We have received comments and questions regarding our lift distance on the Ikari mice - this blog post outlines the hard numbers and the reasoning for how they function. Very basically put, the lift distance and tracking in the Ikari Optical go hand in hand. One design decision we had to make during development was this:
1) Use a strong light source: results in better tracking, but lift distance increases.
2) Use a reduced light source: results in lower lift distance, but tracking goes down, possibility of skipping goes up.
The lift distance on both Ikari Laser and Ikari Optical were fine-tuned to provide the best possible tracking – and we spent a lot of time tuning this aspect of both products. Lift distance will vary from surface to surface as various factors influence the distance, such as reflection, texturing, material and optimizations of the surface (some of our mouse pads are optimized for optical, some for laser).
We have made a breakdown of lift distances on various surfaces - as the Ikari Optical is using the same technology as a number of other gaming mice in the market, some of these numbers might look familiar.
SteelSeries Ikari Optical (official lift distance: 3.5 mm)
SteelSeries Experience I-2, black: 1.2 mm
SteelSeries Experience I-2, white: 0.8 mm
SteelSeries 4D (rough side): 3.5 mm
SteelSeries 4D (shiny side): 3.5 mm
SteelSeries S&S: 5 mm
SteelSeries SP: 5.5 mm
SteelSeries SX: 3 mm
SteelSeries 5L: 3.5 mm
SteelSeries QcK-series: 3.5 mm
SteelSeries Ikari Laser (official lift distance: 1.8 mm)
SteelSeries Experience I-2, black: 1.1 mm
SteelSeries Experience I-2, white: 1.2 mm
SteelSeries 4D (rough side): 1 mm
SteelSeries 4D (shiny side) (not recommended for tracking with laser)
SteelSeries S&S: 1 mm
SteelSeries SP: 1.1 mm
SteelSeries SX: 1.3 mm
SteelSeries 5L: 1.8 mm
SteelSeries QcK-series: 1.8 mm
As you can see above, the differences between the optical and laser technologies we utilize are huge.
At the moment we are not planning a firmware update to Ikari Optical but if you would like to lower the lift distance by physically adding more distance from the sensor to the surface, we recommend to use no more than 0,5mm extra spacing to maintain consistent tracking at high speeds. This could simply be done by adding an extra pair of glides. For the rest of the year these are available at an introduction price from our webshop: SteelSeries Glide Ikari.
If you are looking for the lowest lift distance, we recommend the Ikari Laser. While previous laser mice (in our opinion) have had some performance issues for FPS-gamers, the Ikari Laser is a different animal as it sports 40.000 samples per second and CPI increments of 1. This is not really meant to be a sales pitch – talk to gamers who have bought the mouse, read the reviews, then make your own decision.
/Tino
