Trust is a well-known name in the European computer peripherals market, but with the GXT 960 Graphin and GXT 970 Morfix, the company is showing its pedigree, with two high-quality gaming mice that will satisfy casual and serious gamers alike without breaking the bank.
The GXT 960 is the more budget-friendly of the two, with a smaller (yet no less impressive) design, but both products have a high DPI sensor and adjustable RGB lighting. Putting both products to the test, we’re going to give you a full runthrough on the pros and cons of both gaming mice in this extensive comparison review.
Trust GXT 960 Graphin Vs GXT 970 Morfix: Design
A gaming mouse should be sturdy, with good ergonomics, plenty of features, and look beautiful on your desk. That’s exactly what Trust has accomplished with both the GXT 960 and the GXT 970.
The GXT 960 Graphin is the cheaper option, with a lightweight honeycomb-style casing. At just 74 grams, you’re unlikely to get arm-ache with the GXT 960, but serious gamers may prefer a little more weight and control, as the Graphin is extremely light to the touch.
Like its bigger brother, however, it includes appealing RGB lighting that can be clearly seen through the honeycomb holes across the casing. It also comes with a “drag-free” cable which should limit any friction behind your desk (making gameplay a little easier).
In contrast, the GXT 970 Morfix is a serious mouse for serious gamers. Heavier than the GXT 960 (coming in at 167g), the mouse feels a lot more premium, with a smoother exterior that feels more glamorous than the GXT 960. It’s bigger to hold, though, so if you’ve got smaller hands, you may prefer to stick with the GXT 960.
As you might expect from a gaming mouse of this calibre, the GXT 970 Morfix also has a number of additional buttons and features to help you play better. The GXT 970 Morfix has a side panel that you can use for quick gameplay actions, with two additional panels you can switch between, depending on your tastes and needs.
You can switch between a 9-digit keyboard or a three-button quick action set for scrolling through commands or options. You can also switch the side panel on the other side to help with ergonomics, especially to suit different hand shapes or left-handed users.
This puts it in direct competition with other gaming mice like the Razer Naga Trinity, which includes three interchangeable side panels as standard.
While the GXT 960 Graphin is a more budget-friendly alternative, it’s still easy to hold and handle. If you’re looking for a premium experience, the GXT 970 Morfix is the better option here. It has many of the features you’d see in a far more expensive product, lacking only adjustable weights and more side plate options.
Trust GXT 960 Graphin Vs GXT 970 Morfix: Specs and Features
Although both the GXT 960 Graphin and GXT 970 Morfix are aimed at slightly different ends of the market, both products are a testament to Trust’s desire to offer a premium experience for all its customers, as they come with a surprising set of similar specs and features.
One of the most important features of any gaming mouse is the DPI (Dots Per Inch) count. Whatever the specified DPI count is for a mouse, this means that, when you move the mouse by one inch across your screen, the mouse will move by the number of pixels specified.
For both the GXT 960 Graphin and the GXT 970 Morfix, the DPI count is 10,000. This means that, compared to a standard PC mouse, you’ll be putting much less effort into moving your mouse across your screen to hit your targets.
This high level of sensitivity should make your gameplay experience even better, but don’t worry—you can change your mouse speed in Windows Settings and by using the Trust control software if you want to tone things down a little.
For GXT 970 Morfix users, you can also make use of the DPI select buttons on the top of the mouse to quickly switch your DPI sensitivity levels. If you need to quickly switch up your sensitivity (or lower it) mid-game, pressing these buttons will change things automatically. This feature isn’t available for the GXT 960 Graphin.
Alongside a high DPI count, both mice offer customizable RGB lighting, with up to 16.8 million colors available for you to select. You’ll need to install Trust’s control software to control this, otherwise the mice will rotate through a set number of color schemes.
While the GXT 960 Graphin does have a couple of built-in side buttons for you to customize using Trust’s control software, the GXT 970 Morfix is the real winner. As we’ve mentioned, it comes with two customizable side panels, each with a different number of buttons and controls for you to set up and use for gameplay macros.
Trust GXT 960 Graphin Vs GXT 970 Morfix: Software
To get the most out of both Trust gaming mice, you’ll need to download the Trust management software. This gives you full access to RGB and thumb button customization to make either mice better suited for you.
Thankfully, it’s an easy set up for both products. A label is included on the mice cabling with a direct link to the download page, making set up swift. The software is different for both products, but the interface is pretty similar for both. If you already have a Trust mouse, however, you’ll need to download this new software.
The Trust software sits as a tray icon in your taskbar, letting you quickly access and change your settings. It offers quick access to your RGB colors, mouse button actions, and mouse sensitivity.
If you want to set different mice settings (one for gaming, one for work, etc), then you can save them in the Profile options section. These can be imported or exported, letting you take your settings with you to other PCs.
Overall, Trust’s control software is simple and easy to use. Set up will take minutes, giving you complete control over how your mouse looks, acts, and responds.
Which Trust Gaming Mouse Is for You?
The GXT 960 Graphin and GXT 970 Morfix are a signal of intent from Trust that they’re going all-in to target casual gamers with affordable, high-quality gaming peripherals.
Both are competitively priced, retailing at £34.99 and £44.99 respectively in the UK, with similar pricing in the European markets. It’s unclear if the products are heading for the U.S. market, but if they do, we’re sure they’ll be well received.
If cost is an issue, but you still want a beautiful, sensitive, and lightweight mouse for casual gaming, then you’re unlikely to be disappointed with the GXT 960 Graphin. Lightweight really means light, however, so if you prefer a heavier mouse to control, you may need to look at other options.
That’s where the GXT 970 Morfix comes in, which offers the same sensitivity and RGB lighting, but coupled with a higher-quality casing and customizable side panels. The only downside to the Morfix is a lack of customizable weights, but at less than £50, this is a minor issue that doesn’t detract from the quality of the mice overall.
If you’re coming from a controller or a standard PC mouse, then both the GXT 960 Graphin and GXT 970 Morfix will take your gameplay to the next level. If you’ve built up a gaming backlog through the last few Steam sales, now’s the time to start getting through it.
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Ben Stockton is a freelance technology writer based in the United Kingdom. In a past life, Ben was a college lecturer in the UK, training teens and adults. Since leaving the classroom, Ben has taken his teaching experience and applied it to writing tech how-to guides and tutorials, specialising in Linux, Windows, and Android. He has a degree in History and a postgraduate qualification in Computing. Read Ben’s Full Bio
3D printer manufacturer, Anycubic, recently released two new printers—the Anycubic Kobra and its bigger, badder uncle, the Anycubic Kobra Max. We were interested in testing both products in our hunt for the best entry-level 3D printers. We’re looking for ease-of-use and affordability, as well as build and print quality.
We’ve published a number of 3D printer reviews from Anycubic—for both FDM printers like the Anycubic Vyper that print with spools of filament and SLA resin 3D printers like the Anycubic Photon Mono X 6K that use a liquid resin as its raw material—and we can say that the Kobra Max has quickly become one of our favorites.
Features of the Anycubic Kobra Max 3D Printer
The most obvious feature of this printer is its size. It is absolutely massive. That means you can print huge items in a single piece. Think of a full helmet or an entire ukulele—these are things you couldn’t print in one piece on a normal-sized 3D printer. Truly, the word “Max” doesn’t sufficiently capture just how big this printer is. Good luck fitting the packaging into your trash or recycling bins!
We were skeptical that a Cartesian printer of this size (which relies on a moveable print bed) would perform well since it has a lot of weight to move around. Admittedly, it’s not the speediest printer out there because of those design tradeoffs, but it works great.
The Kobra Max has an impressive list of technical specifications:
- Leveling: Automatic, 25 points leveling using the Anycubic Leviq technology
- Panel area: 7.95 in² / 51.3 cm²
- Filament run-out detection: support
- Printing material: PLA / ABS / PETG & TPU
- Nozzle size: ø 0.4 mm (replaceable)
- Nozzle temperature: ≤ 500 °F / 260 °C
- Hot bed temperature: ≤ 194 °F / 90 °C
- Average speed: 3.1 – 3.9 in./s (80mm/s – 100m/s)
- Control panel: 4.3 inch LCD touch screen
- Z-axis: double threaded rod
- Print size: 17.7 x 15.7 x 15.7 in. / 45 x 40 x 40 cm (HWD)
- Build volume: 19.02 gal. / 72.0 L
- Machine dimensions: 72 x 71.5 x 66.5cm
As far as we can tell, the extruder is identical to the extruder and print head on the Anycubic Vyper. Furthermore, the Kobra Max has the same automatic bed-leveling system as the Vyper. The system uses a pressure sensor instead of an inductive sensor.
The bed-leveling sensor is right on the nozzle itself, ensuring that it can probe every printable part of the bed. And since the sensor is pressure-based, you could replace the glass bed with any other material and the bed-leveling system will still work. (Inductive sensors require metal to work, so you won’t find them on printers with glass beds.)
Since the Kobra Max’s printing platform is a rigid glass sheet, you can’t remove and flex it to pop your prints off. We prefer removable spring steel build plates, but glass is still a nice printing surface. If your printer doesn’t have a removable bed, glass is ideal because you can use metal scrapers to remove your prints without worrying about scratching the surface.
The LCD touchscreen is identical to the screens used on many other Anycubic printers. As usual, it’s responsive and easy to use.
A note about filament types: the Kobra Max will print with PLA, PETG, TPU, and ABS. However, if you really want to print with ABS and get the best possible results, the printer should be inside an enclosure. Given its size, it may be challenging to build a suitable enclosure for the Kobra Max.
Assembling the Kobra Max 3D Printer
When assembling the new Kobra Max, make sure you have sufficient working space. Since the bed moves forward and backward, you need more space than you’d think. We put it on a 30” folding table, and when it’s printing, it needs about 36 inches, front to back.
Assembly of the Kobra Max is no more difficult than assembling the Kobra or Vyper. The only additional items are the diagonal braces which add stiffness to the frame, reducing mechanical vibration.
It took two people about 15 minutes to assemble. Double-check that you’ve cut all the zip ties used to stabilize the printer during shipping. There are a lot of them.
Calibration
The auto-bed-leveling system is easy to use. Anycubic recommends that you check the x- and the y-axes to make sure they don’t wobble. If they do, you can adjust the eccentric nuts until the wobbling stops. There was no wobble on our printer, so we didn’t have to do anything.
Additionally, the x- and y-axes have belt tensioners. We needed to slightly tighten the x-axis on ours. The tensioners are easy to use and are features a lot of other printers lack. Who wants to take apart the extruder assembly just to tighten the belts? Not us, and probably not you.
Build Quality of the Kobra Max
Due to the addition of the diagonal braces, the frame is really stiff. The dual z-axis screws are an improvement over the smaller Kobra. They virtually eliminated sagging of the x-axis assembly.
The spool holder sits on the base of the printer, reducing wobbling when printing tall items. It’s better than having the spool on the top like on the Kobra.
This printer is built with aluminum extrusions with aesthetically-pleasing plastic covers for the hotend and the tenionsers. It’s got an optical z endstop. The x and y endstops are mechanical. The whole thing feels solid.
First Print
For the first print, we used the test file provided by Anycubic. Appropriately, the owl is about twice the print volume of the owl test print that comes with the smaller Kobra. Given the bowden setup (which makes sense for a printer this size), we were surprised that the ears on the owl turned out so well.
The ears look better than they did on the owl printed on the Kobra which has a direct drive extruder system. We suspect that’s due to the slower print speed. Many times, retractions on bowden extruders will create artifacts, but we didn’t notice any blobs or stringing. It approaches the quality you’d expect from a direct-drive.
Next, we printed a vase with a large, flat base with a 0.2mm layer height. Removing prints from the glass bed is certainly not as easy as removing prints from smaller, flexible beds, but it’s not a deal-breaker either. We didn’t have any adhesion problems. The prints didn’t release when the glass bed cooled, which is what we expected and hoped for.
Curious what the power requirements would be for a printer this size, we were worried we wouldn’t be able to run multiple printers on the same circuit. We measured the power usage while the Kobra Max was printing, and, as expected, power usage is highest while the printer is warming up. Ours topped out at 473 watts. While printing, it was a more manageable 200-300 watts. We thought it would be more than that. You could probably run three of these printers on a 20 amp circuit.
Cut to the Chase
To drive home just how big the Kobra Max is, we put the Kobra on the bed of the Kobra Max. Insane. (We do not recommend you try this.)
A small printer is limiting, so if you find yourself printing large objects in small pieces and assembling them, consider buying a Kobra Max. If you’re new to 3D printing, keep in mind that it takes a long time to print big objects—potentially days and days. Typically, we’d recommend a smaller printer to beginners, but at the price point of $569.00 if you purchase on the Anycubic site, it’s worth considering as an entry-level printer.
One downside is that smaller prints will take a little longer than they would on a smaller, faster printer. That’s just physics. Bigger printers have more inertia to overcome and take longer to move. For example, the print time for our vase was thirteen hours. On our Prusa MK 2.5 with similar settings, it would have taken about twelve hours—not a huge difference.
*Special thanks to FormerLurker for help in reviewing AnyCubic’s Kobra Max 3D printer.
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Maggie Marystone is a freelance technology writer, human rights worker, and storyteller based in Chicago. Read Maggie’s Full Bio
