The Keychron M2 8K is a powerful budget gaming mouse — as long as you don’t mind seeing shiny fingerprints

Keychron knows how to make a good mouse that packs a punch without breaking the bank — and the Keychron M2 8K is one such rodent. Featuring 8,000Hz polling and adjustable DPI up to 30,000, the M2 8K is a gaming powerhouse. It features Angle Snapping, too, which gives you a competitive advantage in FPS titles. Adding to its appeal is up to 140 hours of runtime, and extensive web-based customization.

But the M2 8K isn’t perfect. Its scroll wheel is stiff and feels rigid, which has a negative impact on your gaming experience. The body feels quite slippery, and it’s also a fingerprint magnet. The sub-$100 mouse market is overcrowded already, and even the tiniest flaw feels big when you consider the competition.

So, is it still the best gaming mouse for you? Read my full Keychron M2 8K review to find out.

Keychron M2 8K review: Specs

Keychron M2 8K review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A wireless gaming mouse with 30,000 DPI and 8,000Hz polling
• Who is it for? Gamers on a budget
• How much does it cost? The Keychron M2 8K is available for just $69 / £54
• What do we like? The superb gaming performance, long battery life, user-friendly software, and budget-friendly price
• What don’t we like? The slippery and fingerprint-prone design, and stiff scroll wheel

Keychron M2 8K review: The ups

From its 30,000 DPI and 8,000Hz polling rate, to its long battery life and web-based software, the Keychron M2 8K is a solid budget-friendly gaming mouse.

Superb gaming performance

The Keychron M2 8K’s biggest selling point is, of course, its gaming performance. Even though it weighs just 1.94oz, the M2 8K packs a lot of tech. It’s got an 8,000Hz polling rate and a maximum DPI of 30,000 — both of which can be adjusted using the dedicated buttons at the bottom of the mouse.

8KHz polling in competition mice is fairly commonplace now, as is such high DPI, like the SteelSeries Rival Pro ($179) with 42,000, the Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike ($179) with 44,000, the Razer Viper V4 Pro ($159) with 50,000, and the Fnatic x Lamzu Maya 8K ($119) with 30,000. It’s nice to see the M2 8K go toe-to-toe with these mice at a much lower price.

First of all, let’s talk about 8,000Hz polling. Regardless of the game I played, from Cyberpunk 2077 and Counter-Strike 2 to Lies of P, I didn’t experience or notice any latency issues. All of my commands were registered smoothly and instantaneously, and I appreciated the click buttons’ tactile feedback as well. You can always drop the polling rate down to 1,000Hz when you aren’t gaming, as 8KHz can be a drain on system resources (and the mouse’s battery life).

A high and adjustable DPI of 30,000 proves to be a big advantage across genres, as you can slow down your movements or speed them up, depending on the in-game scenario. For instance, when I wanted precise, smooth and controlled crosshair placement for landing headshots in Counter-Strike 2, I opted for a low DPI like 800.

This gave me a lot of control over my movement, and when I was trying to execute a headshot in the distance, my shaky hand movements didn’t throw off my aim. It also helps that the M2 8K features Angle Snapping (enabled via the companion app) that smooths out lateral mouse movements to ensure a straight line, helping you keep your cursor at head-level at all times. It ensures that your hand’s natural and minute movements don’t impact your cursor’s movement, thereby giving you an advantage in games like Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant.

Setting the M2 8K to its maximum DPI of 30,000 is probably overkill for most people — I know it is for me — but I guess it’s good to have in case you need it. I opted for a high DPI of 10,000 when I wanted to be super quick in Cyberpunk 2077 and Lies of P. When trying to stealth my way through a base in Cyberpunk 2077, or being surrounded by slow-moving puppet enemies in Lies of P, I was able to use the mouse’s high DPI to quickly move my camera and scan my surroundings. It also enabled me to change directions really quickly while in close-quarter combat.

Extensive web-based customization

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The Keychron M2 8K can be extensively customized via the web-based Keychron Launcher app. Keychron Launcher is one of my favorite apps, as it sports a very clean interface, doesn’t feature intrusive pop-ups (unlike my archnemesis Asus Armoury Crate), and best of all, it can be used without having to install any third-party bloatware on to your machine.

Once you’ve plugged in your M2 8K and opened Keychron Launcher in Google Chrome (or other browser), you’re able to assign different DPI values and polling rates to their dedicated buttons, toggle smart features like Angle Snapping, change scroll direction, and update the mouse’s firmware. Keychron Launcher is super easy to use, and each setting is accompanied by a short explanation so that you understand what each function does.

Up to 140 hours of battery life

Keychron has spared no expense in ensuring that the M2 8K lasts as long as possible — and for a budget-friendly mouse, it boasts exceptional battery life. The M2 8K is equipped with the same 600mAh rechargeable battery that’s also found in the Keychron M3 Mini 8K ($69). When polling at 1,000Hz, the M2 8K is rated for up to 140 hours. 8,000Hz polling is naturally detrimental to any device’s runtime, and the M2 8K isn’t an exception to that. Its battery life drops to 40 hours when polling at 8,000Hz — but that’s still excellent.

In comparison, both the Keychron M6 8K ($69) and the pricier Fnatic x Lamzu Maya 8K are rated for 80 hours each at 1,000Hz. The M2 8K is bested by the likes of the Razer Viper V4 Pro with its 45-hour runtime when polling at 8,000Hz, and the SteelSeries Rival Pro with its zero-downtime battery — but they cost a lot more than the M2 8K.

Budget-friendly

On top of everything the Keychron M2 8K offers, it’s the mouse’s price that really sweetens the deal. Priced at just $69 / £54, it’s one of the cheapest mice you can buy today. There’s no dearth of competition in that price range, and the M2 8K goes up against heavy hitters, like the Keychron M7 ($49), the Keychron M3 Mini 8K ($69), and the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless ($79). The M2 8K leaves its mark as one of the best, though, and is great for anyone who wants a simple-looking but powerful gaming mouse.

Keychron M2 8K review: The downs

Unfortunately, the Keychron M2 8K has a few flaws. Its scroll wheel is very stiff, the mouse itself proved slippery in testing, and it’s a fingerprint magnet.

Stiff scroll wheel

One of the things that’s annoyed me most about using the Keychron M2 8K is its stiff scroll wheel. It feels like it has high resistance, and it feels heavy, tight and hard to rotate. In addition to that, the scroll click also feels heavy. While that’s great for avoiding accidental clicks while, say, scrolling through a spreadsheet, it can cause finger fatigue and impact reaction times in video games.

The M2 8K’s scroll wheel certainly had an impact on my experience when playing Cyberpunk 2077. When in the heat of combat, I wasn’t able to swap between my quick-access weapons as quickly as I’d have liked, because the scroll wheel felt heavy. I haven’t experienced this issue with other Keychron mice, like the M6 8K or the M3 Mini 8K. Maybe the M2 8K’s scroll wheel will loosen over time — but I wish it felt smooth straight out of the box.

Slippery body

While I’ve found the Keychron M2 8K mostly comfortable, it proved quite slippery in testing. The uncoated, smooth ABS plastic lacks inherent grip. If your hands tend to sweat a lot, you won’t be pleased with this mouse, as the smooth surface becomes harder to hold during intense gaming sessions.

This issue can be fixed by sticking grip tape to the M2 8K — but frustratingly, Keychron doesn’t include any in the mouse’s box, so you’ll have to grab some third-party one. If you want a textured mouse that feels grippy, I’d recommend the Keychron M3 Mini V2 8K or the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless. Neither gave me any grip issues during testing. Elite esports mice, like the Razer Viper V4 Pro and the Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike, feel grippy too, so it’s a problem with the M2 8K, not competition mice as a whole.

Fingerprint magnet

This isn’t a major drawback but for anyone who gets the ick easily may want to consider this before buying the Keychron M2 8K. Thanks to its matte ABS coating, this thing is a fingerprint magnet. I noticed my fingerprints shining on the mouse just after an hour of use. We had the same issue with the SteelSeries Rival and Sensei Pro, so this isn’t isolated to Keychron. But if it bothers you, grab the NZXT Lift Elite Wireless or the Lemokey G1 ($64) instead.

Keychron M2 8K review: Verdict

The Keychron M2 8K is a competent little rodent. It’s great for FPS and RPGs as it packs 8,000Hz polling and 30,000 DPI, both of which can be adjusted on the fly, thanks to the buttons on the bottom. When polling at 1,000Hz, the mouse can last up to a whopping 140 hours, too. Oh, and customization is easy as pie via web-based software.

However, the M2 8K has a few flaws. It picks up fingerprints extremely easily and quickly, and the mouse’s body feels quite slippery. The M2 8K’s scroll wheel feels very stiff and rigid, too, which has a detrimental effect on gaming performance. For $69 or just under, you can get a more well-rounded mouse, like the Lemokey G1 or the Keychron M3 Mini V2 8K. Though the M2 8K is good, it’s simply outdone by others.