 This is not just any product line. This heralded the beginning of my YouTube presence. Yup, around two years ago, I shot, edited, and released my first ever video on YouTube and joined the rest of our team on the hardware sugar channel reviewing tech products and geeking out on chairs and minimal desk setups. While these experiences have nothing to do with the M3 mouse, I can't help but reminisce on the fact that if it wasn't for Asus' early investment in sending us stuff to review, that I might have actually started YouTubeing much later down the pandemic. And they indirectly led our channel into things we never envisioned people would be interested in to begin with. So while this review is not sponsored in any way by Asus Philippines, they deserve recognition for always giving the startup tech YouTubers like us a shot at the big scene. Thank you Asus for sending this over for us to review and for forcing me to have made this cringy video several years ago. And today, we have a tough review ahead of us. We are in your debt. Tough is the more budget, but just as reliable line of products from Asus. And the best way to begin with this review is to say outright that the M3 Gen 2 is priced at 1189 pesos on the official ROG shopping page. While the Gen 1 I originally reviewed is priced at 775 pesos. Personally, if you're looking to get the M3, the Gen 2 is the way to go. Just forget about the Gen 1. It is most definitely worth the additional 414 pesos for the new sleek design alone. With that out of the way, here's what you'll be getting for 1189 pesos. Hi, I'm Rafael from Hardware Sugar and I have spent four weeks and my very first COVID infection with the tough gaming M3 Gen 2 mouse. Having reviewed the original M3 two years ago, I knew that I needed to be the one on the team to review. It's more modern, upgraded version. First and foremost, who is the M3 for? It is for the budget gamer who likes investing in a trusted name with a well-respected ecosystem. If you own any Asus or a sync product, whether it be from the ROG or tough family line, then you can immediately sync the M3 along with the rest of your RGB gear. Yes, there are cheaper gaming mice out there, which might have more eye-popping crazy RGB designs. However, if you care about having a product from a reliable manufacturer, it is very difficult to deviate from Asus, especially since the mouse itself does not break the bank. In terms of design, the Gen 2 is much more premium to hold and look at. The sleek matte black design replaced the aging and tacky silver and black paint scheme of the original M3. It occurred to me only after trying out so many gaming mice after the Gen 1 that the biggest drawback of the original was how bland it looked. The original design did not age well. And the only reason why I kept using the original M3 for a long period of time was because of how reliable and ergonomic it was for its price. The Gen 2 has RGB both on its logo, as well as an outline around its back, unlike the Gen 1, which only has RGB on the logo. The overall grip, feel and look of the Gen 2 showcased a big level up in design from Gen 1. However, it surprisingly takes a step backwards in others, which I'll get into in a bit. Asus has chose not to place rubber grips and instead maintains the matte black plastic on the sides of the mouse, unlike its competitors like Razer and Corsair. To be honest, this makes the mouse age better. If you look at my barely three year old iron claw, that rubber pad looks disturbingly used up. I also don't feel that adding rubber grips add that much of a big deal when it comes to FPS gaming, unless you have extremely sweaty hands. In short, I think the option not to add rubber grips is a good choice. I fear the day when I need to replace the pads on my Razer Viper Ultimate, which aren't cheap. And the current state of my iron claw just makes it feel and look sad. Weighing in at only 59 grams or 30 percent lighter than the previous generation, coming from my Razer Viper Ultimate at 74 grams and my tank of a Corsair Iron claw at 105 grams, you will really feel the difference as you glide across the surface. A lighter mouse is always a very important thing to consider when it comes to productivity and gaming. In the age of paracords, I am disappointed that Asus couldn't throw in a better cable. Perhaps this is because it might affect the price, but the wire of the mouse feels like the traditional cable one would expect from a generic mouse brand. As someone who has been pampered with ROG paracords, which are these wires, which feels and bend like shoestring, I was looking forward to all major mice manufacturers to move towards this innovative material. Maybe in the next couple of years, I suppose I dislike cables to begin with, but a paracord might win me over. In terms of sculpture, it is difficult to find fault in the shape. Unlike the Corsair Iron Claw and Harpoon, the M3 does not deviate far from the tried and true. I have spent many hours with the M3 doing office work, as well as multitasking my build order on Starcraft 2. I have very large hands and never felt them ache while using the M3, unlike the Harpoon, which was painfully too small. In short, most people will find the size and shape to be very accommodating, thus my safe badge. In the era of post-COVID, some might be interested in upgrading gear which inhibits the growth of nasty little demons. While COVID is a virus and not a bacteria, you could still get a nasty infection from the latter. I'm not entirely sure how they achieved this and I don't have the resources to test this, but it's just one of those minor things which adds to the benefit of investing in a budget-friendly, well-known brand. The M3 also sports IP56 dust and water resistance. One of the biggest things that I liked about the Gen 1 was that it had two buttons next to the scroll wheel which allowed me to cycle between sensitivity in two directions. The Gen 2, however, only has a single button to achieve this. Thus, one of the things I dislike the most is me having to complete a whole cycle of different sensitivity areas before I reach the one I need for a specific task. This is a big letdown for FPS snipers or even productivity gurus who like switching to high-speed or slow precision in order to fulfill a task. There are, thankfully, two buttons on the left side of the mouse which you can customize accordingly for melee attacks. I am right-handed, but based on the shape of the mouth, I believe it is practically ambidextrous and similar to the Razer Viper Ultimate. The only difference is the lack of twin dual buttons on the right side of the mouse. I'm not entirely sure how much it would cost to add an additional button next to the scroll wheel and a mirror twin button set on the right. However, if it did and maintained this price point, this easily would be the best mouse within the budget category. I could not find much about the switches of the mouse other than the fact that they will last 60 million presses compared with only 20 million from the previous generation. The Gen 1 we reviewed, by the way, was gifted to us after the review and is still happily alive and working at the hardware sugar shop. You guys are welcome to drop by and test it out. These are what the buttons sound like. I definitely feel the Razer Viper Ultimate switches are more springier and fun to press on. However, the Razer Viper Ultimate is also much more expensive. The difference between the two of them, however, are not by much and the M3 does indeed produce both a satisfying click and springy feedback the most. RGB is controlled by Armory Crate. Installation was simple and you can begin changing the RGB color scheme and customize your scroll speed pretty quickly. I'm not sure how many people fixate on customizing a mouse. However, for me, just as long as it can change the RGB once or twice a month and dial in the sensitivity cycles I like, then I hardly use the software. You can see this from the fact that I own a Corsair keyboard with a Razer mouse and an MSI monitor. Sinking RGB is not really my thing. However, if it is for you, then AuraSync is a reliable piece of software. And if you have different branded hardware like me, then you'll still be happy just as long as you don't care about not being able to sync all of these guys together. In conclusion, we are giving the TUF M3 Gen 2 an 8.5 out of 10, mostly because it is an inexpensive yet good-looking mouse from a reliable hardware manufacturer. The only flaws I would highlight are the loss of one of the sensitivity buttons on top and the lack of a paracord upgrade. However, because a number of people commented that they don't care about being able to switch sensitivities in both ways, this might not be a major defect for most. Would I be trading in my Razer Viper Ultimate for the TUF M3? No, mostly because I really prefer to go as wireless as possible. However, if I was a type of consumer who didn't want to think about his or her mouse, the M3 Gen 2 is a safe and tastefully constructed mouse for those who want an uncomplicated, good-looking and reliable mouse, which is under 1,200 pesos. Sometimes, there's a question, do we know a computer shop that is trusted by those who don't care? Actually, we do. Full-service PC store and hardware sugar. We sell PC components. We also sell fully-assembled rigs. We clean computers. We also include our excellent cable management and CPU cooler repasting in cleaning. We also clean and repaste GPUs. In our physical store, and you can also buy from our site, www.hwsugar.ph, which is 100% up-to-date for the inventory there. If the item is stocked, it's available on the site. We also ship nationwide. Thanks for watching, and maybe one of these days, we'll see you at the shop.