SteelSeries Ikari Laser

(5 star rating) Written by: William Ford

Gaming on the PC has come a very long way from the initial days of First Person Shooter games like Wolfenstein 3D. With the newer and faster paced 3D first person shooter games, better control means higher scores, more kills and greater frag counts. To compete at a high level, games like CounterStrike: Source and Doom3 require the use of precision optical or laser mouse. People like myself who really compete in these types of games are willing to pay extra money for a high quality mouse. SteelSeries has responded by developing the Ikari Laser - a high sensitivity laser mouse that is designed to entice the gaming crowd to try their out their new mouse. Read on to find out about what all the Ikari Laser has to offer.

Design

When I first saw this mouse I mistakenly assumed it was a left-handed mouse by the shape and angle of the primary buttons. I was surprised at how comfortable this mouse really is for right handed people. To clear the air of any misconceptions, Steelseries does not make a left-handed model of this mouse. The mouse looks odd but feels great. It has two primary buttons, a scroll wheel which acts as a third button and two more programmable buttons on the left side. There is a resolution button on the top of the mouse right above the wheel that allows you to change the mouse resolution on the fly. This will increase or decrease the sensitivity of the mouse movement between two preset resolutions.

Ergonomically, this is one of the most comfortable mouse devices I and my very large hand have ever used. Your hand rests comfortably on the mouse with your index and middle fingers falling naturally onto the two primary buttons. The thumb rests just beneath the two programmable buttons only requiring a minute movement of the thumb to activate either button. The scroll button and resolution buttons are also easily accessed by the index finger. I have actually mastered using the part of my middle finger just below the knuckle to activate the resolution button when needed. This mouse is really nice and the USB cable is protected by a material mesh that should prevent any of the wires inside from ever breaking under normal wear.

Features

- Programmable macro buttons with driverless plug-and-play feature

- 40.000 samples per second (SPS) for unbeatable tracking

- 1 - 3.200 CPI (changeable in increments of 1)

- Built in LCD display to help set CPI values on-the-fly

- Chassis material and shape based on input from professional gamers

Retail box		Package contents

Performance

The most important attribute of any mouse used for gaming is how precisely it tracks the movements of your hand. The laser tracking is incredibly accurate at 40,000 samples per second and works on almost every surface. I even had it work on a flat sheet of reflective aluminum foil. I usually have the resolution set to the high setting (I believe that is 3200 CPI by default) for gaming and use the game’s controller settings to set the precise sensitivity. The CPI value can be set in increments of 1 from 1 up to 3200 for the most control. The software also includes Free Movement control which allows you to have the mouse make more accurate straight lines. Personally, I leave the mouse natural for the freedom of movement.

This is considered a gaming mouse, in fact it is claimed to be a Pro Gaming mouse based upon the fact that it was designed in partnership with a number of professional gamers. The mouse reports at 1000Hz - which is a far cry from the standard 125Hz. It is best to use the mouse plugged directly into a USB port on the PC instead of a hub because some hubs may decrease the performance of the mouse. The mouse works out of the box with Windows XP and Vista without having to install any software; however, in order to adjust the CPI and program the buttons you will need to install the software. I have not tried the mouse with MAC OS so I do not know if it will work or not. It is USB 2.0 so there is no reason it shouldn’t, but there is no MAC specific software included with the mouse.

Top view		Side view

The programmable buttons on the side can be programmed with macros to enact keystrokes for different applications. This comes in very handy for gaming; I have one of the buttons set to the “R” key so I can quickly reload in CounterStrike without having to use the keyboard. You can also program a series of keystrokes or common Windows shortcuts such as copy, cut, paste, close …etc. All five mouse buttons are programmable and can be set to do anything you wish to assign them to do. I have mine set up for CounterStrike: Source and the mouse has proven to be one of the best investments towards bettering my game since my large widescreen monitor.

SteelSeries Ikari Laser Mouse

I was very skeptical about this mouse but all of my fears were laid to rest after trying the mouse and I can truthfully say, this is my favorite mouse for gaming and, preferably for the comfort, everything else as well. I am glad I am not left-handed sine the mouse is strictly a right-handed mouse for now. It looks left-handed in the packaging, but don’t be fooled. The accuracy, programmability and comfort of this mouse make it a must have for gamers and PC enthusiasts alike. The only thing I would like different about this mouse is maybe the option of a wireless model.

Pros: Very comfortable with smooth, even tracking and precise response, high resolution that can be adjusted on the fly.

Cons: No wireless model available.

Rating: 5 out of 5

www.steelseries.com