Review: The Roccat Apuri will make your desk look good, but for a price

Over the next few days, we will be reviewing a few Roccat gaming products. The first one up is the Roccat Apuri.

Ever get feel like your mouse cable goes on for miles? It can get quite unruly and clutter up your desk. Well the Roccat Apuri is a stylish way to tidy up your desktop while providing more USB ports. Described as a Smart Desktop Management System (SDMS), the Apuri can de-clutter wires from where you game. Instead of running cables all around and through your desk, the Apuri USB hub can power another four USB devices and features a mouse bungee that holds your mouse cable.

The first thing that you'll notice is the design. There's plenty of USB hubs that can be had for less money, but part of PC gaming is about aesthetics, and the Roccat Apuri provides plenty of stylish beauty to go along with its functionality. Featuring a tripod-ish design and matte black finish, the Apuri stands a bit above the desk it rests on with the mouse bungee coming over the top of it, making it look like a scorpion stinger. You'll definitely look twice, as the design is pretty cool. It also have three bright blue LED lights that light up when you power it with its AC adapter. If you don't want to use the AC adapter then the lights won't be on. It can still power devices like cell phones and such, but you'll need to use the AC adapter for the Apuri to power peripherals that require more.

Outside of the futuristic-looking design, the Apuri offers the functionality that you'd expect from a USB hub, plus more. It offers four USB ports while only taking up one in your computer. The best part of this hub is the mouse bungee that allows you to control your mouse cable. You can easily adjust how much cable you want, and ultimately, it just keeps the dang thing out of your way. It's surprisingly flexible and durable with a good amount of give to it. If you don't require the mouse bungee, then you can easily remove it. However, at that point it just has the functionality of every other USB hub.

The downside of this device is the price. It sits at $39.99, and you can get other USB hubs for a lot cheaper. What you're paying for here is the design and unique look of it, as well as the mouse cord management. It just looks cool sitting there near your monitor. If you don't care about looks and just want a USB hub, I can't recommend this product, but I'm a sucker for pretty PC peripherals, and the Roccat Apuri fits the bill.

Tech Specs:

• 4 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
• Output power active (using AC adapter): 2A
• Output power passive (using USB cable): 500mA
• Length of USB cable: 1.5m
• Length of power cable: 1.5m
• Detachable Mouse bungee
• 3 LEDs (top) and underlighting
• Stable tripod design

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com