Page 3 - Subjective Performance Tests
After installing and properly configuring the Turtle Beach Burst II Pro to my liking using the software, I put the mouse through our series of standard tracking performance tests. This includes normal office usage in the Windows environment as well as gaming within first person shooter games. Graphics work is done in addition to regular office usage with Adobe Photoshop. Mousepads used include the Func F-Series 10 L and XTracPads Ripper XXL. Please note these are subjective tests, but we attempt to make it as objective as possible with our cross-reference testing methods.
Personally, when I use my mouse, I prefer to establish a palm grip rather than a claw grip. What this means is that I prefer to cover the whole mouse with the palms of my hands, therefore a comfortable ergonomic fit is a priority preference. I generally prefer asymmetrical right-hand optimized mice for better grip. The Turtle Beach Burst II Pro, being an ambidextrous mouse, was still acceptable for the occasion. This mouse generally gripped well in my average-sized hand. The sides are not textured, but were reasonably grippy during use. For those who like claw grips or a semi-claw-palm-hybrid grip, the Burst II Pro will also accommodate you if you have average-sized hands. Furthermore, its lightweight 57g design -- especially for a wireless mouse -- was very good for first person shooter games; making swift, quick actions attainable. The mouse's center of gravity is near the middle, which lines up with the sensor at the bottom.
The primary purpose of Turtle Beach's Burst II Pro is intended for the performance enthusiast crowd. It is intended for gaming, but this does not exclude graphic professionals and office users demanding the edge in tracking precision. Like many modern gaming-oriented products, I found the Turtle Beach Burst II Pro to be excellent for everyday office work in addition to performance demanding applications. The PixArt PAW3950-based Owl-Eye 30K is the latest high-end sensor from PixArt and one of the best in the market today, and you can definitely see why with this mouse. It has a sensitivity range from 50 DPI to 30,000 DPI in 50 DPI increments. This caters very well to all the different scenarios and game play strategies FPS gamers will encounter in the real world. The fact is, dipping as low as 50 DPI is definitely not something you will see every day, nor is the epic 30,000 DPI maxima. I am not entirely sure why anyone would need something that nauseatingly sensitive, but hey, it is there for those who want it.
The Turtle Beach Burst II Pro is an incredibly precise and quick responding mouse at up to 8000Hz polling rate, just as we would expect from a performance gaming product. No input lag was noticed, and response time was consistently excellent from the lowest sensitivity setting all the way to 30,000 DPI. Although sensitivity range is not a direct indicator of performance similar to how resolution is not a direct indicator of digital camera performance, its incredible precision was still basically sustained across the entire sensitivity range. The lift-off distance was very low on the Turtle Beach Burst II Pro, configurable to 0.7mm. The sense of control and the smoothness of its glide over all tested tracking surfaces was excellent, and the pointer tracked accurately and precisely in accordance with my inputs. The PTFE feet helped smooth the glide too. I noticed no tracking problems with the Turtle Beach Burst II Pro on all surfaces I have tested it on. I noticed what could be minor jitter at high sensitivity settings, but I could not tell if it was just my hand or if it was really the mouse itself. I did not experience any spin out nor any smoothing was noticed, which is good.
During usage, I have never accidentally pressed any buttons I did not intend to click. The sensitivity cycle button was placed far enough up front to prevent unintended actuation. There are not many buttons on the Turtle Beach Burst II Pro to begin with, and all the placements are pretty standard. Any feature I needed was always well within reach of my thumb or index finger. The pre-tensioned Titan Optical switches were a pleasure to use.
The rated battery life of the Turtle Beach Burst II Pro is 150 hours at 1000Hz polling rate and 40 hours at 8000Hz polling rate over Turtle Beach's 2.4GHz wireless protocol. The figure is 165 hours over Bluetooth. Depending on how you count idle time and usage time as well as your sensitivity configuration, your mileage will vary. 1000Hz is more than sufficient for day-to-day use to save battery in my opinion, you can increase it to 8000Hz only when gaming. From my experience, the battery life is amazing for a high-performance product, and the quick charge function works well. It is unlikely you will unexpectedly run out of juice with the Burst II Pro, and if you ever do, using it in wired mode for 10 minutes will get you back on the road for a few more hours. A full charge can be completed in 3 hours and 40 minutes.
The Turtle Beach Burst II Pro is highly customizable for users desiring wide tracking resolution, maximum responsiveness, lag-free performance, low lift-off distance, razor sharp handling characteristics, light weight, and amazing battery life. These are all important characteristics for a performance gaming product.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
