Posts tagged gaming mouse

Steel Series XAI Laser Mouse

Product Features:

• Ambidextrous mouse. Designed for right and left handers
• LCD menu
• Separate profiles for the serious gamers
• Optional software for advanced settings

Average Price: $89.99

Recommended? No

My first thoughts on seeing the was that it looked and felt like a mouse you would pick up at Best Buy for $25.00. My experience with a good gaming mouse usually includes plenty of buttons for macros, a comfortable ergonomic design and a sturdy build. Out of those three expectations, the XAI only had one of them. It is going to hold up through a lot of drops and rage throwing.

Though it’s designed to be ambidextrous, I had a difficult time getting comfortable with the mouse. It felt bulky and gaining control of the mouse was also difficult. I spent a good chunk of time changing and tweaking settings on not only the XAI but my own computer before it behaved properly.

When I attempted to game with the mouse, the real issues began. Each time I started a new game, my settings seemed to take on a mind of their own.This lead me into the profiles feature of the mouse. Hey, this isn’t a bad feature! It’s nice to change your settings to fit what you are doing and switch at will. Especially for someone like me who’s PC has multiple uses. At this point, I was quite frustrated with the XAI but the profiles do offer some redemption.

Since I use my PC for work and play, I expect to use a mouse that can do the job of both. The XAI did not fit that bill. As I switched between gaming and “work” mode, the mouse started to take on a mind of it’s own again and even reverted to it’s original settings. I did some basic trouble shooting to figure this out, including some checks on the Steelseries website. Unfortunately, I was never able to fix the issue.

That was quite enough for me and the XAI. There was one more chance for the mouse when I handed it to my other half who uses his PC primarily for gaming. He experienced many of the issues that I did and switched to his regular mouse within 20 minutes.

As a gaming mouse, the Steelseries XAI does not measure up to their other products. I will stick with my Razer for the time being, but I can’t let this article go without a glowing review of the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm mouse pad I received from Steelseries.

My gaming mouse of choice has always depended on the hard surface of my desk until now. I’ve already put it through the ringer with dogs jumping on me with their paws on the mouse pad and a spilled mug of coffee. This thing is durable and it’s not going to give me problems anytime soon. I also found the mouse pad to give me some cleaner movement and I certainly do enjoy the artwork as well.