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looking for a gaming mouse

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livend

New Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
I say gaming mouse, but I've been playing with the ms intellimouse optical 1.1a for many years. This one is getting old a bit (I think 5 years or something like that), and I was thinking I might look into another mouse instead of just getting another 1.1a. 1.1a's are cheap enough that I will probably get another one, but there are things I wish were different about this mouse. I read these forums, just never registered, so I figured I'd post and ask your opinions.

Things I'd like to find in a mouse:
The 1.1a is sort of small: the base of my palm and sides of my hands have too much contact with the mousing surface (which on plastic means it there's a good amount of friction between my hand and the pad). So I am looking for a mouse that supports my hand better, reducing the amount of contact and friction between my hand and the mousing surface.

I like side buttons on both sides. I don't understand why, but the majority of gaming mice I've seen have two buttons on one side and none on the other. That's really idiotic. The 1.1a has one on each side, but I would prefer two on each side.

I prefer low dpi, high sensitivity in games with just old style accel (no xp crap, I play in 2k).

Are there any mice like this? If there are, I'd prefer if the people who respond have actually used the mouse, and not just found it in google.

Thanks
 
I say gaming mouse, but I've been playing with the ms intellimouse optical 1.1a for many years. This one is getting old a bit (I think 5 years or something like that), and I was thinking I might look into another mouse instead of just getting another 1.1a. 1.1a's are cheap enough that I will probably get another one, but there are things I wish were different about this mouse. I read these forums, just never registered, so I figured I'd post and ask your opinions.

Things I'd like to find in a mouse:
The 1.1a is sort of small: the base of my palm and sides of my hands have too much contact with the mousing surface (which on plastic means it there's a good amount of friction between my hand and the pad). So I am looking for a mouse that supports my hand better, reducing the amount of contact and friction between my hand and the mousing surface.

I like side buttons on both sides. I don't understand why, but the majority of gaming mice I've seen have two buttons on one side and none on the other. That's really idiotic. The 1.1a has one on each side, but I would prefer two on each side.

I prefer low dpi, high sensitivity in games with just old style accel (no xp crap, I play in 2k).

Are there any mice like this? If there are, I'd prefer if the people who respond have actually used the mouse, and not just found it in google.

Thanks

You sound exactly like me once my old Intelli finally died off. I got myself a nice mouse but not an overly expensive one. Go to Staples and take a look at the Logitech MX310, its relatively cheap, has a side button on each side, same size as the Intelli, solid scroll wheel and not to high of DPI. I love binding the left side button to grenades for any game...so useful.
 
With all of your requirements I will recomend you a few mice. (I have almost every single gaming mouse out as of yesterday).

As far as having buttons on both sides this limits you to only a few mice. I also have the same prob with my hand dragging on the mouse pad so the mice I use also consider this.

1) razer diamond back 3g - its the remake of the origional diamondback but using the same optical engine that is found on the death adder (which is my fav mouse atm). 1800dpi, 2 buttons on each side. Kind of uncomfortable till you get used to it but good after the first few days or so. Actaully the only "gaming" mouse I would recomend that has side buttons.

2) razer death adder. this is sex for your hand. confortable, almost same feel as intellimouse. 1800dpi , smoothest mouse IMO. NO right side buttons, 2 left sides. Bigger shape so hand does not touch pad.

3) logitech g5/mx518 - basically exact same mouse except lazer vs optical. g5's lazer tracks very well although not as good as the 518's optical. this is my opinion though. g5 is 2000dpi where mx518 is 1800 I believe. No right side buttons only left. only pinky finger will touch mouse pad or maybe not even, depends on hand size (mine are large:))

4) logitech g9 - second fav mouse atm. 3200dpi. Slickest laser IMO for precision bar none. Tons of gadgets(weights, interchangable grips etc.) NO right side buttons only left. This is a finger mouse so depending on how you adapt to it your fingers may or may not touch the pad. I use it with my fingers rather than palm so my fingers dont touch.

IMO my top 2 are the death adder and g9 although g9 may be a little to low profile for you to get used to. It sits very low.
 
Thanks for the quick replies.

@ziggoO and OnDBorder: I'll probably pass on the mx310. It only has one side button on each side, so I would probably opt to just stick with a new 1.1a in that case.

From what I've seen, the G5 (and G3) is an inferior mouse to the mx518 (and to the mx500 and mx310, and even my good ol' 1.1a @ 1000hz) as far as the optical engine's tracking is concerned (reference). So I was looking into the mx518 and mx500, but found out they only have the two side buttons on one side.

The biggest reason for a change of mouse to me is giving the ring or pinky finger something to do. I use arrows for FPS's which means I don't have a lot of keys close by for weapon binds. So that puts the mx518/mx500 g9 g7 and death adder out of the running. The only one I had seen was the lachesis, but I really don't care about it's 4000dpi and can't justify the price of 80 for a mouse that I would be buying solely for those extra side buttons.

So, fuzzy yzzuf, the diamondback 3g looks like a good mouse for me to look into. I found a place that says it has adjustable dpi, but I can't find that on the razer website. Is it adjustable and if so, what are available dpi settings?

Another concern I have is regarding the feet: The odd shape means I can't just use my mouse skates that I use on my intellimouse. So do the feet wear down? I'd have to find skates that fit it or uncut teflon "tape".

One last question: How does the wheel feel? The 1.1a has these sort of soft bumps you feel where the wheel stays in place but moves easily. Can't really describe it well, but I've used mice that don't have that and it's too easy to accidentally trigger a scroll. I've also ones that are too "tight". I prefer the feel of the intellimouse's scroll, but if I would have to compromise, I would choose tight over loose any day.

Thanks again guys.
 
Thanks for the quick replies.

@ziggoO and OnDBorder: I'll probably pass on the mx310. It only has one side button on each side, so I would probably opt to just stick with a new 1.1a in that case.

From what I've seen, the G5 (and G3) is an inferior mouse to the mx518 (and to the mx500 and mx310, and even my good ol' 1.1a @ 1000hz) as far as the optical engine's tracking is concerned (reference). So I was looking into the mx518 and mx500, but found out they only have the two side buttons on one side.

The biggest reason for a change of mouse to me is giving the ring or pinky finger something to do. I use arrows for FPS's which means I don't have a lot of keys close by for weapon binds. So that puts the mx518/mx500 g9 g7 and death adder out of the running. The only one I had seen was the lachesis, but I really don't care about it's 4000dpi and can't justify the price of 80 for a mouse that I would be buying solely for those extra side buttons.

So, fuzzy yzzuf, the diamondback 3g looks like a good mouse for me to look into. I found a place that says it has adjustable dpi, but I can't find that on the razer website. Is it adjustable and if so, what are available dpi settings?

Another concern I have is regarding the feet: The odd shape means I can't just use my mouse skates that I use on my intellimouse. So do the feet wear down? I'd have to find skates that fit it or uncut teflon "tape".

One last question: How does the wheel feel? The 1.1a has these sort of soft bumps you feel where the wheel stays in place but moves easily. Can't really describe it well, but I've used mice that don't have that and it's too easy to accidentally trigger a scroll. I've also ones that are too "tight". I prefer the feel of the intellimouse's scroll, but if I would have to compromise, I would choose tight over loose any day.

Thanks again guys.

The diamond bakc g3 has adjustable dpi, seetings are 450, 900 and 1800. As far as mouse skates I have never used them or ever had a problem with mice feet wearing out as I typically replace my mice every 2 months or so :). The wheel feels exactly like every other razer mouse. If you havent used a razer then....it is very smooth feeling scrolling with a sublte indent at each click. Not as pronounced as a logitech mx518/g5/g9 also not quite as pronounced as an MS intellipoint. Just enough to actually make the scroll stop. Also the scroll wheels aren't quite free moving as other mice, they have a little tension to them where as ms and logitech mice have almost no tension. Think of it as an exercise bike with a tension set:) If you lived near me I would say come by and try out about 20 diff gaming mice lol :)
 
Well that sounds good. If I did end up getting it, I guess I'd try the 450 dpi first. Why do you replace your mice so often? I don't like changing anything as far as mousing for fps games. I'd take you up on that offer if I wasn't 2000 miles away from you.

If you use a lot of mice, do you also try a bunch of different keyboards and mouse pads? As I said, I use the arrow keys not wasd for moving around, so I was looking for a keyboard in which the arrow keys are merged into either the numpad or the six ins, home, etc keys. Something where instead of there being empty space to the left and right of the arrow keys, there were keys. Here's one I found with the sort of layout I want: http://www.xoxide.com/ideazon-merc-keyboard.html
It's kind of pointless for me to buy that keyboard if I don't plan on using that pad to the left and just want that sort of layout for the arrow keys. So if you, or anyone else reading, knows of a keyboard like that, let me know.

Finally, if you do try a bunch of mousepads, have you tried the ulti-mat? Only recently have I started using a mousing surface (used to use the top of my old computer -- steel), and I got a steelpad which has worn down over time. Ulti-mat looks interesting.
 
I have used the following mouse pads

Ratpadz
Ratpadz GS
fUnc surface 1030 orange trim
fUnc F-Series

Both the ratpadz wore down very quickly due to their texture.

My func 1030 has slight wear but since its a smooth surface compared to the Ratpadz it doesnt affect performance.

I like the F-series because its big and has the same surface as the smoother side of the orange trim 1030.
 
Logitech mx1000 laser. It is cheap, no extra crap you dont need but plenty of useful feature and side buttons, immense battery life, durable and comfortable and it looks good too.
 
I had a MS Habu for about 3 or 4 months. Easily one of the best mouses ever used. I highly prefer the MS mouse shapes over the logitechs usually. But the right mouse button wore out and starting constantly dbl clicking for single clicks. I right click constantly. Kind of dissappointing.

Got a Logi MX Revolution. Its defintely not as revolutionary as its hyped on the box. But its not bad. I like the 2 buttons on the side. Scroll wheel is to flimsy though and hard to use as an actual button. The wireless receiver is weak also, very small usb plug. I have to keep it plugged into one of my front USB ports or the mouse responds eratically. Other than that though its doing a decent job.

Will probably get something else here in a cpl months. Yet to find a mouse as good as my original MS Intellimouse ball mouse.
 
Well that sounds good. If I did end up getting it, I guess I'd try the 450 dpi first. Why do you replace your mice so often? I don't like changing anything as far as mousing for fps games. I'd take you up on that offer if I wasn't 2000 miles away from you.

If you use a lot of mice, do you also try a bunch of different keyboards and mouse pads? As I said, I use the arrow keys not wasd for moving around, so I was looking for a keyboard in which the arrow keys are merged into either the numpad or the six ins, home, etc keys. Something where instead of there being empty space to the left and right of the arrow keys, there were keys. Here's one I found with the sort of layout I want: http://www.xoxide.com/ideazon-merc-keyboard.html
It's kind of pointless for me to buy that keyboard if I don't plan on using that pad to the left and just want that sort of layout for the arrow keys. So if you, or anyone else reading, knows of a keyboard like that, let me know.

Finally, if you do try a bunch of mousepads, have you tried the ulti-mat? Only recently have I started using a mousing surface (used to use the top of my old computer -- steel), and I got a steelpad which has worn down over time. Ulti-mat looks interesting.


I replace mouse often because I have a mouse fetish. I also have many gaming keyboards:logitech g15, ms recluse, razer tarantula, ideazone merc stealth, ideazone zboard. My fav is the merc stealth because I really enjoy the gaming pad as well as with the software you can assign macros to any single key on the board. As far as mouse pads I have also got quite a few lol. Have a Ratpadz, razer exactmat, 2 diff funcpads (different texture). For me the best trackign for lazer mice is the exactmat it also has 2 different sides for different textures. The best tracking for optical is the funcpad.
 
I really enjoy my Steelseries SP and Copperhead. Thats just me though. :)

http://www.steelseries.com/us/products/surfaces/sp/information

http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=11

On the Copperhead, it isn't big and bulky like the logitech ones. It's quite light and small. And the figer buttons are made out of rubber for better grip. :)


The only downside is that most games won't let me set the sensitivity low enough for me to be comfortable with. (I play with .45 sensitivity on Counter-Strike: Source)
 
i vot razer diamondback, bought mine on woot for $15 "it was brand new not a referb like it said woot" and i love it
 
I have a mouse which has 2 buttons on the [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']left[/FONT] side, [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']but not each side[/FONT], called the death adder.

I only know of 3 types of mouse which does not need maintenance; optical, laser and infa-red of which I would choose the infa-red because of it's high IPS and relatively high DPI.

Anyway, considering what you have stated, a death adder maybe a good choice, depending on your hand. Just don't forget to couple it with a good mouse pad. Icemat 2 is one which last long but may not be the best.

This is really personal opiniated so you have to try it out.
 
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