Dareu A950 Wing mouse review

Keyboard Builders' Digest / Review

Dareu A950 Wing mouse review

The wireless/wired Dareu A950 Wing mouse is another highly customizable companion for those seeking performance – with 8K polling rate both in wired and 2.4G modes.

KBD.news
Published March 3, 2025

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For users in mainland China, the Dareu A950 Wing mouse has been around since last October (as A950 Air); however, as of March 1st, it is now available to an international audience as well. The not too revolutionary shape conceals impressive specs, e.g. 8K polling rate not just in wired but also in 2.4G wireless modes, plus 30K DPI sensitivity. All this with an overall weight of 35g.

Again, this is still the same keyboard-themed blog you know as kbd.news. :) However, after the A980 Pro Max (and GravaStar Mercury X Pro), I received a Dareu A950 Wing. I've been using it for weeks, and now that it's available outside of China too, sharing my experiences may be useful for some of you interested.

Introduction

As its design, specs and features suggest, the Dareu A950 Wing aims to provide top-notch performance for professional gamers. Which, to be clear, I am still not. :) As before, you'll be getting my opinion from the perspective of coding, blogging, and other less demanding daily tasks typical of an office worker and hobbyist rather than a competitive gamer. However, keep in mind that the ultra-lightweight design and versatile customization options cater to its main target audience of gamers looking for high-speed, accurate gameplay.

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Background

DAREU [/de?(r)/ /ju/] has been around for 16 years, working as an OEM for Logitech and Razer, and offering computer peripherals for both e-sports and offices for global customers. Yep, they have keyboards too, we may get to those a bit later. ;)

In 2013, DAREU was appointed the exclusive gaming equipment brand for the world's top gaming competition WCG China. In 2022, they officially entered the overseas market, in 2023 the US e-commerce market, and now they've sent me this Dareu A950 Wing. :) As always, take everything I write with a grain of salt, as receiving a free product may introduce all kinds of biases – as you already know.

Variants

The DAREU A950 Wing is available in white or black – providing options for different tastes and working/gaming environments.

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It may be a bit hard to orient yourself in Dareu's catalogue and nomenclature:

There's an:

A950 (88g, tri-mode, fancy light, 12K DPI)
A950 Pro 4K (55g, tri-mode, 4K, 26K DPI)
A950pro Al-Mg Alloy 4K (55g, tri-mode, 4K, 26K DPI)
and this A950 Wing we're talking about is the new model – with the best specs and performance for those who need e.g. 8K and 30K DPI in an ultra-light 35g form.
Finally: A950 Air is the original name of the A950 Wing for the domestic Chinese market – you can stumble upon it here and there on product pages and in the documentation.

Honestly, if you're not into competitive gaming, you most likely want the features of the basic A950. However, since there's not a big difference in prices, feel free to choose based on the look. ;)

Unboxing & Contents

In the stylish quality cardboard box you have the mouse itself, a user manual, mouse bag, 1.5m cable with paracord, 8K receiver, anti-slip stickers and replacement skates/feet, plus an alcoholic disinfectant too.

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Quick specs

Below you can find the features of the DAREU A950 Wing International Edition(!) – not exactly same compared to the original A950 Air:

Connection: 2.4G wireless/wired
Colors: black/white
PC+ABS button material
Sensor: PAW 3950
Chip performance: 30000DPI, 750IPS, 50G acceleration
Resolution: 400/800/1200/1600/2000 (max 30K)
Report rate: 125-8000Hz
Main control chip: Nordic 52840
Report Rate: Wired/Wireless 8K report rate
Battery: 210mAh (70 hours at 1K report rate)
Microswitch: Omron (100m)
Weight: 35g
Size: 119.5x62.8x38.3mm

Design and Build Quality

The shape of the mouse is pretty standard, symmetric, relatively low profile.

Settings-wise, there's just a single physical on-off switch on the mouse itself, no DPI selection button or anything else. Probably due to the main design goal of minimizing weight. Speaking of weight, I found this breakdown rather informative:

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Indeed, the A950 Wing feels absolutely lightweight, given the thin but strong plastic housing. This ensures swift and instant movements without much resistance, and also reduced fatigue during gaming sessions.

With its quite normal look and relatively low-profile shape the Dareu A950 Wing fits your hand and fingers really well. The buttons are well-placed, at least depending on your mousing style. The two side buttons are more accessible with palm and claw grips, less so with fingertip grip.

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At least if we classify grip styles into palm, claw, and fingertip. With my hand size and finger lengths, the Dareu A950 Wing is clearly best suited for palm grip. Unfortunately, I use fingertip grip, so while the back button on the side is easily accessible this way, reaching for the other button is inconvenient. That said, your experience may be quite the opposite depending on your hand size.

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Scroll wheel

While the magnesium scroll wheel of the A980 Pro Max was definitely classy and fancy, the rubberized A950 Wing scroll wheel is much more controllable. I like it better: not slippery at all, and the pattern helps too.

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Performance and Sensor

Equipped with the Nordic 52840 MCU and the DAREU X PixArt AIM-750U / PAW3950 sensor, the A950 Wing should offer exceptional tracking capabilities. That said, I'm not in a position to judge this performance. In theory, this sensor supports DPI settings up to 30,000, 750IPS and 50G, ensuring responsiveness for various gaming genres. Since 1600 DIP is still borderline too sensitive for my taste, you have to try these setting for yourself. :)

The mouse supports wireless/wired dual 8KHz report rate – many other models offer 8K only in wired mode! The 8K polling rate should translate into near-zero latency, allowing for ultra-smooth cursor movement even during high-intensity gaming. I'm not sure about the practical significance of this, but a response time of 0.125ms is said to make the movement of the cursor trajectory more precise and the control more accurate, the movement faster and smoother – adding to the high-performance, low-latency competitive gaming experience.

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Other than competitive gaming, I'm not sure there's any other field where these extreme settings have any real-life use. Out of curiosity I tried the lowest, 125Hz polling rate, and working this way felt just as good. :)

The Omron switches are rated for a ridiculously high 100M click lifespan. Obviously, I can't test their longevity in just a few day. What I can tell is that, compared to the Kailh switches of the A980 Pro Max, these Omrons feel lighter and sound more thocky.

All in all, whether you're engaged in fast-paced FPS games, precision-demanding strategy titles, or browsing kbd.news, the sensor and switches combine for a great experience.

Connectivity and Battery Life

The A950 Wing is a dual mode wireless mouse – it offers:

Wireless 2.4 GHz with a 8K USB-C dongle.
USB-C wired mode for uninterrupted usage and charging.

The average life of the 210mAh battery is said to be 70 hours.

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Some hard numbers? I haven't charged it yet, using it as it came. As of writing this piece, the screen, showing the actual battery level, indicates the same level as a few hours ago. So it seems that a single charge will last for weeks with my usage pattern.

Customization and Software

Dareu's all-in-one software (for Windows 10 and above) expands the mouse's functionality with various customization options. You definitely have to install this suit for the A950 Wing, because the mouse itself has no physical buttons for any setting – there's no way to adjust DPI or polling rate directly on the mouse itself.

Since I reviewed the Dareu A980 Pro Max, the driver went from v1.5.6.7 to v1.5.6.16, so I installed it again. (FYI: You can install it on Win10+ (Win10 included). The mouse works with e.g. Win 7 too, there's just no way to customize it.)

I have to say that I'm not comfortable running such things as administrator, as required to run this software.

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The settings indicate that the default settings were 2000 DPI and 1000Hz report rate. Actually, your experience will depend on your system (how e.g. Windows translates and adjusts these based on your system's mouse properties). The default values were too fast for me on my work PC, and just perfect at home.

Which means the basic A950 mouse could work for me just fine, no need for the fancy 8K and 30K DPI.

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On the back of the mouse, there's a physical on/off switch for wireless use only I guess, since it works in wired mode even in its off state.

To sum up, allowing deep customization may provide gamers with an edge, but for the average user, let's be honest, you'll most likely set these parameters once and then forget about them. That doesn't mean these settings are unnecessary, quite the opposite. That's the way you tailor the mouse to your needs and preferences.

Experiences

It took me a while to find the optimal sensitivity (DPI) for my multi-monitor setup. The default setting was a bit too high for my taste on my works setup.

Part of the challenge comes from the fact that, like any precision device, the mouse behaves differently on a bare desk surface compared to different kinds of mouse pads.

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Performance in this sense is not critical for me, so I set it to a lower value. In addition, I hate if clicking a button moves the cursor, e.g. when double-clicking, or editing text/code. Using a deskmat seems to help taming a 30K DPI beast.

Pros

universal shape, cool black/red color combo
perfect traction of the wheel
highly customizable through software
wired/wireless connectivity (2.4GHz wireless, USB-C wired)

Cons

I can't really think of any. Maybe non-gamers would prefer a bit heavier construction. What's a pro for pros may be not optimal for mere mortals.

Conclusion

The Dareu A950 Wing is an excellent choice for gamers seeking a lightweight, high-performance mouse with versatile customization options. As a non-gamer office worker I still like its features, but I would consider a cheaper model in Dareu's catalogue simply because 30DPI and 8K seem a bit of an overkill to edit code, crop photos and navigate spreadsheets. :)

For more information or to purchase the A950 Wing or any of its little bothers, visit the Dareu website:

Dareu A950 Wing – ~~$85~~ $63 – now with 25% off!
A950 Wing in Dareu's Amazon store.

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Published on Mon 3rd Mar 2025. Featured in KBD #188.

Tags: mouse review

Keyboard Builders' Digest / Review