Optical mice are making a comeback and CM Storm are scouting the market with the Recon mouse. We also try out the Skorpion Bungee for size…
Product on Review: CM Storm Recon and Skorpion
Manufacturer and Sponsor: CM Storm (Cooler Master)
Street Price: Approx. £39.99 and £14 (at time of review)
Optical mice offer value over the more expensive laser mice but up until recently, suffered due to the comparatively low dpi range. Today however with advances in optical sensor technology, optical mice are competing again. Take for example today’s review sample, the CM Storm Recon. It has the Avago technologies ADNS-3090 optical mouse sensor which is capable of sensing high speed motion and acceleration up to 20g which equates to 60 inches per second. The dots-per-inch rating of this particular mouse weighs in at an impressive 800-4000 which for all intents and purposes goes beyond the ‘playable’ range for a mouse unless of course you have the reflexes of a psychic cat!
While it is true that laser tracking technology has had this dpi range (and above) for some time now, laser mice are inherently more expensive both to produce and retail so it goes without saying that a mouse that is both capable and doesn’t break the bank will be welcomed by the gaming market. The CM Storm Recon fits this bill well, retailing at under £40 yet still affording the performance demanded by serious gamers. It will be intriguing to see if the CM Storm Recon has made sacrifices to refrain from breaking the £40 barrier.
We also have the Skorpion to try out with the Recon today. A mouse bungee which will hopefully keep wires away from the mouse pad. This is an irritation for everyone who has ever used a wired gaming mouse. Keeping the movement of the mouse slick without getting tangled up during intense gaming sessions often results in a rats nest of wires, not least the mouse cable which not only looks unsightly but can also interfere with your gaming prowess. The Skorpion is here to save the day and should give ‘wireless mouse gamers’ pause for thought as this sort of occurrence should now be a thing of the past.
CM Storm on Recon
The Recon Gaming Mice is designed specifically for gamers that demand the utmost in durability, functionality and accuracy. The ambidextrous form factor and rubberized coating making it a versatile for all types of grip gestures. Recon equipped with a pair of Omron Micro switches and Avago 3090 high precision optical sensor, allowing users to switch choice of 800, 1600, 3200, 4000 dpi on-the-fly as well as integrating 5 profiles and 36 macros to personalize the mouse at your own preference.
Ever missed the perfect shot cause your mouse cord got stuck? Are you tired of mousecord drag and pull? Do you constantly bend and move your mouse cord around, but don’t want to compromise and go wireless? Get the Cooler Master CM Storm Skorpion and make your mouse feel like its wireless! Don’t restrict your options to a few tiny wireless mice, use any mouse you want. No added delay, interference issues, higher weight due to batteries, and constant recharging and swapping batteries like actual wireless mice.
Ever missed the perfect shot cause your mouse cord got stuck? Are you tired of mousecord drag and pull? Do you constantly bend and move your mouse cord around, but don’t want to compromise and go wireless? Get the Cooler Master CM Storm Skorpion and make your mouse feel like its wireless! Don’t restrict your options to a few tiny wireless mice, use any mouse you want. No added delay, interference issues, higher weight due to batteries, and constant recharging and swapping batteries like actual wireless mice.
How do optical mice work?
Many people buy mice but yet have litle understanding of what makes a good mouse and what makes a bad one. Even fewer people understand how a mouse actually works. Here we give you the low down on optical mice in Laymens terms.
Invented by Douglas Englebart in the 1960’s, the older optical mice were plagued with reports of inaccuracy and the need for frequent cleaning. Newer solid state mice do not suffer these traits and work on nearly all surfaces.
You may be surprised to find that inside the humble optical mouse is a complete imaging system. It could actually be compared to a very fast yet small video camera which processes images at an astonishing rate to reflect each tiny movement, translating that movement to the cursor on screen.
This imaging system works by having an LED illuminating the surface below the mouse sensor. This light is then picked up by a lens and forms an image on the sensor, in this case the Avaga ADNS-3090. This image is just a tiny black and white picture detailing surface troughs and peaks and each time the mouse is moved, more pictures are taken.
Those familiar with graphics cards will have heard the term ‘frames per second’ and this is generally what a graphics card is judged on. A mouse or more specifically it’s sensor, can also be measured by frames per second. The Avago ADNS-3090 is capable of up to a huge 6400 FPS! This high speed activity allows for the pictures to be overlapped continuously which are sent to the optical navigation engine for processing. These pictures are then compared and the difference in troughs and peaks is then processed and translated to an x and/or y axis movement.
Specification
CM Storm Recon
Avago 3090 optical sensor with 800-4000 dpi
On-The-Fly Lift-Off-Distance adjustments
On-The-Fly DPI adjustments
On-The Fly USB polling rate adjustments
Up to 1.5m/s or 60”/s tracking speed and 20G of acceleration
Highest grade Japanese Omron micro switches
Extra wide 16-bit USB data path
1000 Hz polling rate / 1ms response time
Super Grip coated ambidextrous mousebody
Ultra swift mouse feet
Flexible 1.8 meter or 78.6 inch long cable
Dimensions (W x H x D): 64.4 x 116.4 x 42 mm/ 2.53 x 4.58 x 1.65 inches
Multicolor Mousewheel light to identify Profiles
Avago 3090 optical sensor with 800-4000 dpi
On-The-Fly Lift-Off-Distance adjustments
On-The-Fly DPI adjustments
On-The Fly USB polling rate adjustments
Up to 1.5m/s or 60”/s tracking speed and 20G of acceleration
Highest grade Japanese Omron micro switches
Extra wide 16-bit USB data path
1000 Hz polling rate / 1ms response time
Super Grip coated ambidextrous mousebody
Ultra swift mouse feet
Flexible 1.8 meter or 78.6 inch long cable
Dimensions (W x H x D): 64.4 x 116.4 x 42 mm/ 2.53 x 4.58 x 1.65 inches
Multicolor Mousewheel light to identify Profiles
CM Storm Skorpion
Model Number – SGA-2000-BKNX1
Material – Synthetic (body)
Rubber – (feet,arm)
Iron – (core)
Coating – Rubber
Weight Sys. – Iron core
Size – 150 x 130 x 85mm
Model Number – SGA-2000-BKNX1
Material – Synthetic (body)
Rubber – (feet,arm)
Iron – (core)
Coating – Rubber
Weight Sys. – Iron core
Size – 150 x 130 x 85mm
Packaging & Accessories
The Recon comes packaged in an attractive design that is none too dissimilar with other products from the CM Storm line. The front of the box has the product title along with the main features of the mouse.
flipping the box over we find a detailed specification of the mouse along with the addresses of Cooler Master worldwide, Taiwan, Europe, China and the USA.
A feature I wish all manufacturers of mice would employ is the flip lid design which enables the potential buyer to get a basic feel for the mouse before buying. The CM Strom packaging has this feature with a velcro fastening lid.
There are no accessories to speak of save for a basic but well presented product guide in multiple languages.
The Skorpion packaging is neat and tidy if somewhat bulky. Again, no accessories are included with this product but to be fair, we struggled to think what CM Storm could have added to heighten the appeal without affecting cost.
Let’s move on to the products…
First Look Recon
the good news for left handers is that the Recon is an ambidextrous design. The whole of the mouse upper is finished in a rubberised texture which will ensure grip is maximised throughout intense gaming sessions. the two main mouse buttons are Japanese Omron micro switches which are the best in the business so you can be assured of the quality and durability of the main buttons.
Flipping the mouse on it’s back we see that 3 pads are provided to allow the mouse to run smoothly across any surface. As you would expect, the ‘Storm Tactical’ sensor is located in the midriff, framed by the serial numbers of the mouse.
the business end of the mouse features quite a large wheel which itself is wrapped in a ribbed rubber ‘tyre’. The notched wheel is however very comfortable to use and keeps the fingers well away from the dpi adjustment switches behind.
the rear of the mouse has a raised hump which signifies that this mouse is, despite it’s symmetrical design, aimed at gamers who prefer the palm grip. Measuring (W x H x D): 64.4 x 116.4 x 42 mm we would assume it is also better suited to those with small-medium size hands. Personally, I have large appendages and while I do prefer the palm grip, I found the Recon to be a little too small to be used effectively and coupled with the symmetrical design, meant I inadvertently pressed the right side buttons.
The left and right side views are pretty much mirror images of one another. Both sides feature two mouse buttons which can be configures using the downloadable software (covered later in the review). The buttons are moulded to the contours of the mouse however they do stand proud of the mouse by 3mm in some areas (the back buttons), so while they too are shaped and contoured and it must be said, very well placed, are easily pressed by accident.
Overall, we liked the design of the mouse. The two tone colourisation was appealing to the eye and the rubberised texture appealing to touch. I would err on the side of caution if you have big hands though because the mouse, being ambidextrous yet short can be a little awkward to use unless you disable the side buttons with the software.
Let’s take a closer look…
First Look Skorpion
First impressions are this thing is ugly. Ugly in an appealing, menacing way though. The Skorpion name fits this product perfectly as it certainly looks the part with the bungee curled over ready to strike!
The bungee itself is made from flexible rubber which can contort into a variety of positions however it is not rigid so will always return to a central position.
The base of bungee is a triangular plastic coated weight
Each of the three legs are removable should you wish to lower the height of the bungee. They have rubber non-slip feet and while the legs are made from plastic, they do seem to be fairly strong so shouldn’t break easily.
The key to the Skorpion’s success is the cable retention which is a simple, yet effective design. The mouse cable is simply pushed into a groove along the Skorpion ‘tail’. This holds the cable firmly out of the way and can be adjusted easily with the minimum of fuss.
Closer Look
The CM Storm lights up 3 different colours by default depending on the dpi level chosen. The mouse wheel, middle buttons and CM Storm emblem are all illuminated evenly and add a touch of class to an already great looking peripheral.
The three colours available are red, green, blue. If LED lighting is not your thing then you can turn the lighting off. If these colours or coordination are not to your preference then you can have a play around with over 16.8 million colours all available for each component of the mouse be it the wheel, dpi buttons or the CM Storm logo on the rump of the mouse.
The Avago ADNS-3090 sensor, named by CM Storm as the ‘Storm Tactical Sensor’ is an optical sensor using a red LED as it’s form of light detection. Based on new, faster technology, the sensor is capable of sensing high speed motion with lateral forces of up to 20g. Used in conjunction with the ADNS-2120-001 trim lens means there are no moving parts and thus no maintenance is required which also means greater reliability for the long term.
Lastly, we see that CM Storm have opted for a Gold USB connector which allows for greater durability and improved digital transfer connectivity. Sadly, the cable is not braided.
Software
The software mainframe is well presented and not overpowering. Navigation is via the tabs across the top of the suite. The fist tab being ‘Buttons’. As the name suggests, this is the area where you assign a function to each button. However, before doing so you will need to select a profile from the bottom as the default profile cannot be customised. While this may seem restrictive at first, it makes perfect sense in that it acts as a safety net should you mess the profiles up and end up with a mouse that is difficult to control.
The second tab allows configuration of the sensor with adjustment to the four levels of dpi, switch-able using the up/down middle buttons on the fly. Double click speed and button sensitivity can also be configured here which is good news as I can now configure the side buttons to activate so quickly! USB polling rate can also be configured here although we cannot think of an application where you would want anything less than the maximum.
The third tab is where you can adjust the aesthetics of the mouse. 16.8 million colour variations are available for the scroll wheel, dpi buttons and CM Storm logo with each being adjusted individually. You can also adjust the light intensity for each area along with the LED mode.
The fourth tab concentrates its attention to the Macro functionality of the mouse. There are no bubble tips which is a shame but those converse with creating macro scripts should easily be able to configure their own here as it is pretty straightforward.
The fifth tab is the profiles creation area. Here you can backup your profiles to your pc or store in the on-board memory of the mouse. The last tab is the support area where you can view the hardware/firmware version of the mouse along with obtaining online support for CM Storm.
Performance Testing
General Use
Straight out of the box, the mouse is easy to use thanks to its plug’n’play attributes with the mouse being detected and usable in a Windows environment without the need to download the CM Storm software. We would however strongly suggest downloading the software which is available on the CM Strom website to get the most from the Recon.
In general office duties the mouse was a pleasure to use. The sensitive side buttons were a slight irritation though as in default mode these acted as navigation so posting on forums meant sometimes a post was lost mid-edit due to navigating away from a page. We were unsure whether this was designed to be like this or conversely, a fault in the design. Some may like the ease of access and if you have average size hands, thereby utilising the palm grip design you shouldn’t have an issue. The length of the mouse however dictated my hand was further back from the mouse and thus more prone to hitting the side buttons! This was however easily rectified both by lowering the sensitivity of the buttons and for me personally, disabling the offending button due to my XL hands! After a while I did begin to feel the effects of using the Recon with my wrist beginning to ache. This was more to do with the size of the mouse than any major design fault. People with small/medium size hands shouldn’t have an issue as the palm can easily be cradled on the mouse but mine was over the back of the rump which meant my wrist was at a slight angle causing minor RSI. For the most part though, general navigation and photoshop duties were very good with the mouse being both accurate and slick in use.
Gaming
Being a gaming mouse primarily, the CM Storm Recon performed exactly as it should and those sensitive buttons now came into their own. While they are a burden in general day to day work, they were ultra responsive and coupled with the gorgeous Omron switches of the main two mouse buttons, the Recon soon became second nature in use. We liked the dpi switching capability with the recessed buttons requiring deliberate activations. The mouse wheel was in the ‘Goldilocks’ zone – not to soft/not too stiff and the perfectly positioned side buttons ensured that reactions were quick without having to think about which button to press. Again, I found the mouse to be a little on the small side and to get the speed I wanted I found myself reverting to a claw grip rather than palm which is not what the mouse is designed for. This only served to increase the amount of inadvertent side button clicks.
So, while personally this mouse (more because of its small size than anything else) is not suited to my hands, we can envisage other users may find it a joy to use. It is clearly aimed at gamers and while it is perfectly capable in general day to day tasks, shooting down foes is more it’s bag than sending emails.
The Skorpion performed well as expected. It did it’s job pretty much perfectly. If we had one criticism though it would be that the bungee was a little too stiff. We would have preferred a little more flexibility in the rubber as the tension was very noticeable when the mouse cable was at it’s extremities of length. A little fine tuning is all that is required to rectify this situation but were the bungee a little more pliable and the grip less tight on the cable, the Skorpion would be unnoticeable in use which after all, is the basis for its creation.
Conclusion
We have yet to have a CM Storm product come through our doors that we didn’t like and we are happy to report the same can be said for the Recon mouse and Skorpion bungee.Perfect they are not but a mouse is a very personal item and thus it is very difficult to create a ‘one size fits all’. This for me on a personal basis is the Recon’s biggest drawback: It is not suitable for gamers with large hands. The Recon is not a small mouse by any means but it is not large either, certainly not long enough for big hands/fingers anyway which makes for an uncomfortable experience in long gaming sessions. This is the crux of the matter because the Recon does many things well, extremely well in fact but it tries to too hard to do everything, perhaps due to it’s ambidextrous design. As an all rounder it succeeds because it is a capable performer for both left and right handers however because of this, it is not perfectly suited to either.
On the other hand (pun intended) should you be of a ‘normal’ size then I have no doubts this mouse will appeal. What it does well, it does very well. From the rubberised, ‘grippy’ texture to the Omron switchgear it is clear that this is a quality product. It doesn’t cost the earth either and at under £40 you may think this is something of a bargain. £40 makes it in the technologically superior laser mice range though which may put some people off. It is however packaged well and has the all important name tag to prove fashionable at LANs. It has the features many top end mice would envy and the software suite is nigh on perfect. Having a non-braided cable is a bit of a let down though and we would have also liked to have seen some weight adjustment available.
Overall, we really liked the CM Storm Recon and Skorpion bungee. Size aside, the mouse performed admirably. Were it a tenner cheaper then it would be rocking the foundations of the optical mouse market. As it stands though, £40 is a fair price point and one which you should consider paying if you are on the lookout for a very capable, customisable optical mouse.
Pros
+ Ambidextrous design
+ Rubberised texture
+ Macro functionality
+ 4 DPI levels
+ Unlimited profiles
+ Customisable Lighting
Cons
– Not suitable for large hands
– No accessories
+ Ambidextrous design
+ Rubberised texture
+ Macro functionality
+ 4 DPI levels
+ Unlimited profiles
+ Customisable Lighting
Cons
– Not suitable for large hands
– No accessories
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
