Cyber Snipa Stinger mouse

Feature

We put Cyber Snipa's top gaming mouse, the Stinger, through the paces to see if it can measure up to the products of the established brands.

November 21st, 2008 by Patrick Steinmann

Customisability
A big feature of the Stinger mouse is its customisability with the (included) macro editor. Every single button except the DPI changer and the left/right mouse buttons can be completely reconfigured to do almost anything you want them to. This is done in the Macro Editor, which is delivered with the mouse. We�ll take a look at this feature a bit later on.

Another staple ingredient of gaming mice is on-the-fly DPI switching. Naturally, the Stinger mouse includes this as well. In the Macro Editor, you can set four different DPI levels, ranging from 400 to 3200 DPI. You can switch between these four levels by pressing the DPI button, which cycles through them, displaying the chosen setting by illuminating the mouse wheel in a certain color (these four colors being red, green, blue, and blank, in that ascending order). Sadly, there is no button for going backwards through the settings, which means that if you want to switch from green to red, you will have to cycle through the other levels first � which may cost crucial time in a heated battle.

Drivers
As mentioned before, the Stinger�s drivers are included with the mouse. While we found it a bit annoying that the mouse driver and the Macro Editor are two separate programs, this really is the only downside of both. The mouse driver itself is very straightforward, integrated into the OS� normal mouse settings.

The Macro Editor is much more complex, as shown by the screenshot at the left. It lets you record button sequences of almost infinite length, as well as edit them, and then assign them to any of the aforementioned buttons. Recorded macros can be grouped and managed, as well as assigned to any of the three different profiles (again referred to as red, blue, and green, and indicated by a small LED underneath the mode switching button). A host of pre-fabricated macros is already in the macro library. Additionally, macros made by other users can be imported, and personal macros can be exported.

Furthermore, the DPI settings can be adjusted, along with the report rate (anywhere from 125-1000Hz) and the overall mouse speed. In case you mess anything up, there�s also a nice little tab for resetting everything back to factory settings.

Ratings
As usual, we�ve rated the Cyber Snipa Stinger mouse in five different categories.

Ergonomy 9
Buttons 7.5
Wheel 8.5
Customisability 8.5
Drivers 8.5
Overall 8.4

Overall, we�re very impressed by the Stinger mouse. While it has a few minor shortcomings, the fantastic feel and the great Macro Editor make this mouse a top contender. Small details, such as the included spare Teflon mouse feet, only bolster the good impression. In fact, Cyber Snipa�s flagship achieves a score of 8.4/10, just edging out the previous record holder, the Steelseries Ikari Laser. All in all, the Stinger mouse is definitely worth taking a look at if you�re in the market for a new gaming mouse.