Being primarily a console gamer, it’s been a while since I needed a proper gaming mouse; my R80 Logitech has been serving me well for my day to day business needs. However, with some top tier PC titles being released in the near future I jumped at the chance to review the Steelseries Sensei Wireless Laser mouse.

I’ve never been a fan of wireless mice for two reasons: first, they always seemed to run out of batteries at the worst possible time; second, back in my PC gaming days the lag from a wireless mouse was very noticeable.

Steelseries have claimed to solve the lag issue with the Wireless Sensei having a polling rate of 1ms which is equal to the wired version of the Sensei mouse. The speed reading of 150 inches per second is also a match for the wired version, while its accuracy of an incredible 8200 max counts per inch is even better than the wired version.

The issue around the batteries dying at the wrong time has been solved in two ways. The first way is that they have included a cable so if you run out of power you can simply plug it in and continue working, but the part I find far more fascinating is the inclusion of the charging dock.

The dock is a beautifully crafted charging station which comes with a brushed metal finish on top and a rubberised pad underneath to ensure it doesn’t slide around. The dock also has lighting that showcases how charged your mouse is even while it isn’t attached so you are never going to be surprised by your mouse suddenly going flat.

The mouse itself has two lighting options with the logo and scroll wheel both having embedded lighting. As with the dock you can set these lights to indicate battery power or you can change them to be whatever colour you like out of a measly 16.8 million colours using the Steelseries software.

But changing colours doesn’t make a quality mouse and the software is much more powerful than that.

As you can see above we have the dashboard for the mouse. On the left is where you change the colours of the base and mouse and assign actions to the eight action buttons included as well as the scroll wheel.

In this dashboard you can also record macros and assign them to certain buttons, eg. you can program stop, drop and roll to a button for those moments when you catch on fire, something I expected to happen more often in life considering how many times the teachers taught that to us.

On the right you can fine tune all specifics of the mouse from dual sensitivity options (toggled using the silver button in the middle) which is great for sniping, to even setting the acceleration and deceleration of the mouse to suit your needs.

The lift distance is a bit odd and I guess would be good for people who struggle to keep the mouse on the table while frantically gaming. You can also change the angle snapping and polling rate if that is what strikes your fancy.

You can set the sleep timer so if you forget to cradle the mouse it will turn itself off and it even has a smart sensor option which will turn the logo off when your hand is covering it to save battery power.

The mouse feels great and the iconic Sensei design ensures you will be comfortable gaming for hours on end using. The slightly rubberised top helps ensure your hand doesn’t get overly sweaty but it is exactly here where my only problem with the mouse came in.

I’ve been using the mouse now for the last 2 weeks non-stop, mainly for business but also for gaming and the rubber is already starting to disappear from the top as you can see from this picture I took this morning.

I do generally sweat more than the average person and it is possible I sweat pure acid as this sort of thing happens to my pillows as well, gross isn’t it? But I would have expected a little better from a top of the line mouse and maybe Steelseries needs to start paying me a bucket of money to stress-test their equipment.

The Steelseries Wireless Sensei retails for about R2000 and as such you are expecting to be purchasing a premium product and you truly are.

Everything about this mouse is top notch and if looking cool is your thing then you are definitely going to turn heads at the LANs while pulling off epic head shots in game.

I was only allowed the review unit for two weeks but unbeknownst to Steelseries, I‘ve moved house, changed my name and they aren’t getting this back unless they pry it from my cold dead hands. Well that’s my plan anyway.

Pros

Cons

  • Incredible comfort
  • Charging Station
  • Unlimited Customisation Options
  • Excellent responsiveness
  • Rubberised top is weak
  • Not cheap

Last Updated: July 25, 2014

Steelseries Sensei Wireless
Rad

57 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief Saxon

    July 25, 2014 at 13:01

    Ok that charging dock is pretty schweeeet

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      July 25, 2014 at 13:04

      Agreed

      Reply

    • geelslang

      July 25, 2014 at 13:15

      I dont know, it just adds more clutter to your desk.

      Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      July 25, 2014 at 13:17

      Yes, but dat price 🙁

      Reply

  2. Admiral Chief Saxon

    July 25, 2014 at 13:02

    R2k???

    Wow

    Reply

    • Mighty Meh

      July 25, 2014 at 17:28

      I know right! Since when have things keyboards and mouses (Mice?) cost so dam much?! I bought my G9 for R550 and that was considered alot back in the day!

      I find it hard to believe that this mouse has the same amount of tech as my G25 racing wheel.

      Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    July 25, 2014 at 13:04

    R2K? Oh it’s Stealseries

    Reply

    • SlagywaG

      July 25, 2014 at 15:02

      You sir, have earned my upvote

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        July 25, 2014 at 15:05

        😀

        Reply

    • Skyblue

      July 25, 2014 at 22:35

      They aren’t that expensive when comparing to similar quality products. I picked up the Sensei RAW and Apex RAW for a combined price of a little over 1.5k and I haven’t regretted a minute of it after almost a year in. Their mousepads are also top quality, QCK Heavy XL is the bomb.
      I still wouldn’t pay 2k for any mouse though.

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        July 28, 2014 at 07:36

        I was doing a play on words,Steal sounds the same as steel 😛

        Reply

        • Johann Coetzee

          August 4, 2014 at 16:32

          Padawan, one never explain to the slow of mind and eye – you leave them alone to be foolish and food for trolls.

          Reply

  4. Viking Of Science

    July 25, 2014 at 13:13

    Can’t I Just buy a RAT-9 for cheaper?

    Reply

    • Skyblue

      July 25, 2014 at 22:36

      It’d still be a RAT unfortunately.

      Reply

  5. Kromas

    July 25, 2014 at 13:16

    I have had many a mouse from many a company and the truth of the matter is gaming or non you always buy logitech.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Saxon

      July 25, 2014 at 13:22

      *Razer

      Reply

      • Kromas

        July 25, 2014 at 13:25

        My Naga did not survive the Diablo click test and is now broken in my desk along with various others. The only 2 to survive more than a year is my mx415 (damn good old mouse) and my G600.

        Reply

        • Viking Of Science

          July 25, 2014 at 13:27

          My A4tech X7 has survived many Clickathons over the years… And it’s Still going strong. It feels like they just don’t make mouses like the used to…

          Reply

          • Kromas

            July 25, 2014 at 13:29

            Yeah everything seems to be “wonky” these days. My 7.1 surround sound system turns itself off when I get comfy in my fleece blanket, my HDD docking station refuses to work unless I unplug it and plug it back in and my fridge has two settings sorta teppid and freezes everything (nice in the summer though).

          • Viking Of Science

            July 25, 2014 at 13:33

            Yeah, I’m Still Rocking an OLD Logitech 2.1 Speaker Setup with my PC, also, been, hell, 8 Years now….

          • Kromas

            July 25, 2014 at 13:35

            Also still have one. It is my “portable” braai sound system or when i have to entertain my friends kids at a braai I gooi the projector up with it and play them movies.

          • Matthew Holliday

            July 25, 2014 at 15:44

            those x51s or whatever theyr called?
            still running the same one aswell.

            even more impressive is the fact that theyr still better than anything you can get now in that same price bracket, even other logitech speakers are terribad in comparison.

            bought the 5:1 version of the replacement for that series 2 years ago for my TV, and those just dont compare.
            a friend tried the 2:1 version of the replacement and he couldnt stop the buzzing.

        • Admiral Chief Saxon

          July 25, 2014 at 13:29

          Naga is a silly mouse tbh.

          My Diamondback has survived 9 years now, and still NO fault. And I abused that sucka!

          Reply

          • Matthew Holliday

            July 25, 2014 at 15:49

            never liked the diamondback, didnt feel balanced, almost top heavy, my friend had one and every time id click, it would almost fall over.
            i loved the Krait, which was the version befor the diamondback and that was much more balanced.
            on to a death adder now, and have been for about 4 years. quality mouse.

        • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

          July 25, 2014 at 13:35

          I have the RAT 3 and it’s performing like a champ. Even took a dive or 2 from the table

          Reply

        • Greylingad

          July 25, 2014 at 13:44

          Did you click with a hammer?

          Reply

          • Kromas

            July 25, 2014 at 13:47

            No but I do have a heavy hand. Last kb a broke was because of QTE in RE5.

            No I lie the last kb I broke was because I took it apart to clean it and a few months later the keys broke.

            Still …

    • Skyblue

      July 25, 2014 at 22:36

      LIES!

      Reply

  6. Sir Rants A Lot Llew

    July 25, 2014 at 13:16

    R2k??? Good grief. That’s a lot of money. It better be a lot more mouse 0_o.

    I’m happy with my RAT3 thank you.

    Reply

    • Skyblue

      July 25, 2014 at 22:44

      Do you even +mlook buddy? ;-p

      Reply

  7. Rags

    July 25, 2014 at 13:16

    Shape looks pretty good. Too bad about the rubber. Is it the same as on the SS Kana V2? I am seriously considering that mouse.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      July 25, 2014 at 13:20

      That’s what she said

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

        July 25, 2014 at 13:21

        yeah… 9 months later…..

        Reply

    • MakeItLegal

      July 25, 2014 at 14:49

      i have the V2 , its light responsive , it lacks some “use-less” stuff like , lights and what what , but for r500 odd , very happy

      Reply

      • Rags

        July 26, 2014 at 23:18

        Which one do you have black/white? And what does the top surface feel like. Is it plastic or rubber? Would prefer something that feels like the hard plastics of the logitech mx500 mice.

        Reply

        • MakeItLegal

          July 28, 2014 at 08:35

          Plastic , it feels feather light cuzzie , it is small tho like if u have bigs hands then no

          Reply

    • Skyblue

      July 25, 2014 at 22:44

      I switched from a long series of Razer products dating back to the first Boomslang ball mouse to a SS Sensei and have been very happy so far. I looked at the KANA but decided on the Sensei coz… Dahang last year.

      Reply

      • Guest

        July 26, 2014 at 05:38

        Which Sensei do you have? The normal silver one or the RAW?

        I’ve been trying to decide between the normal and rubberised RAW versions.

        Leaning more towards the RAW at this point.

        Would you mind sharing any annoyances/issues you have with it, if any?

        I’ve read of people having issues with noise from the scroll wheel. Have you experienced that?

        These are the mice I’m talking about, for reference:

        http://raru.co.za/electronics/1467-steelseries-sensei-raw-rubberised-mouse-black

        http://raru.co.za/electronics/1468-steelseries-sensei-mouse

        Reply

        • Skyblue

          July 26, 2014 at 10:58

          I have the RAW but the non-rubberized version so the top is slick. I used to have a Deathadder Black Edition so I thought the slick top would be annoying but it’s made no difference really except being easier to clean.
          I primarily play FPS and RTS titles and have been very happy with the mouse thus far. I know several Quake players who use it and all have been happy thus far.
          You can set it up to automatically change CPI and Polling rates on launch of various apps or games and it is very comfortable in the hand for extended play sessions (sounds dodgy, I know).
          I would highly recommend picking up a QCK mousepad as well. I use the QCK+ XXL and it’s awesome. The heavy refers to the thickness of the mousepad which is 6mm thick allowing for smooth play on not so great surfaces you might encounter at LAN’s.
          The mouse wheel does make some sound when in use but doesn’t strike me as being loud.

          Hope it helps.

          Reply

  8. Sir Rants A Lot Llew

    July 25, 2014 at 13:26

    you know what I’ve just realised? Why haven’t computer mouses got kinetic rechargeable batteries?

    Think about it. Your mouse is constantly moving. Can’t it use that constant movement to help recharge the batteries?

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Saxon

      July 25, 2014 at 13:29

      There is a sexual innuendo joke in there somewhere…

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew

        July 25, 2014 at 13:31

        lol

        Reply

    • Steve Smith

      July 25, 2014 at 14:47

      I quit working at shoprite and now I make $35h – $80h…how? I’m working online! My work didn’t exactly make me happy so I decided to take a chance on something new… after 4 years it was so hard to quit my day job but now I couldn’t be happier./;/;/;/;”

      Here ­­­­­­­­­is ­­­­­­­­­I ­­­­­started>>>>>>>>>???????

      ???? W­W­W­.­N­E­T­P­A­Y­6­0­.?­?­m

      —————————————————–

      GO TO THE SITE –>>>CLICK NEXT TAB FOR MORE INFO AND HELP

      Reply

    • Johann Coetzee

      August 4, 2014 at 16:36

      You have a point there….

      Reply

  9. bethcwhitehorn

    July 25, 2014 at 13:45

    Start working at home with Google! It’s by-far the best job I’ve had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this – 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go? to tech tab for work detail

    ?????? Jobs700.Com

    ============================

    Reply

    • Kromas

      July 25, 2014 at 13:48

      Also you have just won R1 million in some lotto. Please contact Cheryl at 0800SERIUOSLY?!!!

      Reply

  10. MakeItLegal

    July 25, 2014 at 14:46

    i bought the katana v2 from steel series not too long ago , wired , i was gana go for those mad “cyborg – R.A.T” ones , but then do i really neeed to blow R1200 on a mouse ? so instead i got a half decent R500 mouse , and 120gb ssd , now my pc is complete

    Reply

    • Rags

      July 26, 2014 at 23:19

      Mice are all about sensors and the shape if you are into fps. Those RAT mice are abominations. So you made a good choice 🙂

      Reply

  11. Maxiviper117

    July 25, 2014 at 15:39

    Yet my R400 Cooler Master Recon mouse does all of that and the rubber on top “doesn’t” wear down, been using it for 7 months.

    Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      July 25, 2014 at 16:00

      my deathadder took about 2 years to wear down, but wear down it did.
      they all do.

      the wireless sensei isnt competition for the Recon though, 2 different target markets.
      The Recon you either like or you dont, personally not a fan of it.
      the rubber on top isnt as heavy as on the sensei, and the hand position is very different, so the wear wouldnt be as noticable.

      Reply

      • Maxiviper117

        July 26, 2014 at 08:27

        The point of my comment was that you don’t need to dish out mega bucks to get a good gaming mouse.

        Reply

  12. Skyblue

    July 25, 2014 at 22:41

    That looks more like oily spots than the rubber coming off. The Sensei I have has a gloss plastic top finish so no problems in that dept. If that’s what a R 2000,00 mouse does after 2 weeks it’s a total rip, docking station or not.

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      July 26, 2014 at 11:36

      Hmm you may be onto something… let me see if I can get some spirits and see if I can wipe the oil off

      Reply

      • Johann Coetzee

        August 4, 2014 at 16:37

        And ?

        Reply

  13. charlesjmeyer

    July 27, 2014 at 13:15

    Start working at home with Google! It’s by-far the best job I’ve had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this – 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go? to tech tab for work detail

    ?????????? Jobs7000.Com

    ==================================

    Reply

  14. Skyblue

    July 28, 2014 at 11:31

    And?

    Reply

  15. Stefan Ilie

    April 28, 2015 at 21:51

    Mine just broke after the last firmware update,the side and cpi togle wont work enymore! and there is not way you can re instal the firmware with the sensei wireless…so next time il go for some other solid brands.

    Reply

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