SteelSeries Ikari High Performance Laser Gaming Mouse (White)

I bought this mouse because of the ergonomic design but boy was i wrong. The placement of slopes on this mouse is very uncomfortable, It is not recommended for people who like to lift up their mouse a lot. Other than the design this mouse would have been the perfect mouse I was looking for because of the customization options. This mouse is design for people who hold their mice in their palm and not the claw type.

The name of this mouse is "Ikari" (Japanese) which translates to either anger, or anchor. I don't see reason for this mouse to represent either of these as it is a very calm mouse yet not heavy at all.I've been looking for a decent mouse for some time now with my utmost priority being comfort and ergonomics. I don't have any wrist problems or arthritis I just wanted a mouse that was designed with attention to shape. What made me choose this mouse over the other candidates like the g-something-hundred series of Logitech, or razer's neon snakes is that many of the reviews for this mouse really raved about the comfort. Another thing was that seeing this mouse listed at 100-115$ and the white version being half off (50$ when i bought it) made me spring for it.Been using it for a month or so now and here are the positives and negatives I foundPros: As expected the Ikari is very comfortable. It may vary from person to person but I doubt there is anything else that can be done to improve it besides minor personal preferences.I love the feel of the scroll wheel and how it clicks.Aesthetically pleasing, looks nice with no frills.The weight, while light is actually perfect. If it was much lighter it would make it feel like a cheap shell and if it were to heavy it would be to hard to lift.The LCD screen on the bottom used to adjust sensitivity along with the center button for high and low are great features and bump up the value considerably.Braided cord makes it feel fancy and looks cool. Takes some working to take out the kinks when you get it out of the box.Slides good, Teflon feet are massive.Cons: The glossy surface usually requires daily cleaning, unless your hands are super clean or you just don't care.I don't like the feel of the clicking on the mouse. The L/R buttons could be a tad more rigid, but at least they are not so sensitiveto where I could click them accidentally.The matte finish on the sides irritated me at first and needed time to break in. After a few days its fine but I hope it wears more.The side buttons are a mixed bag, they will bug you if you don't use them, but they are perfectly placed and ready to use if you do.All the games I play have good controls in the first place so I don't use them often. You get used to their placement regardless.The interface isn't bad but one thing needs fixing. You cant map the side buttons to a key without making it a macro. The macro only lasts so long so you cant hold it. In this case just download x-mouse.last con I can think of is that the scroll wheel feels only OK when you go up and down. It does not feel excellent.Last words: The finger rests on the right side will take some getting used to but after that you will never want to go back. I didn't mention the tracking because I think the whole gaming mouse thing is just a gimmick for people who think they need hyper precision when in reality the difference is incredibly minor. The 100$ price tag on this is stupidly high. Try and find one for 50$, 70$ at most. Cons are so minor really. 5/5 best mouse I've ever used.Edit* About my comment on unnecessarily high dpi, I realize some prefer accurate high sensitivity mice. Narrow minded remark on my part.Edit* While I'm on amazon I may as well update the review now that its been awhile. The rubbery finish on the sides has worn in and it feels great. I have gotten used to the side buttons and even found uses for them. I bought a new mousepad which fixed the slight tracking issues I had while picking the mouse up. The white glossy surface has become discolored, turning a light yellow in the heavy contact points with my hand. Not sure if not washing hands enough.5/5 rating remains, very satisfied.

UPDATE: After 1 year, 2 months of use, it started performing random double clicks that have become a major issue, it was kept clean and has no other physical issues, but about 70% of the time I click, the computer sees a double click (and i have tested this on multiple computers) , debouncing software has helped some, but the double clicks are occurring at speeds sometimes match actual double click speeds, I have contacted Steelseries to see if they would offer any option for repair event at cost and have had no luck.First, this is the most comfortable mouse I have ever used (previous mice being a logitech G500, logitech g7, logitech g5, and a variety of other cheaper mice), fits my hand perfectly and glides over my mousepad like ice. When compared to the G500 and its software, it is missing mouse acceleration, has only 2 sensitivity settings (compared to up to 5 on the g500), has a standard mouse wheel (compared to logitech's 4 direction wheel + button to unlock it for quick spinning), does not have an adjustable weight(boo hoo), and missing 1 of the g500's 3 thumb buttons. Its sensitivity range is a bit different, logitech goes from 200 - 5400 (or something very close to that) this goes from 1-3400 (admittedly, logitech measures in DPI, dots per inch, and steelseries measures in cpi, counts per inch, but i cant tell any real difference in the measurement standards). On that note, if given the choice between the additions the logitech has and this mouse has, i will choose this one every time the only feature i will truly be missing is the mouse acceleration, the rest of that i wont miss. Also, the braided cable the steelseries comes with seems to be of a far better quality, but time will be the judge of that (the inner cable for every logitech mouse with a braided cable i have ever owned has protruded from its braiding and pinched itself, usually without cutting the cable, but thats what I'm blaming for the failure of my g500).

Skips if you are using really low sens; only really important to fps players. I would suggest the qpad 5k over this. Also not the biggest mouse, so the right hand side grooves still make your hand touch the surface.

I had a microsoft intellimouse, later a logitech mx510 later a razer imperator and last the steelseries ikari. I would say that this is the most comfortable mouse I have ever used so far. Great for gaming and work

Honestly this mouse is wonderful. From an ergonomic standpoint I can have long gaming sessions and never have cramped hands like I did with my old mouse. Quite comfortable for people with large hands and the macro functions on this mouse are very straightforward and simple. I honestly don't understand the single negative review about this mouse I found it great. I especially liked the braided chord usb as it gives it extra durability and a nice look. My only complaint is the weight I wish it was a little heavier.

So I had this mouse for about 6-7 months. It worked great, felt pretty comfortable and all, but broke within 6-7 months. I only used it for very light usage for work, no gaming.I am guessing the sensor on it has become damaged, since it only picks up about every 1/2 of my movements.

This is a great gaming mouse. Lightweight, not too small/big, dpi changes on the fly and a couple extra buttons.

So I was desperately looking for a white mouse to go next to my white keyboard and white case and found the Steelseries Ikari High Performance, which looked good, I'd had good experience with their ZBoard keyboard half a decade ago, and it really catered to my fanboyism of Neon Genesis EvangelionThoughts:1: The included software is totally optional and I completely ignored it2: The default 'low' sensativity is great, very similar to how my MX518 felt, while the high setting is crazy fast (too fast for desktop use at 1680x1050) - you can alternate between the two with a button just below the very good feeling scrollwheel, which was good when experimenting with it in skyrim3: THere is a very nice/comfortable rest for your ring finger on the mouse, which has a groove thats for your pinky, but can also be used for your thumb if you're left handed (or ambidexterous like myself) and decided you still had to own a pretty white right-handed mouse. The ring finger rest is essential because...4: The buttons are crazy sensitive. Especially the right click button. In my first hour or so with it I accidentally right clicked while navigating WAY too often. Now I dont do it so frequently as I use my ring finger as well to move the mouse.. which is a very satisfying and precise movement and very intuitive after maybe ten minutes of realizing 'maybe I should try not right clicking every time I move the mouse to the left'. When actually depressed, the buttons feel firm and give a satisfying click. I've had the mouse for weeks now and I don't accidentally right-click any more. It was purely a learning curve from my first day5: Some users have complained on some web reviews the thumb buttons are placed badly. I disagree and found they are more or less in the same place as on the MX518, though they feel more like the buttons on my old Razor Copperhead.