SteelSeries Xai Laser

Easily the most hyped mouse in gaming history to date is the SteelSeries Xai. The sensor included in this mouse is also included in mice like the Logitech G500, QPAD 5K, and the Logitech G9X. However, all of those mice are not ambidextrous and target right-handed users only. Even some right-handed players prefer the ambidextrous feel rather than an ergonomic design. Regardless if you prefer ergonomic or ambidextrous, this mouse deserves every serious gamer's attention!

First Impressions

The packaging from SteelSeries is very elementary. There is a box that opens at the top allowing the mouse to be pulled out along with a few documents. At least we know we aren't paying for the packaging here. The documents included in my package were a product catalog, specification sheet, and a SteelSeries sticker. There's nothing wrong with basic packaging, but it would be nice to see something distinguished from a company like SteelSeries.

SteelSeries didn't stray too far away from their minimalistic design approach, even with their crown jewel. The color is matte black, the mouse wheel is gray, and the logo is white. There is no flashy logos or ridiculous LEDs to keep you awake here, folks. The only LED on the mouse is for the CPI toggle button. It is used to notify the user of profile status. The paint on the mouse is softouch, which feels kind of rubbery, it creates a grippier surface. On the bottom of the mouse there are three extremely large plastic feet, a small LCD, and a sticker with the product information. The mouse feet are plastic, and not teflon. Kind of a bummer, especially for the price of this mouse. The LCD shows all the tweaks that can be done right from the bottom of the mouse. The product sticker is basically on anything that needs electronic qualifications, such as FCC approval.

Performance

The software on the actual mouse is vivid. Users can change everything from mouse hertz to acceleration. The more specific tweaks that can be done include all of the following: SteelSeries FreeMove, SteelSeries ExactSens, SteelSeries ExactAim, SteelSeries ExactRate. On almost every other mouse, these settings are defaulted and unalterable. The desktop software does have a few known bugs gamers should be aware of. For example, it can sometimes crash when trying to save settings or saves the wrong settings. The other bug is a profile can't have both CPI settings the same. Despite those small issues, the mouse is extremely customizable and provides a benchmark for all upcoming gaming mice.

In practice, this is the best mouse I have ever used. The ambidextrous design of the Xai is simply perfect. It allows the gamer to use any type of hand placement or grip they want. Both of the mouse buttons have a soft click and can easily be pressed. There is a bit of travel distance for each of the four side buttons. However, they are also easily clickable. The mouse wheel has small indentations while still having a smooth scroll. Those of you who are familiar with the Deathadder will find the Xai scroll a little tighter.

The mouse sensor for the Xai tracks flawlessly. I couldn't get it to malfunction without moving my hand at arm-breaking speeds. At any CPI I tried, I could not see any noticeable acceleration or negative acceleration. The mouse tweaks described earlier do come in handy but I like them all to be turned off for complete control of the mouse. It is nice to be able to test the different settings.

Conclusion

Basically, if you want a mouse that works the way you want it to then the SteelSeries Xai is the best mouse out right now. It is perfectly ambidextrous and has the best laser engine I have ever used, especially compared to SteelSeries' competition. SteelSeries really did their homework and definitely aced with the Xai, there isn't much more anyone could ask for in a gaming mouse. No frills or thrills for design, but complete domination for the hardware.