SteelSeries Sensei, Great straight out of the box or for advanced users

I went from an 18 month old steelseries kana to this one. It’s a little bigger, a little heavier but feels very similar except for the mousewheel which is stiffer but feels all the better for it. I’m sure the main rubbberised area of the kana is the same material as on this one, it feels the same and marks just as easily – make sure you wash your hands after eating those chips as the slightest bit of oil on your fingers will leave a stain. One thing i noticed was that i had my kana plugged into a usb 2. 0 port via a 2 foot usb extension cable and it was fine but this one seems to need just enough extra power for that not to work and i had to plug it into a usb 3. I’m sure plugged directly into a usb 2. 0 port it would be fine but it is something to bear in mind if your tower is too far away and you need an extension cable. Overall though it does feel like a step up from the kana and is very comfortable to use on any surface. I do like the simplicity of the steelseries engine software too.

I grew up and cut my teeth on competitive multiplayer fps games back when optical mice were the new kid on the block (mostly hours and hours of q3/ra3), and have always compared every mouse since then to the original microsoft intellimouse optical (the white and silver ambidextrous five button model) that i fell in love with. I’ve owned three of those, but mouse technology has moved on. I’ve been through logitech, razer and later microsoft iterations and although i adjust to them relatively well, they tend to be overcomplicated and pricey to boot, or the buttons are too fiddly to use reliably. I’ve never liked on-the-fly dps switching and the side buttons and shape of these mice tend to put me off a lot, but the sensei raw is well put together, is very similar in shape to that old mouse i love and has a fantastically smooth glide and nice switch/wheel action. The main buttons have just enough ‘give’ and a shallow but satisfying action and click to be sure you’re neither accidentally pressing it with the lightest touch, putting too much effort into pressing it or not sure if it has been pressed or not. The rubberised coating on this model is also very easy on the digits. Someone in another review stated it feels ‘cheap’, but i think this is more a product of it being less weighty than some. It still has a touch of heft to it (it doesn’t feel like it’s made of cardboard), it’s just not very weighty. The actual feel of the mouse itself is solid, not ‘cheap’ at all in the same way £10 off-brand budget mice might feel. The steel series engine software that serves to customize your keybindings and hardware settings is also easy to use and works without a hitch (i often had trouble with logitech mice jumping between settings or resetting themselves).

The mouse feels and works very well. Only reason i did not give it a 5-star rating is because the cables are not braided but rubber. This is exactly the same as my previous steelseries sensei raw (glossy finish) except for the cable. On a side note, the mouse looks absolutely gorgeous.The white is clean and sleek while the blue light definitely makes it a real beauty.

This is the first proper gaming mouse i have invested in, i usually go for for the dirt cheap tesco mice which last about 2-6 months. I have owned the sensei raw for about 2 months every day since my punches. The rubber coating on the mouse feels good, it also prevents clammy hands. The only problem i have with the mouse is the right side macro keys or unusable as the way they or position. I know this is done as the mouse is made for both left and righted handed people. But if the buttons were slightly brought to the front of the mouse on the right i side i would give 5/5 only for that case i’m giving it 4/5. Great mouse would recommend to anyone.

I bought this during an offer where it was £31 and i can say that for the last 2 years i have had it i’ve had no problems at all. Compared to the razer mamba which i had, which had problems after a year, i can say that this mouse is well worth the purchase especially comparing the price. I like this mouse for its no frills looks as i find many gaming mice tend to be covered in buttons or weird edges which just make them uncomfortable for daily use. The design of the mouse is just great for my grip and i’d recommend this mouse to anyone.

Great all around mousepro:lightweight4 customizable buttons on the sidesdpi on the fly adjustmentnice teflon legswirelesscharging in less than 2 hourseasy to usess engine 3 is amazingconsa bit of ‘lag’ while playing fps games (might be placebo)it died on me once while playing although it had 1 line of battery – it quickly came to live when i put it into the dock and took it out.

Works very well, no complaints there. Love the customisation options on the lighting, although as with the steelseries keyboards i’m not sure there are that many colour combinations, the leds only seem to change colour in steps (across each of the rgb values). So not so easy to match a colour with it, and the different areas on the mouse don’t quite match each other when the same colour is selected. Anyway it’s a nice feeling mouse, good size and weight, nice braided lead, good button actions.

Key specs for SteelSeries Sensei, Laser Gaming Mouse, RGB Illumination, LED Display, 8 Buttons, Ambidextrous, (PC / Mac) – Grey:

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• SteelSeries ExactSens, FreeMove, ExactAim, and ExactLift
• User defined bitmaps for the on-mouse LCD
• Ambidextrous shape
• Programmable macro buttons
• Driverless plug-and-play, and Gold-plated USB connector
• Menu system on the mouse
• 7 programmable buttons
• Three zone lighting – Scroll Wheel, CPI Indicator, and Logo

Comments from buyers

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Best mouse ever!

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very nice full size mouse

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Good: Simple design – distinct lack of gamer frills

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Good:simple design – distinct lack of gamer frills. Software that allows for a good degree of customisability and a useful interface for adding custom macros. I’ve found the tracking excellent in games as well as software like illustrator and autocad. Mediocre:one of the reasons i bought this mouse was because it has extra buttons on both sides – i like to use my ring finger to hit the buttons on right side of the mouse, but the tactility of the buttons is pretty poor. They’re mushy and it can be difficult to tell the difference between them just by touch. I’m slowly getting used to them, but i miss how clicky the buttons on the cheaper perixx model the sensei has replaced.

Fine for most uses, but for gaming not quite perfect. Replaced my rat 7 with this – the rubberised surface was a little difficult to get used to, but design-wise it’s fairly standard. Comfortable, if a little small in my hand (i’m 6foot plus). The ‘forward/back’ button placement isn’t quite right. It’s good, fine for most, but not the best.

This is by far the best mouse i have ever used (and i’ve used too many) i have farely small hands and this is great for a claw grip if your using a palm grip your little finger might drag across your mouse mat, the reason it doesn’t get 5 because after 4 months the button 5 has busted and the left click kinda crunches when i click hard, so i’m thinking of geting the better version.

Before playing on this i had used a friend’s razer copperhead, and was trying to get one of my own (it has been discontinued). I stumbled on a forum post of someone else looking to get a copperhead, and quite a few people recommended this as a possible replacement. It has a nice weight, and the main clicks are sturdy yet take little to no effort to press. I find that the extra buttons are in a perfect position whether you use the ‘claw’ or ‘palm’ grip. I’ve been using this mouse for a couple months now, at around 5 hours a day on some pretty click-intensive games (diablo 3, sc2) and it shows no sign of letting up. The only problem that i find with this mouse is that the shiny surface attracts dust, and after a long session can get a bit grubby where your fingers have been. A quick wipe clears this up no problem however. If i could go back in time i would’ve gotten the pro edition just because it’s black rather than white, and doesn’t have the shiny surface, but it’s not enough to make me hate this mouse. I love it, and would recommend it in a heartbeat.

The mouse it self is full size, which prefer, feels smooth in operation. Lots of pretty colours as well. The downside is the software. The mouse constantly switches off and has to be restarted, and when booting up the computer, the mouse itself can take 30 seconds or more to operate. I’m going to uninstall the software, and just use windows drivers. This will loose some of the fancy features, such as multiple colour options and macros, i suppose as the mouse feels so good in the hand it might be worth it, and wait for better drivers from the manufacturer. If you put the mouse into the charging cradle between use, it does not switch off.

Really like this people said its lights on go white and the connestions abit dodgy but i havnt had a single problem. To set up, i keep the docking station plugged into the pc hold buttan at the back for 3 seconds to turn on, then flick the switch on the mouse and hold the connection buttan for 3 seconds. Then for all the colours etc download steelseries engine 3 from the steelseries site easy.

Bought this mouse as a replacement for the sidewinder x8 due to wireless interference issues plaguing the mouse. This mouse has very precise tracking and is quite light. The shape of the mouse sorta forces you into a claw grip which is better for games but some may find it uncomfortable or fatiguing. The rubber finish feels very comfortable and nice to the touch, it is also hydrophobic and any moisture quickly escapes the surface. The led intensity level can be customised or turned off completely if you wish. The ptfe feet are also of very high quality, giving the mouse a light swift movement with sufficient control.

A bit lagging but quite accurate mouse for fps games. Is not the best lense one out there, but it is very conformable. The most comfortable i ever used and i am right handed. I had every single razer and logitech mouse. Deathadder has the best lense, but is the word shape i ever had on my hands, never got used to it. Plus razer mice live for few months o a year. But just for weeks or months.

For the price point of this mouse, it’s hard to find one to compare it to that looks and feels as nice as this one does. I’ve been through a lot of mice but i feel that this one is by far the best mouse i’ve purchased, and some have cost quite a bit more. I even use a corsair m90 in work which costs considerably more and has an incredible amount of functionality. But i still prefer to use this modest sensei raw. If you compare this mouse to most razer mice, it looks and feels better but doesn’t hurt your wallet so much. If you’re wondering what the differences are between this and the original sensei, unless you are a pro gamer who truly needs the best possible mouse for minimal disadvantage, then i’m pretty sure the raw will do you just fine. The compromises are small and the price drop is great. Tldr:pros: looks great, feels great and probably has enough functionality to do everything you want from a mouse. It works just as well as the more expensive version of the mouse and you don’t get too many compromises with the considerable price drop. Led’s are a plus, the white light looks clean and goes great with a matching led keyboard.

I got an email about the mouse and thought i’d write a little review about it. I bought the sensei about a year ago now, and i’ve loved it more and more every day that i use it. The ‘aluminium’ top is actually plastic coated in paint which many people say wears off, though the only wearing i’ve noticed is right at the bottom at the back of the mouse, and even that is barely anything (and for the first few months i had a low desk so i was constantly banging the mouse). The sensor on the sensei is amazing, though if you’re going to get it, have a little cotton bud or tiny (and very soft) paint brush handy as anything on the laser will throw the mouse off. I had a cat hair stuck in it once, and though the mouse didn’t play up like crazy, it was a tiny bit jerky which made sensitive games like skyrim horrible, so just be aware of that. The colour options on the mouse is crazy. You can have the 3 lights all different colours (the dpi light has two settings) which though it may sound silly, is quite nice. When i had my cheap pc, i bought a case with red leds. No problem, set the mouse to red. Bought my new antec 900 with blue leds, still no problem, changed them to blue.

This is a quality bit of kit. It isn’t cheap, but you get what you pay for. The fully customisable buttons are great and although the customisable lighting colour is a bit gimmicky, my mouse matches my backlit keyboard. This mouse is advertised for sale on the microsoft website, which makes me think they might ultimately own the company that makes this.

Absolute best mouse i’ve ever had. I’ve tried quite a few others in the last few years (in order of preference – cyborg rat 5, rat 3, logitech g602, logitech g502), and i’m very picky about the shape of the mouse ergonomically. This is obviously quite a subjective thing as people prefer different mouse shapes, although i find this one extremely comfortable. Before buying this i already owned a sensei raw glossy edition (with the glossy coating) – that was my favourite mouse but this one is just even better.Not only does the coating feel more comfortable and smoother, the mouse buttons also have a more satisfying feel to them – the glossy version feels more clicky/flimsy, but these have a more solid and very consistent press to them. I am a hardcore moba/rts gamer as well as occasional fps gamer so the performance is the 2nd most important thing to me, and as i already said the feel of the mouse clicks is near perfect on this mouse, the middle-mouse button is the best middle mouse button i’ve ever tried (perfect for scrolling the screen and clicking down fast). Finally as for the sensor – i find it to be perfectly good. No noticeable acceleration or jumping tbh. This is the mouse i’ve been searching for for ages, and i don’t imagine anything will beat it (for my personal taste of course) for quite a while.

One of the best choices in gaming mice. Almost 1 year now since i got it and performs as new. Perfect sensor, perfect grip, very slick and cool on the rubberedized version.

The mouse works as i expected it to, apart from if you are left handed and don’t use the steelseries engine software/drivers ,because if the software isn’t running any buttons that you have swapped from the left side to the right will revert to the left side, even after you have created a profile and saved it to the mouse (on board profiles). . As this is one of the main selling points i feel it should retain those settings but other than that is seems ok, the build appears to be reasonable,but the weak point is the cord,it shorts causing the mouse to randomly disconnect/reconnect again or become an unrecognisable device in windows, and the rma means shipping costs to denmark.

I use this mouse for both gaming and general use. I was initially drawn to it because of its minimalistic design. I wanted the production quality of a gaming mouse without the many superfluous extras that seem to be regularly tacked on. The rubberised material feels great, its does smudge but not easily. The overall shape of the mouse contours very well to your hand. It is very light, smooth and responsive. It has a gliding feeling when moved over the mouse mat. I also like the braided cable, it has yet to tangle on me. I haven’t used the software that comes with it, nor do i use the side buttons. Overall i would highly recommend this mouse.

The sensei raw is a cut down version of steelseries’ expensive counterpart, that is not to say it is any less well built and functional. The positives:it has a great rubberised texture on the top of the mouse which helps create a good amount of purchase within the hand. It feels smooth and at the same time has a non-slip quality perfect if you suffer with sweaty hands on long gaming sessions. The six buttons and click-able scroll wheel all respond well to finger pressure and the wheel itself has a satisfying roll click. Button positions are generally well placed. The addition of a dpi selector button under the scroll wheel enables two different speeds to be selected with a click of the button and can be handy when gaming. The size of mouse is good for medium-small fingered hands and i can’t imagine a large hand swamping the buttons either. The mouse has white lighting and has options for glowing and consistent light. You’ll never lose this in the dark and it isn’t distracting in most environments. The usb 2 cable is braided and is obviously a quality addition to the package, it is plenty long enough to reach into the back of your machine and doesn’t snag easily on objects sitting on your desk.

I have used this mouse for a few months now, and it is pretty good. I have used and owned tons of ‘gaming mice’ in the past couple of years and the sensei is very good. First impressions are awesome, as the appearance of the mouse is very very nice, the finish on the top of the mouse is awesome. I did have a lot of problems installing the software, as it’s kinda buggy for win7x64, but i did get it working in the end. I also used a steelseries xai a few months back, and i don’t know what it is but i just prefer the xai. 99 for the sensei, and the xai was cheaper, so i wish i would have got the xai instead, but maybe that’s just me. All in all it’s a pretty good mouse, i use it with a steelseries qck heavy mouse mat and don’t have any problems with tracking.

This is the fifth year i’ve been using this mouse. It gets used pretty much all day every working day. It is comfortable and accurate.

I’d be using microsoft explorer 3 for many yeards and then i was pushed to change my mouse to habu cause i couldnt get my hands on an apropriate m. Loved the habu , couldnt let it go , but since it stopped being produced , and my habu had problems with clicks i had again to move on to my next mouse. I was in love with the rubber on the buttons on habu , and was the main reason i was checkin this , but the grip was a little different and ii always had second thoughts. I got it , used it for a week , through which i couldnt stop complaining about the grip and the difference between the previous mouses. At a sudden moment i found myself really relaxing my hand on it. It was as everyone claims a matter of habbit.

Used for gaming at home and i also bought one for work. Great straight out of the box for advanced users you can tweak to your hearts desire. Great construction and rugged, i’ve taken one with me on business trips around the world and its survived drops, baggage handlers the lot. Best mouse i’ve ever used and i’ve played games on my pc my whole life.

I use this mouse for counter strike: global offensive, it has definitely improved my game. I like the smooth movement of my crosshair when using this mouse, it must have a good infra red sensor. And remember guys, keep your sensitivity low.

I purchased this mouse on the 25th of june 2013 and it’s still going strong. High quality construction, great feel and and great in-game. I’ve purchased other products (razer, corsair, final mouse) but always seem to come back to this one.

Their are certain pluses and minuses about this mouse, excellent build quality although i find the usb cord slightly to heavy and can pull the mouse backwards if the lead is not positioned properly. I found the mouse to be overly large therefore slightly uncomfortable but i liked the software with the mouse which allowed me to change it to left handed mode and slow it down a little, you should of seen the confusion on my friends face as he tried to use the mouse after all he is a stereotypical right hander welcome to my world. In my opinion it is a good price for what it iscunlike some of the other brands out their that are totally extortionate and you pay mainly for the brand name. So i guess the question is would i recommend this and the answer is if you are a lefty yes it is the best out their at the present time for this price point, hopefully better will come along sometime soon, but if you are right handed i would have to say no there are better out their.

I’ll start by saying i ordered the mouse on 17th september, it arrived shortly and now it is 3rd december. I bought the mouse to replace an old microsoft mouse and as i already had a gaming pc i thought it was time to get peripherals to match, this mouse was a brilliant mouse, i play very ‘aim’ intensive game and this mouse is perfect for those, it’s all you would expect from a gaming standard mouse, light, responsive, comfortable, 4 extra buttons that are individually programmable, 5 extra buttons if you count the dpi modifier next to the wheel. The comfort of this mouse is a key point for me as i often play for hours, the design allows for a ‘clawed’ grip or a ‘palm’ grip which are to my knowledge the most common ways of holding a mouse, also the mouse is designed for left handed or right handed use and includes a left hand mode in the software. The steelseries engine the mouse runs off is also very nice for optimising the mouse to suit how you are comfortable with playing, i said earlier about there being a left hand mode but it goes further than that, allowing you to set 2 sensitivities for your mouse for when the led next to the mouse wheel is on or off. You can set the brightness of the lights on the mouse and even the rate the lights pulsate from dim to bright. All in all the best mouse i have ever used, and i can say through experience that it is very good for fps, rhythm games (osu), real time strategy and moba.

I’m a leftie who has used gaming mice from ms, logitech, razer; my last three have been from steelseries: xai, sensei and now the sensei raw. The raw is the best gaming mouse i’ve had so far. It has a good balance of features and performance, the only issue i’ve had is the resistance to rotation in the wheel; this has caused a click instead of a turn a couple of times. Configuration and reassigning buttons is a breeze: i have found that the software is intuitive and works well. One thing i have noticed in *macros* is that the ‘buttons’ appear to be physical not logical: once a macro is assigned to a button, assigning that button to another button invokes the macro. It’s a small thing got round by programming the other button to be a macro. A difference from the sensei is that the dpi setting changes in steps (of 90). I can also testify for steelseries support. I had a problem with the xai in the warranty period and they paid the postage costs and provided a new mouse in a good turnaround time. The sensei lasted 3 years (and i’m not altogether sure that the problem wasn’t to do with win8 :-o) all in all, a great mouse from a sound company.

It took about 2 years for there to be noticeable cracks along the start of the two mouse buttons, it has gotten so bad that the right mouse button has come off and is held together by tape. I am a bit sad about this but have loved using it, very responsive.

Excellent mouse, have not yet experienced any issues that others have stated their reviews. Will update if said issues occur. Edit: after almost 2 years, i still have not come across any issues with this mouse. Seems as though it might be luck of the draw. It also works perfectly with linux in case anyone was wondering.

It’s been a few months since i purchased this and i must say, i’ve been through a few mouse devices for gaming, and this is my favourite so far. Physically, everything from its weight to the way in which it fits your hand is superb, which is surprising considering that you cannot adjust its dimensions like other devices on the market. The way the led’s can change colour based on what you’re doing is also a pretty cool, if pointless, feature. It’s performance, though, is where this mouse truly stands above the others. The device can be tweaked in several different ways; including sensitivity, acceleration, deceleration, list tracking, and more. But if you’re lazy, you can use the pre-set profiles. The only negative is that the chrome finish can be a fingerprint magnet and can become visibly dirtier very quickly, although these are minor points as you won’t be looking at the mouse all that often and it is easily cleaned with a wipe. Overall, if you are looking for a mouse to play games competitively then you’ve found it. However, if you aren’t looking to play games competitively or even at all, you’d be better off buying a cheaper device for between the £10 – £30 mark.

Definitely a professional quality product.

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Great straight out of the box or for advanced users

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