Gaming Mice THREAD/Diary

What style of grip do you use, palm or claw? Do you prefer super fast high sensitivity or more controlled low sensitivity? What's your budget?

 

Here's a little story from me. One day my friend bought a VX Nano and I didn't think it was anything special about it. After playing some games at my friend's computer I really fell in love with it. Some days later I purchased the same mouse from an online shop and I have been using it ever since. I don't think I'll ever need to buy another mouse unless it doesn't work anymore. Recommended!

 

For people on budget I heartily recommend A4Tech x750BF mouse. For that price it's simply amazing (hell, even if it breaks down after few months it's still worth investing )

 

I have the funds right now to spend a bit.
My grip is close to the claw just a little more relaxed. I like high sensitivity but I also would like to be able to slow it down some.

 

I'll add the Microsoft Habu. It's limited to 2,000 dpi, however it's great because the entire range of dpi and polls is usable. I can go and turn the dpi all the way down for moving across the screen and clicking on fine details (good for shootemups), or open up the dpi all the way for those times I want to be able to spin quickly around, or use the mouse in a small area. Also, at 2,000 dpi maximum, it's like a GT car. It can be leisurely and completely usable day to day, but it can also rip when it feels like it. Shape-wise it's related to the Mamba, and it's a direct sibling to the Razer Copperhead. The nicest part: it doesn't scream GAMER mouse!

Jason

 

I think the Habu looks ok. I've seen worse

 

hey Kerberus,
I honestly love this mouse. It was a good investment for me...it is definitely a mouse I would still buy (at full price) even if I didn't have the 100$ BestBuy gift card I received from work.

Sounds like you use a similar grip to how I play, a relaxed claw-grip. As I mentioned, this mouse is well suited for both claw and palm grip types of gamers; the mouse buttons are long, and you can click from anywhere along the button with the relative same amount of "finger-force"...if you understand what I mean lol.

With adjustable sensitivity up to 4000dpi, I think all you sensitivity needs are taken care of. The three "on-the-fly" dpi changing buttons are awesome, and your current dpi settings show up on the built-in LED display. My settings are 500dpi, 750dpi, and 1000dpi at the max. Honestly, i'm not that huge a gamer to really care about adjustable DPI settings: I just upgraded from my old compaq track n' ball mouse! I have however come to a new appreciation of these adjustable DPI settings, it really lets me change my gameplay around depending on the kits im using, etc.

I would suggest the Sidewinder X8 if you have the money to spend on it. Worst comes to worst, you can just return it and try another one out, but I doubt you will.

Hope this helped, please feel free to ask any other questions you may have!

-Aly

 

Kerberus, I think you might like the Razer Lachesis. It's mostly suited to claw-grippers, but it's not bad for palm either, so I think your "relaxed claw" grip should go quite nicely with it. It's got 9 buttons (left and right click, scroll wheel, two thumb and two pinkie buttons, and two DPI adjustment buttons in the center that can be reprogrammed to other functions. Like the Sidewinder X8, it has a 4,000 DPI laser sensor.

 

two pinkie buttons, sweet! wish the X8 had pinkie buttons! The X8's scroll-wheel has tilt buttons though, does the Lachesis? Still trying to get them to work (along with the Macro recording button) in games, they don't seem to get recognized...

A few more notes now that Mastershrrom mentioned a few things I forgot, the X8 has three DPI adjustment buttons, but they can't be reprogrammed (except for the DPI setting assigned to the button). There is also a "quick-launch" button built-in on the mouse which gives your quick access to open your Games Folder, and that button is not reprogrammable either.

Update: my mouse has not been plugged in for about 5 days now and I have not had to recharge it. It still performs perfectly, and yes, I have been gaming with it at least a few hours per day (been off work cuz i'm sick), and the regular daily usage (emails, surfing, etc etc).

 

I've noticed with the G9's free wheel mode, it has a fair amount of free play. I can bump it while shooting and it won't register. Quite handy. I like it far far better than notched mode.

 

AlyH: I'm not sure, but I think the Lachesis scroll wheel only does up and down, not side to side, at least if it's anything like my DeathAdder's wheel.

sufasb: yeah, I never really used the notched scroll mode on my G9.

 

I looked at that sidewinder x8, looks like i might like it. Guess I'll just have to buy one and hope for the best

 

you won't be dissappointed! let us know how you like it...

 

Another G9 user here. I'm using it with the precision grip. Gripping it using my fingertips so the precision grip is perfect since it's quite small and I prefer it if my palm doesn't touch the mouse. Been abusing it for about 2 years now with no problems so far and I play a lot of games particularly Dota which requires a lot of constant clicking.

Haven't even tried the free wheel mode before as I only use the notched scroll-wheel for my scrolling. The main feature I like is that you can embed profiles in the G9's flash memory.

I find the auto-application detect a bit buggy sometimes, for example if I alt-tab out of a fullscreen game then go back in it won't detect it again so I just use the manual profile switching.

I set my profiles up with DPI settings, button settings, then they simply work even without the logitech setpoint software on any PC.

Definitely buying another logitech once this one breaks eventually.

 

Any opinions on the OCZ Eclipse?

On paper it looks good, the pictures make it out to be a good looking product, and OCZ is a respectable manufacturer for other kinds of things, but I'm wondering. I have a Logitech Mx518 that's stil alive and kicking, but I am considering upgrading in the near future.

I notice there's quite a few hardware failures in the comments on this mouse, and that there are issues where the mouse doesn't get recognized on bootup/wake up.

 

I've heard good things about the Eclipse. If you get a bad one, surely that will be covered under warranty.

 

Yeah, I did a google for the reviews, and the lowest score I saw so far was an 8.5/10. I guess it's next on my list when my paycheck comes.

 

Let us know how it goes, I'm curious to see how it stacks up against Razer and Logitech's finest.

 

Yes please post reviews. I'm very cynical of mouse makers. IT seems like a market every slightly relevant computer company wants a piece of, and I figure they just make garbage. That's why i always stuck with Logitech because I KNEW they knew what they were doing. Razer makes excellent products as well. Anyone else I'm really sketchy about, so it'd be good to hear something new!

 

I was a long time MX518 user. As I got older, my mouse movements started to change and I started using a smaller and smaller portion of my mousepad. Now, the worn patches on my mousepad show I just literally tilt the mouse left and right. So I finally switched to a much higher DPI setting. I always used a 1600 DPI on my MX518 and always wished it would go higher.

Now I use a 2800 DPI. with the G9. It has 5 settings, but I use just three, 2800, 2000, and 1200 for when it is plugged into a laptop.

 

It takes a bit getting used to to. I went from a razer diamondback to this behemoth. It wasn't an easy transition. But well worth it. It's bulky and a bit uncomfortable, but in the long run, the battery life is amazing, looks cool and the on the fly macro button saves me tons in games. the best thing about it(in my view) is the magnetic battery charger wire. it's very cool and easy to use.

 

I'll be switching from my MX 1100 to a G9x soon. A friend of mine picked up a bunch of them for $70 a piece and is sending one my way. Nevertheless, I do have a question about the G9x. Some of you G9 users may also be able to help me with this. Will the mouse be able to adjust DPI in increments of 200dpi on the default Microsoft drivers, or will I need to install the Logitech drivers?

 

You need Logitech setpoint, and you do everything related to the mouse from there. I believe that installs a driver along with the program running in the task bar. You can customize up to 5 different DPI settings, and make it as small or as large a gap between them as you'd like. It's a small program, and once you program it in the software and save it, it's embedded in the mouse's onboard memory. It has like 64 mb or so of memory? I can't remember...

 

Thank you, hankaaron57. That made my day. My plan is to setup the mouse so that I can switch DPI between 3200, 1600, 800, 400, and 200. After I do so, I can remove SetPoint and use the basic Microsoft driver.

I'll give my word on the mouse after I receive it sometime next week. Thanks again, hankaaron57. +1 rep for you.

 

Pulled the trigger on the OCZ Eclipse. Newegg didn't have any in stock so I got it through Amazon. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Out of curiosity, Soviet, what would you use 200 resolution for?

 

It makes for extremely slow cursor movement. Good for things that require extreme precision, like detailed Photoshop work, or FPS sniping, to a degree.

 

Oh, I know what it's used for. For some reason I've always though of Soviet as a high DPI kind of person.

I almost never go above my minimum DPI. The 2400 DPI of the Eclipse might be wasted on me.

 

Yes, I am a high DPI claw gripper that prefers small and heavy mice on a cloth mousepad. I have my MX 1100 set for 1600dpi with the Windows sensitivity to max to software emulate 3200dpi. But I need the response and precision for subtle movements at a high DPI, which my MX 1100 doesn't do as well as I'd like it to.

I will need the low 200dpi and 400dpi for some uses that Mastershroom mentioned except for sniping. I snipe at a high DPI. It's probably because of all the time I have spent in CS:S scoutz 'n knives maps.

 

Can I ask why you want to run it without the Set point software? I'm not sure the profiles would remain embedded properly if you did this, unfortunately. Basically what it means is that you can change profiles on the fly on the mouse buttons, rather than manually opening up setpoint to click on your 'gaming' profile.

Setpoint just runs in the background. Small to no footprint. Is that your concern?

 

I don't have anything against SetPoint. It's a resource friendly application. That is exactly what I want with the mouse: set it and forget it. I don't want SetPoint on my machines after I finish setting up the mouse because I know that I will never touch it again.

I just read a bit more on the mouse. The profiles and the DPI settings will be saved properly after it is set up.

 

Once you save your profile settings to the G9's onboard memory, you no longer need the SetPoint software to use those settings, unless you want to edit them.

 

I claw grip, but I need sensitivity and DPI low. Any faster and I overshoot/overlead my target and then I die. At least in "competitive" FPS games where you need precision. I suppose in games like Left 4 Dead or Team Fortress 2 where you can miss your BOOM HEADSHOT and still survive I could use a higher DPI but it still seem just... so fast.

Hah.

 

The profile will stay embedded indefinitely. Which was the whole point of the onboard memory. You do lose application detection however. But it looks like you are all set.

 

Correct; once you set your mouse profiles and settings and save them to the mouse's onboard memory, you don't need SetPoint anymore; the mouse remembers them regardless of whether SetPoint is installed, or even if it's the same computer or not.

 

That's a good thing. Thanks for clarifying that. It's a good thing I have my profiles set to be implemented on the profile button on the mouse, rather than app-detection. It was buggy at best anyways. How hard is it to notice a freaking application like STEAM starting up hogging 265,000 KB's in task manager?!

 

You guys worry so much about your "gaming" mice as if they were going to give you some kind of major advantage in games. Truth is, you really shouldn't worry about configuring your mouses so much and just go play a game.

 

It can make a pretty big difference. Try playing the same game with a generic 800 DPI wireless optical mouse and then with a 3,500 DPI wired optical Razer DeathAdder, and tell me one isn't better than the other.

 

I want a smaller Logitech mouse that is capable of beyond 1600dpi with better response for all purposes besides gaming.

 

I know. It took all of 5 minutes to configure my mouse. Waste of precious dungeon crawling minutes!!!!

 

not worrying about it, just appreciating the technology that's available! I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do enjoy talking about my toys!

 

Get out of my thread patriot!

I have a tremendous advantage in the games I play. Thanks for making an all encompassing generalization!

 

I can't stand low DPI in any FPS game. I feel really sluggish if I use a mouse below 2400dpi.

 

I use a 2800 dpi myself. While I could jack up the sensitivity more, I find out I lose out on accuracy. On my old MX518, I had the sensitivity jacked up over 50%. I try to move a pixel over and it skips like 3 pixels. That's when I knew I needed a better mouse.

 

I have high sensitivity, and I'll be aiming straight up when I aim for someone's head. Sure, I can't turn around as fast, but the "slowness" gives me time to set up a shot. I need that time since I'm not particularly fast or precise in the reactions department.

 

Received the OCZ Eclipse today. (I was expecting it on the 8th, haha).

I haven't taken it for a spin in games yet, but I'm more or less pleased with it. The OCZ configuration utility lets me modify the DPI, buttons, refresh, and some other goodies. Originally the mouse had DPI settings of 2400-1600-800-400 with a 500 refresh rate, but I changed it up to 2400-1600-600-200 with 1000 refresh. I like my mice slow, thank you very much.

For the feel of it, it's very pleasant, and it matches the rubberized palmrest of my G51. The side buttons are a bit awkwardly placed compared to my Mx518, and they click loudly and require me to push harder. I probably just have to break them in. Very good for claw gripping, by the way.

What's a bit of an annoyance is the DPI switcher. It's like a lever that you can click up and down. The lever is hard and thin, though, so it tends to poke my finger when I'm using the wheel to scroll up.

 

My buddy dropped off my G9x yesterday morning, so I had a little bit more than a day to play with it. It's quite a change coming from my faithful MX 1100. I took about 10 minutes to tune the mouse the way I want it in SetPoint. Initially, there are three preconfigured profiles on the mouse, but I got rid of the extra two and stuck to one profile. I set my primary profile for 3200, 1600, 800, 400, and 200dpi. I also upped the polling rate from 500Hz to 1kHz. I left the pointer speed and acceleration up to the OS.

So far I love this little rodent. I loaded it up with 28g and the wide grip shell, and with all of this on, the G9x weighs precisely 136g sans cable compared to my MX 1100 weighing in at 180g. In all apps including games, it is extremely responsive and smooth on the move. Both the forward and back buttons are easily accessible to my thumb as opposed to my MX 1100 where I would need to reach for the forward button. The DPI buttons are well placed and also very easy to access when needed. Ergonomics are also very comfortable for a claw grip mouse. The elevated back on the mouse allows me to rest the heels of my index and middle metacarpals on it.

From my mouse history coming from an old Dell ball mouse and a Logitech MX 1100, I'd say the G9x by far takes the cake. I should have made the switch over to the G9x when it first came out. I am a truly happy camper with this mouse. Really, camping makes my happy.

 

I wish they made a retractable housing for the cord, like the Sidewinders. That's a nice little touch.

 

I just use a rubber band, haha.

 

do you guys feel any difference increasing the polling rate from 500(or less)hz to 1khz?

i switch from MX Revolution(800dpi) to lachesis....
the DPI increase is advantageous , but the polling rate? im not quite sure

 

I like weight. Even using a Goliathus pad I still feel like I move "too fast" sometimes.

Anyway, tried a little CS 1.6. 200 DPI @ 2.0 sensitivity was a little too sluggish for me--either because it really is slower, or because I haven't played a "twitch-response" game in CS in so long--but I had to adjust my settings to 300 DPI and 2.5 sensitivity. That got me better performance.

Anyway, the Eclipse works pretty dang well. Very comfortable, the buttons are intuitive, and it's very smooth.

I wish I would set DPI in values other than multiples of 100.