SteelSeries Sensei - LanOC Reviews

SteelSeries Sensei - Overall

Details: Category: Input Devices; Published: Saturday, 10 September 2011 05:00

Page 6 of 6

Overall

So after it’s all said and done is the Sensei an improvement over the Xai? The ARM alone is a major improvement but the improved scroll wheel and software also are nice. They kept everything that was great about the Xai and improved on the rest.

The only thing that bothers me about the Sensei is its use of lighting. To be fair, I love lighting on most of my products including mice. The problem I have with is Steel Series’s history. More than once we have sat down with Kim Rom and others from SteelSeries and had them explain (very convincingly) how they are different than Razer because they focus on the features that professional gamers need to win and they avoid the use of and unneeded lighting and flashy features. Because of that the Xai was very subtle and only had the one white light. Please don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed programing the LanOC colors onto the Sensei and think it’s a very attractive mouse. It’s just the use of lighting, although not bad, feels out of place on a SteelSeries product. In a way I feel like they jumped the shark.

Even with that opinion, it’s clear that the Sensei is an amazing mouse with absolutely no issues at all. I can’t wait to load up our LanOC Reviews profile and take it out to a few LANs before the end of this year. You couldn’t ask for a better replacement for the Xai. Job well done SteelSeries, you really have your work cut out for when you try to improve on this one in the future.

fv2 tophonors

Author Bio

Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org

Editor-in-chief

You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

Posts in discussion: Steel Series Sensei

Arxon replied the topic: #19733 11 Sep 2011 06:42

You could have used fraps on the options video for a clearer picture.

garfi3ld replied the topic: #19735 11 Sep 2011 07:00

I know, we wanted to try out the use of the video camera. We are planning on using it in the future for things that Fraps can't do.

Arxon replied the topic: #19737 11 Sep 2011 10:04

Yeah understandable. Do you guys have the light stuff with the reflective umbrellas?(don't know what they are called)

garfi3ld replied the topic: #19739 11 Sep 2011 10:18

no our lighting is typically rudimentary at best. I am hoping to get better lighting after the new year. The cost of CES puts a major damper on things and picking up the new camera was a big hit also.

So what do you guys think of the Sensei? This is one of only I think two reviews published on the mouse right now worldwide (atleast that we can find).

khanov replied the topic: #19799 14 Sep 2011 12:30

Thanks for the review, good read.
I'm curious about one thing that you left out, did you try the "Exactaim" and "ExactAccel" ?
These seem to be Steelseries name for on-the-fly adjustment of acceleration. I know most gamers would just turn that **** off, but I was wondering if you played with it at all (and if so what are your impressions) ?

garfi3ld replied the topic: #19800 14 Sep 2011 14:46

I did try out the Exactaim and Exactaccel. Having come from the Xai I already knew what I preferred. I crank up the Exactaim to cut out the "jitter" or shakyness that a laser mouse sometimes gets on a poor quality surface. It also does a good job of keeping your aim steady in game if you get slightly shaky.

Exactaccel is a 1 - 10 setting for in mouse acceleration. I am like most other gamers who prefer no acceleration on my mouse. With it turned up to its highest setting of 10, responsiveness is considerably higher. Depending on how quickly you move your mouse moving a few inches can move the curser all the way across the screen or only a few inches. If you can get used to it, accel can be great for a sniper who needs detailed movement when aiming but the ability to turn around quickly if needed.

Wingless92 replied the topic: #19802 14 Sep 2011 19:46

I wish we had a release date on this. I want one!

garfi3ld replied the topic: #19803 14 Sep 2011 19:58

They haven't announced a date but they keep saying SOON. I suspect it will be over the next few days.

Wingless92 replied the topic: #19919 20 Sep 2011 21:24

Shipping the first week of October. Gonna wait till it hits Amazon then i'll pick one up.

Wingless92 replied the topic: #20353 11 Oct 2011 01:36

They are sold out right now on Amazon. I am holding off until they are back in stock. I really don't want to mess around with returning it if I don't like it with another website.

Wingless92 replied the topic: #20512 23 Oct 2011 23:29

Picked mine up on Amazon. So far i'm liking it but I am still getting used to it. Much better than the Razer mouse that I had awhile back. Liking that I can change the colors to match my keyboard.