5punk

Sooo... my faithful mx518 logitech computer mouse seems to be dying after many, many years of faithful service. The buttons don't seem to respond properly anymore and it might be just a hair that got into it or something, but it's probably just it's time. I'll take it apart completely later but in case it's dead, what is the gaming mouse du jour at the moment?
I've pretty much already decided that I want another logitech, as this one was pretty amazing and logitech seems to do good stuff. I could just get another mx518, but I'm considering getting one with more buttons. The only requisite required is that it's wired and preferably a logitech, but if there are other great mice out there suggest away.

I will make a personalized drawing for whoever gives me the best answer in the form of a poem. (haikus are allowed)

The Logitech G400 is a sort of MX518 remake, but it you're looking for a change, the G500 is probably better.

Also check out the MadCatz R.A.T. 7 and the Razer DeathAdder.

Dunno.

I've a Razer DeathAdder on my side, it seems quite good. Not actually plugged it in yet despite having it for a month. Will review afterwards.

I think Anery has a Razer Deathadder. It's a monster of a mouse, but he likes it. I'd be interested in a 5punky opinion of a RAT - they look hideous and gimmicky to me, but PCG seemed to rate the one they tested. My Razer Diamondback still works as well as the day I bought it about 5 years ago, but the rubberised coating on the buttons is pretty shoddy now so I've been considering a replacement for a while too.

I don't have any firsthand experience with razer, but I've heard from others that they're good performance wise but don't last long. Pants disproved that just now but I don't like the lights on it, or the name. Neither of that should stop me from buying it, but this thread is probably useful for other potential mouse buyers. The RAT might be good, but it's pretty damn expensive for a mouse.
Maybe it's a good idea to catalogue these kinds of threads for future reference?

I have a SteelSeries Xai. Came highly recommended on a trawl through gaming/hardware forums. I love its understated design, it's really comfortable and has a good amount of settings but it's a bit expensive. It does give me pixel skipping in BF3 though. You can fix it by putting the DPI down in game and up on the mouse, but you'll need to use the button on top to switch between 2 DPI settings, otherwise the cursor will move uncontrollably fast in the menus.

I had a Logitech G500 but sent it back as the scroll wheel was pretty loose and it did both a down and right click at the same time - it seemed a common problem. That's an issue I have with Logitech at the moment, their QA is pretty suspect. I also found the side buttons out of reach, although I do have small hands, but they were also far too small and hard to press.

Mr. Johnson wrote:Maybe it's a good idea to catalogue these kinds of threads for future reference?

I have an idea about that, might set something up later.

Oddly enough, it seems to be behaving perfectly fine now.

Mr. Johnson wrote:I don't have any firsthand experience with razer, but I've heard from others that they're good performance wise but don't last long.

Well, my Razer Copperhead lasted a good few years (3/4+?), and the only reason why I've bought a new one is because I never got around to fixing it, it's looking a bit worn and really, I just fancied a new mouse.

Said fix is simply adding a dab of epoxy to a bit of plastic coming down from the left button which presses the microbutton on the PCB, it only needs the fix because I've used it so much that I've indented the plastic. Everything else works perfectly fine. Now I've got some epoxy, I might get around to it on Sunday morning.

It was a very good mouse though.

Thompy wrote:I do have small hands

Actually, this is a very good point. Whether you have big gorrilla hands or tiny elfin digits can make a big difference as to which meece feel nice and which feel all wrong.

I replaced my MX518 with a G5, which was great, but when that finally gave up I went for the G500, which was supposed to be its successor. The side buttons aren't quite in the same place though - too far forward, and the default sensitivity settings don't match the G5's, so it took me a bit of fiddling until it felt right.

I did try a Microsoft Sidewinder Gaming mouse for a while, but it just felt horrible.

My hands are fairly large so the too forward buttons shouldn't provide me with too much problems. Anyway, amazon offered the G500 pretty cheap so I went ahead and ordered it. My mx518 is acting normally again but when it does go I'll at least have a replacement ready. I probably just fancy a new mouse though.

I recently got a Logitech G500 after months of not being able to find a decent mouse. I don't have the biggest hands in the world (especially as I can't even straighten the damn things), but it's the only mouse that doesn't feel like I'm holding something designed in Lilliput. In short, I like it a lot. Plus it's got a good weight to it so it doesn't fly around the place.

Right, now I have a lovely new keyboard and I'm only mis-typing every other word on it I think it's time to replace my rodent. I had a play with Anery's R.A.T 7 and that was quite nice, weighty and comfortable although it's pretty fugly, but I feel I should do a bit more research. There seems to be assloads of the blighters out there (a nest of them, if you will), so as part of my research I thought I'd put my criteria to you lovely bummers. I would like:

A big, ideally metal in structure, scrolly-wheel. The one on my Diamondback is fucking awful.
A bit heavy. I liked how solid the RAT was.
Fairly big main buttons.
A couple of thumb clickables. Not too many, I'll probably only use two.
Ideally not hideously garish. I can live with the RAT's mechano look, but some garish pink thing with flashing lights which plays tunes is right out.

I'm aware that there have already been loads mentioned here, but I don't really know how they fit in reference to my preferences. I'll be off to research now though.

Well, I quite like my Razer Deathadder after finally getting around to plugging it in 3 and a bit months after I bought it, though you might find it a bit garish.

Also the lower bits are proper full on glossy smooth plastic with which the tiniest bit of finger grease/oil turn into a near frictionless surface, causing your thumb and pinky to slide around a bit.

Mouseses are probably the hardest thing to recommend due to ergonomics and grip style being so individual. What I said above about my Xai still holds true, and I'm happy to tell people I like it, but on second thoughts I'm not sure I'd want to tell someone to buy it. Check it out at least.

That wasn't helpful, I know.

The Razer mice all seem to have a similar thing going on but in varying sizes. I decided to try to be a bit more specific about my requirements in order to narrow it down;

Scrolly Wheel - Still stands, it has to be weighty and solid.
Ergonomics - I identified how I hold my mouse, which is with my thumb and little finger (a claw grip, rather than a palm grip). Based on that I decided that a narrower back end and concave sides would be good, and a flange base would be bad. I also find that the concave buttons of my Diamondback feel very good, so that would be a plus too.
Buttons - Large main buttons for frantic mashing, at least two thumb buttons slightly forward of the middle of the mouse length. Another one in the thumb region, or by the side of the LMB are a bonus but not essential. Again, this has been gauged on how I hold my current mouse.
Looks - I like something understated but expensive looking. Lights aren't too bad (I've not seen one that was too garish), crazy colour schemes or lots of knobbly bits not so good. A game advertisement on them is an absolute no-no.

On those criteria I came up with the following shortlist:

Corsair Vengeance M60
This has a little head start because I have the Corsair keyboard and I'm a bit OCD like that. However it's the shooter mouse, as opposed to the MMO keyboard I have. I prefer the M60 to the M90 because it looks to have a comfortable spread of three accessible buttons for the thumb, but two are quite small and one is supposed to adjust DPI (although I think it can be configured however you like). The scrolly wheel looks to be rubber-tracked metal, which is nice, and the aluminium base should make it sturdy and substantial. I'm a bit worried about the back end and flangy base, given how I hold the mouse, and the buttons under the scrolly wheel are useless to me.



Logitech G500
This was the far nicer looking choice of Logitech mouse compared to the G9x, which is an ugly monster of a thing. It looks to be a meaty size, with grippy pads where I'd be gripping it, and a slightly concave side. The scrolly wheel looks to be either metal or silver plastic, I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and the rusty metal effectr is actually pretty nice. The thumb buttons look a little small though, and the overall rounded shape is of concern.



Razer Imperator
As mentioned above, the Razer mice are all a similar shape, but it was the Imperator which looked like the most likely candidate. Ergonomically it's pretty good - a nice cutout where I'd grip, big concave buttons and a high back end. I think the thumb buttons are adjustable too, which is awesome, even if they're a little small. The scrolly wheel is glowing plastic though, and that's where I've had the most issues with my current Razer. It looks pretty bland, and the two under-scrolly-wheel buttons are, again, useless.



Roxxat Kone +
This is, I think, the cheaper sibling of the Kone V2, but it's the one which looks the better option again for me. The scrolly wheel is plastic but at least it has a well notched texture, and the thumb buttons are a good size and placement. It looks comfortable to grip, pretty similar in shape to the Imperator above actually, but without the concave buttons. It looks pretty nice I think, and the lit bands can change colour.



Saitek Cyborg R.A.T
The RAT is the only one of the selection here I've had hands-on. It feels weighty and solid, but ergonomically a little uncomfortable. However, it's entirely adjustable so that might have just been the way Anery had his set up for his own gnarled claws. The scrolly wheel is solid and clunky, a lovely thing, and the buttons are nicely placed and adjustable. It looks like its name might suggest though, and is the one least likely to draw compliments from non-gaming visitors. Because of its hugely adjustable nature it's still much of an unknown quantity despite me having played with one.



TTeSports Theron
Okay, daft name aside this one surprised me by coming out of nowhere. It looks really comfortable with its big batwing buttons and cut-out sides, and the thumb buttons are of a good size if slightly too far forward. The lights can change colour (including this fetching magenta), and apart from the big lion it looks pretty good. But again we have a plastic scrolly wheel.

Forget about the G500. The two thumb buttons and the two next to LMB are tiny and a bitch to press. Mine also had a common scroll wheel problem - it would do both a right scroll and button 3 press simultaneously. While those actions wouldn't cause a problem with most applications and games, I still felt a double click which was annoying. The wheel is also a rubbery wobbly jobby™.

That works out well then. The only opinion she had on the selection was that the G500 looked like a turd.

While I like my G500, it doesn't fit your requirements. The wheel is very light - plastic sides with a rubber strip, which suits me fine, but isn't what you want. The thumb side buttons aren't very well positioned, with only the rear one being reachable without changing my grip, but I don't ever really use them, the other buttons by the LMB are just for changing the sensitivity. It does have adjustable weights, which I have set at the heaviest, as it's really light without them. It's also switchable between smooth and notched scroll - which is a handy option in some applications.

I would hate all those other ones because they have edges and gaps rather than being rounded and smooth, but that's just me. Go into a big PC World or somewhere and slap your paws on them to see what you like.

You might consider the MS Sidewinder, at least to have a feel.



The slideout thing is where the adjustable weights go, the wheel is metal, the side buttons pretty chunky and easy to reach and the little display on the left shows the sensitivity which is quite cool. I didn't get on with the angular feel of it, which I never really got used to - but I guess functionally it was okay. There are a few different models, X5, X8 etc some of which have smooth or notched scroll.

I have a G500 and I do agree the thumb buttons are not very well placed but you adapt to them without too much trouble. I really dig the ability to switch to the freespinning wheel. It's pretty solid but I don't have much to compare it to besides my old 2nd Gen. G5 that the G500 replaced.