Review: Cooler Master Xornet II – Optical Gaming Mouse for Claw Grip

Cooler Master Xornet II

Gaming mice are available in hundreds and thousands. They all promise great DPI and great response times, but at the heart of every gaming mouse is a simple thing and a simple question. How comfortable is it? Is it a device that you can use for hours and hours on end, without getting RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury)? To address that, Cooler Master have come up with the Xornet series, which allows users to use a mouse in a claw grip, a bit more natural for the human hand, as more of your fingers are on the same plane, much like a claw, rather than 2 up and 3 down like most mice.

The Claw Grip

Cooler Master Xornet II

The principle is simple. Give your user somewhere to put their fingers while using the mouse. By giving your extra fingers a surface, as shown in the image above, your hand rests a bit easy and this helps you use your mouse for a lot longer.

Overall, this means that the mouse creates a lot less strain, and is a lot more comfortable for longer periods of use.

I have been using this at work for a couple of weeks, and boy, it has been pretty good, though it does take a little while to get used to the new kind of group. The interesting thing is, I switch between a lot of different mice, and I thought it would end up being a struggle going from one to the other. It wasn’t. You just get used to one, and then you just switch to another. It is a bit like using two phones constantly. They are different , but it isn’t rocket science.

The Mouse

More than being just a comfortable mouse, you have plenty more on offer too. This mouse comes with the following features:

  • 16.8 million colours for illumination
  • Ergonomic Claw Grip
  • Rubberized rugged side grips to give you extra comfort
  • High precision sensor giving you configurable 500-3500 DPI on the fly
  • Highest grade switches to give you up to 5 million clicks
  • Seven programmable buttons, all intelligently positioned
  • Ability to tune ‘LOD – Lift off distance’ to allow you to use the mouse on different surfaces.

The Software

10

Unlike previous mouse offerings from Cooler Master, this one actually comes with a great software that allows you to configure everything from extra buttons to mouse features.

The things you can adjust are settings such as DPI options (which can be adjusted on the fly using top buttons), program your buttons with keyboard shortcuts or macros, or tune other features such as LED colours or LOD.

There are a couple of slight nags that would be good if addressed.

Firstly, every time you boot your computer, you are shown the Cooler Master software, to which you have to hit ‘APPLY’ to get rid of. Mouse works either way.

Secondly, every time you unplug your mouse, a splash screen appears asking for it to be plugged back in.

It would be good if these two nags were addressed.

The verdict

I love it. It does not compete in productivity to the more expensive competitors out there, but as a gaming mouse it works great. Comfort has been the highlight of this mouse, and it delivers on that very well. The software looks very polished, despite the nags. Is this a mouse to spend your money on? Definitely!

More information

More information on the Cooler Master Xornet II can be found on their page:

http://gaming.coolermaster.com/en/products/mice/xornet-ii/

It also includes links for product software.

It retails for around £25, and is available from various online retailers including Amazon.

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