The SteelSeries Ikari mice are the result of 15 months extensive research of ergonomics, technology, shape, motion, hand grip and play styles by gamers. The shape, materials and specifications of the SteelSeries Ikari mice are based on input from professional players from Team 3D, compLexity, mousesports, SK Gaming, Team NoA and other world-class gaming organizations, who collectively represent the world's most accomplished gamers in Counter-Strike and other gaming disciplines.The SteelSeries Ikari Laser mouse features programmable macros for RTS and MMO gamers and a high precision sensor suitable for FPS gamers. Furthermore the Ikari Laser is completely driverless which enables the mouse to remember settings and macros when plugged into tournament computers - without installing any drivers or software.

The advanced SteelSeries XY2 laser engine supports resolution settings with increments of only 1 CPI, which for the first time ever gives the user the ability to fine tune the mouse exactly to his personal reaction pattern. Set your windows and in-game sensitivity to default and set the CPI on your hardware instead of forcing software calculations.

Five programmable macro buttons: The SteelSeries Ikari Laser Mouse allows gamers to program button functions.

FreeMove Technology: SteelSeries FreeMove offers you the option to choose the degree of when this feature should kick in and correct your movement. Through seven steps you are able to adjust how much control should be left up to the mouse and how much control should be left up to yourself - in other words how precise should the mouse be reproducing your movement.

Sensitivity Settings (On Mouse): The SteelSeries Ikari Laser lets you store two CPI values in the mouse, and lets you toggle between them with a single click. The toggle function toggles the CPI values, and indicated the current CPI setting (High or Low) on the LEDS found on the left side of the mouse. In addition to that, you are also able to change your CPI values. without using the software.

Specifications for SteelSeries Ikari Laser:

- Samples per second: 40.000
- Inches per second: 50
- Counts per inch: 1 - 3.200 (1 CPI Steps)
- Acceleration: 20 G
- Sensor data path: True 16 bit
- Lift distance: 0,07 inch
- Buttons: 5
- Cord: 6.5 ft (braided to improve durability)
- Polling: 1000 Hz
- Gold-plated USB connector
- Measurements: 5,1 x 3,3in - height 1,4in
- CPI high/low indicator
- SteelSeries FreeMove Technology
- Large pressure points that reduce friction for optimized glide
- Driverless, plug-and-play feature for LAN gamers
- Operating systems: Win XP/Vista/Win 2000/Win 98/Win ME/Mac OS

The Testing

Test Setup (Socket-775 LGA)
Motherboard: Asrock 4Core1600P35-WiFi+
CPU Default: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
Overclocked: N/A
RAM: 1GB DDR2
Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 8800GTS 512mb
SLI Mode: N/A
Video Drivers: Forceware v175.16
Chipset Drivers: Asrock Chipset drivers on CD
Hard Drive: Western Digital 200GB
CD/DVD ROM: Super WriteMaster DVD+RW
Cooling: Standard AMD Stock CPU Cooler
Sound Card: Onboard HD Audio
PSU: 650 W
lan: Onboard Gigabit Ethernet
CRT Monitor: 17" Philips Monitor
LCD Monitor: N/A
Operationg System: Windows XP with SP2, DirectX 9.0c

Testing Procedure

I tested the SteelSeries Ikari Laser in a few ways. I tested in while I was playing games, compared it with my favourite mx518, and at last i tested it with some different mousepads. The first test, was like two tests in one, i compared it in games and with the mx518 in games. I tested the mouse while i was playing Unreal Tournament 2004, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3. Either these games were a problem with this mouse, i had better results than with the mx518, not by much, but they were better. Comparing the DPI/CPI settings, the SteelSeries Ikari basically blows the mx518 away. The mx518 works out better for gamers with smaller hands, and the SteelSeries Ikari Laser works out better for people with the bigger hands. I figured that this mouse is a real gaming mouse for the professional gamers. Personally, id rather the SteelSeries Ikari Laser after working with it a bit, the comfort and shape is more of my type. As for mousemats, both mice were remarkable. From what i tested, both mice works with 90% of mousemats perfectly. One thing that makes the mx518 blow out the SteelSeries Ikari, is the left hand gamers, if a left-handed gamer were to buy one of these mice, the SteelSeries Ikari is difficult to hold with the left hand, but the mx518 having almost a basic regular shape, it is fairly easy to hold.

SteelSeries Ikari Laser Mouse passed all tests with flying colours. A great success from SteelSeries to the gaming community. Your gaming experience could change with this mouse, it is pretty expensive, but such a good mouse, I'd say it is worth the price. If your mouse ends up screwing up, I strongly recommend you to buy this mouse if you have the cash. This mouse is another great addition to the SteelSeries product list. Gamers will now be able to get a variety of products to choose from to fulfill their gaming needs.

As SteelSeries are new to the gaming mice community, it now has to compete with Logitech and Razer, which will not be easy. Logitech mice in Unreal Tournament 2004 are basically a favourite, but Razer isn’t too far behind them in this one game. Logitech and Razer are both rivals fighting to become the best gaming mice providers, SteelSeries will have to release an even better mouse next time and get it well known in order to become number one. My opinion is that SteelSeries stands beneath the two, but when it comes to mouse mats, they are number one. Maybe next time they will create a mouse that works perfectly with their own mouse mats blowing the razer mice and logitech mice away. I think with a few more creations SteelSeries will be able to take over Razer and Logitech, but it will take alot of work. Present mice and future mice will be similiar to me, so SteelSeries hasnt the advantage as they are new to mouse making, but they have done a brilliant job. If future mice are totally different, SteelSeries may have an advantage to release a totally new different type of mouse and be able to outsell the Logitech and Razer mice.