Microsoft Sidewinder X8 ($4.99) vs. Razer Mamba ($41.99)

Those prices are with discounts and a $75.00 gift card I have from Best Buy. Which would you go for. I know that the Mamba is better than the X8 overall, but how much so?!

It would be great if people that own each would chime in...

 

get razer if you want ultimate performance
but if you want it on the go, the mamba is pertty big, because the wireless rely on the dock
if you want to go mobile, you need to go wire

 

The Mamba can be connected via the USB cord the connects to the dock. So one does not have to worry if they want the Mamba in that regard.

 

Im using a Sidewinder at the moment on my main PC.(the original as opposed to the X8) I absolutely adore it. Its quite a big mouse so I'd definitely recommend it if you have big hands. I actually had to change my grip style for it, but now that I've gotten used to it, Im very happy with it. Theres also a game-menu shortcut button on the back top of it which I end up using a surprising amount for my non steam games. The DPI switching buttons are also in a really good position, which makes them awesome in FPS's when I need to go from the 800 DPI accuracy of a sniper scope to the 1600 DPI craziness of an assault rifle. (seriously!! Changing the DPI on the fly becomes instinct!. The side buttons are also really comfortable and are very easy to switch between. The scoop on the right hand side also results in a really comfortable experience. (as you have a place for your pinkie to rest.)

In the end, a mouse is a mouse....I don't really know much about the mamba, but I certainly give the Sidewinder a thumbs up .

See what the user reviews on sites Amazon say.....generally they provide a good touching stone as to the quality of a product (i.e if there are any BIG issues, there will be loads of posts complaining about said issue.)

 

Razor Naga. Its teh Seckz!

 

Well, if I'm going to invest on a new mouse, I want a hybrid (wireless + corded) since it is for my M11x laptop. At home I have my loyal MX518 mouse which suffices for the time being. However, if my new mouse can double as a good wireless mouse for portability and a good gaming mouse, that would be awesome.

Anyways, some questions:

• Are both mice pretty much the same size?
• Do any of them suffer for the 3-5 sec inactive sleep mode (found on the Orichi) when wireless?
• Any notieable performance difference when corded/wireless which each mouse?

 

Holy crap, $41.99 for the Mamba? Jump on that! I got mine for $70 and even that's cheap as hell, considering it's $130 full price.

As for your questions:

• I dunno, I've never used the X8
• The Mamba definitely does not, though I'm pretty sure that only affects Bluetooth mice for the most part anyway. I've left my Mamba on in wireless mode for multiple hours, and it still responded immediately as soon as I touched it.
• Not on the Mamba. It's got 1,000Hz polling/1ms response time in both wired and wireless modes.

I say go for the Mamba. The wireless dock isn't really big enough to get in the way; it's smaller than the mouse itself, and if you have enough desk space to put your laptop itself and a mouse, then odds are you'll have room to put the dock somewhere too.

 

I'm really skeptical about going with the Mamba; or X8 for that matter. I didn't know that you required the base to get its wireless ability. That kind of makes it a deal-breaker for me as I am looking for something more portable. I am more and more leaning towards the Orochi simple due to it being based on BlueTooth.

Any experiences with that one?!

 

I love my Orochi, but Bluetooth wireless is inherently laggy, so it's not the greatest for games. It's great for "normal" use like web browsing and stuff, where the 14ms response time and power-saving mode don't really get in the way. If I'm gaming on the go, though, I'll just plug it in with the detachable 3-foot USB cable.

 

Yeah that mouse is awesome. I used it for a bit. I need to buy one for myself. Dell has them for $69.99 cheaper than retail.

 

im in love with the logitech performance mouse mx, they also have the smaller anywhere mx. This mouse is the mouse i have been waiting for for 10 years. IMO i cant see myself ever buying a different mouse for the rest of my life

 

The Sidewinder for $4.99???...I have it and I think it's perfect.I believe the people who say that the mamba is really good but I mean it's a mouse how many degrees of perfection can you have..At $4.99 it's like stealing from a church.

 

In the case of the Mamba...a lot.

 

I have a $75 rewards zone coupon from BB and 20% off any MS mouse. I am leaning more towards the Orochi due to its true wireless nature. I don't agree with having to lug around a base to use the wireless feature. The Orochi, being hybrid with bluetooth gives me the same performance (less confort though) than the Mamba when wired, and pretty decent performance wireless.

 

im using the sidewinder x5, which is suppost to be a wired x8,(basically). And i love it, nice big mouse to lay your hugh hands on and has keys for all the gaming needs. The x8 does come with the scroll wheel tilt functions as well unlike the x5.

Im not sure about the Mamba, but i have owned the orochi for the notebook, i bought it and sold it 2 weeks later. The bluetooth wireless mode just cant be used for gaming, the mouse is too small, i mean, going from a huge x5 to a tiny orochi is too much. So i can say my experience with Razer is not so good.

Back on the OP's topic, $4.99 for x8 and $41.99 for Mamba, thats a $37 difference, and for what? No advantages really? both big and comfortable, both wireless and can be wired, keys just in slightly different places, both easy to get used to. Saved your cash for something else and go for the x8, Thats just my opinion.

 

The Mamba does not use Bluetooth, for starters. It has no sleep time, and it has the same 1ms response time in wireless mode as it does wired. And it's a full-sized desktop mouse; the Orochi is a portable mobile mouse. Comparing the Mamba to the Orochi just because it also has a wireless mode is a bit silly IMO; they are absolutely nothing alike.

Just so you know, the X8's wireless mode is only capable of 500Hz polling, aka half that of the Mamba, leading to twice the input delay. Also, 5,600 DPI vs. 4,000.

$41.99 for the Mamba is an absolute steal, and it is a statistically superior mouse to the X8.

 

My only concern with the Mamba is the lack of wireless on-the-go. I refuse to carry that dock around when traveling. I think the Orochi is the closet mouse to perfection for the on-the-go gamer, which I feel most people using the M11x are. Otherwise, we'd have desktops or bigger laptops right?!

I just wish Razer would allow people to select the time it takes to enter sleep mode. I feel the majority of people would be willing to sacrifice the extra battery life for it.

Another thing that would push the Orochi even closer to perfection would be if it was rechargeable when wired (like the Mamba).

Other than that, the rest are ergnomic nit-picks.

Bottom line, I really think I'm going with the Orochi (as soon as it isn't backordered on BB anymore) as its portability allows me to have a gaming mouse when I want (wired) and an on-the-go wireless mouse for the basic tasks.

 

Good choice; I've been quite satisfied with my Orochi.

 

You wont notice the change of the polling rate even if it is half the Mamba, imho, the 1000hz polling rate is an overkill, and as for dpi, no one ever needs to go above 4,000, or 3,500 for that fact.

And yes, it is an absolute steal, but the way your are saying it is simple brand biased, your are basically telling the OP to pay the $37 more for a 'Razer'.

 

What about the Performance MX's 125MHz polling and 1500 DPI. Is that not enough?

 

Many nbr forumners use that mouse for gaming, and many reported the 125hz polling rate doesnt cause much problems, before i got into serious gaming, my mouses were all 125hz (like most mouse) and it didnt affect my game play. I would though want a dpi of at least 3000 on my mouse. The performance MX is an amazing mouse nevertheless, but gaming wise there are many better.

You guys should try using a regular mouse and see if the polling rate is that noticable...

 

Like... something that is as useful wired as it is wireless?! BTW, I don't consider the X8 or Mamba truly wireless due to it's humongous base.

 

^im not sure what you mean? the x8 and mamba was made to be wireless desktop mouse, meaning you can have the comfort of dragging the mouse around your mouse pad with no wireless getting caught that can interfere with your movement. The huge base is where the 'no latency' comes in. I see you own an m11x, so i wouldnt get either one of those mouse, you can try an Orochi but it takes getting used to and theres freezing problems on the bluetooth mode. I just didnt like the size when i got the orochi, it didnt let me use the 'palm grip' really well.

 

The reason I bought the M11x and not a desktop was for gaming and productivity on the go. The Mamba or X8 do NOT offer this as its wireless capabilities are dependent on its huge bases. The Orochi, being BT, or even the Performance MX, being dependent on a tiny USB module, is more appropriate for portable gaming.

 

^yes i see what you mean, then go for the Orochi or Performance MX, but hey, the thread title is asking us to decided which is better for you, the x8 or Mamba.

 

You're right, that was not my original question with the thread, but unfortunately, I am leaning away from those options. Had Razer or Microsoft included a small USB Wireless Dongle like Logitech does, this would have been a no brainer.

Which raises the question. Would the Mamba be compatible with the dongle from Logitech?! Aren't they on the same frequency and technology type?! If not Logitech's, maybe another dongle?

 

The USB wireless dongles/docks are all proprietary and are not compatible with each other. Even within brands, most dongles will not work with other models of the same brand.

 

Lame! Now... to dive in a little bit more. Has anyone tried to locate and remove the antenna of the Mamba base and replace into a smaller dongle?! Seems like it wouldn't be that hard to do.

 

I have a feeling a Mamba Killer is on it's way

Review: Logitech G700 Wired/Wireless Gaming Mouse
Logitech G700 Gaming Mouse Has 13 Buttons for People Still Addicted to WoW
Logitech's G700 mouse and G930 headset cut the cords, G510 chops price tag of primo keyboard parts -- Engadget

 

I'd say this has pretty much killed the Mamba, and revolutionize the gaming mouse.

YouTube - ‪Official Cyborg R.A.T. 9 Product Demo‬‎

 

It hasn't killed the Mamba, it just competes with it.

 

The G700 doesn't have a dock which I find pretty backwards, and the need to plug in 2 USB cables for length just isn't aesthetically sound.. nor is leaving the USB cable hanging out when you go wireless.

The execution of wireless mice has taken a major step back from the G7 imo (I use a Mamba these days); I thought the 2-battery set up was ingenious instead of today's "If you run out of juice, plug it in!" mantra that applies to both Razer's Mamba and Logi's line up.

 

LOL this is the 1st time I see a person complains about missing dock
1. it will be more ultra-portable than having a dock. "a trully mobile gaming mouse --despite of its size--
anyway when you're docking you won't be able to use the mouse *that's lame
2. G700 can charge directly from power outlet, usb, or you can just replace the battery with a new one.. nice to know you have many choice right
And what is it that you complain about? lol

 

He's a Razer fanboy.

Yeah, I don't know how you can argue that a dock is better in this situation... just doesn't make any sense.

 

I don't know how you can say that. It's more sensitive (5700DPI vs. 5600DPI). Doesn't require that monstrous dock to be wireless. Easier to plug in the USB cable for charging. Has more buttons with seemingly enhanced macro abilities. It's cheaper.

...

 

Pretty interesting until that dongle was shown to demonstrate its wireless ability. Deal-breaker for me and many people.

 

G7 you swap batteries out instantaneously while the other charges to full before you can wear the fresh battery out. There's no worry about needing to plug a freakin' wire in. Understand what "wireless" means?

This is advertised as a mobile gaming mice? I wasn't aware desktops disappeared from the world.

I said things are backwards from the solution of the G7; is the G7 a Razer? Helps to read instead of only picking out a phrase. Reading and comprehension k? Back to your dungeon.

Don't think either of you have ever used the G7 and know of its conveniences. Obvious Logitech fanboys (I've had... over 20? Logi mice and 1 Razer) who are so blind that I don't even know why I bother with this rebuttal.

And FYI, the Mamba can charge the exact same way as the G700 without the dock, but that wouldn't matter to either of you. And that's the worst part - having to wire in to charge the damn battery which be what the G700 will have to do, instead of well, just simply swapping out batteries from a dock that charges the backup battery.

 

Chill dude. I was playing around. Hence the

 

I already said = with G700 you can swap the battery !
It uses AA battery! doh

And this

If I didn't interpret your words correctly, then clearly it's just like you didn't with my words "trully mobile gaming mouse"

And seriously dude, saying "Obvious Logitech fanboys" ??
I'll just give back your words to you:

"Helps to read instead of only picking out a phrase. Reading and comprehension k? Back to your dungeon." LOL

 

There are plenty of Razer Fanboys in here. Im very neutral and go usually pick the best bang for buck.

 

Well, like the Mamba, its not meant for on-the-go wireless, you can get the RAT 7 instead, same as RAT 9 but wired and cheaper.