The Gigabyte Aorus AMP mouse pads are textured cloth pads by definition and come in 3 different sizes, The one here is the AMP 500 which is the middle of the range (43 x 37 x 0.2 cm). The surface we have here takes up a meager quarter of the desk roughly and in my setup, the left edge is just about underneath the end of my keyboard.

It might not be a favoured choice among low DPI players due to its size but with a hybrid silicone base that seems to do a good job of gripping the desk and a textured surface optimised for precision this pad could have some potential. It’s a classicly simple looking mouse pad so let’s take a closer look and see how it measures up.

Specifications:

• Surface Type: Soft
• Surface Texture: Cloth
• Size: 17 x 14.5 x 0.1 Inches (430 x 370 x 1.8 mm)

What’s in the box

Gigabyte Aorus packaging is simple but nice thanks to the bright orange stripes cutting through the jet black. The box features a huge Arous logo on the front and has a small plastic window so you can see the surface before buying if you were in a retail store. There are some product features labeled on the side with some useful diagrams to further explain them.

Inside we have:

• Gigabyte Aorus AMP 500 Mouse Pad

Gigabyte AMP 500

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Design

The AMP 500 is one of those classical plain black pads with a logo in the corner. The only thing that sets this apart in the looks department is the bright orange base you can just see peeking through the side and the Aorus logo featured in the same orange. The logo is located in the bottom left corner rather than the traditional bottom right and I quite like this as a right-handed gamer as I feel I use the bottom left of the pad a lot less. Unfortunately, they seem to have carved out the logo so there is a very noticeable dip and if you run your mouse or hand over it you will find it easily interferes with gameplay. The cloth surface is one of the tightest weaves I have seen and it offers quite a unique user experience compared to any other mousepad I have used before. It’s a rough textured surface and feels between a QcK Heavy and the harder Razer Firefly which is an interesting way to go for a cloth pad and we will see how it performs a little later. The pad doesn’t feature a merrowed edge like the Corsair MM300 but it has been heat moulded to prevent fraying and prolong the life of the pad.

It is worth noting this surface picks up dirt more than any other pad I have used and found dust and marks splodged around after using the pad for a few days. This factor could be an issue for many but the pad has been made spill resistant and it can be easily wiped down if necessary. I tested the spill resistance and it does act as a waterproof surface as I was easily able to wipe away any spill. Cleaning the pad may not be the most convenient thing to do and unfortunately, it takes a little longer to dry than a hard surface but it’s a nice design that allows you to keep this pad looking fresher than other cloth pads in the long run.

Performance

The Gigabyte AMP 500 reminded me more of hard textured surfaces than a cloth pad and it was down to the rough textured surface. The surface is like this as gigabyte has optimised it their way for precise mouse tracking and to be fair the mouse pad does deliver in that area.  Due to the thin profile of the pad and texture on the top, it performs similarly to a hard control mousepad like the Razer Firefly but feels slightly slower like the QcK Heavy due to being a cloth pad. It is quite a rough surface and if you prefer a smooth one of similar size then there is an MM300 in a medium which would have you covered. Overall the texture was great for FPS titles and I felt that tracking in CSGO was easier once I got used to the slower speed.

Being quite a thin mouse pad the rubber base probably needed to be perfectly flat to prevent any sensor deviations you might get from a textured rubber base and it is! The orange rubber base does a good enough job to stop the pad moving throughout testing so no complaints here.

Size

The Gigabyte AMP 500 is roughly a medium sized pad and isn’t much bigger than most hard pad surfaces to put it in perspective. The pad has a length of 430 mm which is just about big enough for me although I prefer desk-sized mouse pads I could still make this work with my low sensitivity. The width isn’t far off making this a perfect square at 370 mm and is more than enough height for any awkward vertical flick shots and is a good 70 mm wider than the Corsair MM300. The thickness (1.8 mm) makes this mouse pad one of the thinnest cloth or hard pads I have tried. It’s actually not bad at all and I think depth is something that comes down to preference as the performance was similar to other mousepads I have tried. I will still opt for thicker mouse pads like the Asus ROG Sheath as it flattened out almost instantly on my desk whereas this mousepad took days of weighing down with my peripherals.

There are a few alternate sizes available with the same features as the AMP 500 which I will list below.

• Small  – 324 x 273 x 1.8 mm
• Medium – 430 x 370 x 1.8 mm
• Large – 900 x 360 x 3 mm

Mousepad Testing Section

• Aim Test  – test the mouse pad with the same mouse on CS GO aim training map, take average of scores.

Mousepad Comparison Section

• Compare the mousepad to similar competitors or to its own brands previous model

Our Verdict

Overall the mouse pad is good to use and will bring consistency to your overall gameplay with the optimised surface performing quite well. The size is fine too and the rubber base works like a charm preventing any slipping. The mouse pad doesn’t seem to be as good quality as other pads for this price point which is strange, you can get the Asus ROG Sheath which is twice the size for pretty much the same price. If you are really into an Aorus setup or like the really thin and water resistant surface then go for it and as I said the performance won’t let you down but there are some better deals out there at the moment.

Gigabyte AMP 500

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