Is the tt eSPORTS Level 10 M just a mouse?

    In the life of every person there are things that he prefers to use and give them priority. Someone doesn’t give a damn about the mouse, but I want an ergonomic keyboard with soft and quiet key travel. Give someone excellent speakers, and do not care about the rest. Well, someone needs everything at once. I love high-quality peripherals, and I can definitely say that after a good mouse and keyboard, sitting at the mediocre even on the same computer is “no longer a cake”, nevertheless, we communicate with the hardware using input-output devices and the main input devices on The PC remains the keyboard and mouse, and not the voice input and touchscreen.

    And in the field of muscle affairs for a long time there are leaders: Razer, Cyborg, Roccat. Some like Logitechs (MX Revolution - Burum’s favorite mouse, for example), A4 Tech with the x7 line show a good “entry level”. But today I want to talk about the product, not just a completely different level, no, this mouse doesn’t eat from the fuel cell and does not hover above the ground in three centimeters, but about a very high-quality device that significantly raised the “I want” bar in terms of quality of work. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Thermaltake level 10 Mouse.



    In my hands is an engineering sample in a green “military” color (although I would call it Halo-Style). In a couple of months, such a mouse will appear on the shelves in as many as three colors (white, black, green), no changes are expected in the device itself, the maximum that will change is the box. I have it small and gray, without any identification marks, but on the game world I took a picture of the release one, but, unfortunately, the memory card failed and I had to go to the ThermalTake office and take already released samples there. Thanks to this, the post has more interesting pictures and mice in three colors, instead of one.



    Inside the box is the mouse itself, a hexagon for it (shape adjustment) and, in fact, a patchy polyethylene. The current version contains a complete set - a convenient box, drivers, a "bag" for the mouse, and generally looks beautiful:









    ThermalTake positions the device as a game (which means comparisons with the “masters” of this area cannot be avoided), and the design for this mouse was developed in the bowels of the BMW Design Group, and although the mouse does not carry the signature colors of the Bavarian flag or “nostrils”, the style and workmanship is up to par. There are not so many parallels with other products from the level 10 line, but who knows, maybe a keyboard, gamepad or steering wheel in the same style are waiting for us. Although, the steering wheel from the BMW Design Group, I hope, will be in a more BMW's theme. ;)



    So, if we talk about appearance, then it is at least ambiguous. There are no smooth bends and cunning forms of Razer'a, and there is no freedom of customization and unusual appearance of Cyborg RAT'a. This mouse is rather an unusual symbiosis of straight and curved lines, a strict hexagonal grid and rounded corners. Smoother and sharper. No one has ever had a similar "ambiguity" in the style, however Level 10 Mouse does not look assembled from random parts, despite the different style of some elements. Rather, there is an organic addition of some features to others.



    It is difficult to describe a similar design with words - the mouse just needs to be picked up and understood, “yours” or “not yours”. A neat metal bottom, a light contour "body" supporting the palm, almost straight keys, a neat black stripe, a nice wheel and unusual shaped side keys are neatly assembled into a solid and monolithic image.



    You take it in your hand, and you understand - a thing. The real one. A nice bonus is the variable geometry of the mouse without the need to change modules - the “tilt” of the surface and the “height” of the anchor point are regulated by a hex head screw. That’s why the “key” comes in the kit.



    And here is how the geometry changes:

    1) Left-right:





    2) Up-down:





    Two mice on the “opposite” settings:



    The mouse configuration is fairly standard. The relatively symmetrical body allows you to use the mouse both left-handed and right-handed, but priority is given to right-handed users, as to most: LMB is slightly larger than RMB, and on the left side, in addition to two additional keys (performing the forward-backward function), there is a mini-joystick, responsible (by default) for switching profiles and dynamically adjusting DPI on each of the profiles.



    The right side is poorer - there are only 2 buttons on it (the “forward-backward” analogue), which are responsible for opening the configurator and launching the macro. Not the most convenient location for a “right-handed” user, so, rather, this is a way to make the mouse “two-handed” and the ability to hang the “forward” and “back” buttons on these buttons. Actually, I don’t see any sense in describing the appearance in more detail - there are a million photos in the post and everything is visible on them, and what is not obvious enough is already described. You can safely go to the most important part for the mouse - work.

    You know, when you transfer from a cheap device to a piece of iron of a higher level, you somehow do not want to go back. Switching from the usual “no-name” junk “for 200 re”, at least on the A4Tech x7 Series, I don’t feel like going back to a regular mouse. Moving from aFoTech to Razer, it becomes sincerely incomprehensible how you lived before. I have a “Mamba” (I adore this mouse, to be honest), but now I’m completely at a loss. The flagship product of the past year before last seems like a kind of aFoTech. A completely different level of performance. All cursor movements are so predictable and accurate that you just don't want to give away the mouse.

    One gets the impression that now I have a scalpel in my hands, and before that I used a kitchen knife at best. Ordinary mice are dull stone axes of Neanderthals. I can not express in words (although I really want) the feeling of transmitting the movement of the hand in the movement of the cursor. Some far-fetchedness of the process has disappeared, if earlier (as it seemed to me) the use of the mouse was brought to the limit of automatism, now I just don’t feel the difference between thinking “cursor here” and action. This mouse was supposed to be presented by Steve Jobs, with his signature Awesome-Amazing-New Experience-Unbelievable-Really Efficient and related charisma. Meet The new iPhone 5 Level 10 Mouse.

    If you believe the promotional materials - in the mouse there is a sensor that can work with a resolution of 8200DPI. I don’t know why such cosmic values ​​are needed, but apparently the sensor is really good. Personally, I don’t use more than 4200, despite the 27 ”monitor with a resolution of 2560x1440 and a“ slow ”cursor in Windows. It may be easier for someone to move the mouse a couple of centimeters and move the cursor from the edge of one monitor to the opposite edge of the other, but how to get into intermediate values ​​with such sensitivity is a mystery. Such a high resolution of the sensor, I found another application: to set the minimum comfortable speed of movement programmatically (in Windows or games, if they overwrite the system settings) and choose the most comfortable value for the speed of cursor movement by DPI adjustment on the mouse itself.

    A proprietary driver goes to the mouse, allowing you to create macros and edit built-in profiles (up to five). Each profile can have its own highlight color (there are seven of them), its own DPI level settings and its own macros on additional buttons. Actually, that’s where the software ends. Ah, I almost forgot, there is still a built-in bundle of promotional videos that open in the system video viewer, and 2/3 of the video itself is occupied by unnecessary screensavers. Same. The very description of features in promotional videos of very dubious quality, I would delete this part (video) from the software completely and completely.

    Well, we talked about the beautiful, now we need to pour a little tar in this bath of honey.
    1) software is crooked. No, it’s not that it doesn’t work badly, it performs its functions. But the appearance and intuitiveness of the interface leave much to be desired, but the dismissal of the designer and the UX specialist. I would like to see the mouse settings screen at the Razer level (or better, also native and convenient, but at the conscience of the developers).
    2) The location of the “forward” button, in my opinion, is a bit far from comfortable values. But the “back” button is constantly accidentally touched until you get used to it.
    3) The inability to reassign the functions of the "joystick". Not such a strong minus, but I would like to manage its functions.
    4) The mouse does not turn on the backlight after the computer goes to sleep. It helps restart the software or reconnect the mouse to the USB port, which is not good. Reported, promised to fix, a new firmware came out, bug fixed.

    What do we have in the dry residue?
    1) Excellent quality work. LMB and RMB are pressed exactly with the effort with which they must. It is difficult to explain, but it instantly becomes clear as soon as you take the mouse in your hand. No accidental clicks (thoughtfulness or carelessness). Very clear work as the buttons themselves, and their preload.
    2) Mouse wheel. Excellent, clear, dry and 100% informative divisions. The Mamba wheel after it seems to be smeared with semolina on a plate. Very nice tactile feedback and surface;
    3) Adjustment by the angle of inclination (left-right) and the height of the reference point (under the base of the palm). No replacement parts or pads. Simple, reliable, modern and stylish;
    4) Nice appearance. Some will like white, some will like black, I like green most of all, although the rest are very attractive in appearance;
    5) Stunning accuracy with the cursor. It's just something indescribable, you have to try it once. True, then you will want to throw out your current mouse for “clumsy” and “jumping”;
    6) Customizable backlight - one of six colors or “combat mode” (color change depending on the intensity of interaction with the rodent). It's nice that you can choose one of the popular colors, the color of the backlight of the keyboard or system unit;
    7) Excellent cable in a dense braided sheath. Just a nice little thing;
    8) So-so software (reported a huge roll to developers, I hope to take note);
    9) The position of the side buttons requires habit or retraining after other mice (treated by time).
    Conclusion? Everyone draws a conclusion for himself, but for now this is one of the best mice that I talked to. Many thanks to Tt eSports and specifically Dedal for the pleasant hours with this amazing device. Be sure to buy myself one.

    ps: By the way, the mouse has a “virgin sticker”, so if you bought one, but it doesn’t work, check the bottom. ;)


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