SteelSeries Xai Mouse Review

Written By Tom "Hucky" Fairbairn
17 December, 2009 04:11 PM

Playtesting

Playtesting setup:

Intel Core2Duo E6600 @ 3.0GHz
4MB Corsair RAM in dual channel
Gigabyte 8800GTX @ 625 / 2000
SteelSeries QcK+

Notes:

I really couldn't wait to rip out the Xai in good old random online CS:S after playtesting it in a LAN environment at eGames. I was pretty apprehensive about using a laser mouse for the first time but by the end of my first PUG with the Xai I was already loving it, despite being destroyed by osprey's awp.

The CPI change button didn't get much use from me but should be a nice addition for gamers who need a quick sensitivity toggle (AWPers immediately spring to mind). There have been other mice with on-the-fly sensitivity buttons but the Xai's driverless setup eliminates the need for more than one. By utilising the Xai's personalisable gamer profiles in the mouse's internal memory you can have a huge number of different settings available in a few clicks. I did eventually load up a new profile and test out the button, and was able to do eight 360s in the space of a second during a clutch after changing my gamer profile on the fly (and subsequently lost the round). Nice one!

The Xai's tracking is superb in and out of game. At first I assumed it was because of the high CPI but after further investigation it became apparent that there are a lot of other features working to streamline the Xai's mouse movement. I eventually concluded that the combination of oversized mouse feet and great weight distribution contributes far more to mouse smoothness than increasing your CPI setting. I tested the Xai using 800CPI, 1600CPI and 5000CPI and each setting felt as smooth as the last. This is especially rewarding for people like me who are used to optical mice, which generally run at a lower DPI.

After modifying my ExactRate setting, rapid mouse movements while flicking my aim around seemed to present no tracking problems. ExactRate really is one of the most brilliant features because it eliminates the need to manually modify your USB polling rate. This means no more sneaky little .exe files at LAN for me :p

I was extremely pleased with the ease of transitioning not only from optical to laser, but from a more moulded design to a basic ambidextrous one. I feel as though it would be harder to make the transition back to an MX518 now than it was for me to make the transition to the Xai in the first place.

Although the Xai (being a laser mouse) is more suited to a hardpad, it works well with cloth pads too. As an ideal accompaniment for the Xai, I'd suggest buying the SteelSeries 9HD. Anyone who tried the Xai with one of these at eGames will attest to the fact that the smoothness was insane.

Another note: for those who are considering purchasing the Xai, I highly recommend that you follow the instructions in the user manual very closely when setting up your mouse. It might mean spending some time tweaking your settings but once you're finished you'll be very thankful. ExactRate and ExactSens, when used correctly with the ingame settings for CS Source and CS 1.6, are fantastic features.