. Noise levels are under control, and tactility is very good, with each step being well-separated. The encoder comes from TTC (blue, yellow core) and has a height of 11 mm. The middle (scroll wheel) click requires high force for actuation. A TTC switch (red plunger) is used for this one.

Surface

The Dark Perk Ergo has a matte surface all over. Grip is fine, and it doesn't attract fingerprints or dirt too much. It is easy to clean, and there are no signs of wear left after doing so. All in all, excellent materials.

Button Sound Test

Disassembly

Disassembling the Dark Perk Ergo is fairly easy. The screws are found beneath the front and rear skate. After removing those, five clips placed around the base and top shell also need to be dislodged, which may require wedging a credit card (or similar) in. Caution needs to be applied when separating the top and bottom shell to avoid ripping the cables connecting the two.

The internal design is reasonably efficient. A plastic assembly providing structural stabilization is screwed to the top, which holds the battery and the side-button PCB, the latter of which is connected through a ribbon cable to the main PCB. Everything else sits on the moderately thin yet needlessly spacious main PCB, which has been affixed to the bottom with three screws. The MCU is a Nordic nRF54H20, whose basic architecture is outlined here. Production date for the main PCB is the 25th week of 2025.


As for the soldering and general quality of the PCB, I'm unable to find any noteworthy flaws.