In my time using computers and gaming laptops, I never really gave much thought about the mousepad I use. As far as I was concerned, a mousepad was something that allowed a mouse to sit on top of and function without drag. I never really thought much of mousepads other than the cool, colourful and/or cute designs that might come with one.
That all changed when RGB mouse mats became a thing. Mouse mats, in my opinion appear to be designed with gamers in mind, compared to your everyday mousepad. The surface is usually thin, with a texture that is better suited to allow for a gaming mouse to perform at its optimum, while the underside is slightly rubberised to ensure the mat stays in place during even the most intense gaming session.
Now what happens when you combined an extra large mouse mat that fits almost perfectly across a desk with RGB lights? You get a mouse mat that not only allows you the use your mouse on, but also allows you to sit your keyboard on the mat, all the while creating the ultimate lighting experience and jazzing up your gaming setup.
Design
The Qck Prism Cloth XL (“Qck Prism XL”) as mentioned above, comes with two durable but different textures. On the top is a smooth surface that feels quite nice to the touch, while the underside is a non-slip base that has a subtle rubber-like feel. According to the product information on the mouse mat, this dual-texture material, said to be made out of SteelSeries’ “legendary QcK micro-woven cloth” are optimised to allow for “both optical and laser sensors make the QcK Prism perfect for competitive gaming.”
RGB
The mouse mat comes with 2-Zone RGB lighting which, can be customised using the SteelSeries Engine software to create various backlight effects to complement your gaming experience, including in game audio effects. Not only that but you can use the Audio Visualizer Engine App to put on a bit of a visual show that will have your RGB lights dancing to the beat of your favourite music! What’s even cooler? You can integrate this RGB lighting to light up whenever a notification comes in. Imagine, using your mouse mat to indicate new messages, whether you’re muted in Discord and other such notifications? I didn’t end up trying out the Discord integration but I did enjoy setting the RGB lighting effect to pulsate with music, which gave some added ‘oomph’ to my gaming setup.
If you own other SteelSeries gear that is Prism enabled, like say, the Rival 3 mouse, you can use the PrismSync Engine App to sync up the lighting effects of all your peripherals.
Use
The Qck Prism XL plugs into your computer via USB and instantly starts up. This actually makes it so much easier for tech noobs like myself, who might not have otherwise known how to set everything up.
What I really loved about this mouse mat, beyond its size, is that once you’ve put it on your desk, it stays there. It doesn’t move about, which is definitely one of my pet peeves when it comes to mousepads. The other thing that used to annoy me is the little bits of rubber that would come off poor quality mousepads and leave a mess on my desk. With the Qck Prism XL’s fabric being of top quality, I didn’t have any issues at all. This could also be because the ends of the mouse mat were carefully woven together.
Another highlight about the mouse mat? If you need to put it away, it’s soft and flexible enough that you can simply roll it up and tuck it away for safe keeping (or even take with you if you’re going elsewhere to game, for example, if you’re an esports player and want to take your mouse mat with you for a competition or the like).
Overall
When it comes to mousepads and mouse mats, I never was too fussed but after using the SteelSeries Qck Prism XL, I now have a newfound appreciation for quality mouse mats that I don’t think I can ever go back to ordinary mousepads, especially those that are of the standard size. With its smooth surface allowing for better mouse tracking, RGB lighting effects, ease of installation, use and overall general premium quality feel, I can guarantee you’ll never want to use any other mouse mats ever again.