SteelSeries Sensei

S

Syntaxx

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
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So who's getting the steelseries sensei mouse?

Rumor says it will be available for purchase Sept 13th on Tuesday.

I'm due for a new mouse so I think I'm going to pick it up since i Just got a new monitor ,rig ,keyboard and pad, only thing left to change is the mouse. :D
 
Sigh, it's all fluff and marketing. SS has admitted as much.

For a site dedicated to video cards and revealing how Nvidia/AMD re-brand and re-market the same things and overhype useless numbers, you guys all fall into the trap when it comes to mice.

The only important part of the Sensei is the sensor, which is the exact same as what the Xai/G9x/etc. use. It has different drivers and firmware, all of which basically amount to bullshit. No one needs a 11,000 CPI/DPI mouse. ExactAim is negative acceleration - it's a bad thing. ExactAcceleration is positive acceleration - it's a bad thing. They took product defects and rebranded them as features. ExactSens is just a more complicated metric with no new benefit. It's the equivalent of John Hollinger's statistics manipulation.

Sorry to be a buzzkill, but left and right I see people here being duped for inferior, more expensive products. Kim Rom has said the Sensei is a mouse with flashy lights, because flashy lights are what makes money. It's not a mouse for serious gamers (besides the pros who get paid to use it in an advertisement, but never use it at tournaments.)
 
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Where has SS admitted this about the sensei? .... it looks like a quality product..
 
What about it looks quality? Because it has a bunch of features, most of which you'll never use, and the rest which are shared with other mice?

http://www.overclock.net/mice/1089290-steelseries-sensei-13.html

We were faced with a choice - we could keep making mice "for ourselves", and possibly a small select group of people who appreciate our approach and our philosophies. But it would limit our distribution, our reach and ultimately our ability to also work in other product categories. That is not sustainable longterm, the company would either get bought or go under.
..... Or we could listen to the market and try to make products that move volume - and which still embodies our approach, philosophies, core values (and on top of that have some shiny fluff). Not all features we add to our products are added because we believe they are essential for performance - but they may be essential for the person who buying the product. Either because that person likes a feature (say illumination) or because he has been led to believe it is important (say a very high DPI value).

With the Sensei we added fluff, we added shiny.
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SteelSeries used to be the anti-Razer. Razer was all marketing, SS was all performance. It turns out marketing makes more money than performance, so SS joined the club.

As you can see in Rom's post, SteelSeries' next mouse, the Kana, is the one being designed for serious gaming.

From later on in that thread:
Originally Posted by Glymbol
Is there a reason to move from Xai to Sensei?
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No. If you already have a Xai, I don't think the upgrade is worth the price.
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Right now im using like 4 year old razor so the move to SS would be good for me.
 
Why not just get a new Razer? Or wait for the Kana, which comes out Q4 2011? Or get a Xai?
 
I really like what the guy's written. Straightforward, explained the reasons - makes total sense. But prone to snip-and-clip by assholes.

Sign me up for a Sensei! I'm gonna be blazin' them lights!
 
The dedicated processor in it looks interesting. I'm thinking about getting one of these.


My UT game has improved since I got a steelseries 6Gv2 keyboard. Use Razer Deathadder and Razer Lachesis right now and they work well. I'm willing to try a new mouse if it will give me an edge.
 
SonDa5 said:
\My UT game has improved since I got a steelseries 6Gv2 keyboard.
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This logic is just so...

The 6Gv2 is a good, relatively low priced cherry black keyboard but I seriously doubt it's had a noticeable impact on your UT game. It's like attributing a triple double to the shoes.

Ronco, I may be an asshole but I'm a right asshole that knows about mice. Read the rest of that thread, no one on oc.net (the premier mouse site) will be getting a Sensei because they know it's a waste. You're free to waste your money as you please, but you'll probably get more utility by buying a Xai and splitting the difference on iPhone fart apps.
 
Jaerb4 you are bringing me down man. Let us spend our frikin money on whatever we want. We work and earn the money. I've got more shit than you can imagine that I don't use, but I like having it in case I want to use it.
 
gman said:
Jaerb4 you are bringing me down man. Let us spend our frikin money on whatever we want. We work and earn the money. I've got more shit than you can imagine that I don't use, but I like having it in case I want to use it.
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Sounds like you may be making a future appearance on the show Hoarders... ;)
 
Jaerb4 said:
This logic is just so...

The 6Gv2 is a good, relatively low priced cherry black keyboard but I seriously doubt it's had a noticeable impact on your UT game. It's like attributing a triple double to the shoes.
.
Click to expand...

I was playing on a Razer Tarantula keyboard before and interpret the logic how you want but I know that my UT game play has improved since getting the 6Gv2 keyboard. Main thing that I have noticed is that I am a much tougher target to hit due to being able to move just a split second faster.

I was skeptical about buying the 6Gv2 but after a few months of playing with it my stats have improved. Since getting the keyboard my game has improved.


Based on my experience with the keyboard I would definitely give a SS mouse a try.
 
fuck the features, fuck the price, and fuck the shit you wont use.
i've been using steelseries, for a while, and my 2 cents goes to the build quality. they -USED- to not sell shit with lights and gadgets in them, and focus on the quality of the product. i've had the 5H headphones when they were the best htey had, and they were great.
mousepad surfaces for everyones needs, and a mouse that wont fall apart.

i've used razer mouses, and it broke pretty fast, so i pretty much gave up on that.

as for a mechanical keyboard that wont increase oyour gameplay, nothing can really dramatically increase your skill, not enough to even notice. its how much time you put into practicing, because i've played counter-strike for 7 years, and i went through 3 50-80 dollar keyboards because it just wont stand up to constant use.

It's easy to sell a product to naive computer gamers with you can say it has all these features, but its not like its completely disregaurded if you dont want to use those features. its still a good mouse, with a good design, and a normal price. it has a crapload of features that you may not use, but so does your car, and you probably dont use those turn signals anymore since U R S0 Pr0 l33t sk33ts.
 
Xai is probably best mouse i ever used. Only reason i am not using it as my main mouse is the shape.

I would rather get that than the Sensei,
 
esdxx said:
Xai is probably best mouse i ever used. Only reason i am not using it as my main mouse is the shape.

I would rather get that than the Sensei,
Click to expand...

I have a Zowie EC1 and it's not bad but the Xai was easily the most responsive mouse I've ever used. I've tried the Deathadder, gone through a line of Logitech mice (MX500 still my favorite of the lineup) and I've yet to find anything like the Xai. I might pickup a G400 to see how it compares but I'm sure it's on par with the MX518.
 
looks like a Xai for "cool guys" who havent gotten over their ricer-period yet. If it pushes the Xai out of the market, SS are shooting themselves in the foot IMO - besides the great performance, what sets Xai appart from the rest of the "high-end" market is the minimalistic design.

My own Xai is the white Ruse version, and IMO it would have been perfect with the rugged black shell, rather than the glossy one I got. (got it with 'Ruse pro gamer edition' which cost me under half the price of the normal Xai)

Buy a Xai now if you want the performance, they have been restocked on Newegg, I see. You can pick em up for 55 bucks now.
 
I suppose my question regarding the Sensei is the "nature" of the "fluff". While those quotes seem damning in a certain light, I have to wonder if the correlations are really lining up.

I own a Steelseries SX mousepad. That's the one with the (normally, I got it on sale) hefty pricetag, made out of anodized aluminum. Could they have made it cheaper if they just painted the aluminum? Sure, but it wouldn't be as high quality a product due to chipping. Is my gaming going to be notably different from having an anodized aluminum pad, such that couldn't be found on any other mousepad? Probably not - there's likely some plastic-y pads that approach the same texture and would create a very similar environment for the mouse. However, that doesn't mean it is useless. I find the durability very appealing, and the anodized aluminum can absorb cold sufficient to provide cooling relief for my hand which probably wouldn't be possible with other pads. For me, it provides a better feel than any other mousepad I've used.

I wonder if any of this is in play with the Sensei. For instance, I do like the idea of a metal chassis just because I prefer the feel and benefits of metal over plastic, so that's a real bonus for me. "Shiny" and "Fluff" don't have to be useless, they're just another option to provide a look or feel and most of that ends up subjective. If they were willing to sell a Xai with a metal deck over a plastic one, I'd be looking into that, for instance. Lights and whatnot are now basically industry standard, and I can see the point of having at least some point of illumination if you're using macro profiles without installed software. You can always turn the lights off, on the vast majority of peripherals that have them. This is beginning to sound a little like people discussing performance cars - some believe that every single feature should be there to optimize certain performance and that things like air conditioning and other luxury/enjoyment options compromise that due to weight. Others are willing to either pay for the additional luxuries too and/or accept the relatively minimal performance impairment for a whole lot of comfort, especially if they don't drive this vehicle for a living.

What worries me is the issues with the sensor and I don't have the experience with any SteelSeries mice (save for the Cataclysm one, which I find better than the Razer Naga (standard). I'd like to test the Epic and the SWTOR option) to be able to compare the sensor. I had assumed that their acceleration and whatnot were somehow dynamically tuned based on the inclusion of such a powerful processor, not simply the basic "flaws" of the laser. Should this turn out to be the case, then its certainly not worth supporting this kind of marketing drivel.

The idea of a mouse that requires no software and has the processing power to basically adjust DPI dynamically based on what you need at that moment, plus including a whole host of features that are normal for gaming mice these days, seems attractive. However, I'd like to see some confirmation if the sensor's flaws are truly being represented as features; that will change my confidence in SteelSeries far more than them admitting they include stuff not necessary for performance because some users like it.
 
I believe you actually have to install the drivers to take advantage of the adjustable settings, like the lift off distance, acceleration, etc.

The minor acceleration and noticeable negative acceleration are flaws of the sensor itself. Every mouse using that sensor has essentially the same baseline performance in those two regards. It's still a relatively minor issue, as those other mice (Xai, G9x, etc.) are all very good mice. What SteelSeries has done is add another layer on top of that, through the hardware/driver interaction which allows you to increase acceleration/negative acceleration/etc. more.

I don't know whether those settings are turned on by default or only turned on after installing the drivers. It's a benign waste of money if it's off by default and only accessible through drivers. If it's on by default and requires installing the drivers to eliminate, then that's a problem.

The processor in the mouse is just for the digital zoom 2x CPI/DPI. It's the same idea as a digital zoom in a camera, which means the accuracy at the increased CPI (5600+ range) will be worse. Again, not that 11,200 CPI is a usable number for anyone, and keep in mind CPI/DPI is still a mostly meaningless figure. Like Rom said, SteelSeries has been touting that since the beginning, when they first introduced the Ikari, and no one listened so now they've thrown in a full processor to increase that meaningless number.

No doubt SteelSeries generally uses higher quality parts/chassis than Razer products but the plasticky feel isn't a bad thing if it makes the product lighter. I'm willing to bet most serious FPS players prefer as light a mouse as possible (and probably RTS too, seeing as the Logitech Mini Optical was the #1 mouse of choice among BW pros), and SS has done a damn fine job keeping the weight down on the Sensei, but it could be even lighter without all that stuff. Hopefully the Kana brings all those concepts together.
 
It looks like a sweet mouse and comfortable, i have everything brand new right now with my rig, the mouse is the last thing to replace. Right now im leaning towards the Sensei, their will always be ppl being raging about something but its all good :D CUZ I WILL LIKE IT AND ENJOY IT LIKE THE REST OF MY RIG THAT U WOULD PROB MAKE FUN OF :D


side note just got my new qck mouse pad today it is pure sex!
 
I agree 100% on quality. I tried alot of mice that felt like the buttons where half way on either loose or didn't feel like they were clicking correctly. Ya know ya pay a shit load on it and it should be a built a bit better.
 
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