At a look
Skilled’s Score
Execs
- 18 simply programmable buttons
- Weighs handiest 89 grams
- Fast and responsive
- Twin Bluetooth 5.0 and a pair of.4Ghz wi-fi
Cons
- Some buttons at the aspect grid are onerous to succeed in
Our Verdict
The SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi is light-weight and fast, and comprises quite a lot of customizable choices for severe MMO/MOBA avid gamers. It’s one of the vital best possible mice we’ve examined.
The SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi is a unprecedented in finding amongst gaming mice in that it has 18 programmable buttons however weighs simply 89 grams. Those two elements on my own will have to satisfaction avid gamers—particularly MOBA and MMO gamers on the lookout for extra buttons to deploy instructions and macros. Even higher, the Aerox 9 Wi-fi backs this up with a handy guide a rough 18,000 CPI sensor and twin Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
The name of the game sauce to its light-weight design is a honeycomb-mesh masking that runs virtually all of the duration of the mouse. Aside from holding its weight in take a look at, this design additionally offers the Aerox 9 Wi-fi a futuristic glance, and offers an excellent birds-eye view of the flashy RGB lighting fixtures within.
The Aerox 9 Wi-fi may be extraordinarily at ease—so long as you utilize a palm or fingertip grip. In case you’re extra of a claw-grip participant, this mouse most definitely isn’t for you, since its punctuated height is usually a little awkward towards your fingertips.
SteelSeries Aerox 9 design and construct
Opening the field, my first affect was once that the mouse is rather massive, however has a minimalist profile. There aren’t any fancy curves, flaps or flares like it’s possible you’ll see in different gaming mice.
The 18 buttons appear really well positioned for one’s arms. Aside from the 2 major ones at the height, there’s a button that’s simply reachable via your center finger on the top-center in the back of the mouse wheel. This button allows you to cycle thru 5 other CPI profiles that modify the mouse’s sensitivity ranges.
The mouse wheel itself has 3 buttons in a single, together with each left and proper tilt buttons, however the principle frame of buttons is a grid of 12 situated at the left-hand aspect. This grid is out there by the use of your thumb and is coloured grey, which contrasts well with the mouse’s black matte aesthetic.
The Aerox 9’s height mesh design will likely be acquainted to avid gamers who’ve used the in a similar fashion designed SteelSeries Aerox 5. In case you haven’t, you’d be forgiven for pondering it compromises capability. That is merely no longer the case. In spite of its plenitude of holes, the mouse is remarkably strong. The highest mesh didn’t transfer an iota after I examined it, conserving its shape throughout intense gameplay.
The SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi boasts a honeycomb height that is helping the mouse succeed in its 89 gram light-weight design.
Dominic Bayley/IDG
The RBG lighting fixtures may be a winner. It’s internalized within the mouse frame, but it surely’s no much less spectacular than in mice that experience exterior RGB lighting fixtures. It’s cut up into 3 pyramidal zones, which produce some dazzling results as the sunshine ripples across the mouse’s inside circuitry.
Having the ability to peer within and spot all that circuitry unnerved me a bit in the beginning, since I ceaselessly stay a cup of espresso simply inches clear of my mouse pad and was once a bit interested in spillage. However in step with SteelSeries, the internals are safe via an IP54-rated Aquabarrier, which helped put my thoughts relaxed.
One sudden good thing about the original “open height” design was once that my hand were given much less sweaty on sizzling days. And not using a forged lump of plastic underneath it, the additional aeration proved very at ease in prolonged gaming periods.
SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi Efficiency
SteelSeries has armed the Aerox 9 Wi-fi with its extremely succesful proprietary 18,000 CPI TrueMove Air sensor, which contains 400 IPS monitoring and 40G acceleration. Admittedly, it isn’t as fast because the Razer Naga Professional’s 20,000 DPI optical sensor. Nonetheless, it’s confirmed itself worthy in different aggressive SteelSeries gaming mice and it carried out smartly in my checks.
Checking out the Aerox 9 Wi-fi in Name of Responsibility: Black Ops, it felt mild and simple to transport. The sensor had no issues maintaining with my speedy hand actions, be they lengthy or quick. The mouse’s monitoring additionally gave the impression extremely correct, and pinpointing goals was once a breeze. Plus, the cast, high-shaped height supplied quite a lot of steadiness in my palm grip after I had to make repetitive actions.
Serving to the Aerox 9 float easily throughout my table are PTFE float skates at the underside. There’s one in the back and front, in addition to one across the mouse’s sensor. Those labored like a dream, even if I wasn’t the usage of a mouse mat.
The honeycomb design offers the Aerox 9 further aeration, making it very at ease in prolonged gaming periods.
Dominic Bayley/IDG
The primary buttons felt at ease, too. They have got a contoured middle that cradled my arms completely in a herbal grip. Then again, they aren’t the widest of buttons, and avid gamers with massive arms would possibly choose a bit more space right here.
Whilst maximum top class gaming mice characteristic comparably rapid switches, there can also be refined permutations in how they reply and of their sturdiness. SteelSeries has given the Aerox 9’s Golden Micro IP54 mechanical switches an 80 million click on sturdiness score, which is 10 million clicks greater than the Razer Naga Professional. To me, they felt comfortable and clicky. Additionally they had minimum trip, which was once splendid for video games during which I had to click on rapid.
To check the aspect grid of buttons (that are with out mechanical switches), I mapped instructions in an outdated favourite MMORPG, Gloria Victis. At the complete, the grid was once a excitement to make use of and a great deal simplified my gameplay. The vast majority of buttons had been simple to seek out and responsive. Then again, I did in finding myself having to stretch my thumb out to succeed in for buttons 3 and six—this regardless of SteelSeries having smartly organized the buttons in 3 obviously outlined strains. Nonetheless, this was once by no means a serious problem that affected my gameplay.
At the upside, the grid buttons are rather company, so that you’re not going to cause them via mistake whilst you don’t need to.
Aerox 9’s twin connectivity comprises each Bluetooth 5.0 and a pair of.4Ghz wi-fi choices. As a pc reviewer, I discovered this capability extremely helpful for leaping between laptops. I may stay the dongle inserted for gaming in a single rig and use Bluetooth whilst writing a assessment on some other. It is very important make certain your pc has a USB-C port to plug within the Wi-Fi dongle, even though.
The SteelSeries Aerox 9 is rated for 150 hours of battery existence, which is a good period of time that gained’t see you speeding to plug it in each and every time you play. The caveat is that that battery existence is the utmost when RGB lighting fixtures is switched off, so be expecting it to empty down so much quicker when lighting fixtures is activated.
SteelSeries GG Device
In case you generally in finding your self spending time customizing a gaming mouse, make it this one. With such a lot of buttons to map, the Aerox 9 Wi-fi is usually a sport changer in MMO/MOBA video games the place you seldom have sufficient. With ease, the 18 buttons can also be assigned instructions or macros on the stage of the SteelSeries GG app, reasonably than having to mess around round inside of every sport’s controls menu. This may occasionally prevent a heap of time.
For Gloria Victis I mapped out instructions for Engage, Kick, Show Map, Sheathe/Unsheathe Weapon and Bandage Best friend, and I nonetheless had many extra buttons left over that I may have programmed in. This took simply two mins however made a global of distinction to my gameplay.
Right here we see the entire programming choices for mapping buttons to Gloria Victis.
Dominic Bayley/IDG
RGB lighting fixtures zones, mouse sensitivity and responsiveness may also be briefly modified in SteelSeries GG. For mouse responsiveness, you’ll advantageous track and alter the polling fee and the mouse’s acceleration or deceleration to discover a desired surroundings.
When you’ve set issues precisely the way in which you need, you’ll then simply merely save the profiles within the “configuration” column at the left-hand aspect of the app. Switching mouse profiles earlier than video games is so simple as clicking at the proper profile—it actually couldn’t be more uncomplicated.
SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi: Must you purchase it?
The SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wi-fi is an ingeniously designed wi-fi gaming mouse that includes 18 programmable buttons however weighs simply 89g. The mouse’s in depth button choices, fast sensor and twin connectivity will have to make it a extremely horny mouse for each aggressive and informal avid gamers, particularly MMO and MOBA avid gamers who can map instructions and macros all day lengthy. We will’t suggest it extremely sufficient.
