DriverHeaven posts first English written Xai review
Honestly, let’s just kick of this post with a quote from the conclusion of the review: “All told, the SteelSeries Xai is the most impressive gaming mouse I have ever tested in our labs.”
<With the overall 10/10 score and a DriverHeaven Gold Award, Henry Butt really goes in-depth on all the Xai’s features with a result that we are incredibly proud of!
Check out the complete review on DriverHeaven. :)
/Casper
November 30th, 2009 21:09
I just lolled.
December 1st, 2009 11:14
I guess the reviewer at dh doesn’t know what is positive acceleration…
December 1st, 2009 17:00
hahaha, how much did they get paid to say stuff like that? i bet more than those pro gamers of yours.
December 1st, 2009 19:42
Lol “very reasonable”=£56 Really? Since when?
December 1st, 2009 19:43
I have contacted SteelSeries to send me a Xai for review purposes only. Obviously they aren’t going to do that, but other companies have sent me their products. I am just waiting for the site to be finished and you can expect honest and unbiased reviews from me on competitive gaming products. I will be purchasing a Xai sometime at the end of this month, or early in January to review it. So expect an honest review from me around end of January.
December 1st, 2009 23:07
How to flash the Xai? I have some trouble with the FW 1.4.2, so could anyone tell me how I can get the FW 1.3.6 back or maybe reload 1.4.2? The issue is, that my mouse freeze from time to time, changes in the profiles doesn’t work immediately etc.
By the way, I have set the settings to default more than 10 times now, without any difference.
Could someone help me?
December 2nd, 2009 10:28
I’d like to point out that DriverHeaven is a 100% independent hardware review site. I mean, please take a good look through their archives and history, where you will find brilliant reviews on so many different brands in a lot of different categories.
#3 Do you honestly think we just freely include a check along with the product, when we pack it and ship to the reviewers?
#5 Elaborate on why we would “obviously” not do that? The first batch of Xai mice were basically sold out before they hit our warehouse, meaning that marketing/review samples have been limited - and naturally allocated to the larger publications, as well as long leading print publications to possibly obtain a feature in time for christmas. As far as I see, you don’t have a finished site so does it honestly come as a surprise to you that other media/communities with a year-long history as well as a huge reader/user base get chosen over you?
Apologies for being a bit up front, but this is, in my opinion, some harsh accusations…
December 2nd, 2009 15:30
Now they reply. But only to defend their image.
How about fixing the fucking mice?
Sorry for being a bit up front.
December 2nd, 2009 17:25
I wrote this review of the Xai for Driver Heaven. In no way is it a biased review - I don’t even get to keep the mouse, let alone get paid by SteelSeries to write a good review.
It was tested alongside a variety of mice that I had easily accessible at the time - the CM Storm, Ikari, Roccat Kone to name a few. If it were still here it would be my mouse of choice, in fact I’m intending to get my own for personal use in the near future.
@ tmd, I do know what positive acceleration is… I don’t know why you would suggest otherwise.
@ Ethan, I used to review products for a pretty small forum… SteelSeries sent me samples, although as Casper said, the new products were always reserved for the big sites and magazines.
@ dmt, I know SteelSeries are working hard behind the scenes on the issues with the Xai. I’m sure they will have updated software released in the near future fixing most of the bugs.
December 3rd, 2009 09:09
So Casper, you post a review that almost gave the xai a perfect score, while it has terrible positive acceleratio, how do you think users with faulty xais will respond? In fact, its not an isolated issue, every one with a xai complained about the massive 10% acceleration,
proof is here, http://666kb.com/i/bembmcqcomq0nuxym.gif.
Henry, yes we all do know SS didnt pay you to do the review, but how could you rate a mice that isnt accurate with a almost perfect score?
Casper, i know you only a marketing guy, but mind to be more transparent with you post in the future? Starting with a changelo in firmware updates, yes the Xai can be fixed, just get the firmware right, other mice with the ADNS-9500 were fixed to. Hope to see a solution quick, the xai isnt a cheap gizmo, like Kim said, its a precision tool, and for now, it isn’t precise…
December 3rd, 2009 09:29
@Henry Butt Why do you think £56 is a very reasonable price for a mouse without LEDS all over the place, no weight system and no interchangeable grips (ala the g9/x)? It doesn’t even have an OLED screen which is what I thought the high cost was attributed to. (double checked the steelseries site before posting)
The Kinzu on the other hand is very reasonable.
Did you seriously not get any acceleration problems at all? Every user seems to be having that problem (even with the G500 which uses the same sensor).
I apologise if I’m coming across as hostile or something as DriverHeaven is a great site and I use it quite a bit for case reviews among other things.
December 3rd, 2009 09:42
Logi already fixed the g500, the xai has much worse accel, hurry up and fix it SS, alot of users are sitting on the fence waiting to buy the xai!
December 3rd, 2009 12:07
@tmd No they haven’t http://forums.logitech.com/t5/G-Series-Mice/I-need-help-updating-g500-firmware/td-p/400160/page/3
December 5th, 2009 12:02
Still has less accel then the xai, and its linear unlike the xai’s accel, when we talk about reviews being bias ss officials just pop out from no where, but when users report problems like positive accel on this one, you can post all the way up to 100 post here, but nobody is going to get a respond, they just make stuff and sell it totally ignoring after market quality, totally opposite of their company moto…
December 7th, 2009 11:27
@tmd whats your source for this test?
http://666kb.com/i/bembmcqcomq0nuxym.gif
the webshop which i ordered my crappy xai from isnt able to find the problems you and other users described. It might come in handy for my rma request, thanks in advance
December 7th, 2009 12:18
#14 - wrong. As mentioned over and over, this is the SteelSeries blog - not the support system. We have a support team ready to help you out, but you can’t expect to get your support tickets processed here.
December 8th, 2009 03:20
the problem is that you cant expect anything from steelseries, i myself never received any feedback from your so called support team. The ticket was made through the right channels!
December 8th, 2009 06:53
Casper,
I made a ticket some 14 days ago now and still no response from the Steelseries support team….
My mouse just keeps flipping out (as in,the cursor in game would move in a completely opposite direction for a brief second or two on its own). The mousewheel up would also happen on its own…..
December 8th, 2009 08:08
Question,
Do the Kinzu and Xai use the same mouse feet? I am considering trying a Xai, but I absolutely hated the mouse feet on the Kinzu.
December 11th, 2009 10:36
I also got no support with my ticket regarding the kinzu, I was sadly about to buy the xai thinking it wouldnt have the same problems with the sensor but reading this, i guess it does.
steelseries items i have owned:
steelseries ikari laser
steelseries kinzu
steelseries 7g (keys always pop out)
steelseries 9hd
steelseries 5h usb
steelseries siberias (wiring broke)
steelseries siberias v2 (will be shipped on tuesday won on esea :D)
steelseries i-2
steelseries QCK+
steelseries QCK Heavy
steelseries S&S
steelseries 5L
icemat siberias (wiring broke)
icemat 2nd edition (got shattered in shipping to cpl winter 06 =( )
it’s just sad that throughout these years ive always supported steelseries and icemat, but i can’t even get a simple answer regarding a mouse :s. maybe i need to replace all my items with razer lol>
December 11th, 2009 21:59
@ sixx, I have a kinzu here for review at the moment. Although it is an identical shape the the Xai, it is considerably smaller. The feet appear the same but aren’t as good on the Kinzu - the Xai glides a lot better.
December 13th, 2009 02:06
Thanks for the reply. That’s what I was wondering, all of the reviews I’ve read say the Xai has great glide, however the Kinzu I had didn’t seem to glide all that well (Tried it on a S&S, Destructor and a QcK+).
I just bought a Xai, hope it gets here within the next few days. :)
Just out of curiosity, what games did you try the Xai with and what pads did it seem to glide great on?
December 14th, 2009 23:06
Casper,
I meant “obviously” because why would SteelSeries send me a product when I have no site up as of yet. Now the site is up though, and I have reapplied, and still not answer. I never got an answer from the original submission. That is why I mean obviously. My support ticket hasn’t be touched in weeks, and there is no resolution on the Kinzu and its massive acceleration issues. While I am sure SteelSeries is hard at work, you can’t possibly ignore the folks who make your business, the customers.
www.eSportsReviews.com - Check back in a couple of weeks for a completely unbiased and honest review of the Xai and 9HD. I will be purchasing it from a retail store, so it will be the SAME product that the next customer will buy.
Thanks,
Ethan
December 19th, 2009 22:09
Hello all,
many erros when installing software (in french), nothing in english
same problem after update (and many errors) mouse don’t response, need a reboot
Have you the same thing (movie here http://dl.free.fr/bKQwT6VE8 ) ?
That’s when I lift the mouse and I replace at the same place.
I’ve try the ozone smog with same sensor and no problem. The lift distance is smaller and tweakable by one button on the mouse !
I have same crazy tracking at times and since i’ve pluged the Xai is BOSD party
And please add support for keyboard bind (no macro) Can’t use sides boutons in UT99 !
December 23rd, 2009 18:14
I just purchased this mouse, while it performs well one of the main functions doesn’t work, changing profiles via LCD. Every time I do that, the DPI changes to either 3200 or 5001. The only way for the profiles to change back is to unplug the mouse. It is a good thing this mouse cost $90 only for one of the major features to not work. SteelSeries, you really need to work on quality control. The Ikari was awful and plagued with issues when it came out, the Kinzu is awful and still isn’t fixed, and now my Xai has issues… This is becoming ridiculous.
February 23rd, 2010 22:11
Same thing here.
I was a steelseries fan, but now i am really getting pissed by this issues.
My XAI doesn’t use the profiles properly too.
Fix this for god sake.
March 11th, 2010 07:28
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May 17th, 2010 17:05
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