If you're looking for a great gaming mouse then you've arrived at the right page because I've discovered a mouse that'll handle all of your gaming needs - the SteelSeries Sensei. It's designed for tournament-style play with 3 eye catching LED displays. When you decide to upgrade your equipment to competition level, be mindful of what's out there, some mice can be overkill; in the past some companies & players thought more buttons meant more action but what they didn't realize is too many buttons on limited space made things very confusing. Now SteelSeries, with the help of veteran gamer teams like Sk Gaming, Fnatic, Evil Geniuses, and Natus Vincere to name a few, have brought their experience to the design floor, testing the Sensei against games like StarCraft II, DotA, League of Legends, Doom III, Warcraft III and many more. The Sensei is specifically designed by gamers for gamers plus the added feature of sophisticated customization.
What's in the box?
- SteelSeries Sensei Pro-gaming Laser Mouse (H1.5" x W2.7" x L4.9", Weight: 0.22 lbs.)
- SS Sticker
- Instruction manual (Multilanguage)
At a quick glance, the three illuminated areas look very sharp and are customizable for a personal experience. The 8 button ergonomic design, is built for strictly business; outside of the basic mouse functions there is an additional set of Left/Right side buttons, which can be set by macros. On top is a CPI switch to toggle from 1 - 5,700 to 5701 – 11400 CPI. What does that mean? For you dual/Tri screen setups, you can move from screen 1 to screen 3 in one swing or make a slow steady headshot. Turn the Sensei over and at the bottom you'll be met by an adjustable LCD display that in combination with a long press of the CPI button will allow you to change profiles on the fly. And once your profile is selected, a personalized icon or message of your choice can appear. The laser sensor in the center can track movement up to 150" p/s, so no movement will go unnoticed. The 6.5' (2 m) braided cable allows free movement and a tangle free experience when packed. And at the end there's a gold plated USB adapter for loss-less signal, reducing the delay of every command. All calculations are being managed by a 32 bit ARM processor (Intel 75Mhz P1) inside the mouse, resulting in faster response time and processing up to 10.8 Mpx at 12,000 fps. Since, most gaming mice are built to be accurate and precise, what sets the SteelSeries Sensei apart from other gaming mice?
It's the ability to customize and adjust the sensors, LCD, and colors at any given time. There's no need to install software of any kind in order to operate the Sensei but, the SteelSeries Engine brings the customization to life by making available all functions and options. The engine will update the firmware and up to four profiles stored inside the mouse and the profiles can be activated at any time allowing you to face any gaming environment. Once it has located your peripherals, the engine's UI will display all compatible devices on the top left, which in this case is the Sensei. Below that is profile selection column divided into two sections: Default - which has nine preset profiles made by e-sports professional gamers like Evil Geniuses, Idra, Fnatic, cAm, Natus Vincere, and Markeloff. Custom - if you decide to make any changes to the default profiles or make new ones, which will then be saved here. On the opposite side is the action and Help/Tips column; both columns will remain permanent as you switch through the five different main screens:
Buttons - This screen will show you a diagram of your mouse and button assignments options. In the button assignments you will have the ability to build as complex a macro as you please (just remember the gaming rules for your event). The option for South-paw is also found under the diagram.
On Board Profiles –The 1st profile position is saved for the SteelSeries engine but the next 4 will allow you to save default or custom Profiles of your choosing.
Properties – Once you set up all the technical stuff on one of your four profiles, when it comes time to play, instead of constantly fiddling with your profiles, you can set a particular profile for a certain game.
Statistics – a great way to track your button usage, over any period of time, helping you figure out your speed and efficient button arrangement.
Settings – This screen is where all the customization lies, which you can quickly switch between profiles. Also for those of you who don't like the glow, you can completely switch off all illumination but for those who do, here is where options come to play. You are allowed to adjust R-G-B from 1 – 255 on any LED. If you know the HEX code for your desired color, type it in to get the desired result; with this much control you can pick and choose up to 16.8M color combinations. The custom LCD display can display personalized bitmap picture messages or game titles as long as they are 128 x 32px.
Some additional features included is the SteelSeries Exacttech which Incorporates adjustments to the firmware:
EXACTSENS - controls your amount of movement and by adjusting your CPI1 in increments of 1 - 5,700, or CPI2 5,701 – 11,400, will adjust your mouse to your gameplay.
EXACTLIFT - this feature allows you to make adjustments of the lift distance, which comes into play with the variety of mouse pad surfaces. That variety plays a part in the control.
EXACTAIM/ EXACTACCEL – both features go hand in hand as you slow down your mouse and need more precise movement, exact aim will decelerate the mouse giving you the focus you need. On the other hand, if you need quick response movement, EXACTACCEL speeds your mouse movement.
FreeMove - path correction, predict movement and autocorrects, straightening out your movement, amount of FreeMove can be adjusted to 0% to 100%
The Bang:
The Sensei may look simple on the outside but under the hood, you'll find a tricked out monster. First up is the level of customization, which is very steep and allows you to tinker with so many aspects of the mouse that truly makes it yours. Going further, the LCD screen tells you what profile you're on, but more importantly you can put your name on it or funny messages. The colors also play an important role, especially when you go to large events and theft or confusion might be an issue; you can claim what's yours, in style. And after four hours of continuous gameplay, how did the high and wide arch design of this mouse feel? I really liked it! It's very smooth, very fluid and the way your hand lays on it makes long play a breeze. I always worry that ambidextrous mice don't fit right; I never had a problem with this mouse, but it's the main complaint of the southpaw.
The Slack:
This is my first time using such a sophisticated engine for a mouse, so I will admit it took me a few days for figure out what I was doing. I honestly have never been exposed to such detail, but once I learned it, it was a piece of cake. The Macro feature comes with a warning; you can make extended macros that can include key strokes and timing CPI button but, if you get caught in events you will be disqualified. If you're not a hardcore gamer, don't bother looking in this direction, as this is not a mouse meant for casuals.
If you're a regular player most likely all you'll know is point and click, but there is more out there, and as you start climbing up the gaming ladder of competition, tournament and online play, a great mouse is needed. The SteelSeries Sensei comes with big boy pants so be ready to deliver some damage… once you adjust to the settings. Plus the 16.8 M color combination is a definite added bonus. So, out of TOV 5 stars, the SteelSeries Sensei gets a precise 5 out of 5.
