Page 4: Use, Conclusion
Use
Unlike the M571, this mouse feels cheap. I don't like mice that don't have much weight to it and this one feels like it would break just by using it since it is so light. The scroll wheel is another big problem. It has the cheap feel as well. One tick of the wheel does not correspond to a single scroll. Instead it has trouble recognizing if you scrolled the wheel or not. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it registers two scrolls. This is completely unacceptable in a mouse in this competitive market. We saw the M571 shine, but this product seems to lack the basics of a good design.
The M551 also suffers from the tracking problem off the surface. If you pick up the mouse, it will track pretty far off the mouse pad. This should be adjusted since most people pick up the mouse and put it in a different position often. Tracking that movement off the pad gets annoying. The DPI setting of 2400 is really too fast. We've said it before, we'll say it again. If you use 2400 DPI, please let us know. Settings of 400/800/1600 would be the best.
Continuing the series, Aron Schatz (myself) is the star of the show. Please give us some feedback on these videos. We welcome comments.
Conclusion
We'll make this short and sweet. If you are looking to buy an Arctic Cooling mouse right now, the M551 is not the one you're looking for. Instead, look to the M571 which is $5 more than the M551. Not only do you get a mouse with a quality feel, it also has more features and a better build quality. It is pretty surprising that the M551 gets basic things like the scroll wheel wrong. We will never recommend a mouse that gets things like this wrong.
Since Arctic has the M571, we bet the M551 will be relegated to giveaway status. The M571 just blows this mouse out of the water. Hopefully Arctic's next value mouse gets the basics right. In the meantime, the »M571 is still our recommended Arctic mouse.
ASE Labs would like to thank Arctic Cooling for making this review possible.
Unlike the M571, this mouse feels cheap. I don't like mice that don't have much weight to it and this one feels like it would break just by using it since it is so light. The scroll wheel is another big problem. It has the cheap feel as well. One tick of the wheel does not correspond to a single scroll. Instead it has trouble recognizing if you scrolled the wheel or not. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it registers two scrolls. This is completely unacceptable in a mouse in this competitive market. We saw the M571 shine, but this product seems to lack the basics of a good design.
The M551 also suffers from the tracking problem off the surface. If you pick up the mouse, it will track pretty far off the mouse pad. This should be adjusted since most people pick up the mouse and put it in a different position often. Tracking that movement off the pad gets annoying. The DPI setting of 2400 is really too fast. We've said it before, we'll say it again. If you use 2400 DPI, please let us know. Settings of 400/800/1600 would be the best.
Continuing the series, Aron Schatz (myself) is the star of the show. Please give us some feedback on these videos. We welcome comments.
Conclusion
We'll make this short and sweet. If you are looking to buy an Arctic Cooling mouse right now, the M551 is not the one you're looking for. Instead, look to the M571 which is $5 more than the M551. Not only do you get a mouse with a quality feel, it also has more features and a better build quality. It is pretty surprising that the M551 gets basic things like the scroll wheel wrong. We will never recommend a mouse that gets things like this wrong.
Since Arctic has the M571, we bet the M551 will be relegated to giveaway status. The M571 just blows this mouse out of the water. Hopefully Arctic's next value mouse gets the basics right. In the meantime, the »M571 is still our recommended Arctic mouse.
ASE Labs would like to thank Arctic Cooling for making this review possible.