SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi evaluation: A top rate, feature-packed gaming mouse

The SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi is a rare win amongst gaming mice in that it has 18 programmable buttons nevertheless weighs appropriate 89 grams. These two components on my own would possibly want to satisfaction avid gamers—especially MOBA and MMO avid gamers procuring for more buttons to deploy instructions and macros. Even better, the Aerox 9 Wi-fi backs this up with a immediate 18,000 CPI sensor and twin Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The secret sauce to its light-weight possess is a honeycomb-mesh holding that runs nearly your whole length of the mouse. As a replace of holding its weight in take a look at, this possess furthermore gives the Aerox 9 Wi-fi a futuristic perceive, and gives an very fair correct birds-glimpse peep of the flashy RGB lighting interior.

The Aerox 9 Wi-fi is furthermore extraordinarily contented—as long as you utilize a palm or fingertip grip. When you’re more of a claw-grip participant, this mouse presumably isn’t for you, since its punctuated top would possibly well very smartly be a itsy-bitsy awkward in opposition to your fingertips.

SteelSeries Aerox 9 possess and get

Opening the field, my first affect became as soon as that the mouse is slightly nice, nevertheless has a minimalist profile. There are now not any relish curves, flaps or flares like you can perceive in other gaming mice.

The 18 buttons seem thoroughly placed for one’s fingers. As a replace of the 2 major ones on the discontinue, there’s a button that’s without problems reachable by your center finger on the discontinue-heart late the mouse wheel. This button permits you to cycle through 5 utterly different CPI profiles that modify the mouse’s sensitivity ranges.

The mouse wheel itself has three buttons in a single, in conjunction with each and every left and upright tilt buttons, nevertheless the important physique of buttons is a grid of 12 positioned on the left-hand side. This grid is accessible via your thumb and is colored grey, which contrasts properly with the mouse’s sad matte gorgeous.  

The Aerox 9’s top mesh possess will likely be familiar to avid gamers who’ve used the equally designed SteelSeries Aerox 5. When you haven’t, you’d be forgiven for thinking it compromises functionality. Right here’s simply now not the case. Despite its plenitude of holes, the mouse is remarkably sturdy. The discontinue mesh didn’t circulation an iota when I examined it, holding its fabricate throughout intense gameplay.

Dominic Bayley/IDG

The RBG lighting is furthermore a winner. It’s internalized within the mouse physique, nevertheless it’s no much less impressive than in mice which have exterior RGB lighting. It’s split into three pyramidal zones, which develop some shapely results as the sunshine ripples across the mouse’s interior circuitry.  

Being in a contrivance to sight interior and perceive all that circuitry jumpy me a itsy-bitsy at the birth, since I in most cases preserve a cup of coffee appropriate inches away from my mouse pad and became as soon as a itsy-bitsy smitten by spillage. But in accordance to SteelSeries, the internals are win by an IP54-rated Aquabarrier, which helped attach my mind relaxed.

One unsightly support of the challenging “initiate top” possess became as soon as that my hand purchased much less sweaty on hot days. With out a solid lump of plastic under it, the extra aeration proved very contented in extended gaming classes.

SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi Efficiency

SteelSeries has armed the Aerox 9 Wi-fi with its highly capable proprietary 18,000 CPI TrueMove Air sensor, which comprises 400 IPS monitoring and 40G acceleration. Admittedly, it isn’t as immediate as the Razer Naga Pro’s 20,000 DPI optical sensor. Unexcited, it’s proven itself noteworthy in other aggressive SteelSeries gaming mice and it performed smartly in my tests.

Attempting out the Aerox 9 Wi-fi in Name of Accountability: Gloomy Ops, it felt light and simple to circulation. The sensor had no problems holding up with my immediate hand actions, be they long or immediate. The mouse’s monitoring furthermore regarded highly upright, and pinpointing targets became as soon as a lunge. Plus, the solid, high-shaped top equipped diverse balance in my palm grip when I wished to win repetitive actions.

Serving to the Aerox 9 hover without problems across my desk are PTFE hover skates on the underside. There’s one within the entrance and abet, as smartly as one across the mouse’s sensor. These worked like a dream, even when I wasn’t the use of a mouse mat.

Dominic Bayley/IDG

Basically the most principal buttons felt contented, too. They’ve a contoured heart that cradled my fingers perfectly in a natural grip. Then again, they aren’t the widest of buttons, and avid gamers with nice fingers would possibly well hold a itsy-bitsy more space right here.

While most top rate gaming mice feature comparably immediate switches, there would possibly well very smartly be subtle adaptations in how they respond and in their durability. SteelSeries has given the Aerox 9’s Golden Micro IP54 mechanical switches an 80 million click on durability ranking, which is 10 million clicks more than the Razer Naga Pro. To me, they felt silent and clicky. They furthermore had minimal trail, which became as soon as supreme for games whereby I wished to click on immediate.  

To verify the side grid of buttons (that are without mechanical switches), I mapped instructions in an weak celebrated MMORPG, Gloria Victis. On the final, the grid became as soon as a pleasure to utilize and vastly simplified my gameplay. The vast majority of buttons were easy to search out and responsive. Then again, I did win myself having to stretch my thumb out to reach for buttons 3 and 6—this despite SteelSeries having neatly organized the buttons in three clearly defined traces. Unexcited, this became as soon as by no contrivance a prime area that affected my gameplay.

On the upside, the grid buttons are somewhat firm, so that you just’re unlikely to residence off them by mistake whenever you don’t deserve to.

Aerox 9’s twin connectivity comprises each and every Bluetooth 5.0 and 2.4Ghz wi-fi alternatives. As a notebook computer reviewer, I learned this functionality extremely precious for leaping between laptops. I would possibly well preserve the dongle inserted for gaming in a single rig and use Bluetooth while writing a evaluation on any other. Probabilities are you’ll well deserve to win sure your notebook computer has a USB-C port to lunge within the Wi-Fi dongle, even supposing.     

The SteelSeries Aerox 9 is rated for 150 hours of battery life, which is a tight length of time that received’t perceive you speeding to lunge it in at any time whenever you play. The caveat is that that battery life is the maximum when RGB lighting is switched off, so seek data from it to drain down lots sooner when lighting is activated.

SteelSeries GG Machine

When you typically win your self spending time customizing a gaming mouse, win it this one. With so many buttons to blueprint, the Aerox 9 Wi-fi would possibly well very smartly be a game changer in MMO/MOBA games where you seldom have enough. Conveniently, the 18 buttons would possibly well very smartly be assigned instructions or macros on the extent of the SteelSeries GG app, rather than having to fiddle spherical within each and every game’s controls menu. This would possibly well set you a heap of time.

For Gloria Victis I mapped out instructions for Dangle interplay, Kick, Display Design, Sheathe/Unsheathe Weapon and Bandage Ally, and I silent had many more buttons left over that I would possibly well have programmed in. This took appropriate two minutes nevertheless made a international of distinction to my gameplay.

Dominic Bayley/IDG

RGB lighting zones, mouse sensitivity and responsiveness can furthermore be immediate changed in SteelSeries GG. For mouse responsiveness, you can dazzling tune and modify the polling rate and the mouse’s acceleration or deceleration to search out a desired setting.

When you’ve residence things exactly the contrivance in which it’s good to have, you can then appropriate simply set the profiles within the “configuration” column on the left-hand side of the app. Switching mouse profiles sooner than games is as easy as clicking on the upright profile—it in actuality couldn’t be more easy.

SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi: Must silent you rob it?

The SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi is an ingeniously designed wi-fi gaming mouse that beneficial properties 18 programmable buttons nevertheless weighs appropriate 89g. The mouse’s in depth button alternatives, immediate sensor and twin connectivity would possibly want to win it a highly involving mouse for each and every aggressive and casual avid gamers, especially MMO and MOBA avid gamers who can blueprint instructions and macros all day long. We can’t counsel it highly enough.