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COOL! Today we get a first hand look at a brand-new-not-yet-released-for-sale product from CM STORM, a division of CoolerMaster. This is the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse. A highly customizable mouse that promises to maximize your gaming experience! Lets get to gaming and see what this wonder can do!
Provided by: CM STORM
Price: TBD
Closer Look:
Lets get the packaging and specs out of the way then see what this baby can do!
Here we can see a minimal amount of packaging and a clear presentation of the mouse itself. The front of the package is packed with information. Down the right side we have all the icons giving a glimpse into the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse. At the top of the package a huge 5600 DPI claim jumps out at us. Could they really have packed that much DPI into this cool looking mouse? We will find out!
The back of the package gives us a good look at the many features of the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse and some cool pics to visually show us these features.
Here we can see the mouse itself, the mini CD with all the drivers and manual, and CM STORM’s innovative Storm Guard, a PCI slot device to loop your mouse cord and lock the mouse to your computer.
Specifications:
- 5600 DPI Storm Tactical Twin laser Sensor
- 64KB Sentinel-X Memory
- OLED DPI Management System
- OLED Team Logo Pesonalization
- 8 Programmable Buttons
- Rapid Fire Tactical Mode
- 1000z Polling/ 1ms Response Time
- Max Speed of 235 Inches Per Second
- Max Acceleration 50G
- 1mm Lift-off Distance
- Right-hand Ergonomic design
- Gold-plated USB Connector
- 5 x 4.5g Adjustable Weight System
- Full-Speed USB
Lets talk about the software.
Software:
The software for the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse is full functional and will let you customize this mouse in dozens of different ways. From the main control screen you have access to all the available settings for this mouse.
The software for the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse is full functional and will let you customize this mouse in dozens of different ways. From the main control screen you have access to all the available settings for this mouse.
You can assign buttons, create up to 5 different profiles for your different games, adjust the DPI settings, upload your personal game or clan logo to the OLED, and so much more!
One of the great features is the ability to save all your settings inside the 64KB Sentinel-X Onboard Memory. All settings are stored internally allowing them to be used on any computer without installing the Tactical AP Software. This is where the Driverless Excecution comes in.
It also comes with a LAN-friendly Driverless Setup. You can copy source files to a flash drive and then when at another computer all you do is copy files to the new system and start CMSTORM.EXE and choose Driverless Execution. This will load initial mouse settings into the Sentinel Advance.
Another cool feature is the Rapid Fire Mode. This mode allows gamers to assign autommatic firing power to 6 function buttons. Think about it. Turn that semi-auto into a fully automatic weapon!
There is so much that this mouse can do there just isn't enough room in one review to list it all!
Ok. Enough about the mechanics of this bad boy. Lets see what it can do!
Testing:
For the testing portion I will be pitting the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse against a Standard generic Logitech Optical mouse. I will be playing Counter Strike Source and will be looking for precision and control, and using Fireworks image editing software for control. There will be 4 tests: control, precision, comfort, and customizability each will be given a mark out of 10.
Precision
Mouse | Out of 10 | K/D Spread |
Sentinel | 9 | 4/1 |
Generic | 6 | 4/1 |
Though there was no improvement on my K/D ratio between the two mice, I found that the Sentinel was “easier” to play with. There was less adjustment I had to make in my playing style because the mouse did it for me. I also found that for me, keeping all the weights in was best, but this is a subjective issue for each user.
Control
Mouse | CSS | Fireworks |
Sentinel | 8 | 9 |
Generic | 6 | 5 |
Control with the sentinel was great once I was able to adjust the DPI settings to fit my comfort zone. With Fireworks the DPI adjustments were very useful for that extra control in certain areas and then allowed me to speed up for normal use.
Comfort
Mouse | Out of 10 |
Sentinel | 7 |
Generic | 4 |
I rated the comfort of this mouse at 7. I found that after several hours of play, my thumb became a bit sore. It would be nice to see a little padding in this area. The ergonomic styling seemed to fit my hand nicely.
Customization
Mouse | Out of 10 |
Sentinel | 10 |
Generic | 2 |
Customization of the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse is utterly fantastic! You can do just about anything with this mouse except make it get you a beer from your fridge! As for the generic, your limited by what your OS can do for you, which as we all know, is not very much.
Some final thoughts.
Conclusion:
Overall I would have to say that the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse is a great mouse. Some of the things that can’t be put into a chart but worth mentioning are here.
The aesthetics of the CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse reminded me of an F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack fighter. With its straight lines in front, the red LEDs and the mesh screen on top, this mouse looks like its coming in for a silent attack on my enemies.
The software was easy to install and set-up was so straightforward I rarely needed to check out the manual. The settings are great in game when you can change the dpi instantly. So picking up a new gun doesn't became a huge hurdle when adjusting your sensitivity is one single click away. Being able to set up different profiles is a gift to people who play different games regularly. I did find that the side buttons were a little high and back, but nothing that I wasn’t able to get used to after a few hours.
The CM STORM Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse also incorporates a Rapid Fire Tactical mode. I found this to be useful for a limited number of guns in games, but with those guns the semi-autos were pretty much full-auto. So for any semi-auto gun this is definitely helpful.
And finally. Where would we be without LED’s! I loved the ability to change the LED colors to match my case or my mood. Though the LED’s have no effect on how you play, they are cool addition.
Pros:
- Highly customizable
- 5 available customizable profiles
- Adjustable DPI while on the fly in game
Cons:
- A pad on the thumb rest would be nice.
- Found that the mesh on top would get dirty quickly, even with clean hands
- Would be nice to see a left-handed version for all the southpaws out there
