Gaming Mouse Roundup

The problem with gaming mice is that they usually are so specialised, that they are awful to use as a everyday mouse.

You make a strange point in the article when you say, "The GM-M8000 is a nod back to the older days of slimmer gaming mice, something that makes it feel a bit unusual when you first rest your hand on it."

You don't want it to feel unusual.. you want it to feel right... intuitive and comfortable.

That WoW mouse is a case in point. That arrangement of thumb switches looks so painfully awkward I can see it being an encumbrance when in the middle of a dual or heated PvP situation. Most WoW players will have already mapped out keybindings that they are familiar with, and only really use mouse buttons sparingly. For instance, I use the 2 side buttons on my G5 for Strangulate and chains of ice when playing my death knight... and the centre wheel button for Icebound Fortitude. Any more than that on the mouse and it starts to interfere with character control. While like most players I use WASD for movement, you also need to be able to fall back on mouse movement when using keybindings to cast or attack. Having too much on the mouse is actually a bad thing.

Plus.. they're nearly always awful as an everyday mouse. It has to be fast, accurate and intuitive.


My vote still goes to my beloved G5.

How about some consistency in your overall score. How can the X8 score a 7 and the WOW mouse score a 6 when they cost about the same and the X8 scores 9s in all the other categories while the WOW mouse scores much lower in the other categories?

Originally Posted by Pookeyhead
The problem with gaming mice is that they usually are so specialised, that they are awful to use as a everyday mouse.

Having too much on the mouse is actually a bad thing..

Point well taken, mate! Five total buttons is more than enough for me, on the Razer DeathAdder. I`m already having to concentrate to press the two side buttons with my thumb, how in the world would I be able to press 4-5?

Originally Posted by Pookeyhead
My vote still goes to my beloved G5.

I also love my DA which is also quite an excellent day-to-day mouse due to it's ergonomic shape.

that microsoft thing is fugly, i like the design of the gigabyte one though, i keep looking for THE mouse that will make me want to replace my diamondback but theres nothing that even tempts at the moment

If you are going to review gaming mice/mouse's then you have to include Logitech and Razer for comparison purposes.

I've been using Logitech's mice since the first time I sat in front of a computer and I've never looked elsewhere for a electronic rodent!
I still don't think that there's a real benefit of buying a 'gaming mouse' (especially if it cost around the $100 mark!) but then again I'm not a 'professional gamer' so I don't need a fancy mouse to satisfy my needs.

3 Ugly mice, wouldn't have any of them!

Meh, if its got a wire, I'm not interested.

Originally Posted by Mankz
Meh, if its got a wire, I'm not interested.

the MS one is hybrid...

Comfort is key. Features come second as long as basic needs are met. I would NOT spend extra money on a gaming mouse but I did want to explain the horiz. speed vs. vertical speed settings.

When playing games like WOW, you usually have all of your spells/attacks along the bottom - next to each other in a bunch. But all of the things you need to click on are all over the screen above. It's nice to be able to get back up there quickly but not overshoot between the tiny spell buttons. I find that mouse movement scaling works fine for me.

I've been using my Logi*tek 310 for years. It just plain works and has enough buttons to do the job.

I dont see anything that i would want over my logitech G5. They really managed to get something right with that mouse.

Originally Posted by Taracta
How about some consistency in your overall score. How can the X8 score a 7 and the WOW mouse score a 6 when they cost about the same and the X8 scores 9s in all the other categories while the WOW mouse scores much lower in the other categories?

Because the overall score is not an average, it's a reflection of what we think of the product:

http://www.bit-tech.net/scores/

The X8 is an excellent product, but who is going to pay nearly £90 for a mouse? Very few people. You do get a lot for your money but we felt it was "worth considering" = 7, whereas the WOW mouse is "All Right", so, a six.

Comfort is subjective too - I would not like the WOW mouse at all and I used a Razor Viper before I stole the X8. I thought I'd hate it at first - it looks strange - but actually it's really nice to use and my only complaint is that it's too heavy. Harry can't use anything other than his MX1000 because of muscle memory he claims though :( whereas I really can't use the MX1000 - it's far too high.

Originally Posted by ROM

When playing games like WOW, you usually have all of your spells/attacks along the bottom - next to each other in a bunch. But all of the things you need to click on are all over the screen above.
.

Are you seriously telling me that you're casting spells in WoW using the mouse?

i don't get all those mouse with weights.......

for example, my G5 is unbalanced without some weight, but once found a comfortable weight, there's really no point changing them, so why not just put some weight in the mouse that most people prefer, and forget about it.

Originally Posted by yodasarmpit
If you are going to review gaming mice/mouse's then you have to include Logitech and Razer for comparison purposes.

yes definitely!

it would be nice to include budget gaming mice as well like the Razer Salmosa (1000Hz poll rate)!

who has the money to spend £80 on a mouse, especially in these times...

Originally Posted by ROM

When playing games like WOW, you usually have all of your spells/attacks along the bottom - next to each other in a bunch.

Pah! Get them keybound.

Really, whats wrong with a gameing mouse that looks stylish rather then some power ranger accsesory. Is it so hard?

Further more, this really does feel like half a roundup... where are the Razer, Roccat and Logitech's to compair? The G5 v2 would have been an absolute minimum really. Feels you have jumped the gun a bit. The 08' Graphics round up... now thats a proper roundup.

BBCode tags broken on the WoW mouse page. The text for the 3rd set of images down

Originally Posted by eXpander

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROM

When playing games like WOW, you usually have all of your spells/attacks along the bottom - next to each other in a bunch. But all of the things you need to click on are all over the screen above.
.

Are you seriously telling me that you're casting spells in WoW using the mouse?

Lol @ WoW elitism :p (just kidding)

So bit-tech, which is the best mouse then? I am looking to upgrade from my mx518 (not because it doesn't work, it's just tatty these days), but these seemed far too expensive and/or gimmicky. Weights in mice is a ridiculous idea imo.

Interesting review! I personally wouldn't go after any of those mice, but interesting nonetheless.

BlueTrack offers some insane specs, such as a maximum tracking speed of 120in/sec (or 305m/sec)

If I am not mistaken, shouldn't that be 305cm/sec? As that wouldn't be too fair if the mouse biased its speed based on what measuring system you used lol.

[QUOTE=ibs137]

Originally Posted by ibs137
it would be nice to include budget gaming mice as well like the Razer Salmosa (1000Hz poll rate)!

who has the money to spend £80 on a mouse, especially in these times...

We did the Salmosa in CPC a while ago and thought that the lack of thumb buttons really undermined an otherwise excellent mouse. It's comfortable, built well and the USB poll rate adjustment works well. But thumb buttons are surely a must-have these days, no?

There's nothing new from the other mouse players for a little while (the Logitech G9 V2 is still on order and the Razer Mamba is going through some final driver/firmware QA) and we wanted to get the WoW mouse and Sidewinder X8 reviews out as they're fairly hot topics at the moment.

The subjectivity of mice also makes big roundups harder to do than graphics cards or motherboards - there a few objective facts to sort the mice by, so big mouse group tests usually have wooly and unhelpful conclusions.

Oh, and yes, if Jukes is correct in the acceleration and speeds that BlueTrack can handle, you'd have to move your hand so fast that the skin would blister due to air friction before it stopped tracking perfectly. How cool is that? :D

PS Nighttrain is right - should've been 305cm/sec. Thanks for pointing it out!

I still think personally that the G9 is the best gaming mouse so far, second to that is the Lachesis, followed by the G5, I have owned all three and then some, oh and I think the worst has to be the Silverstone Raven mouse with the tumor on the side, I still have that mouse and I liked all the features but that ball on the side was the worst idea. It also looks like Coolermaster is about to design a mouse and mouse pad ~_~ but at least they are asking people to fill out a survey to get a better idea of what people want in a gaming mouse. I also have the Zalman FPS mouse and use that from time to time and really enjoy it, I just wish the gun handle part was taller for larger hands.

I have the Logitech MX Revolution I always wanted a G5 but the MX has a great everyday use for me and that comes first. Plus the G5 has that embarrassing cheap vinyl covering for a car seat look, guess thats why its $50US. The MX seems to do everything I want it to and performs well on my games even being wireless. It was $99 US and I think worth every penny.

The X8 Technology has my attention. Can't wait for Logitech to do something like it. Then I will buy a new Logitech mouse when I build the next computer.

Glad to see a mouse review! :)

Originally Posted by Bindibadgi
Because the overall score is not an average, it's a reflection of what we think of the product:

http://www.bit-tech.net/scores/

The X8 is an excellent product, but who is going to pay nearly £90 for a mouse? Very few people. You do get a lot for your money but we felt it was "worth considering" = 7, whereas the WOW mouse is "All Right", so, a six.

Comfort is subjective too - I would not like the WOW mouse at all and I used a Razor Viper before I stole the X8. I thought I'd hate it at first - it looks strange - but actually it's really nice to use and my only complaint is that it's too heavy. Harry can't use anything other than his MX1000 because of muscle memory he claims though :( whereas I really can't use the MX1000 - it's far too high.

Pownzored

Logitech G5 > Universe.

Originally Posted by Nicb
I Plus the G5 has that embarrassing cheap vinyl covering for a car seat look,

It does?