A Much Closer Look
While the accuracy and sensitivity of the CM Storm Sentinel Advance mouse are the most talked about features, coming in second to those are the myriad of programming options, including 8 programmable buttons.
The bulk of those buttons are found on the top on the mouse, near to and including the left and right click buttons. Though there are suggested options for each button (changing DPI is important, and so is left and right click I think), you can effectively make any button on the mouse perform any function. As for the movement on the buttons themselves, they feel quite solid while being easy to click. The scroll wheel is the same, providing enough resistance to make each spin distinctive without impeding quick movement when necessary.
The two remaining buttons are found on the side of the mouse, immediately accessible with your thumb. The buttons default to Back and Forward, but once again can be setup to do anything you desire via software. They are positioned well, sitting above where you thumb would rest, preventing accidental clicks.
Speaking of the thumb rest, it should be pretty clear that this mouse is for righties only, or at least those who mouse with their right hand. The mouse is designed to fit ergonomically into your right hand, so if you are in the minority of folks who use their left hand for mousing you may want to look at a more ambidextrous unit like the NZXT AVATAR.
For the majority of us who mouse with our right hands, the Sentinel Advance will fit like a glove. The profile of this mouse allows your hand to rest naturally on it, without bending the wrist in strange and interestingly painful ways. Microsoft`s original Sidewinder Mouse comes to mind in the strange and interesting department.
The shape of the Sentinel Advance is very close to that of my beloved Logitech MX1000, making it very familiar to me during use.
I also like heavier set mice, but if you prefer a little more spring in the step of your gaming mouse, the Sentinel Advance comes with 5 removable 4.5g weights. Removing these weights will allow you to easily adjust the weight of the Sentinel Advance from Hockey Puck to Shuttlecock and anywhere in-between.
Unfortunately CM STORM hasn’t included a method of storage for the removed weights, so just hope you don’t loose them.