Cooler Master Sentinel III Mouse Review

By Meng Vang

Manufacturer: Cooler Master Ltd. Inc.
Product Name: Sentinel III
Model Number: SGM-6020-KLOW1
UPC: 884102027192
Price As Tested: $59.99 (Newegg | Amazon)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Cooler Master.

Designed for palm grip gamers, the Cooler Master Sentinel III gaming mouse offers improved features and ergonomics over its predecessor. The body of the Sentinel III is coated with a matte UV coating to ensure long lasting durability. It comes with the 32-bit SONIX ARM Cortex-MO processor and 512KB of on-board memory for storing and playing back complicated macros. The Sentinel III also has high quality OMRON switches that are rated at 20 million clicks. The built-in Avago 3988 optical sensor is the same sensor used in the Corsair Sabre RGB optical mouse and the Razer Deathadder 2013. Cooler Master has also implemented RGB lighting into this mouse, giving gamers the ability to customize lighting effects to their desire. Here at Benchmark Reviews, we will take a look at the Cooler Master Sentinel III gaming mouse. Let’s dive in and take a quick look at an overview of this mouse.

The Sentinel III performs very well thanks to the Avago 3988 optical sensor. It was still able to track properly when I quickly flicked the mouse across the surface. The mouse still tracks well even at 6400 DPI and shows no acceleration during testing. Being able to adjust the DPI by increments of 50 gives flexibility to gamers to almost fine tune the DPI setting.

The body design has not changed since the first Sentinel Advance gaming mouse released back in 2009. The Sentinel III looks identical to its predecessor, but the body is coated with a sparkly matte UV finish to prevent the finish from wearing off after extended use. The sparkly texture of the matte UV coating is smooth and reminds me of the sparkly paint finish on the Cooler Master MasterCase 5 case. This is a great improvement coming from the rubber coated body on the Sentinel Advance II. The RGB lighting may not be the most accurate, but it is difficult to find a peripheral device that can accurately display colors, especially white.

In terms of construction, the Sentinel III feels very solid and well-built all around. The buttons have just the right resistance to prevent them from being accidentaly pressed. The scroll wheel does have a clicky sound when scrolling up and the adjustable weights could have been implemented better to prevent the rear end of mouse from becoming heavier than the front. I would have liked to see a weight system similar to the Corsair M65 RGB or the Logitech G502 Proteus Core and Proteus Spectrum where the weights go around the sensor.

When it comes to functionality, the Sentinel III does exactly what it is advertised to do. DPI and lift-off distance can be tuned straight from the mouse itself without using the software. The five profiles can be easily cycled through and each can have their own sets of macros, DPI settings, and RGB lighting effects. I would have liked to see more innovation in the Sentinel III as profile cycling, weight tuning, DPI tuning, and importing an image to be displayed on the OLED display were features already included in the Sentinel Advance and the Sentinel Advance II. But for the money, we do get a new sensor, an upgraded internal processor, more internal memory, and RGB lighting.

As of April 2016, the Cooler Master Sentinel III is currently available online for $59.99 (Newegg | Amazon). This puts it next to the Corsair M65 RGB laser gaming mouse and the Deathadder Chroma. But because the Sentinel III includes a great optical sensor, on-the-fly DPI tuning and lift-off distance tuning straight from the mouse, a decent weight system, profile cycling, and an OLED display for displaying mouse information and even a custom logo, the Sentinel III can be customized to truly make it yours.
+ OLED display
+ Great optical sensor
+ RGB lighting capability
+ Weight adjustment system
+ Ability to customize settings via software
+ DPI and lift-off distance tuning without software
– Not a lot of innovation
– RGB lighting is not the most accurate
– Rear becomes heavier than the front with weights installed

• Performance: 9.50
• Appearance: 8.75
• Construction: 8.50
• Functionality: 8.50
• Value: 9.00

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.