Tesoro are a fairly new company to the UK market and have already proven to be fairly successful in both America and Europe with their high quality gaming mice and keyboards. The company have stated that their objective is to provide “Unique products specially catered to gamers” and I think this is clearly demonstrated through both their marketing methods and product design. The Tesoro Shrike certainly has impressive specifications on paper but now we will see whether it lives up to its expectations.
FEATURES
- • 5600 DPI Laser Sensor.
- • 5 levels adjustable laser resolution dpi control. 800/1600/3200/4800/5600
- • High speed motion detection and acceleration.
- • 1000Hz Ultrapolling rate control.
- • 128Kb onboard memory.
- • Adjustable weight plates; 10g x 3pcs + 5g x 1pc
- • 8 independantly programmable buttons.
- • Rubberized thumb grip.
- • User friendly UI for easy setup.
- • 5 mapping sets,40 macro keys.
- • Adjustable full color LED control.
- • Compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7.
- • Gold-plated USB connector with braided cable.
The Tesoro Shrike comes packaged in a dark purple box which includes a cut out window in the shape of the company’s logo. This looks very effective and allows you to see the mouse in all its glory before opening the box. It also features full specifications and a “Compatible with Windows 7” sticker, however I can confirm also that this mouse does work with Windows 8 Pro and as of yet I have not seen any bugs with it. Included in the box itself is the mouse, the driver disc and also a small box of weights featuring 3x10g weights and 1x5g weight. These can be placed inside the mouse depending on the user’s preferences and add a small amount of weight to it.
Features/ Buttons
Onto the mouse itself and you are instantly greeted by the mouse’s aesthetic beauty, demonstrated through the brushed metal effect across the centre as well as the chrome scroll wheel. The mouse also features rubber grips on both sides which make it easy to keep hold of in those fast paced gaming moments and is in turn beautifully symmetrical which definitely means it appeals as a great ambidextrous option for the market. The mouse features 8 programmable buttons which are all easy to access and require minimal force to press. However, the scroll wheel is a bit tougher to push down on but I think that this was probably done to reduce the chance of accidentally pushing on it during a tense gaming moment and further emphasises the fact that the designers understand what the market needs. As well as the 2 main mouse buttons there are also 2 on the left side and 2 on the top just next to the left mouse button. There is also a “DPI” button which can be pressed to instantly change the DPI in game. Although this is a great feature the lack of knowing which setting you have switched to can cause issues and takes some getting used to before you are full aware of the settings order. Another great feature is the customizable weights which are included and allow you to add up to 35g, further improving the mouse’s options for personal customization and tweaking.
Software
Being a 5600dpi mouse it certainly is on par with some of the other high end brands like Razer and Corsair however during my testing I did find the software to be fairly confusing at first which did unfortunately become annoying. On the back of the box the mouse is described as having “5 mappings with 40 macros”, “128kb of memory”, “up to 1000hz polling rate”, “5600dpi”, “8 programmable buttons” and “Full colour led illumination”. On accessing the software I found these options very hard to find but once I had worked them out they seemed to be fairly intuitive and easy to use. The customization options are great and as shown in the screenshot below there are A LOT of options which can be changed. The software also features a help button which takes you to the company’s website. Now obviously you need internet access to be able to find this but once I accessed the site I was greeted by very clear instructions on how to use the software which was good to see. The software not only allows you to change the colour of the LED with over 200 colours, but also allows you to set macros and remap the keys which are great for changing your settings for different games. You can also set the DPI settings for the “DPI” button which once you get used to will be easy to master in game and allow you to know what setting you are using.
Gaming
In gaming I spent a good hour on Battlefield 3 and found the mouse to be great in air vehicles as well as when playing as infantry. When it came to sniping the adjustable DPI became a great help and allowed me to perform with much higher accuracy and precision than normal. However after an intense session the mouse did begin to get uncomfortable and is suited definitely more to people who have a palm grip.
In Shogun 2 the mouse was great for traversing the map quickly thanks to the scroll button being easy to push down and also meant the macros could be put to full use. Adjustable DPI also meant that I could change speeds during a battle which helped a lot especially when I needed to start moving faster.
Overall I think Tesoro have done a great job on this mouse. There are a few issues that I encountered during gaming which involved it being uncomfortable but this is something which they could definitely work on in future iterations and I think that this will be accepted well by the UK market in comparison with the other leading brands. As far as advantages go this mouse offers great value for the small price of approximately €49 and has very good software which is compatible with the latest operating systems. Unfortunately it is not the most comfortable mouse to use and I definitely think this is something which Tesoro should work on for their upcoming products, however this is not a game breaker and for an entry level mouse the Tesoro Shrike works wonders.
Check out CazuallUK’s unboxing and first look below.
Buy Here – Amazon
Pros –
- Looks Great
- Has wide options for customization
- Highly accurate and well designed for gaming
Cons –
- Can be uncomfortable after a while
- Software can be confusing to new users
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Performance
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Design
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Value
