CM Storm Mizar, Tt eSPORTS & Balista MK-1 Mouse Review

General Performance

I put all three mice through their paces on Skyrim, Battlefield 3 (I don’t like BF4 that much) and League of Legends. I also used each for a few hours of general web browsing, photo editing and working on my daily reviews and news content to test the various aspects each offers.

The Shogun Bros. Balista MK-1 comes packed with extra buttons and on-the-fly toggle features that make it very adept at gaming, dishing out macros in LoL while gaming and even in Photoshop while working was a joy. The button layout is pretty unique, but I found all buttons to be within easy reach without having to think too much about where they are, so fast switching of profiles, DPI settings and hitting macros when I needed them was a piece of cake. The DPI toggle is in a strange location, but it works surprisingly well as it means I don’t have to take my finger off the trigger to adjust my movement speed while playing Battlefield, a very welcome touch indeed. The grip on the side is practical and the ergonomics are comfortable. The scroll wheel is nice and fast, but still maintains accuracy and I’m very impressed with the overall sensor performance.

The Tt eSports Saphira is a hard comparison from the other two as it features completely different sensor technology, while there was some jitter a 3000 DPI, the sensor feels much more fluid and swift than the other two and I can certainly see this providing popular with FPS and MOBA gamers as I found it to be pretty accurate and easy to control while gaming. There are very few button on the top, so having lots of macros at your disposal isn’t really an option and the DPI toggle being on the underside means quick switching isn’t really an option. You can of course select your profile and settings on a per-game / per-round basis, and with everything out of the way you can really go crazy on the mouse and there is no fear that you’ll accidentally trigger a profile change or something else equally distracting which could cost you your lead. The ergonomics are really nice and rubber grips are vital given the glossy finish of the mouse.

The CM Storm Mizar certainly stands out in terms of sensor performance, it still retains the acceleration issues that the Avago 9200 sensor is known for, but it seems to do a better job of keeping it in check. The sensor performance was pin sharp even at very high DPI and for those that love to use a twitch style of gameplay in FPS titles, or just need crazy high speed accuracy, you’re going to love this mouse. My only gripe is that the mouse chassis is a little small, so my larger hands are forced to use a claw grip rather than the palm grip I am used to. This feels every bit a high-end gaming mouse, with tidier aesthetics that means it wouldn’t look out of place on your work desk, great for those that want high-performance both in and out of a gaming environment. The scroll wheel is snappy and fast, and the rubber grips are great.

All round, a great performance from each one, I was hoping for a more distinguished result here, but they’re all great across a wide range of games and daily tasks.