Gaming Mice Suggestions

[bononos]

hmm, I dunno about that.. I still play Counterstrike 1.6 every once in a while.. and it seems like all the most accurate, sharp shooting guys that drop you with a single shot to the head all insist you need high, but not unnecessarily high dpi.

So I would say it only matters to a certain extent. The inordinately high DPI count is just a marketing ploy imo, to appeal to people who blindly accept statistics to be performance indicators.

Anyway, my favorite mouse is the MX518! But also because I'm just so used to it.. Can't believe they took it off the market!

So I would agree.. go with whatever button config you like, but even more importantly: what feels best in your hand.. and you'll kinda just grow into it like I did with my 518 and not want to use anything else afterward.

You're right about the dpi comment and there was a writeup on it.
http://www.esreality.com/post/1265679/esreality-mousescore-2007/?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=2
There was also a poll years back on what the best fps players used and many used relatively cheap mice ~800dpi - low sens + large movement allowed them to achieve high accuracy for headshots.
I like the mx518, but I prefer a mouse that has tilting scroll wheel buttons, no-angle snapping (which the mx518 has, with no way of switching it off) and an option to configure thumb-hand pos like the Rat7.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I've been foolin with my mouse lately.. i notice i have to pick up my mouse to adjust for some inaccurate left to right vise-versa movement. While I'll compensate with a strafe "A" & "D" keys it still feels off. I hate the fact that there are 3 adjustments to movement and then the hard-code: e.g. desktop mouse movement (but i never adjust the position) then the ingame sensitivity, then the mouse dpi. And so apparently UT3's code has to be re-written to make the feel more accurate like they say UT 2k4 is.

I use the R.A.T. 7

 

[rev-]

I play mostly dota and am using a g9x for the past year and a half. I have to say that I love it. The only downside is that this is my 2nd g9x. The first one died after the cable wrapper started curling up and eventually killed the wire inside. Weird stuff. Apparently this is a very common issue with these specific logitech mouse wires. Logitech replaced it, 3 year warranty. I just can't understand why they wont change it to a different material.

Apparently the mouse also has very loud clicking, which I don't mind at all but it drove my gf insane (we share the same desk). I had to open it up and tweak it as directed by a youtube video. It now is pretty silent, although the feedback is not as strong.

All in all an excellent gaming mouse if you don't have giant hands.

 

[Cerb]

All in all an excellent gaming mouse if you don't have giant hands.

It's a bit too flat and wide if you have small hands, though. The G9x is just a bit too wide for my hands, and it ended up causing RSI after several weeks. The sensor in there (and all other 5700 DPI Logitechs) is the only laser I've used that works right on cloth, IME. Slight positive acceleration on it, but that's surprisingly easy to get used to (It only took me a couple days before I was making twitch headshots just fine). The high side buttons are easy to press by rolling my thumb, but not so easy as to do it by accident, and the scroll wheel's up/down motion helps make up for its hard click. The G9x was the mouse that I wanted to love. If they made a thinner body (get rid of the room for weights and/or battery), it would be my perfect mouse.

The first one died after the cable wrapper started curling up and eventually killed the wire inside.

If they didn't ask for the broken one back, I'd have had to try to fix it. I would think desoldering the wires, stripping them, and resoldering would do the trick, and then add some hot glue to keep it from happening again. Or splitting and splicing them back together, if they go to a connector, then soldering and gluing.

(...) there are 3 adjustments to movement and then the hard-code: e.g. desktop mouse movement (but i never adjust the position) (...)

You shouldn't adjust it, either if you can adjust the mouse's CPI. The middle position (6/11 in the standard Windows properties) is a 1:1 CPI mapping, before acceleration. A lower CPI from the mouse will give you more precise results than lowering the sensitivity, with or without acceleration; and higher than the middle will cause jumpy cursor movement.

 

[jjonestemp]

Ever considered a Novint falcon? "Eats mice" ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ1Rz2clLS0
doesn't improve your gaming performance, really... but just look at it
(I play BF in 3d surround with this thing and sometimes a 360 controller with PC receiver, sometimes use an old logitech Trackman Marble or just wireless microsoft mouse for rts games... not a fan of keyboard and mouse- hard to say WHICH adds more realism in FPS games the 3d or the falcon, but together they are pants-wetting and a good deal more difficult than a regular gaming experience at times).
I will say that if I play an FPS without either, it feels like I'm cheating 'cos it's so easy.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Got the G500 in the other day, im liking it a lot. At first i hated the plasticy texture compared to the rubbery MX518, but ive gotten used to it.

I also put all the heavy weights in it, so its as heavy as possible, and im liking that a lot as well.

Now i just have to figure out what actions to map to each button.

 

[Gloomy]

I have a Logitech G400. 0 complaints, though I don't know what I'd be looking for anyway. A mouse is a mouse is a mouse, and I bought this one on a friend's recommendation. Apparently this is the cheapest mouse with a "flawless" sensor, whatever that means.

 

[AFurryReptile]

For the past year, I've been using a RAT7. What a mistake that purchase was. The back button was broken, the side-scrolling button has never worked, the tracking is wonky (and much too easily affect by loud sounds/bass), the metal parts are rusting from sweat, and the software/drivers were hella buggy to install.

Recently picked up a Razer Deathadder 3.5g at a discount through my brother at Best Buy, and it fixes all of the problems I listed above. I'm really impressed with the mouse tracking - it just feels "right."

 

[dead2rights]

I love my Razer Deathadder infared 3500 DPI mouse, but if i had a choice..

I would take the Razer Mamba 6400 DPI over it...that mouse is a BEAST!

 

[Cerb]

I have a Logitech G400. 0 complaints, though I don't know what I'd be looking for anyway. A mouse is a mouse is a mouse, and I bought this one on a friend's recommendation. Apparently this is the cheapest mouse with a "flawless" sensor, whatever that means.

No acceleration (1" at X DPI is the same distance in pixels if crossed in 0.02s as 2s), no angle-snapping (trying to keep you making straight lines), it's good at compensating correctly when it can't accurately judge movement (only a worry for >1800 DPI on the G400), and it works pretty well on almost any surface. It and Razer's Deathadder are pretty much it when it comes to mice low on gimmicks, but high in functionality (ergonomically, they are vastly different).

The sensor in Logitech's 5700 DPI mice, FI (Avago something-9500), doesn't work as well on cloth as hard pads. Philips' TwinEye, used in quite a few mice out there, including the popular R.A.T. 7, hates cloth. Both often have issues with lift-off at high DPI, where it might track while you're repositioning the mouse. Both, but the TwinEye typically worse, can be so sensitive that vibrations from hard-mounted HDDs, ODDs, or even midrange and lower sounds from speakers, cause it track movement, often going crazy making the cursor jump all around. Many sensors will drop samples if you move too quickly at a given DPI, leaving you having barely changed your aim, because you moved faster than it could track. Good optical mice traditionally need you move faster than a good laser mouse to malfunction. That's all I can think of right now. A mouse is not a mouse is not a mouse, mostly because so many "gaming" mice load up on gimicky crap, while the basics, like accurate and compatible sensor performance, have not been done properly. Oh, and side-scrolling wheels are just plain wrong.

 

[bononos]

No acceleration (1" at X DPI is the same distance in pixels if crossed in 0.02s as 2s), no angle-snapping (trying to keep you making straight lines), it's good at compensating correctly when it can't accurately judge movement (only a worry for >1800 DPI on the G400), and it works pretty well on almost any surface. It and Razer's Deathadder are pretty much it when it comes to mice low on gimmicks, but high in functionality (ergonomically, they are vastly different).

The sensor in Logitech's 5700 DPI mice, FI (Avago something-9500), doesn't work as well on cloth as hard pads. Philips' TwinEye, used in quite a few mice out there, including the popular R.A.T. 7, hates cloth. Both often have issues with lift-off at high DPI, where it might track while you're repositioning the mouse.........

The G400 also has 1000hz polling which is a weakness of the MX518 which needs to be overclocked.

Do you think that laser sensors just have inherent problems that haven't been overcome yet because it just seems to me that optical-led sensors have better tracking and work better on cloth. Are laser mice worth the money or simply a gimmick to get people to spend more money on mice + gaming pads.

 

[bononos]

Does anyone have suggestions on no-nonsense gaming mice which are similar to the G400/Deathadder but have more buttons - I think some mice have tilting scroll wheel buttons (3 in all for the scroll wheel).

 

[Zxian]

I have never found a valid use for more than the usual 5 buttons on a mouse (MMO's aside - I'm looking at you Naga). Tilt wheels and buttons that are in front of and behind the mouse wheel just feel awkward to reach. Maybe this is just me having big hands, but I use a DeathAdder in a mostly-palm grip. The top of my palm where my index and middle finger meet the rest of the hand rest on the mouse. As such, moving fingers to anything other than the left and right buttons is just awkward. I could see a use for a third or fourth thumb button, but nothing on top of the mouse would be useful for me.

I get my Deathadders (I've got one at work for the feel) for $45 through my sales rep at my favorite supplier.

 

[Cerb]

Do you think that laser sensors just have inherent problems that haven't been overcome yet because it just seems to me that optical-led sensors have better tracking and work better on cloth. Are laser mice worth the money or simply a gimmick to get people to spend more money on mice + gaming pads.

That I don't know. There certainly are very good laser mice, and it's not just gamers that like them. A lot of it could just have to do with the lasers themselves being at such an angle, while the sensors are always looking straight down. Or, maybe they're having to compromise on the lens for the wide range of DPIs. I'm really not sure.

I have never found a valid use for more than the usual 5 buttons on a mouse (MMO's aside - I'm looking at you Naga). Tilt wheels and buttons that are in front of and behind the mouse wheel just feel awkward to reach. Maybe this is just me having big hands, but I use a DeathAdder in a mostly-palm grip.

No, it's not just you. I don't have big hands, and use the MX5xx/G400 in a hybrid claw/palm (smaller mice I use pure claw), and I treat them all as 4-button mice: left, right, wheel, rear side. A side-scrolling mouse I consider to not have a wheel button.

 

[bononos]

I have never found a valid use for more than the usual 5 buttons on a mouse (MMO's aside - I'm looking at you Naga). Tilt wheels and buttons that are in front of and behind the mouse wheel just feel awkward to reach. Maybe this is just me having big hands, but I use a DeathAdder in a mostly-palm grip. The top of my palm where my index and middle finger meet the rest of the hand rest on the mouse. As such, moving fingers to anything other than the left and right buttons is just awkward. I could see a use for a third or fourth thumb button, but nothing on top of the mouse would be useful for me.

I get my Deathadders (I've got one at work for the feel) for $45 through my sales rep at my favorite supplier.

To me the tilting scroll wheel buttons are the easiest way to add extra button without making things to finnicky. I found that I need extra buttons for some games like Batman rather than trying to map difficult to reach keys.

 

[Zxian]

To me the tilting scroll wheel buttons are the easiest way to add extra button without making things to finnicky. I found that I need extra buttons for some games like Batman rather than trying to map difficult to reach keys.

Sure, you can map extra functionality, but using the tilt means that your index and middle fingers are not on the left and right buttons. For the occasional action, the tilt 'buttons' could be useful, but as Cerb said, you lose accuracy in the middle-click functionality. Every tilt-wheel enabled mouse I've used has had horrible wheel-click sensitivity - either it clicks when you want to tilt, or it tilts when you want to click.

Maybe I'm just too focused on the games that got me focused on mouse accuracy (SC2 and LoL). To me, the mouse is what moves your cursor or vision around on the screen. The buttons are primarily for convenience since your fingers are there anyway.

 

[bononos]

I don't find mouse buttons to be just a convenience, having the extra 2 would improve the enjoyment of some games. I hate having to press the number keys on the keyboard (left hand).
If implementing tilting scroll wheels is difficult as you say, then perhaps more buttons on the index finger side would be better since the index finger is more dextrous.

 

[mple]

I honestly have to hand it to Razer for longevity. I bought a Copperhead back in 2005 and it's still going strong today. The Logitech MX518 I concurrently owned showed signs of failure after 4 years of use alternating between the two.

 

[Cerb]

I don't find mouse buttons to be just a convenience, having the extra 2 would improve the enjoyment of some games. I hate having to press the number keys on the keyboard (left hand).
If implementing tilting scroll wheels is difficult as you say, then perhaps more buttons on the index finger side would be better since the index finger is more dextrous.

Logitech's G700 and G300, OtToMH, can give you that. While I was overall disappointed with the G300, as a medium-DPI desktop user, the side buttons on top were actually quite usable.

I honestly have to hand it to Razer for longevity. I bought a Copperhead back in 2005 and it's still going strong today. The Logitech MX518 I concurrently owned showed signs of failure after 4 years of use alternating between the two.

OTOH, my MX500, MX510, and MX518v2 are all doing well (if the G400 kept prediction, it would still be my main mouse). The MX500 and MX510 finally started double-clicking, but both after I had retired them from gaming duties. The MX510 has a few fingernail scratches in the grippy coating, too, to get really picky. Other than that, they work just fine.

Old MS Intellimouse Opticals were the only non-ball mice I've ever had fail in any way but switch wear (and switches are replaceable, if you're up for the work involved, and new mouse feet). I've read of people having cable problems, but without a bad design, like MS', I don't see how the cables would ever get stressed enough to have issues.

 

[Puffnstuff]

My RAT7 has had it's up and downs, but overall, its a solid mouse I don't regret purchasing it.

I just wish it would've left a smaller hole in my wallet :hmm:

+1 rat 7 got mine yesterday to replace my ms sidewinder which I've used for years but they keep on failing in the same way.

 

[QueBert]

I picked up a Steelseries Senesi last night, so far I'm really liking it a lot. Had a Razor Deathadder 3.5g before it.

 

[itzbiff]

Im currently using a G400 and love it. Its relatively inexpensive. 3600dpi is good enough for me. And i love the shape of it.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I picked up a Steelseries Senesi last night, so far I'm really liking it a lot. Had a Razor Deathadder 3.5g before it.

Two years and 5 months later, my Xai's left mouse click feels like its dying. I guess Im in the market for a new mouse. Kinda disappointed that my Xai is nearing end of life so fast. It makes me a bit uneasy to pick up the Sensei.

 

[johnney5]

Two years and 5 months later, my Xai's left mouse click feels like its dying.

Is it possible that the mouse is suffering from the same problem as this person's Naga: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIR3MfrD7Gc (Skip to 4:16) ?

I stumbled on that video while looking at mouse reviews tonight... I watched the whole video, and it looks like this same thing could happen to a lot of different mice.

I was also considering the Sensei, but I watched this video detailing a problem with the mouse breaking from clicking more toward the middle of the mouse, rather than the top of the button, and I constantly do this with my current mouse.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Is it possible that the mouse is suffering from the same problem as this person's Naga: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIR3MfrD7Gc (Skip to 4:16) ?

I stumbled on that video while looking at mouse reviews tonight... I watched the whole video, and it looks like this same thing could happen to a lot of different mice.

I was also considering the Sensei, but I watched this video detailing a problem with the mouse breaking from clicking more toward the middle of the mouse, rather than the top of the button, and I constantly do this with my current mouse.

Ooo. The Xai is almost exactly the same as the Sensei in design and I click towards the middle of the mouse instead of the top. That must be the reason :\