In Use :

Thankfully the Arctic Cooling Arctic M551 gaming mouse is a plug and play device so no software is needed for the installation, and this allows the Arctic M551 to be easily moved between computers.

With the mouse powered up we can check out the indicator lights for the three DPI settings on the Arctic M551. As seen below, the DPI setting lights turn green for 800 DPI, blue for 1600 DPI, and red for 2400 DPI.



For testing purposes, the Arctic M551 was used in a couple different scenarios... The first scenario was at home with a desktop computer to see how it handled in the gaming world (considering that's what it's labeled for). The game of choice was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I went from using a normal USB laser mouse to the Arctic M551. It took some getting used to, but it was a very nice change, and when Arctic Cooling said Ultra Sensitive they weren't joking. After some mouse setting changes in the Windows Control Panel, I was off and running. I was able to move a bit better than I had in the past, and I was able to react a bit quicker due to the higher sensitivity. Also, having the extra forward and backward buttons on the mouse let me configure my gaming options so I could have a couple more actions on the mouse instead of using extra keys on the keyboard.



The second scenario that I tested the M551 in was at work. I took it in and connected it to my machine for a few days and had almost the same results as I did at home. The sensitivity was unreal and something I'm not really used to. As before I went into my Windows Control Panel and slowed the movement a bit in the mouse settings and ended up liking those results. As the mouse I had at work was a generic HP laser mouse, I had never had the option to have the forward and backward buttons to use. Using them, and having the ability to go back and forth between web pages was a nice option.

Another thing I like about this mouse is that the cord is approximately a 6 feet in length and had no problem reaching my machine while at work. My machine is under my desk a bit and isn't really close to the work area. It was nice not having the tension I had on the other one, as well as the freedom I had to put this basically wherever I wanted on my desk.

A few other things that I noticed while using the M551 was the scroll wheel isn't as quiet as I thought it might be, which might be due to the ridges on the wheel itself. The scroll wheel also doesn't scroll left to right like some other gaming mice. Another thing to mention that I noticed about the M551 is there wasn't the familiar glow of light coming from the laser hole on the bottom of the mouse that you see on other laser mice.

For a final test I tried out the mouse with my left hand to see if it would feel right and work properly. Surprisingly my left hand did fit comfortably, and I was able to maneuver around and use most of the buttons as needed. The forward and backward buttons might not get much use if you are using it left handed, though.