PC gaming has reached the point that there is simply no excuse to still be using generic mice and keyboards for gaming. Competitive gaming or e-Sports has evolved to the point that equipment is just as important as skills and manufacturers are certainly seeing this as an avenue to grow. With much of the e-Sports scene dominated by select titles for each gaming genre, manufacturers have also made it a point to offer c0-branded peripherals for hardcore fans. Today we’ll looking at a set of such peripherals brought to us by SteelSeries in cooperation with Valve; we have the Kana, Siberia V2 and Qck gaming peripherals all of which feature signature CounterStrike: Global Offensive artwork and styling. For this article we’ll be focusing on the Qck gaming mouse pad. Can this grungy pad complement the CS:GO Kana on the battlefield? Read on.
SteelSeries is a gaming peripheral company with a port-folio filled with gaming mice, keyboards and headsets tailored for specific gaming needs. SteelSeries has a distinct style to their products, favoring basic stylings layered over purebred performance rather than bling and marketing. For this set of reviews, SteelSeries spiced-up their existing line with some bling though for the CounterStrike fan. Let’s check out some specs and images.
Specifications
- Height: 2 mm (0.08 in)
- Width: 320 mm (12.6 in)
- Length: 270 mm (10.6 in)
Features
- Smooth cloth surface
- Non-slip rubber base
- Original game graphics
- Medium sized mousepad
CLOSER LOOK
The SteelSeries Qck CounterStrike:Global Offensive Edition Gaming Mouse Pad from here on we’ll affectionately refer to as the CS:GO Qck or CS:GO pad is packaged in a simple blister packaging with a large transparent cutout on the front to show the aligning artwork on the pad itself. The pad is a 12″ x 10″ wide pad so a some desktop real estate is required for this edition. There are other size variants of the CS:GO pad for different applications.
Here we can see the CS:GO Qck pad out of the packaging. You can see that its light enough to collapse on itself.
Here is a close-up on the surface of the Qck. The texture sits between fine-grain and coarse pads giving it a nice balance between glide and precision.
Here is the non-slip base and a good shot at the thickness of the pad.
USER EXPERIENCE & CONCLUSION
We compare the SteelSeries CS:GO Qck pad against our staple pads in the lab: a CM Storm HS-M fine mat and a Tt eSports Ladon coarse pad. We’ll be using the dual-sensor Razer Taipan and the SteelSeries Kana CS:GOÂ optical mouse.
Nothing really technical about a mouse-pad review. In this particular case, the SteelSeries CS:GO Qck pad strikes a nice balance of precision and glide and fully complements the CS:Go Kana. Using the more precise Taipan, the CS:GO Qck still offers the same level of control and smoothness we’ve come to expect from these types of mats. The main takeaway here is that SteelSeries already has a solid-performing pad in the Qck and the addition of the CounterStrike: Global Offensive artwork is intended to showcase the gamers fandom for the game.
All in all, the SteelSeries Qck CounterStrike:Global Offensive is a good all-rounder mouse pad delivering a nice balance between glide and control as well as a nice surface for both optical and laser sensors. Unfortunately we find SteelSeries habit of passing the cost of licensing to the user for a bit of print job disappointing especially when the non-branded Qck retails for much lower and will perform the same.
The SteelSeries Qck is a great option as an all-purpose mouse pad. But if you really need that CounterStrike artwork to spice up your desktop then its up to you to decide if the higher asking price is worth it.