SteelSeries have succeeded to produce not one, but two mice with both excellent ergonomics and tracking capability. They are both sold under the Ikari brand, but employ two very different sensors as the review shows. The Optical has the edge when it comes to tracking, but the lift-off distance penalty is enormous and renders the mouse unusable on many surfaces for low sensitivity gamers. As much as I enjoy the incredibly precise tracking of the optical version of the Ikari I cannot help, but wonder how perfect this mouse could have been if the lift-off distance was lower on the newest generation of surfaces.

I like the fact that you get the choice between optical and laser. The optical definitely fills the gap in their mouse product lineup nicely, but it has some flaws. In terms of raw tracking performance the optical has a small advantage even though its sensor has half the resolution of its laser counterpart.

If SteelSeries manage to sort out the lift-off distance then the optical will blow anything else out of the water. The fact I dislike the most about the optical is that it is so good and yet so bad and it annoys the hell out of me. If you happen to find a mat that is both big and features a surface where the lift-off distance is low that will most likely be a killer combination.