SteelSeries made their name with a range of reliable mouse pads in an era where most players used whatever came with their computers – or no mouse pad at all! Their QcK range has endured as a popular option for more than 20 years, but the mouse pad space has seen significant evolution as of late, mirroring similar explosions for the likes of mechanical keyboards and ultra-light mice. Boutique mouse pad firms are now producing a wide range of specialised options for esports aficionados, from low-friction speed pads made from exotic materials to control-focused ‘mud’ pads designed for ultimate precision. That meant it was time for a refresh at SteelSeries HQ, with the Danish firm taking cues from some of the most popular enthusiast brands to produce the QcK Performance lineup that we’re reviewing today.
There are three QcK Performance pads, each with their own feel. Balance is the closest to the traditional QcK formula, while Speed opts for a slicker design that glides better and Control goes the other way with a rougher, stickier surface designed for precision. Each pad is available in Large (49x42cm, $40/£40) and XL (90x40cm, $50/£50) sizes.
All three variants are cloth pads – there are no glass or glass hybrid options just yet – but there are material differences here. The Speed pad uses a nylon blend, the Balance pad has ‘tightly woven’ polyester and nylon and the Control pad adopts ‘high density’ polyester. SteelSeries provided closeups of each material with its review units, and it’s fascinating to see how the extremely fine detail of the speed pad compares to the coarser and increasingly irregular patterns visible in the balance and control pads – something that’s possible to discern on these mouse pads in the flesh, too.
Beyond the three options, there are also some small generational upgrades that differentiate each Performance model from their QcK predecessors. The most obvious is a cloth tag on the top right corner of the mouse, with yellow for control, blue for balance and pink for speed; the reverse is inscribed with SteelSeries’ normal ‘for glory’ catchphrase. I’m a fan of these sorts of design touches, most notably with Wooting’s oversized cloth tag on the side of 60HE rapid trigger keyboard, and it works similarly well here.
Internally, the mouse pads use a 2.9mm layer of ‘high-grade neoprene foam’ to ensure they remain perfectly flat. Add on the 0.6mm surface of each pad and you end up with a final 3.5mm thickness that falls between the standard QcK and thicker QcK Heavy. The low-profile stitched edge is also welcome, increasing durability without the coarse, scratchy texture of low-end stitched mouse pads.
Actually trying out each of the three QcK Performance pads in Delta Force and Counter-Strike 2 was a lot of fun. These are both relatively tactical FPS titles, versus something like The Finals or Fortnite which is a bit twitchier, but the games can still produce chaotic close-quarters combat that tests your ability to track quickly moving targets and flick onto unexpected opponents. I opted for “best cheap ultralight” mouse for the testing, as you’ll need something fairly lightweight – and the 56g Zaopin Z2 Mini fits the bill nicely.
In general, the pads did exactly what they promised on the metaphorical tin, with the speed pad offering the most rapid acceleration potential at the expense of potentially overshooting, while the control pad required a bit more of a push to get going but felt like it stopped on a dime. The balance pad was right in the middle of course, and felt quite similar to the older QcK pads that I’ve been using for years. The surface felt quite robust too, resisting downward pressure, unlike the much softer glass-hybrid pad I was using previously. This means that the amount of friction doesn’t change much if you grip the mouse tightly in a clutch situation, which is generally preferred.
Playing good Counter-Strike (and most indeed, most FPS) is about pre-positioning your mouse on the most likely positions for an enemy to be lurking, so I felt the difference in glide most obviously for those more frantic scenarios where you’re needing to swap between targets in different directions. Here, the quick reaction potential of the speed pad felt the most comfortable option with an automatic weapon, but with a sniper rifle in hand the control pad made a little more sense to ensure accuracy in those final few millimetres of adjustment before the shot.
It was similar in Delta Force, with both speed and control pads providing good results after a short mental adjustment period, with single-shot weapons like sniper rifles or AT4 launchers feeling a little better suited to the control pad. I’d say that your choice of mouse is more impactful here than your choice of mouse pad, but it’s interesting to play around with these different surface options to see if you can tease out another tiny advantage over your rivals.
The challenge here is deciding which QcK Performance pad is right for you. Ideally you’d have access to all three options, and SteelSeries says that it is aiming to offer exactly that in some stores, but for most people you’ll need to commit to one – or buy multiple variants – before you’ve had a chance to try them in anger. There is a quiz on SteelSeries’ site too, which tries to get a sense of your priorities, playstyle and game genres before delivering a verdict (and signing you up for SteelSeries newsletters), which might be worth trying as a first step.
The best advice I can give largely comes down to playstyle. For FPS players, games or roles that involve a lot of rapid mouse movement, such as Fortnite or Call of Duty, are probably best-suited for a speed pad, while those that prefer a more tactical style and slower-firing weapons such as in Counter-Strike or Rainbow Six: Siege might do better on a control pad. More balanced pads ought to perform reasonably well across the board, and are probably a sensible (if boring) choice for anyone that doesn’t play competitively. Of course, outside of FPS, mouse speed is typically less important than mouse precision, and that would push me towards recommending control or balanced pads for strategy, MOBA and other competitive genres.
In innovation terms, it’s clear that the QcK Performance Speed is the pick of the bunch. It’s soft, smooth and slick, ideal for tracking targets or flicking onto opponents in fast-paced FPS games. If you’ve not tried a speed pad before, this is an excellent and reasonably priced place to start.
The Balance pad is a more traditional style and is the most comfortable option of the three, making it better for PCs where you’re working as well as playing games. That said, it’s perhaps a bit overshadowed by the other pads in the lineup in terms of wow factor, and apart from the nifty tag, it doesn’t feel like a game-changing upgrade if you’re already using a regular QcK pad.
The Control pad is the most interesting option here, with a rougher surface that isn’t as comfortable day-to-day but provides a more obvious gameplay benefit in terms of accuracy, with less chance of overshooting your target and more consistent results. Pairing this with an ultra-light mouse results in an extremely crisp experience, and it’s what I’ll personally be using – at least until the next mouse pad arrives for review!
Going forward, I’ll be interested to see if SteelSeries opt to experiment with more exotic materials or designs in the future. Glass and hybrid glass pads are quite on-trend these days, and the company’s first product was a glass pad called the Icemat, so it feels like a natural area of interest. Still, I can see the wisdom in opting for a more mainstream cloth lineup to start, and the three-member QcK Performance offering is a strong foundation indeed.
