[REVIEW] CM Storm Recon

User avatar
wetto

14 Feb 2014, 16:59

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For those who are new in this area, I am sorry, but I do not show the boxes on my reviews (something that honestly, does not matters) or speaking what is written on it. My reviews make comparisons between different products and have didactic purposes, buying or not the product I did a review on, what really matters is that you learn new things with the review.

I won’t try to “be least Technical as possible”, but I’ll try to explain those Technical terms to the reader so that he may also evaluate mice in the same way as I do. In addition, I will not be “neutral” and I will refer to other products and brands during the text.

Introduction

“Changes” are very common everywhere. Some changes may make things worse; some may improve things to a completely new level. Many companies learn from their mistakes, improve their products based on their clients feedback and even stop doing things they would normally do before, because of what their clients want.

There is no lack of examples, Razer does not releases any new mice with Philips sensors anymore (all their new ones use either AVAGO S3988 or AVAGO S9818) and even changed their OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) on the new Razer Blackwidow 2013 keyboards. While the old iOne models were known for having bad soldering and several other problems, take a look at how well done this is: http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8990/dsc02343xl.jpg

Corsair upgraded their mice so that the scroll wheel will not break anymore and did fixed problems that would make keyboards die randomly on their old models (K60 and K90). Also, they listened to their customers when creating their new products, modifying them according to the feedback they had received on the older models. Thus, the new Corsair K65, K70 and K95 became much better than the older K60 and K90 models. Thermaltake also does not uses Philips sensors anymore and some of their new mice are actually very good. They changed the OEM of the "Tt eSports Meka G-Unit Illuminated" and the quality is a lot better (it was a bloody mess before), and most of their new mechanical keyboards are backlit, something that their public has been asking for years and years. Roccat increased the quality of their scroll wheels, which would break on the older Kova+ and Kone+ models, and even started using the AVAGO 3090 optical sensor on their Roccat Kone Pure Optical and Roccat SAVU mice because the public asked for it.

Cooler Master’s peripherals segment, called “CM Storm” has also already undergone huge changes along the years. Cooler Master is actually new to the peripherals market, although it did have other products before; they only entered this market “officially” in 2010, with the start of the “CM Storm” division, which is specialized in peripherals.

However, as it is easy to guess, this “2010” team was new in the business, and did many wrong things (as they always say, blame the damn trainee). Amongst the mice this development team created are the CM Storm Sentinel v1, CM Storm Sentinel v2, CM Storm Sentinel Zero-G, CM Storm Inferno and several older mouse-pads on which the fabric would come off. Moreover, how was the quality of these older products? Just plain awful and all of these are already out of production (although some store still have them on stock).

There is no lack of reports on the Internet about the CM Storm Sentinel v1 and v2 and its poor painting wearing off or rust on its metal part. But not only its externals were awful, but also its internal construction, using Zhij switches on the main switches (http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 6545_n.jpg), which is honestly unacceptable), square switches on the side buttons, a brand-less scroll wheel and even a crappy Philips Twin Eye sensor on the CM Storm Sentinel v1, Zero-G and Inferno.

The old CM Storm mice were US$ 50~80 mice that were worse than many US$ 30 mice.

But not only was the old CM Storm extremely weak on the mice department, Cooler Master also didn’t have any keyboards or headsets and wanted to expand their market of peripherals (the old team only knew how to poorly make mice and mouse-pads), increase their quantity of products and have a bigger market share.

However, in 2011 “CM Storm” would be reborn. A new view on peripherals, more focus on quality and less on marketing BS and it was also the year on which most of their best-selling peripherals were released, including the CM Storm Spawn, CM Storm Xornet (their best-selling mouse), CM Quick Fire Rapid (their best-selling keyboard) and CM Storm Trigger. This new development team would involve many new members, including one, which I respect a lot, called Carter Salley.

In the start of 2011, at CES Las Vegas, new CM Storm mice were released, including the CM Storm Spawn, which was one of the first mice to use the recently released “AVAGO 3090”. The CM Storm Spawn separated the old CM Storm from the new one. It was the start of a road that would take Cooler Master to what it is nowadays, one of the leaders on the peripherals market worldwide. Soon, successful products such as the Xornet, Rapid, Trigger, Stealth, TK, XT and Recon would follow.

On this review, the following points will be discussed:

- Ergonomics
- External Build
- Internal Build
- Sensor
- Software

Ergonomics

Ergonomics in other words, are the shape of the mouse, how well it fits your hand and is directly connected to how comfortable it may be to you. First, it is necessary to understand that ergonomics are also related to the way you hold your mice and normally there are three kinds of ways to hold a mouse, or “grips”. “Palm”, “Claw” and “Fingertip” (also called Hybrid since it is a variation of Claw).

All of these are normally involuntary and changing from a grip to another may be a bit hard since most of the people don't even notice how they handle the mouse while playing games and it is also common for people to use a certain grip while gaming (ex: Claw) and another one while navigating on their PC (ex: Palm).

In addition, some grips have unique characteristics. People with Fingertip grip only use the tips of their Fingers (duh) to move mice around and that's why most of these users don't like heavy mice (anything over 130 Grams without the weight of the cable. Ex: Logitech G700). Meanwhile, Palm grip users use the entire hard on the mouse and because of that a little bit of weight isn't much of a problem.

The CM Storm Recon weights (without the cable) around 110 Grams, a weight that's neither light nor heavy. It is just about the same weight as many other mice I’ve used, such as the Razer Deathadder 3.5G and the Corsair M60 (without its additional weights). It’s a weight that’s favorable to most grips, although some people really do prefer lighter mice such as the Steelseries Sensei, Steelseries Kana v2 or Roccat SAVU.

Anyways, based on all this and the shape of the mouse, I can assure you that the CM Storm Recon has a “Universal Grip”. It adapted itself quite well to all three grips, it’s a bit big and large to be comfortable for Palm grip, but not too much so that it’d be hard to use with Fingertip for people with medium-sized hands, although some people with small hands and Fingertip grip may dislike it.

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But, there is a detail on it that takes it more to the Claw grip side, which is its rear part, which has a bit of an inclination that helps Claw grip users, but can be something that’ll bother people with other grips. Also, the CM Storm Recon is a bit taller than other “universal grip” mice, such as the Zowie EC1 eVo or the Steelseries Sensei.

Another detail that takes attention of most people is that it is an ambidextrous mouse. Many people (including me until some time ago) has a certain prejudice against ambidextrous mice, because they are not focused for the right hand and there is this “fear” of pressing the right side buttons accidentally. However, here on the CM Storm Recon, I was able to notice that it is not a problem. An ambidextrous mouse can be as comfortable as an right handed mouse, if not more, as soon as it is well done.

The CM Storm Recon has two side buttons on each side; they are located a little bit higher than where you rest your thumb finger, but not too much up to the point of being harder to press, as it is on mice such as the Corsair M60 or Ozone Radon Opto.

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In addition, the most interesting of all, is that the right side buttons are easy to access and can be pressed using only your ring finger. I thought that they would be either too easy or too hard to press, becoming more of a hassle than something that could help, but I was wrong. The side buttons on the CM Storm Recon were incredibly well planned so that they could neither be pressed accidentally nor were too hard to press when wanted to.

Anyways, on the ergonomics area, although the CM Storm Recon does indeed seeks to please everyone, some people may really prefer mice more specific to their grips or lighter. But even still, that does not takes away the fact that the CM Storm Recon is indeed a great mice on the ergonomics department.

Now, let us analyze its build and components.

External Build

For those who had bad memories from the old CM Storm Sentinel mice that would wear off and/or rust due to how low their external build quality was (I still have nightmares when I think of the mice I have seen), I bring two news: The top rubber coating is far better than its predecessors are. However, the side coating, although a lot better than the older mice, is not very great.

As can be seen on the previous pictures, the CM Storm Recon uses a black rubber coating on its top, unlike the paint coating that the old CM Storm Sentinel v1 and v2 used (yeah, it wasn’t rubber).

The CM Storm Recon uses on its sides a sort of texturized finish, which ends up wearing off within a very short time of use. Here on mine, the texture on the left side wore off completely after a few weeks, while the texture on the right side is still there after a year. Still, it is exactly on the right side that a little bit of the coating came off after a year of use:

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On the other hand, the plastic used on the mouse is an extremely rigid plastic, there are no signs of fragility on any moment. The plastic used on the top cover is extremely well done and as incredible as it may seem, it is the main reason why the mouse weights 110 Grams.

Now, I know this is an internal picture, but it just goes to show how the top plastic cover is made:

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The plastic seems to be an extremely well made and rigid ABS plastic; it is actually one of the biggest reasons for the mouse's weight, 56 Grams.

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But yes, on that other picture, there is this "rectangle" part on the CM Storm Recon that does indeed looks like a weight container. Some mice (ex: A4Tech Bloody v5, Logitech MX518) have metal weights inside them to either make their weight more distributed or just to make its weight look less like a toy (since the common sense is that the heavier it is, the sturdier it is, which is not always true), but that's not the case on the CM Storm Recon.

Here on the Recon I tried to tear down the top cover, but it was just way too hard. But thankfully, there is this thing called "power-drill", which helped a lot:

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Nope, it is hollow. There are no hidden weights on the CM Storm Recon, just 110 grams of plastic, electronic components and mice components.

Internal Build

The CM Storm Recon follows the recipe that any gaming mouse that wants to get a good score on my reviews must follow: Use of quality components, expenses where there must be and savings only where there can be savings. What I mean is, no skimping on important internal components as some brands love to do (especially Logitech).

The recipe used on the interior of the Recon is the same as used by Steelseries on their Sensei mice and it is the same as found on the Razer Deathadder 3.5G and on the newer Roccat mice such as the Roccat Kone Pure. Sure, each one of them has different details from one another:

- Although it does uses an ALPS scroll like the Sensei and SAVU, the Recon’s scroll is noisy as hell but used TTC switches even on the DPI buttons.

- The Steelseries Sensei uses OMRON 10M switches on the main buttons and the scroll wheel is not as noisy.

- The Razer Deathadder 3.5G uses a TTC scroll wheel, which is not as accurate, but it is still high quality.

Still, when it comes down to internal build quality, they are actually very similar and they are all examples of how to select good components for a gaming mouse.

Basically, the recipe so that the mouse can have a nice internal build quality (I mean “nice”, not really “the best”, I am not an extremist as to think all Laser mice are bad, like some do) should be:
- A good optical or laser sensor (although no Philips Twin Eye should be allowed). It can be an AVAGO 3050, 3090, S3095, 3310, S3688, S3888, S3988, 9500, 9800, S9818 or PixArt PAN3305DK as soon as it is well implemented, what was not done on the Roccat Kova+ (examples of where it is actually nice are the A4Tech Bloody V4, V5 and V7 mice). There is no lack of good mouse sensors, the only companies that use Philips Twin Eye Sensor are those who want to skimp out and fool their public by using a high DPI value (ex: Razer Imperator, CM Storm Inferno, almost all Cyborg R.A.T mice).

Even still, using a good optical/laser sensor is not always enough. It is still important to know how the sensor has been implemented, if the lens used on it are good or not, how the LOD is, and if its firmware takes full advantage of the mouse sensor. Which means, even when the same sensor is used, the performance may vary greatly between one mouse and another.

- Either a TTC Scroll Engine or an ALPS Scroll Engine (ALPS are far more accurate and that's really awesome for gaming, but they must be installed carefully so that the noise will not be excessive, because it can be really noisy).

- OMRON D2FC-F7N Switches on the left and right buttons. They can be either 5M models (certified for 5 million times pressed, which, believe or not, isn't much), 10M models or 20M models. HUANO switches are also acceptable. What's actually unacceptable are Panasonic Square or Zhij switches being used on an expensive mouse (ex: Cyborg R.A.T 7).

- TTC or HUANO switches for the side buttons. They're extremely durable and have a great feedback, the TTC switches are used on the Razer Deaethadder 3.5G and Steelseries Sensei mice. Kailh or Zhij are not really recommended since their durability is not that great, although unfortunately many companies use them nowadays since they're cheaper.

- OTM, TTC or HUANO switches for the middle button (scroll). Some companies even use Panasonic Square switches or common square switches, but what's really unacceptable is to use metal square switches, because the middle button will get stiff and unresponsive as hell (go check the Logitech G9x if you want an example of what not to do: http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7572/tklr.jpg). Zhij/Kailh may also be used, but I do not find them durable.

- The DPI switches (if they even exist), can be of any brand or kind, because they're not very used and here companies may choose the cheapest they can find. I'd recommend using common square switches or Panasonic square switches, although some companies do use TTC or OTM (which is a bit of overkill). Membrane switches can be used, but they're not really recommended since they can be hard to replace (http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/183/iy0t.jpg).
So that you all can have a good idea of how each component of a mouse is used, here are my statistics on the Roccat Kone Pure's R.A.D, showing how much I used each of the mouse's component after only a week of heavy use.

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You may take your own conclusions about the quality necessary for each component, based on these statistics.

Anyways, let us open up the CM Storm Recon then?

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On the CM Storm Recon you'll find:

- OMRON D2FC-F-7N (5M) main switches.

In case there is no "10M" or "20M" written on the switch, it is considered to be a common "5M" switch, certified to work for at least 5 Million clicks (which believe or not, you'll reach it without much of a problem).

The OMRON switches are meant for left and right gaming mouse buttons and they have an extremely good and quick response. They're considered as standard switches for the gaming mouse industry.

- "ALPS Scroll"

ALPS is one of the oldest and most respected companies when it comes down to components used on electronics, mice and keyboards. They're not as active on the peripherals market as they once were, but they still know how to get the job done and that can be seen on their scrolls. The ALPS Scrolls are extremely accurate and durable, up to the point of making me consider it as being the best scroll available on the market.

The same scroll wheel is used on some newer Roccat mice (Kone Pure: http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/4418/ve8z.jpg), which call it "Roccat Titan Wheel", but anyways, ALPS scrolls are ridiculously well defined, durable and are plainly the best for those who use scroll wheels to change weapons or jump (and even for those who don't), but the only "contra" (con) they have is that if they're not installed and tweaked correctly, they can get REALLY noisy. And that's exactly the case of the CM Storm Recon:
PS: Not all ALPS scrolls are this noisy. The CM Storm Spawn also has it and it makes way less noise.

But anyways, noisy as it may be, I wouldn't switch ALPS scrolls for any other, even those from TTC which are also great.

- "TTC White Middle Button"

It's the same switches as used on the DPI buttons, it's a standard sized switch meant for mice, it has a great feedback and the durability is nice. It's neither too soft as to be activated accidentally nor too stiff as to become hard to press.

Now, let's analyze the switches on the side and top buttons of the CM Storm Recon:

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Credits for the Picture goes to:
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5021/c ... ndex5.html

The side buttons are "TTC Red" switches, having a nice equilibrium between the external plastic's design and the necessary strength to activated it without being easy to press accidentally nor too hard when necessary, even when using your ring finger to press the buttons on the right/left side. Honestly, the CM Storm Recon has one of the best side buttons I've ever seen on a mouse, their design and the necessary strength to press them is just perfect.

Now, the DPI buttons are "TTC White" switches, being quite easy to press and having a nice feedback. As I said earlier, on the DPI buttons (if they even exist), mice companies may use lower quality switches, since they're the least pressed switches on the entire mouse. Even still, Cooler Master did not cheap out on anything when choosing what this mouse would use, they used TTC White switches on the DPI buttons, something that's not seen even on more expensive mice such as the Roccat Kone Pure or the extremely overpriced Cyborg R.A.T 7.

What I can say, is that as already happened on the CM Storm Spawn and CM Storm Xornet, the CM Storm Recon is quite impressive for its price tag, analyzing what its internal components are. Basically, it has almost the same as a Roccat Kone Pure (even being a little bit superior), but costing almost half as much.

But unfortunately, I cannot say the same for some of Cooler Master's new mice such as the Reaper, Havoc and even the Mizar/Alcor (which I thought would be as good or even better than the Recon/Spawn/Xornet), their internals are not nearly as good as the Recon/Spawn/Xornet and were quite disappointing for me.

Sensor

Following up ahead, one of the strong points found on the CM Storm Recon is its sensor, which is an AVAGO ADNS-3090, considered by many as being one of the best optical sensors available in the market (and for those in the future, the mouse was released in the start of 2013 and the AVAGO ADNS-3310 was only released at the end of 2013).

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Obviously there are several other mice also have the same sensor, even from Cooler Master, such as the CM Storm Spawn. Anyways, here is a small list of some of the mice that also use it (attention: using the same sensor does not means they have the same performance, there are several other things that may affect the mouse's tracking):
CM Storm Recon
CM Storm Spawn
Corsair M40
Ozone Radon Opto
Ozone Xenon
Roccat Kone Pure Optical
Roccat SAVU
Thermaltake Saphira
Zowie AM
Zowie EC1 EvO
Zowie EC2 EvO
Zowie FK
The AVAGO 3090 is one of the best sensors available for mice when it comes down to precision, especially when used with black mouse-pads. Some of the main characteristics that stand out, are the lack of positive/negative acceleration, but tracking problems on certain light surfaces such as desks (there are no problems with mouse-pads though), especially when the mouse's LOD is low. Another "weak point" that the AVAGO 3090 has, is that unless there's some sort of interpolation method (as can be found on the Thermaltake Saphira, but the problem is that interpolation isn't 100% accurate), customized DPIs cannot be set, the mouse is stuck for good with the factory DPI settings (and on the case of the CM Storm Recon, they're 800-1600-3200-4000).
Wetto's Dictionary:
LOD (Lift Off Distance):
Basically, it's the height on which the mouse sensor stops tracking. In case this value is high, the mouse will keep on registering even after you've picked up your mouse from the mouse-pad. This value is also linked to the sensor's tracking capability.

The lower this value, the higher the "accuracy" of the mouse (because when you pick it up the cursor will get distorted the least possible). However, sensors such as the AVAGO 3090 may have some problems tracking on some surfaces when their LOD value is low.

As an example, there's the CM Storm Spawn, on which by using the "1.29mm" LOD it is possible to have the best tracking possible on the mouse, but it just doesn't works on a lot of surfaces or even on colored details that some mouse-pads have.

Now, on the same CM Storm Spawn, but with the "4.88mm" LOD firmware, you lose a bit of the "accuracy" due to how distorted the cursor may get when you pick the mouse up, but it can track on surfaces where the lower LOD firmware can't, being more appropriate for when you're not using a mouse-pad or not using a good mouse-pad.

And yes, making the mouse able to track on more surfaces is one of the reasons why some mice may have LOD configuration or high LOD. But sure, there may be other reasons too.
Even with these disadvantages, the AVAGO 3090 is a far more accurate and durable sensor compared to the other laser sensors that Cooler Master has been using previously (especially the Philips Twin Eye PLN 2031 and PLN 2032) and they're even considered as being more accurate than the AVAGO 9500 and AVAGO 9800 laser sensors, although in practice the user may or may not notice the difference between them.

On the CM Storm Recon it is possible to configure its LOD, so you can choose the lowest value to have the best accuracy possible or choose a high LOD value so that the mouse can track on light surfaces and be used, for an example, on mobile devices without the need of a mouse-pad.

Software

Here we have the CM Storm Recon's main configuration screen. It is quite similar to the one used by the CM Storm Trigger and we can see five (5) profiles at the bottom, from which only four (4) can be customized (and they are all stored inside the mouse).

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All of its buttons are customizable, giving to the user a total of 9 customizable buttons, on which you can assign "advanced functions", such as the ones seen below:

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It's quite interesting to modify a profile and assign next/previous track to the right side buttons while using 3RVX (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-En ... trol.shtml) to control the volume using the scroll wheel.

And there are also macro options:

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On which there are 4 playback modes:

- Run the macro only once.
- Run the macro a N number of times (and that number of times is placed inside the box where it's written xN)
- Run the macro while the button is pressed.
- Run the macro until you press the button again to stop it.

It's quite interesting to notice that even while it seems simple, the CM Storm Recon is one of the few mice that have all these playback modes. For an example, Roccat's software, while being even easier to understand and having more pre-configured options, does not have the "Run the macro while the button is pressed" and "Run the macro until you press the button again to stop it" playback options. There are two extremely basic macro playback modes that are indispensable for certain types of macros.

Examples on which these two kinds of macro playback modes would be interesting are:
- When you need the macro to run only for a certain period of time (ex: make a sequence of skills only when you're attacking an enemy). On some software, such as the CM Storm Recon's, you can set the macro playback to "Run the macro while the button is pressed" and just hold it for as long as needed. On others, such as Roccat's you will have to keep on repeatedly pressing the button, which may end up wasting mana, interrupting the sequence and not being as efficient.

- To make automatic actions while you're not using your computer (ex: to create automatic bots that will keep on clicking and/or moving when you're away), by using the "Run the macro until you press the button again to stop it" playback mode.
Following up, here's the DPI and sensor configuration screen:

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Here you may enable/disable some of the mouse's DPI settings, choose a LOD (Lift Off Distance) from each setting and also choose the USB refresh rate.

The 800-1600-3200-4000 DPI steps are something that does not makes everyone happy, there are lots of players who play with 400 or 2400 DPI, but this limitation is due to the AVAGO 3090 and any mouse that uses this sensor has this characteristic (unless it uses interpolation to reach a certain value, like what is done on the Thermaltake Saphira or Logitech G400/G400S).

Now, the LOD settings must be configured according to the mouse-pad/surface on which the mouse is being used. As an example, here on the Thermaltake Dasher:

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The CM Storm Recon does not tracks when placed over the Thermaltake's Dragon when the LOD is set to "1" (which is the lowest possible), but it can track perfectly when configured to "3", "4" or "5".

Now, here on the wood desk on which my computer is:

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The CM Storm Recon does NOT tracks in any other LOD besides "5", and even still the tracking is not exactly "perfect".

What I'm trying to say, is that although having the lowest LOD possible increases the mouse's "accuracy", LOD adjustment settings may end up helping users on cases where the mouse's being used on a low-quality mouse-pad or surface. If someone wants to use the CM Storm Recon with the lowest LOD, I strongly recommend buying a good black cloth mouse-pad.

Some laser sensors can track on a higher number of surfaces and even still have a low LOD (not all), but even still there are disadvantages, such as being more expensive, having positive/negative acceleration and on some cases having Z-Axis distortion and durability problems (especially the sensors from Philips Walita).

And now, as a way to customize the mouse itself and to notice when a certain profile is being used, there is the CM Storm Recon's LED settings. Here you may choose the colors of each one of the three RGB LEDs it has (one on the scroll, another one on the DPI buttons and the last one on the CM Storm logo).

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But unfortunately, the colors are not quite accurate. Yellow becomes a bit like "orange", white (255-255-255) has a bit of "blue" on it, and the whole list goes on... I know it is just a stupid gimmick, but there are people who are extremely picky even about this.

And now, the Macros system is quite simple, enabling having pre-configured delay settings or recording the delay in real time. It's quite simples, but could have been even better in case you could manually edit the delay time between a macro and another.

Quickscope Macro:

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Rapid Fire Macro:

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To sum it all up, the CM Storm Recon has a quite complete and powerful software, but it certainly could have been better in case you could edit the delays between each macro (it is necessary to manually record the macros with the correct delays, which is not really accurate, or use the pre-configured macro delay settings).

Even with these weak points, from all the Cooler Master's mouse (considering also their new ones such as Mizar, Reaper and Havoc), the CM Storm Recon has the best software and it was a HUGE improvement compared to the extremely weak software that the CM Storm Spawn has.

Conclusion

Just like its predecessors that were made by the same development team, the CM Storm Spawn and CM Storm Xornet, the CM Storm Recon is a mouse that seeks to bring the best quality possible for its price, being an example for all when it comes down to internal build. Also, the CM Storm Recon fixed most of the problems that the CM Storm Spawn had, such as the design of the side buttons (which are quite hard to press since they were small weren't well designed) and the software, which was a huge improvement compared to the awful software that the CM Stom Spawn has. Even still, the CM Storm Recon is far from flawless, its side coating wears off quite fast (and may even come off), being unable to manually edit delays between macros can make them quite harder to create and the noise generated by it scroll wheel can make the mouse quite "annoying" and cause problems on certain places (especially where people will get annoyed by its noise).

Even still, the Recon is not an expensive mouse, it can be found by around £35~40, an extremely competitive price considering its features and quality.

Now, speaking about aesthetics (yes, I know I am being fussy, but most people are), the "common" CM Storm Recon is not a pretty mouse. The black and gray theme is not really attractive, but that problem was completely solved on the "CM Stom Recon White" edition, which is just god damn beautiful:

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Strong Points:

- First grade internal build, ALPS scroll, OMRON and TTC switches, it is not worse than most US$ 60~100 mice and even better than most of them (including models from Cooler Master themselves, such as the Sentinel, Inferno, Havoc and Reaper).
- AVAGO 3090 sensor with LOD configuration through software.
- Great ergonomics, universal grip and ambidextrous.
- Nine customizable and well positioned buttons, especially the side buttons.
- Nice rubberized finish.
- A simple yet efficient macro software. It has the best software considering all available Cooler Master mice.
- Five internal profiles, from which four are customizable.
- Cheap

Weak Points:

- The cable gives off the impression of being something extremely cheap (way too thin).
- The texturized finish on its sides wears off and even comes off after some time.
- It's not possible to manually edit the delay between macros (what can make creating them a harder task).
- Extremely noisy scroll wheel.

Thus, the final score for the CM Storm Recon is:

Final Score: 8.5/10
Last edited by wetto on 14 Feb 2014, 19:18, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Muirium
µ

14 Feb 2014, 19:07

Fine review, Wetto. Every time you mentioned something I'd never heard of, you defined it straight away. Very informative! Nicely laid out, too.

User avatar
CeeSA

15 Feb 2014, 00:59

Hmm, wonder this is a review for one mouse. Imo it is way too much info.

Here is my impression of the Recon

- look and feel is not as good as the spawn (for example)
- and so it is overpriced for me
- very slippy coating
- thumb buttons feels not precise and to light for me
- weighs too much
- weight seems not balanced very well iirc (I already cut off the housing)

For many users with average hand size the mouse feels too big. I would say for the most users it is impossible to finger tip this huge mouse body. I think it is for big hands and palm grip only.

Have you done any performance test? And this is not only a question of the sensor alone. The package of sensor, firmware and lense is responsible for the performance.
Even with these disadvantages, the AVAGO 3090 is a far more accurate and durable sensor compared to the other laser sensors that Cooler Master has been using previously (especially the Philips Twin Eye PLN 2031 and PLN 2032) ....
That is simply not true. Beside the Z-Axis problem when you lift off the mouse, the PTE performs very well.
Especially the Philips Twin Eye PLN 2031 is imo one of the most accurate sensors overall. Please explain your statement.

BTW: Razer Naga 2014 uses a new Phillips Twin Eye Sensor.

Did you really diss iOne for soldering qly without name the new other OEM (with the better qly). And proof your statement with a pic showing soldering points on a keyboard? And this is for Razer products... In a review for a CM Storm Recon? :shock:
This all for saying
“Changes” are very common everywhere

User avatar
wetto

15 Feb 2014, 01:24

I've seen numerous cases of both PTE 2031 and 2032 mice on which the sensor would stop working out of nowhere, be it on CM Storm Inferno mice (PTE 2031), Razer Imperators (PTE 2032 on the old model) and Razer Naga mice. It's not a sensor that's known for being durable, all you need to do is either search or stay at a forum where people seek you for help and you'll see how bad it is.

Besides, I wouldn't be saying that the PTE is awful if I didn't had a mouse with it, which is the Razer Naga Molten Edition (PTE 2032), whose tracking is just plain awful. The cursor even trembles when I try to click with it when using my Razer Goliathus.

Now, about the Philips Twin Eye PLN 2033 being on the Naga 2014, I wouldn't doubt that, but there's conflicting information just about everywhere and I haven't had the chance to tear it down yet.
Even with these disadvantages, the AVAGO 3090 is a far more accurate and durable sensor compared to the other laser sensors that Cooler Master has been using previously (especially the Philips Twin Eye PLN 2031 and PLN 2032) ....
That is simply not true. Beside the Z-Axis problem when you lift off the mouse, the PTE performs very well.
Especially the Philips Twin Eye PLN 2031 is imo one of the most accurate sensors overall. Please explain your statement.

BTW: Razer Naga 2014 uses a new Phillips Twin Eye Sensor.
Did you really diss iOne for soldering qly without name the new other OEM (with the better qly). And proof your statement with a pic showing soldering points on a keyboard? And this is for Razer products... In a review for a CM Storm Recon? :shock:
This all for saying
“Changes” are very common everywhere
All I was trying to do is prove a point, that companies try to improve their products overtime, which was exactly the case of the Spawn/Xornet/Recon compared to the old CM Storm mice.

But yes, Solid Year is doing a far greater job than iOne. Reason why they've already taken over quite a lot of the market (the CM Quick Fire TK, Rapid-I, Logitech G710+, Corsair Vengeance K60, K65, K70, K90, K95, Roccat Ryos, Thermaltake Meka G-Unit Illumainted, Thermaltake Poseidon and other keyboards are made by them).

davkol

15 Feb 2014, 01:33

Are all those keyboards actually made by Solid Year? IIRC G710+ was made by the same manufacturer as the new Das Pro, which was a step *down* from CST104. I think it was usually called "the mystery OEM".

User avatar
wetto

15 Feb 2014, 01:34

davkol wrote:Are all those keyboards actually made by Solid Year? IIRC G710+ was made by the same manufacturer as the new Das Pro, which was a step *down* from CST104. I think it was usually called "the mystery OEM".
Carter confirmed that Corsair and some of Cooler Master's keyboards are also from the same factory as the G710+. Keycaps are also the same as well.

Now, I don't know if they're the ones doing the new Das Keyboard, but I wouldn't doubt anything.

davkol

15 Feb 2014, 01:38

Yeah, but is it Solid Year?

User avatar
wetto

15 Feb 2014, 01:45

davkol wrote:Yeah, but is it Solid Year?
Edgar Matias is quite sure that the Logitech G710+ is made by them and thus the points end up connecting each other.

I have nothing against them, the work they've been doing so far seems great (besides all that drama with LEDs dying on the G710+), Carter always complained about how slow and expensive Costar was, Edgar Matias also had a lot of headache with them, CM had several units of faulty CM Quick Fire Stealth and here on Brazil all the units of the CM Quick Fire Stealth had a wrong keycap (the enter key had top printing).

Costar knows how to get the job done when they want, that's true, but the problem is that they're only a middle-man and they're only as good as the factory they end up choosing.

User avatar
CeeSA

15 Feb 2014, 22:54

wetto wrote: ...Razer Naga Molten Edition (PTE 2032), whose tracking is just plain awful.
can't believe that! Could be a faulty one. I never own a Naga but I have more than one Imperator with PLN2032 and they all performed very good.
wetto wrote: Now, about the Philips Twin Eye PLN 2033 being on the Naga 2014, I wouldn't doubt that, but there's conflicting information just about everywhere and I haven't had the chance to tear it down yet.
Here is my source: http://www.overclock.net/t/1414182/naga-2014/30_30
I believe the picture and I believe in Skylit.
And myself of course. I have owned a Naga 2014. Very good Sensor but the shape is not made for me.
What are your sources (everywhere)?

To ask this question a second time:
Did you do any performance test?
I mean it's a gaming mouse. The gamers should ask about the performance.

And a new question:
What is the real minimal LOD in CD or mm or inches? I did not know what '5' in the CM Software is?
Please measure it.

User avatar
Bramster
Cooler Master Employee

17 Feb 2014, 08:49

Very nice review Wetto, thanks for the efforts you put into making the review! Very nice :mrgreen: !

User avatar
Jmneuv

17 Feb 2014, 20:05

Does it still act up when you have only a single profile stored internally?
I liked the ambidex shape but found it too steep/high.
Your review is OVERKILL.

User avatar
cookie

18 Feb 2014, 12:37

Verry nice review!

It is funny to see that almost all mices with a mechanical mousewheel encoder have noise issues (And fast wear off plus bad perfomance).
I prefere optical encoder but I fixed this on a used Razer Deathadder with broken wheel!

User avatar
CeeSA

18 Feb 2014, 13:04

I am sorry, but I could not keep my fingers quietly. I don't know why I react so allergic....
Maybe because 95% of all Gaming Mouse Reviews lacks performance test.

Although the author seems not longer interested in my points of concern.

But I really could not understand why people like this overbloated "review".
There is no performance test in this review. For me it misses the very most important point.

I see the hours to make this, but I think the most of it could come in every review from the author and for me it is not helpful.

Unfortunately, I see this review winning the contest....

User avatar
cookie

18 Feb 2014, 14:28

I never had a faulty sensor in any of my mices before, other parts on them caused the failure. Like buttons, cables, cheapo plastic.

The sensor is something I personaly would not bother all to much because this is probbably the most advanced part on every mouse. As long as it has no acceleration, movement prediction or any kind of correction algorythm in it. I am happy.

I usually ignore DPI madness completely because I play on 400 since the Microsoft Intellimouse 3 and I feel confortable with this.

User avatar
CeeSA

18 Feb 2014, 15:30

cookie wrote:I never had a faulty sensor ...
Faulty is not the right word. The package of Sensor, Lence and FW performs.

Each package has its pros and cons. It is more the question what less disruptive you.
So the Avago 3090 4000 DPI ROM is not free from criticism too. Some people feel more smoothing than in the 3500 DPI Rom.

That is the reason, why we all need performance tests.
I try to collect some methods to do it:
http://deskthority.net/german-discussio ... t7313.html
It is still open for discussions.

With that in mind you may understand why I am a fan of the Phillips Twin Eye Sensor. Because I could live with the Z-axis problem I enjoy one of the most accurate Sensors of all. And this is not only my opinion.

But I am not settled to the PLN 2031. Atm I game with Deathaddder 3 S3668. It has a superb Sensor package and it is easy to mod.

User avatar
cookie

18 Feb 2014, 17:07

As a verry low sensitivity gamer I only need 400 DPI to be fully satisfied :)
Most important for me is that the mouse has no fancy stuff like acceleration, movement prediction etc.
And that it works accurate on a cloth mousepad!

Nothing more :)

User avatar
CeeSA

19 Feb 2014, 11:10

Have you ever hands on at any A3090 3500/4000dpi rom mouse?
I would imagine that you are not satisfied with it. Just because you come from a very good sensor.

This mouse is no alternative to a IE 3.0 - do you know this, after this review?

User avatar
cookie

19 Feb 2014, 11:23

I must admit that I am not so well informed when it comes down to sensors but what I know is what I can feel while playing.

Have I ever played with a A3090/3500 sensor? I don't know :(
Do I know if this mouse is an alternative to IE 3.0 after reading this review? Actually no, I must admit that I didn't read every part of it :( But I respect the amount of work he put into this!

I must say that I think modern mices go in a wron direction in general... A good mouse is like a good keyboard "Plug'n Play" I don't like software, drivers, macros, weights.... some mices have vents for cooling Oo ?!?!?!

User avatar
borken09

22 Oct 2014, 21:49

Great review! Interesting to read and i also learned alot about mices in general that i didn't know before :)

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