The gaming peripheral market is starting to get more and more crowded and manufacturers are going to have to try hard to design products that will make them stand-out. Another strategy is to target a specific niche of consumers that require something more tailored. Today we have one such mice from CoolerMaster’s gaming division, CM Storm, the Spawn gaming mouse. Sporting a red and black color scheme like it’s comic book namesake, let’s see if the Spawn satisfies and let’s make this showy!
CoolerMaster has been around in the chassis and CPU cooler business for a long, long time and they’ve recently expanded their gaming brand, CM Storm, into a full-blown gaming franchise. One such product from this series is the CM Storm Spawn: an optical mice intended for users who prefer the claw-grip when using their mice. Here’s a quick-spec on the Spawn:
| Model Number | SGM-2000-MLON1 |
| Available Color | Black + Red |
| Material | Rubber Grip / ABS Plastic |
| Dimensions | (L) 107 X (W)Â 75 X (H)Â 35 mm / (L)Â 4.2 X (W) 4 X (H) 1.3 inch |
| Net Weight | 142 g / 0.313 lb |
| Sensor | 3500 DPI Storm Tactical Optical Sensor |
| Maximum Tracking Speed | 60 IPS |
| Maximum Acceleration | 20g |
| Polling Time | 1.0ms |
| Speed Measurement | 6400 fps |
| Onboard Memory | 32Kb |
| Form Factor | Right Hand Ergonomic |
| Button Assignment | 7 |
| Weight System | N |
PACKAGING
[singlepic id=3837 w=320 h=240 float=center]CoolerMaster (or more accurately CM Storm) presents the Spawn in a compact box with a shot of the mouse in the center. Right below this is the name of the product with its tracking sensitivity written on top. Further down below are the Spawn’s features enumerated including marketing gimmicks such as its Sentinel-X internal profile memory. Those familiar will appreciate CM Storm’s honesty and clarity with this product with their choice to include the words optical and claw-style, which suggests CM Storm is really intending to target a certain market with this product. And yes, this one has a free mouse mat which we’ll cover later.
[singlepic id=3838 w=320 h=240 float=center]The front of the box pops open which gives us a good view of the product inside. On the opening flap, are a ton of information and marketing.
Flipping the box over we see a bullet list with the Spawn’s features.
[singlepic id=3840 w=300 h=220 float=left]Â [singlepic id=3841 w=300 h=220 float=center]The sides are nothing special. But CoolerMaster does know how to populate its boxes with marketing.
[singlepic id=3844 w=300 h=220 float=left]Â [singlepic id=3843 w=300 h=220 float=center]The top flap has the CM Storm logo which also informs us that we were right to assume that this product is indeed created by Cooler Master. I can rest soundly now that I know that. The bottom flap is ditto.
[singlepic id=3845 w=320 h=240 float=center]Opening up the box, we find the Spawn protected in thermoformed packaging so no fingerprints can get to these baby even with all its viewing pleasure.
[singlepic id=3844 w=320 h=240 float=center]The package includes a Quick Start guide, too.
CLOSER LOOK
[singlepic id=3846 w=320 h=240 float=center]Taking out the product we can now experience the Spawn in its full black and red glory. I’m simply loving the color scheme and that satin red finish is really working well with the matte black front and gloss black trim.
[singlepic id=3847 w=280 h=200 float=left]Â [singlepic id=3848 w=280 h=200 float=center] [singlepic id=3849 w=280 h=200 float=left]Â [singlepic id=3850 w=280 h=200 float=center]The Spawn heavily reminds me of a lady bug, and the perforated rubber grip just adds to this perception of mine. Seriously though, the overall looks of the mouse has a certain appeal which I believe most will appreciate.
[singlepic id=3851 w=320 h=240 float=center]The CM Storm’s USB cable is certainly looking very vanilla and plain. The 2-meter long rubber-shielded USB cable is not very gamer-like.
[singlepic id=3852 w=320 h=240 float=center]The bottom of the Spawn has 2 large Teflon feet and we see the optical sensor, which CM Storm calls Storm Tactical Sensor. Compared to other optical mice, we find this one is rotated 90-degrees.
[singlepic id=3857 w=320 h=240 float=center]The Spawn is a short mouse, clearly emphasizing its claw-grip favor and its wide body assures it does not look diminutive compared to other mice.
CLOSER LOOK – CM STORM H2 MOUSE MAT
[singlepic id=3858 w=280 h=200 float=center]CM Storm is bundling the Spawn with a free H2 mouse mat. This is of course a promotional item and isn’t included in the Spawn package.
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The H2 is a soft, portable mouse mat intended for speed. Its surface is smooth yet has a nice controlled feel to it which complements the Spawn’s Teflon feet. The bottom of the mat is made up of high-grip rubber fiber reducing slip to almost nil. The mat is soft and can be rolled up for ease of storage and travel.
About Gripping Styles
Allow me this moment to explain a bit about mouse gripping styles. People usually hold their mice (assuming they are using a traditional mouse) in 2 ways: palm-grip or claw-grip.
The Palm Grip
Palm-grip is the more common way of grasping a mice and what is exactly the design of ergonomic mice target. This style is described as having the palm of the hand or a significant part of which resting on the mice body and using the entire hand to manipulate and move the mouse.
The Claw Grip
Claw-grip however is the style by which the user grips his mouse with his index and middle finger, typically in an arching fashion towards the mouse buttons with the thumb and ring finger securing both sides of the mouse for sideways motion using the fingers jerking motion for quick movements.
Though one usually develops their own variation of such grips, the method by which the mouse is manipulated either by fingers or palm dictates which variation the user uses.
PERFORMANCE, COMFORT, FUNCTIONALITY
Testing out the Spawn, we use the included mouse mat to simulate conditions preferred by CM Storm. We fire up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and played around a couple of mission and then fired up the Sniper Fi mission which has always been my preferred mice test to scale the accuracy of the mice. Switching DPIs on the fly is a nice feature and CM Storm’s choice of placement is highly appreciated making it simple and fast to switch sensitivity on the fly. Moving over to RTS games like Starcraft II and Kane’s Wrath, the Spawn did a good job keeping up with my APM though setting it at 1000hz polling-rate makes the mouse a bit draggy in this scenarios. One thing that does sadden me is the choice of using rubber cabling. The heavy and stiff cable has a tendency to push back on the mice and its firm nature makes the Spawn feel heavy when the cable drags back. Overall though, the mice is provides a smooth and fast experience proving that optical technology can still be called gaming-class.
[singlepic id=3854 w=320 h=240 float=center]First off for comfort, those who don’t claw normally will it very unusual at the start but as with any new peripheral, a bit of getting used to is in order. Being used to both styles (still favor palm-style though), I easily settled in with the Spawn. The rubber grips aren’t that stand-out in terms of comfort or grip but it does give the user a feel of control. The ergonomic right-hand design is very well-designed and is generally appreciated with everyone that I asked to try it.
One thing we love about this mouse is the DPI rocker beneath the mouse wheel. As with every enthusiast mice, the Spawn’s buttons are programmable with the help of CM Storm’s Spawn utility. In this utility you can customize the mouse buttons, DPI settings for the switcher as well as polling-rate. Though this mice supports macros, we found that the software provides way too little variety with its recorded commands that we simply ignore it in favor of our keyboard; the BlackWidow Ultimate’s more sophisticated  Macro functions. We assume a software update would help improve the Spawn’s macro functionality.
CONCLUSION
[singlepic id=3862 w=320 h=240 float=center]All in all, we are pleased with CM Storm’s Spawn. It performed well and does not pretend to be a mouse-of-all-trades. It does what it should do and does it with style. Coming in at Php1660, this is a very competitively priced product. CM Storm is playing it safe by slowly venturing out into uncharted territories, but still going all-out with what they do best (cases). The CM Storm Spawn is a nice example of a well-made product tailored for a specific market at an affordable price. We recommend the CM Storm Spawn for its good value for people who are looking for a good claw-grip mouse.
