SteelSeries and Mad Catz have offered their respective takes on highly customizable gaming mice today, courtesy of the Sensei and Cyborg Rat Albino. Both have deep roots stemming from existing mice in the companies' product lines. The former is strongly modeled after 2009's Xai, while the latter is essentially the infamous Rat 7 with a facelift.
SteelSeries claims its Sensei is the most customizable mouse in town with its embedded 32-bit ARM processor, which enables sensitivity speeds up to 5,700 DPI or an "overclocked" 11,400 DPI – far higher than you can likely use in any practical scenario. The company says it's for folks running multiple displays, but 11,400 DPI still seems like overkill.
The ARM chip also supports SteelSeries' ExactTech settings (ExactSens, ExactAccel and ExactAim), which are calculated on the fly and can be tweaked with a built-in LCD on the underside of the device. Naturally, greater degrees of control are offered with the full-fledged SteelSeries Engine software, including specific device or software profiles.
The ambidextrous metallic body should be suitable for most hand and grip styles. It seems short and narrow enough for fingertip users, but long and curved enough for palm grips. It should also blend into most décors with an adjustable LED 16-million color lighting scheme. The Sensei is set to arrive next month with an MSRP of $89.99 and €89.99.
Meanwhile, Mad Catz's Cyborg Rat Albino is a white version of the Rat 7 with a broader range of sensitivity (6,400 max DPI versus 5,600). As with its predecessors, the Albino features an incredibly flexible modular design that guarantees you'll be able to find the ideal fit for your hand. Engadget's hands-on shows an exploded view of the device's componentry.
It's worth noting that users have criticized the Rat series for its Phillips Twin-Eye sensor, which has Z axis tracking issues. We don't know if the Albino uses that sensor, and it may not affect your usage anyway, but it's worth investigating before pulling the trigger. The Rat Albino will be sold exclusively through GameShark for $100 (the Rat 7's original MSRP).