CM Storm Sentinel Advanced II Review

[siopao1984]

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PackagingThe front of the outer packaging features black with red accents, with the 200 to 8200 DPI capability of the new Avago ADNS-9800 sensor emphasised as the main selling point.

The back of the box lists the specifications of the mouse.

The feature flap is cleverly fastened by two Velcro dots. After lifting the flap, the actual mouse is revealed while the inner flap explains the specifications in greater detail:

• Superior Gaming Grade Sensor – For higher precision and elimination of Z-Axis issues
• 128KB Sentinel X Memory – For storage of profiles and macros directly in the mouse itself
• Customizable Profile Light Effects – For changing colours when changing profiles
• On The Fly DPI Fine Tuning – Changing DPI by pressing a button
• Add Your Clan or Community Logo – Personalizing a 32x32 logo for display on the OLED screen
• Advanced Driver Panel – For recording of macros, mapping functions to mouse buttons and customization
• Weight Fine Tuning System – Adjust the weight and balance of the mouse using 5 x 4.5g weights
• Storm Tactics Multiplier Key – Double available buttons to 17 by using combinations of buttons.

The contents of the box are pretty sparse - A pamphlet directing you to www.cmstorm.com to download applications and drivers, another pamphlet detailing warranty information, a set of replacement mouse feet and the actual mouse itself. While the lack of a CD is certainly environmentally friendly, the actual size of the software is a considerable 125MB, which could be a drawback for users with slower internet connections or restrictive data caps.

Read more: CM Storm Sentinel Advanced II Review by VR-Zone.com

[siopao1984]

Design

The Sentinel Advance II features a right-hand ergonomic design. Your thumb rests on a groove until you try to reach the two buttons above it, which are set by default to Web Browser Front and Browser Back functions.





The right side of the mouse is smooth and button-less.





Besides the standard wheel and left and right click buttons, the top of the mouse features the profile change button ahead of the wheel and the DPI + and DPI – buttons behind the wheel. The wheel itself is also clickable.





The back of the mouse contains a flap used to access the 5 x 4.5g weights, Teflon feet of varying length and shape and the Avago ADNS 9800 sensor itself.

[IMG]http://limages.vr-zone.net/body/16552/IMG_0835.jpg.jpeg[/IMG



You would be able to adjust the weight and balance of the Sentinel Advance II by removing and switching the positions of the weights.





The mouse cable is protected by a high quality braid, terminates with a gold plated USB connector and has a ferrite choke that reduces EMI and RFI.

[siopao1984]

Software

The CM Storm software has a unique option of a driverless execution, which allows configuration of the mouse without actually installing the software itself. This is a nice way of going around administrative rights when trying to configure the mouse in your workplace.







The main control panel enables you to configure 8 button assignments, USB polling rate, 4 levels of DPI adjustments, OS sensitivity, double click speed and button response time. You could configure it for 4 different profiles and the settings will be applied to 128KB Sentinel-X memory on the mouse itself. Hence, you could plug your Sentinel Advance II into a different PC and still retain the settings.





The color control panel enables you to change colors at different places on the mouse and to add a custom 32 x 32 logo. You could also change LED Mode into Always On, Breathing Mode (Light brightens and dims to resemble a breathing effect), Rapid Fire (Lights turn off on mouse click and light back up on mouse release) and Disabled.





Storm TX panel lets you to turn buttons into combo buttons for multiple commands at once.





This is how the top of the mouse looks like after configuration.





The front of the mouse features two laser-like LED lights that would flicker in rapid-fire mode.

[siopao1984]

Thoughts

I am a fan of the right handed ergonomic design. The Sentinel Advance II is very comfortable to rest my hand on, and I particularly like the feel of the coated plastic material. The mouse feels much heavier than I am used to, but the removal of 3 x 4.5g weights made it perfect for me. As I am used to the sensitive rubber buttons of my Razor ProClick, the buttons do feel a little stiff to me. The stiffness is on par with most Logitech and Microsoft mice though.





The standard left click and right click buttons as well as the scroll wheel worked very well for me, but the other buttons are not intuitive and would require considerable finger dexterity to reach. The two buttons above the thumb are still manageable, but the buttons ahead and behind the scroll wheel is hard for me to reach. My index finger typically rests on the right click button, so moving it diagonally is difficult. If you are the sort to place your index finger on the scroll wheel, then accessing those buttons would be easier for you.

Using the mouse on the CoolerMaster Speed-RX M Mouse pad, the Teflon feet of the mouse glided around nicely.





The customizable colors of the LED lights are appealing and I am using “Decepticon” Red when gaming and “Autobot” Blue when doing everything else. The ultra low lift off distance of 1.5mm means that when you lift your mouse vertically to reposition it (perhaps it had reached the edge of your mouse pad), there would not be any erratic cursor movements during the lift off process.





The sensor itself is very accurate and precise, with the exception of the 8200 DPI setting. When using the 8200 DPI setting, my cursor flies all over the place with just a small mouse movement and it is difficult to stop it at a precise area. Hence the 3200 DPI is my favourite general use setting. For more precise sniping and Photoshop use, I lower it to 400 DPI. The 200 DPI setting is just too low for me, but I can imagine it catering to professional gamers.

On The Fly DPI Fine Tuning works as advertised and is a very useful function. In an FPS game, you could switch the DPI when you switch weapons and benefit much from it. The sheer customizability of the mouse gains it many points, especially when the settings are stored locally on the 128KB Sentinel-X memory.

The Sentinel Advance II works right out of the box, without the need to even install the software for the 8 buttons to work. For more customizability, the downloaded software is comprehensive, yet intuitively laid out.

[siopao1984]

Conclusion



Price: USD$59.99

The CM Storm Sentinel Advance II mouse is a precise gaming mouse furnished with the extra touches of quality such as the braided cable, the gold plated USB connector, the multi color lights and the sheer customizability of it. The new Avago ADNS 9800 sensor works well up until the maximum 8200 DPI setting, where it becomes quite jittery. All in all, it is a pleasure to use at a reasonable price and this mouse has become my main mouse of choice.

Pros:
Comfortable feel
Smooth Teflon feet
Customizable weights
Decent accuracy and precision control
Many configuration options
Multi color programmable lights
Driverless execution software
Reasonable price
Settings stored in local memory inside mouse
Customizable logo that appears on OLED display

Cons:
Right handed gamers only
Some buttons are hard to reach

[Archfear]

Me want to have this one!!! Naa nani dri boss? Karaan naman ni akong A4tech X7 oie.. wahahaha budget gaming mouse! hehhe

[RU9halogen]

haha nice kau ni nga mouse.. but for me... even A4tech X7 will do the rest, its the skill that matters not the mouse : )