Software

Rather than do our typical collection of photos and screenshots of the software we are going to just including a video of everything. This way you can see all of the features, something that is hard to do when just using photos. One thing is for sure, SteelSeries has spent a lot of time on their software from the Xai to now. It’s not that their software was bad at all, in fact we had no problems. But the updated software is more in-depth and very easy to use. The software is the same as what was use on the SteelSeries Shift also. They are calling it the SteelSeries ENGINE, I would expect to see it included with all of their products in the future. All of the Sensei’s lighting can be programed to any color at all for each of your profiles. Any color is much more than the limited number that most companies give you; this time around you have 16.8 Million colors to pick from on each of the 4 options. We went with a blue and orange theme, I wonder why!

I love the ability to create as many profiles as you would like. The mouse itself holds 5 on-board, but you can swap them out as needed through the software. When programing the seven programmable buttons on the Sensei I noticed right away that SteelSeries didn’t include any special rapid fire or any other special use features like most other mice. You have a basic Macro mode and the seven different key options included with the mouse. BUT, even without any of the special key layouts we were able to create anything we needed using the macros. Once programed it becomes a custom action that you can add to other profiles later on. To give you an example, we were able to set the hard-to-reach mouse button 6 on the right side of the mouse to open Chrome and take us right to the LanOC website. To go along with it I created a macro that triple taps the left mouse button without any delay in between that gave a great burst mode in an FPS. Oddly enough you could even program that burst right to the left mouse button, something most other mice won’t let you do.

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To go along with our LanOC profile we created a bitmap LanOC Reviews image and uploaded it to our profile. You can find the image HERE if you are interested in doing it on your mouse, if you send an image of you running it we will even include it in our review! The ability to upload your own image isn’t new but it is new to a SteelSeries mouse, and it’s a welcomed addition in our opinion. Overall the new software is a huge improvement over their old software but we did notice that you now can’t set macros to up and down on the scroll wheel. I’m not sure that anyone will miss it, but it is worth noting.

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Arxon's Avatar
Arxon replied the topic: #19733 11 Sep 2011 06:42
You could have used fraps on the options video for a clearer picture.
garfi3ld's Avatar
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's Avatar
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's Avatar
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's Avatar
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's Avatar
Wingless92 replied the topic: #19802 14 Sep 2011 19:46
I wish we had a release date on this. I want one!
garfi3ld's Avatar
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's Avatar
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's Avatar
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's Avatar
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.

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