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A couple of months back we looked CM Storm's latest gaming mouse, the Spawn, which impressed us greatly and achieved our prestigious must have award. We were very excited when CM Storm offered us a sample of their latest gaming mouse for review which has recently been released.
The Sentinel Z3RO-G gaming mouse from CM Storm is a revised version of their popular Sentinel Advanced gaming mouse. It boasts an impressive specification that includes a 5600 DPI laser sensor, a built in OLED screen and an adjustable weights system. CM Storm sweeten the deal by including a free game code for Shattered Horizon inside the box which can be downloaded from the internet.
Specification
- 5600 DPI Storm Tactical Twin-laser Sensor
- 128 KB Sentinel-X Memory
- OLED DPI Management System
- OLED Team Logo Personalization
- 8 Programmable Buttons
- Rapid Fire Tactical Mode
- 1000 Hz Polling / 1 ms Response time
- Max Speed of 235 IPS
- Max Acceleration 50G
- 1mm Lift-off distance
- Right-hand Ergonomic Design
- Gold-plated USB connector
- 5x 4.5 g Adjustable Weight System
- Full-Speed USB
CM Storm have chosen to use a red and black design for the box which reflects their corporate colour scheme. A large image of the Sentinel takes centre stage on the front of the box, surrounded by flames to make it stand out.
The front of the box also acts as a door which opens to reveal the mouse inside the box, packaged within a vacuum-formed plastic tray. The reverse side of the door displays a diagram of the Sentinel which highlights it's most exciting features. Turning the box around reveals details of the Sentinel's specification and the Shattered Horizon game bundle.
Aside from the Shattered Horizon game code, the Sentinel bundle doesn't seem very generous. In fact the only items we find inside the box with the mouse are a driver CD and a replacement set of feet for the mouse. But the digital PDF user guide on the driver CD does remove the need for a paper one.
The mouse itself takes on an identical form to the original Sentinel mouse although they are finished in slightly different colours. The original version was constructed entirely from matte black plastic whereas the new Z3RO-G version has taken on a grey rubberised paint finish. This lets you grip it more securely and makes the mouse feel more sophisticated.
CM Storm have retained the matte black plastic for a section on the top of the mouse which includes the left and right mouse buttons and the area immediately behind. Down the middle there is a strip of gloss black plastic which contains the mouse wheel and DPI buttons, located in front of a small OLED display which displays the DPI levels.
The mouse wheel feels quite refined although it provides a bit too much resistance for our liking. This makes it a little cumbersome when scrolling through long documents or web pages. The click action of the mouse-wheel is the most disappointing part, though, as the travel is far too short and it is much too easy to activate it accidentally when scrolling.
We also believe the left and right mouse buttons provide ever so slightly too much resistance for optimum performance; we seemed to be able to click much faster with our SteelSeries Xai. This said, the mouse buttons on the Z3RO-G are far from bad and we did get used to them after a few hours of use.
On the left hand side of the mouse there is a thumb alcove which is recessed slightly into the side of the mouse. This lets you grip it nice and securely during use. Directly above the alcove we find the browser forward and back buttons. We found that these were positioned ideally for our hand, letting us use the forward button with the tip of our thumb and the backward button with the joint of our thumb. Of course, all of the buttons are fully configurable through the included software so you are able to use them for a variety of different functions.
Build quality is exceptional despite the overall light weight of the mouse. The plastics seem to be of the highest quality and the cable carries a high quality cloth braid that reflects the quality standards set elsewhere in the mouse. The cable terminates in a gold-plated USB connector.
Most gaming mice these days are supplied with some form of configuration utility which lets you set the mouse up to perform exactly as you like. And the CM Storm Sentinel Z3RO-G is no exception to this trend. Our sample of the Sentinel Z3RO-G is an early model so the software isn't the final version that will be supplied with retail versions when they hit the shelves.
The software is supplied on a CD which is included in the box but we would recommend downloading it directly from the CM Storm website so that you can ensure you have the most up-to-date version. On opening the software, we are greeted by a screen which lets you optimize the sensor for either FPS or RTS gaming. You can configure five different profiles which can be switched in game. They are saved to the inbuilt memory so you can use them with any computer without having to install the software utility.
On the main page of the software we find a vast number of different configuration options. On the left, there are a series of drop down menus which let us assign different functions to the eight different mouse buttons. There is also an inbuilt macro recorder which you can use in conjunction with these. The right hand side of the page features four sliders to configure the four switchable DPI levels. You can configure X and Y values independently to any discrete value between 100 and 5600 DPI. There are a number of other configuration options which include USB report rate, motion sensitivity, double click speed and button response time.
Moving on to the second page, we are able to set up the two different lighting areas on the mouse. There is a palette of seven colours available to choose from along with a few different lighting effects. You can also upload a small team logo onto the mouse which is displayed on the small OLED screen. Some of the colours are demonstrated in the pictures above.
The third tab, entitled ‘Storm Tactics' is very similar to Roccat's EasyShift[+] system which lets you increase the number of mouse button functions by allowing you to set functions to a combination of two buttons. This gives you 17 programmable buttons altogether.
Under the fourth and fifth tabs we are able to record our own Macros and Scripts which can be assigned to any of the 17 programmable buttons. The sixth tab, entitled ‘Library' lets you import and export scripts so you can back them up or share them with other users.
On the final page there is an automatic update function which will automatically check for software and firmware updates for the mouse. There is also a button which directs you to the CM Storm support page should you ever experience any problems with the mouse.
These days, it's very rare for a high end gaming mouse like the Z3RO-G to exhibit any performance issues. During our tests, the Z3RO-G tracked accurately without any lapses at all. The 5600 DPI laser sensor should provide a high enough resolution for even the most high sensitivity gamers.
We combined the Z3RO-G with a Roccat Sota gaming surface for testing which we use to test most of the mice that pass through our labs. Even though it is slightly heavier than the average gaming mouse, it still glides effortlessly thanks to the sizable teflon pads on the underside of the mouse.
For those who prefer a lighter mouse, though, the Z3RO-G has a little trick up its sleeve. On the underside of the mouse there is a small plastic flap that can be removed to reveal a series of five weights inside the mouse. These weight 4.5g each so can be removed to lessen the weight of the mouse by 22.5g.
Like Roccat, CM Storm have been listening to their customers' feedback to improve their products. This is very evident with the Sentinel Z3RO-G as it is definitely is definitely an improvement on the previous generation Sentinel mouse. The new grey and black finish also makes it look a little more exciting too, especially when combined with the LED lighting.
Other improvements include the Storm Tactics system which greatly increases the number of programmable buttons. This makes the Sentinel Z3RO-G perfect for people who are going to use all the macro functions of the mouse. The DPI buttons are perfectly located for switching DPI on the fly and the inclusion of an OLED display to identify the DPI level is also a nice addition.
Build quality is very good so we expect the Z3RO-G will last a good few years. The included configuration utility is one of the best we've seen with any mouse and it provides every option we could ask for and more. Switching DPI and configuration profiles on-the-fly means there is no need to exit the game to change the configuration setup.
As the CM Storm Sentinel Z3RO-G has only just been released, it isn't available to buy anywhere online yet. Cooler Master have told us that it is going to be retailing for £52.95. But we can see this falling below £50 after a few months and at this price, the Z3RO-G is great value for money.
Pros:
- Good Build Quality
- 5600 DPI Laser Sensor
- Soft touch rubber finish
- Good Value
Cons:
- Mouse Wheel isn't great
- Not the most beautiful mouse on the market
KitGuru says: A well rounded mouse at a very good price
Very good design from CM. I like their new range of products.
Nice, they seem to be aiming for the higher end market recently in various categories ive noticed.
Good product but I wonder is it enough to stand out in the market. its not that radical a design compared to some. I think the RATT stuff is really innovative.