Mionix Saiph 1800 Gaming Mouse

Today we have a new gaming mouse from Mionix to review. The Saiph 1800.

In most gaming circles Mionix is a name that may not be very well known as they are a relatively young company that have sprouted from the plains of Sweden. After a recent partnership with Mionix just last month, Meroncourt have kindly provided us with the Mionix Saiph 1800.

To give you some background to Mionix, below is an extract from their website – Mionix

Stars have always been important to every culture or ideology. In many regions they were also identified with gods, spirits, mysticism and priests by their people. Stars have been used in religious practices but even for navigation. Many stars and even the sun have their own myths and the most prominent stars were also given powerful names. In some cultures stars were thought to be the souls of dead kings and
gods. Mionix gaming gear like this individual prominent stars have their own myths. Mionix gaming gear, just like stars has unique characteristics and capabilities.

Mionix was founded in 2007 and our head office is situated in south of Sweden. Our goal is to develop products with high performance and suitability for all type of players. Mionix stands for quality, design and a touch of innovation. Our crew are all specialists with a lot of experience of e-gaming which is a must to be able to bring forward top products to gamers.

“Light-years ahead of the game” stands for innovation and performance. All Mionix products are also named after visible stars in the sky and the combination of innovation, performance helps you to stay “light-years ahead of the game”!

With the introduction aside, we can now take a look at the mouse itself over the page.

Packaging and Closer Look

Taking a good look at the packaging, the Saiph 1800 stands out as being a product with immense style and charisma. The branding in particular fits the product precisely, and in my opinion I feel the branding, colour scheme and typography is superb.

There isn’t too much information on the packaging, just the right amount so that you are left informed on the necessary features the Saiph 1800 comes with. The front of the packaging showcases the mouse wrapped in a plastic casing, turning the packing round leaves you with a technical specification and requirements listing. So far the packaging has given a good indication of how Mionix want to operate; it seems to me that they pay close attention to detail.

With the mouse out of the box you may notice some similarities between the Saiph 1800 and two other mice that have been on the market for some time now – Logitech MX-518 and the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. However, the Saiph 1800 has some ergonomical differences that really stand out and the mouse comes dressed in a sleek matt black finish. The USB cable socket even comes gold plated to add even more lustre to the package.

In total there are 7 buttons on the mouse, 5 of these are said to be programmable. Browsing across to the Mionix website delivers some of the key technical specifications. These details are listed below.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

• Ergonomic design (12° tilted)
• 5 programmable buttons
• 4 steps in-game dpi adjustment (with scrollwheel LED indication)
• 16 kb built-in memory
• Large teflon feet (improved friction reducement)
• Netto Weight: 138.5 g
• Gold-plated USB connection
• Full speed USB 2.0 with Plug n Play
• Cable length: 2 m (braided for durability)
• Compitable with all kinds of surfaces

LASER SPECIFICATION

• 1800 dpi Cypress laser sensor
• 1.8mm lift distance
• 1 ms response time distance
• 1000Hz polling rate
• True 16-bit data path
• 20 G acceleration
• 40 000Hz sampling rate
• 50 inch / sec

Performance and Conclusion

We have undressed the Saiph 1800, and so far have been impressed in how it has been presented but we now enter the important stage of testing the mouse and seeking if those looks really do feel good and whether the functionality pays off when we enter the gaming arena.

When the Saiph 1800 is first plugged in, the first thing that will attract your attention is the glowing wheel button in the center. Here in lies a neat little feature that Mionix have integrated into the mouse. Seated very close to the wheel are two buttons with engraven arrows on them. Pressing the down arrow will decrease the DPI setting whilst pressing the up arrow will increase the DPI. At each stage of the DPI changing the colour reflects this by changing colour also. Deep blue being the lowest setting whilst sky blue being the highest.

Performance

The methodology for testing mice can often be regarded as quite opinionated as there is no hard and fast rule as to whether a mouse is better than another mouse. To test the Saiph 1800 I will be reporting on the driver software, commenting on the usage and overall feel along with an evaluation of how the Saiph 1800 deals in the gaming environment.

Driver Software

Software does not come with the mouse which is a strange thing as almost all peripherals usually come with a driver CD of some kind. Windows XP and Vista will pickup the mouse but you will not be able to manage the button configurations. A quick trip to the Mionix website reveals a driver section that features the Saiph 1800 V1.0 (at the time of this review). This is a small piece of software (1.2MB) and upon installing you can fully customise how you want the Saiph 1800 to operate. From changing the double click speed to defining what buttons perform which function. All in all the software works great and its quick and easy to navigate to what you want.

Desktop Usage

Now we move on to the general usage and feel of the Saiph 1800. It has to be said, the texture of the mouse is very smooth and its very pleasant to use, couple with the ergonomic design concepts the mouse sits in the hand nicely. All buttons featured on the Saiph 1800 are easily operated and I felt no problems at all. The only slight niggle I would draw on is that whilst browsing its often quite easy to mistakenly right click due to the design of the mouse. After some hours of usage you learn to adapt and this small issue wears away.

Gaming Performance

Now we test the Saiph in its true environment, the games. For this test 3 different game genres will be played using the Mionix mouse. Each game will be played for approximately 30-45 minutes. The games chosen are Crysis (First person shooter), Prince of Persia (3rd person action adventure), and War Hammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (real-time strategy).

After hours of gaming with the Saiph 1800 across 3 different genres its quite safe to say that this mouse is brilliant to use. It really does help that you can alter the DPI setting on the fly, especially as each of the games can have a different feel so this can indeed be necessary. The traction and glide contact the mouse has with the surface is very smooth and this is particularly useful for first person shooters like Crysis that was played. I would gladly recommend this mouse for gaming, its even causing a rift between using my much loved MX-518, I’m that fond of it.

Conclusion

The Mionix Saiph 1800 looks and feels aesthetically stunning. In every aspect – from the packaging right through to the testing stage the Saiph 1800 has impressed. One of the features that stands out for me is the ability to change the DPI on the fly. This is really useful if you play multiple games in different genres as each game type often requires different sensitivities, its also pracical if you have your friends round and perhaps take turns on a game – you can ensure your DPI is for example at the lowest setting (blue) whilst your friend prefers a higher setting (green). The colour coding system is very useful and creates more functionality to an already excellent mouse.

Its great to see that the Saiph 1800 has reached some of the big retailers out there, this is key to promoting a successful product. I’ve known great products in the past to be only specifically available in certain countries and this only limits how far a product can go. With a foot firmly in the door and great products like the Saiph 1800 Mionix can only grow in popularity.

When you consider the Saiph 1800 retails for less than £35 it seems like the obvious choice. Most mice around the 2000 DPI range are £45+. So not only do you get blistering performance but you also save money.