Conclusions

There are plenty of excellent gaming mice out there and for those companies venturing into these uncharted waters takes quite a bit of effort in terms of both marketing and design.  Silverstone is one of the very few who has clearly spent some time researching the product and eventually marketing a gaming mouse with enough pizzazz to intrigue even the most hardcore gamer.  As I emphasized in the introduction of this article, it is all about design and after contacting them a couple of times regarding some of the issues I faced, it was confirmed that this was there intended approach.

I receive a few surprise packages every now and then and while I decline to even take the time to review more than half of them, this was one that deserved the effort.  In fact, it couldn't have arrived at a better time. I was swamped with other articles and this gave me the freedom to use the mouse over an extensive period of time before even jumping into the article itself, providing you all with the best and most unbiased conclusions possible.

Design

From a design standpoint, it is clear that the design team went a little overboard in order to stand out from the rest.  This is both positive and negative of course.  The negative being both the large side flip wheel and extremely awkward hand placement needed to take advantage of all its features.  It is for everyone?  No.  Can you get used to it?  Maybe.  Is it best suited for the most hardcore gamer?  Absolutely.  The large wheel also has a center DPI switch button and I found myself hitting this button accidently more than I would have liked.  It also does not allow easy access to the left up/down buttons.  It is just too obtrusive...plain and simple.  You must be willing to take the extra time to somewhat "adapt" to this mouse.

The rest of its unique design is quite impressive.  You'll love that built-in OLED display and the buttons and standard scroll wheel feel quite nice.  The Teflon feet could have been just slightly thicker though.  The mouse did not glide as smooth as I would have liked and should not be used on a metal pad.

Software

Software is light but may leave many puzzled after install.  The problem I have with it is that when on "Normal" mode, you will not have any indication and/or ability to customize the mouse.  Heck, there isn't even a note or warning indicating the need to switch.  However, when you do switch over to "Game" mode, the options are excellent.  You can customize most of its eleven buttons and can individually adjust DPI settings with ease.  The X and Y bars are independent, providing the user a higher level of customization you will not find with a majority of gaming mice out there. 

Performance

It will definitely take you some time to get used to its design and proper hand placement.  However, when you do, the mouse is very capable of performing accurately and flawlessly.  In "Game" mode, I encountered absolutely no issues using it over three weeks now.  However, there were some issues in "Normal" mode and after extensive testing, was able to narrow it down to the mouse surface itself and not the hardware.  With that said, it is very important that you use this mouse on a performance pad and ensure that you don't use those featured here that had issues.

Final Thoughts

The new Silverstone RAVEN gaming mouse is just a taste of what's to come.  Their primary focus here was not only quality, as expected from them, but also a sense of individuality.  I believe they have succeeded here and despite the flaws, it is a mouse that avid gamers "can" truly enjoy.  It is clearly marketed at this crowd and somewhat explains what I found missing with this mouse.  This is the very first product in their new RAVEN Series, which was obviously launched to target a different kind of PC user.  With that said, expect additional products in this new series.  As a teaser, they are currently planning a new PC enclosure and you can expect that to be the second product in this intriguing new line of products from Silverstone.

More information on the new RAVEN gaming mouse can be found on their impressive new Portal Site. 

Questions?  Comments?  Discuss them here...