9. SteelSeries Xai Laser
We tested 9 gaming mice. Turns out they're all decent, but manufacturers target different types of gamers.
Practically identical to the Kinzu Optical in design, the Xai Laser is the bigger, badder brother. It has the muscle in the family, packing eight buttons, internal storage for five profiles, an LCD screen, and the ability to change and adjust nearly all its settings directly on the mouse. The Xai Laser is the ultimate in high-end simplicity.
The mouse itself is adorned with buttons, although the mouse is shaped and cleverly designed so they don’t stand out. Thumb buttons on both sides are low-profile and don’t stand out, but are tactile both in feel and sound. When these and any other buttons on this mouse are pressed, you will feel and hear it.
The biggest noticeable difference between the Xai and every other tested mouse is the left mouse button. Most mice have buttons that are easy to press and double-click. The Xai, however, is built so that the left- and right-mouse buttons are more resistive, which makes it difficult to double click. We reset the sensitivity and timing, both in Windows and in SteelSeries’ own drivers, but it’s not a software issue. The button is simply harder to push.
For everyday computing, it’s a problem. Double-clicking is far too common to make difficult. Yet for gaming, the exact opposite is true. Other mice, like the SideWinder X6 and Naga, are easy to click accidentally. We’ve never accidentally clicked with the Xai once, misfired, or made an improper command due to a hardware mishap.
Behind the gentle exterior–or under to be more precise–is the LCD screen. Unlike the other mice in this roundup, the Xai’s LCD screen actually displays information besides the current DPI/CPI setting. Upon holding down the DPI changer for five seconds, the LCD screen lists five profiles, which then allows for changing the ExactSense, ExactRate, FreeMove, ExactAim, and ExactAccel for DPI sensitivity, ultra-polling rate, creating straight lines, path correction, and mouse acceleration, respectively.
Adjusting all of these settings on the mouse alone isn’t recommended because it is time consuming, but after creating profiles using the easy included software, the Xai provides an excellent array of features. With a DPI sensor that tops 5,001, the ability to adjust Windows mouse settings, a long list of SteelSeries-specific mouse adjustments, and more, there are more options than you can dream of. Best of all, simple explanations of what each setting does are available right in the software. Users can even download profiles from pro gamers.
As a gaming mouse, the Xai proves itself very well. It flows well, feels good in the hand even for its large size, and with all the additional options, can be a very powerful tool with some practice. Unlike the other gaming mice that simply require your own skill, the SteelSeries gives players the option to improve their performance by making hard actions easier, like moving the mouse in a straight line or making jittery movements smoother. Being able to actually use these tools isn’t something you pick up overnight, but for the trained gamer, it can be the difference between life and death.
The Xai Laser retails for $90. SteelSeries also offers the Ikari Laser, one of our favorite mice, which we highly recommend because of its excellent design and performance. The Ikari Laser retails for $90, though it’s a right-handed only mouse.
Gaming Performance: 4.5
Non-Gaming Performance: 3
Comfort: 4.5
Features: 5
Price: 4
Overall: 4.5
Blah... no deathadder?
I really enjoy my classic death adder.
DeathAdder's a great mouse guys, but it's older, and we've already looked at it before. It went into our holiday guide as well, as one of our favorite mice.
Too much useless buttons on the razer,i don't even use all the G's on my G15 kb+ too fat
Mice are so yesterday - Trackballs FTW!
i wish razer would make a new version of the diamonback with better quality construction. I havent found a more comfortable mouse for my hands, but the left mouse button started to go bad on mine, and the cable started to short out where it connects to the front of the mouse. My G9 has buttons that feel like they will last much longer, the side buttons are nicer and easier to use, and the braided-material-covered cord feels like it will hold up better... but the things just too short and doesnt feel as good with my usual claw-ish grip...
i think Logitech G5 and Logitech G9 and Logitech G9x is better than any mic ,i'll chose one of them (difference in price )
i wish razer would make a new version of the diamonback with better quality construction. I havent found a more comfortable mouse for my hands, but the left mouse button started to go bad on mine, and the cable started to short out where it connects to the front of the mouse. My G9 has buttons that feel like they will last much longer, the side buttons are nicer and easier to use, and the braided-material-covered cord feels like it will hold up better... but the things just too short and doesnt feel as good with my usual claw-ish grip...
My wired diamondback has worked great for 3, going on 4 years now. I also carry it around a lot so it is abused a bit.
What about the Razer Mamba?
Blah... no deathadder?
DeathAdder is crap. Razer is crap. Mouse wheel and grips deteriorate after about a year.
worse piece of crap I ever bought
Too much useless buttons on the razer,i don't even use all the G's on my G15 kb+ too fat
If you play MMOs like World of Warcraft you do end up using all your buttons. Having extra instant cast attacks really helps in PVP combat.
go to 7th page. 3rd paragraph. change LDC to LCD.
dingumf, chill out. Just because your specific product might not have lasted doesn't justify that the whole Company is crap. Mass produced products doesn't guarantee that what you're getting is going to be perfectly produced (and this shouldn't even come to mind when buying anything considering the chances of actually getting a poorly built product)
I've had my Deathadder for a couple of years now, and I've had 0 issues with it. None of the parts have worn down, and it plays just like new. There's no reason to shoot your mouth off like a child because you might have had an unsatisfactory experience with Razer.
I'm going to say that I've never had a piece of Logitech equipment that has lasted me more than a couple of months. I've bought a few headsets, and mice from them, and none of them have lasted longer than 3 months, and the product wasn't all that good for me to begin with. It's just a preference, and I would have eventually gotten used to the mice, but I wasted a bit of cash investing in Logitech. After I got a Razer I've stuck to them, and even bought a Razer keyboard, and both have been performing fantastically.
Guys, the Deathadder is an AMAZING MOUSE. For me, Razer has been a solid company, especially in comparison to Logitech. At least give them a shot.
Man, I'd love to see this article expanded every now and then...specially with some older stuff and then newer stuff as it comes out. I will say though, that I felt the graph was tough to read, if you added the scores, then represented it as a stacked bar graph, it would be much easier to compare mice.
I know il get thumbs down for this but here goes...
Wtf no wireless Logitech G7/sidewinder X8/Razer Mamba gaming mouse???
I know what your gona say, batteries suck, but tell that to the sidewinder X8, or the Razer Mamba, you attach a cord to recharge...if you can't attach a cord to a mouse during the last 2 hours of the battery's life in which it flashes the entire time to warn you of your battery's condition, then you don't deserve a gaming mouse.... I own a G7 and X8 and all I do is game, the tracking is superb on the G7, and you can make 5 dpi settings, the X8 has a very open grip, doesn't leave your hand feeling squeezed, and id try the razer mamba but thats one pricy mouse.
I wish someone made a hybrid of a sidewinder x8 and logitech g7, the hand comfort and functionality of the x8 with the strong build quality and excellent laser tracking of the g7...maybe it's the mamba, but im not desperate enough to spend 115 bucks on a mouse yet
Scratch the X8 part in my post... -.-
really like my G5. I've had it for several years now. It's the only mouse that seems to fit my hand comfortably. It has enough buttons and custom button mapping makes it very versatile. Haven't tried the G500 but it has the same shape so that's what I'll be buying when my G5 craps out. BTW.. I own several rather expensive peripherals and the G5 mouse is one of the best purchases I've ever made.
DeathAdder is crap. Razer is crap. Mouse wheel and grips deteriorate after about a year. worse piece of crap I ever bought
deathadder is an amazing mouse. its the only gaming mouse that has lasted me. i have had it for 2 years, the mouse feet are perfect and the wheel is perfect and everything works great.
Guys, as I said, the Deathadder is an older mouse so it didn't make the cut for this roundup. We did mention it as part of possible Razer mice you might be interested in.
The Associate and GTQ: the Logitech G7 is also very old, so we didn't include it. The Mamba...we wanted to include it, but Razer was unable to get it in to us in time for this roundup. Though my research of the mouse, at least compared to the SideWinder X8, says that the X8 is a better mouse overall. I have not tested or used the G7 at all, though perhaps at CES Logitech will announce a new wireless gaming mouse. That would be quite exciting.
I think you could've done better on the mouse selection.
There are a lot more mice that you could've tested.
For example
Cooler Master Storm Sentinel
OZone Gaming Smog Gaming Mouse
Steel Series Ikari
OCZ Behemoth
OCZ Eclipse
HP's Gaming Mouse with VooDooDNA