Should I buy a $100 mouse?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Should I buy a $100 mouse?

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Khorne: May 1, 2002

Does anyone know where I can buy a pink or light blue zowie mico? Google, the zowie site, and ebay have failed me.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2012 20:50

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 11:06

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Retardog posted:

After 14 years, my original Microsoft Intellimouse Optical called it quits. I need a replacement, but I can't seem to find anything close other than the Razer Naga. I'm a lefty and I use the mouse with my left hand, so I'd prefer either a lefty or ambidextrous mouse with five buttons. I'd prefer not to spend over fifty bucks, but knowing that I'm in the minority when it comes to using mice on the left side, I'll take what I can get.

Zowie AM and the AM-GS are two solid options. I am also left handed and use an Intellimouse Optical 1.1a, but I use it in my right hand. I think the AM is closer to $60 unfortunately, but I am debating picking one up to replace my IMO1.1.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2012 18:16

Khorne: May 1, 2002

nimh posted:

There a proper replacement for this mouse yet?

Zowie AM is kind of close, but I haven't bit that bullet yet. I'm in the same boat. I still use that mouse. The scroll wheel thing is the only annoyance that mouse has. It's otherwise perfect.

edit: Sensei is not close. Kinzu v2 is close but doesn't have the side buttons which makes it worthless. Kana is alright and a mouse I want to try. Just look up the dimensions for the IMO 1.1 / WMO 1.1 and compare it to current mice. I did it a little while ago. Nothing seemed to really stand out.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Apr 6, 2012

# ¿ Apr 5, 2012 02:45

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Argas posted:

I've never heard of Logitech being a company that churns out lovely or defective products but has stellar customer support to compensate.

The Logitech G5 was terrible. Mostly due to its sensor. It was one of the best laser sensors available at the time, but optical was still (and sort of still is) the way to go in the sensor dpeartment. They went with laser because it was "the future" or something. Who knows. Anything else questionable about that mouse was immediately visible by looking at it. It was well constructed, but you can only polish the turd that was the G5's sensor so much.

I've no idea if the G500 used a better sensor or not. I have an MX518 that refuses to die if I feel like using a mouse of that size and shape. I RMAd the G5 multiple times in the first 3 months I owned it before giving it to a family member. With their usage pattern it lasted for around two years before breaking.

With that out of the way, Logitech consistently makes decent mice. If you like the size and shape of their flagship MX518/G5XX then they will not disappoint you. You can't find a better mouse. Zowie and CoolerMaster also make great mice with no driver/firmware bullshit, no flash at the cost of quality, and no "haha we cut 2 cents on this one part for our $100 gaming mouse that costs $5 to make, it's going to suck or break for sure" fuckery that is so prevalent in premium mice. Microsoft made great mice at a great price, but with today's resolutions you need around 600-800 dpi and they weren't there at the time.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Oct 16, 2012

# ¿ Oct 16, 2012 04:26

Khorne: May 1, 2002

SC Bracer posted:

This seems like a good place to ask so, does anyone know any decent mice below $20 that I can use for gaming/general stuff? I'm not really in a position to blow tons of money on a mouse, but I want something reasonably not poo poo because of all the clicking.

At around $30 there is the Logitech G100S and Zowie Mico. The mico is great as long as you don't have really wide hands.

# ¿ Jun 8, 2013 16:51

Khorne: May 1, 2002

nftyw posted:

dpi is pretty unimportant and it's basically there for marketing huge numbers like they did during the Gigahertz wars for CPUs. Quite a few gamers stick with something with lower dpi, maybe around a thousand or so, and many swear by the old Intellimouse Opticals due to them not having issues with hardware prediction or angle snapping or whatever they call that stuff.

If you like the feel of smaller mice I always like to plug Logitech's G1/G100/G100s, though if you go to a best buy or someplace to look at mice you're likely to only find the G100s since the prior models pretty much only took off in Korea for Starcraft.

As a personal anecdote, I used Logitech's MX300 (essentially the precursor to the G1) for at least five or six years before I started having problems with it clicking, at which time I ordered a G1 from South Korea and found that aside from an upgraded sensor it really is virtually the same.

The Logitech G100s is a very good mouse, and it's about drat time they brought the model back to the US and put a decent sensor in it. I'd highly recommend picking it up. I picked one up when my mico started dying and I had to RMA it, and I've switched to the G100s permanently. If you hunt around and wait for deals you can one pick up for $30 or so (I think newegg has them for $33 with free shipping).

Unfortunately, logitech still decided to put a weight in the g100s. And they still decided to make removing the weight void the warranty. I voided my warranty because it's not worth the RSI risk for me.

The other weird thing about the logitech g1/g100/g100s series is the shape on the right side of the mouse. Maybe it's just me, but it interferes with my ring finger something fierce. It sticks out the farthest right where my second knuckle is hitting it. It was pretty awkward at first, but it's completely irrelevant or maybe even a bonus in actual use. Then again, I'm 6'1 with wide hands and like to use tiny mice like the mico and g100s with a palm (or hybrid palm) grip. The mico is a little bit too slim, but the g100s is perfect width wise.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Jul 13, 2013

# ¿ Jul 13, 2013 23:30

Khorne: May 1, 2002

What's the best way to get an RMA with logitech? I had to RMA my G5 like 3 times before I gave up and went back to my old mouse. I think I did it through their website or email. Is phone better? I decided to give logitech another chance because my Mx510 from practically a decade ago still works perfectly and my mx518 is also holding strong. The g100s came out and it's exactly what I expected at a great price, $25. Except the left click stopped working properly after 3-4 months of use. The switch presses, but only half of the presses register. Also, is it possible to get them to send you one before you send yours in?

Also, does opening the mouse void the warranty? The weight pretty much triggered my RSI so I had to remove it. Heavy mice suck anyway. It's the actual switch for left mouse that is faulty and there's no way to damage that while opening the mouse. It makes the loud clicking noise and actuates, but left click just doesn't happen 1/3 times. There's also a bunch of reviews starting to crop up from people who have owned it for 3-5 months with a similar problem.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Dec 16, 2013

# ¿ Dec 16, 2013 15:02

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Logitech RMA process went really smooth. That was way easier than I remembered it being. They accepted a screen capture of my amazon purchase history as a receipt with no questions asked.

TychoCelchuuu posted:

So I haven't read through all 100 pages or whatever, but what do people think about mouse pads? My Belkin cloth mouse pad that I've had for eight years is getting worn away enough that it's sort of gripping my mouse more than I'd like. Should I buy a $10 SteelSeries mouse pad or is that for chumps or what? Do I want a massive hunk of stainless steel or a cloth "almost a napkin" pad or what? With the exception of very short stints on other peoples' computers I've used like four mouse pads my entire life so I don't really know what sort of things are out there that I might like. I play games and stuff, so precision and ease of movement would be nice.

I am pretty anal about mice and mousepads, but it's really different strokes for different folks as long as they track fine when it comes to mousepads. And everything tracks fine these days.

SteelSerie's cloth pads, qck and its variants, are pretty solid and cheap. QCK mass or any of the thicker ones will wear out a bit faster due to flayed edges than the super flat ones, but they are cushioned so they are more comfortable when you aren't playing intense games. If you don't care how it looks then it will probably last for 3-4 years. Considering they're around ten dollars, who cares. Some nice benefits are they're easy to clean, just toss them in the dishwasher or wash them in the sink. They don't wear out the feet of your mouse either, so mouse skates might as well not exist.

There's probably better or equivalent cloth pads from competitors around now, too. I just haven't bothered looking into them because I still have around 8 packaged qcks of various kinds sitting around that I got for free.

Then there's hard pads of various types, rough pads, and a bunch of other stuff. I'd say skip the hassle unless you really, really like to use your mouse on a very smooth or rough surface. Then have fun with the maintenance, picking the right pad, how loud some of there are, mouse skates wearing out, and all that junk.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Dec 18, 2013

# ¿ Dec 17, 2013 23:47

Khorne: May 1, 2002

nimh posted:

Any decent updates for this?

Zowie AM and Zowie FK are decent updates. The AM keeps the same lovely dome shape while the FK makes it much more comfortable to lift.

Not sure about side buttons, because having no side buttons is a plus to me.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2013 16:52

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Horizontal Tree posted:

I hear all these stories about Logitech having the best support, but I bought an M705 that wouldn't connect to its receiver out of the box and they wouldn't replace it because I didn't have a receipt.

It has been two days and I didn't get a response from their support yet. The other two times I had to RMA my g100s it was quick, but this is the third time in the year I've had that mouse fail to the same thing. The left click stops registering consistently despite actuating and making clicky noises. It really sucks because the g100s is the only mouse I've liked from logitech in ages, and if I could get one with a left mouse button that didn't die in 2-4 months I'd probably use it forever.

I should probably start looking for a new mouse. Are there any mice made today with decent sensors, not necessarily high dpi given I use 800-1200 generally, that have the durability of the MX518/MX510? Preferably not the bulk or weight of those. Something g100s sized or like a wider zowie mico would be ideal. I don't care about number of buttons. One or two side buttons are a slight plus, but I live without them currently and can continue to do so.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 22:58 on May 27, 2014

# ¿ May 27, 2014 22:55

Khorne: May 1, 2002

JohnnyCanuck posted:

Did you submit a web ticket, or did you call? Phone support is the way to go with Logitech, I poo poo you not.

I usually just use web support. I still have an MX518 around so it's no real rush. I just realized yesterday was a holiday, which is probably why there is a delay this time.

# ¿ May 28, 2014 02:24

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Yo dude who works for logitech, can you get me a g100s where the left mouse button won't die after 2-3 months of use, I've RMAD 4x times now and I'm going for a 5th, please help

Alternatively, what's going on with the switch to make it not register being pressed down a portion of the time even though it still makes a clicking noise and can I fix it myself? It's always the same way that it goes, maybe 1/100 clicks won't register, than it increases until it's like 1/2 clicks. Oh well, at least the mouse is still usable and they don't make me send them back. I just don't see how sending me 5 and probably 6/7/8 mice is going to be profitable for logitech.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Dec 25, 2014

# ¿ Dec 25, 2014 23:20

Khorne: May 1, 2002

wolrah posted:

Every Logitech mouse I've ever owned has done the same thing after a year or two.

That said, both of my housemates bought Razer mice a few months ago and they're already having the same problem, so it's not like the competition is better.

I don't buy razer products in general. I'm not sure how I feel about logitech mice. On one hand they made the mx518 (and the mx500/mx510/mx300/mx310 weren't bad prior although we can sperg about why they aren't viable to use now) and I'm pretty sure the one I bought at release is going to never break despite having 20x more hours of use/abuse/clicks than any other mouse I've owned except the IMO 1.1a, on the other they made the G3 & G5 which were probably some of the worst mice ever released. The g100s pretty much owns except for the lmb dying all the drat time. Their customer support is great so I guess it's okay. I like the smaller form logitech mice in general and wish they received more love.

Zowie products generally last too, but if you ever do have trouble (cord tends to go if you put any strain on it at all, at least on the mico, sometimes you get a mouse with a defective part and have to rma) you either have to fix it yourself or buy a new one because their customer service is trash despite making an otherwise awesome product. If they decide to approve the RMA sometimes the process can take literal months. I might end up picking an fk2 in between the g100s rma. Not really sure. I don't really want to pay $60 for a mouse unless it's like a g100s that is never going to break or something.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Dec 26, 2014

# ¿ Dec 26, 2014 00:12

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Does anyone have opinions on the asus strix claw? Besides the godawful sniper button that I am ready to open the mouse and physically disable, it seems like exactly what I am looking for. I fingertip grip and can fingertip or claw grip an mx518 so its size shouldn't be an issue. I also regularly use a g100s which is small.

Also, if you've never opened up an mx518 before the build quality is really nice. Somehow one of the connectors came loose on mine after a decade and well over 10,000 hours of abuse and it was flicking on and off while sitting idle on my desk. 10 minutes later it was working flawlessly again. I was pretty surprised at just how well built it is compared to modern mice. The cable entry is naive compared to something like the g402 and the pcb is clunky compared to modern ones, but it's otherwise great quality. It's actually like opening a prototype because of a few strange design decisions. These pictures aren't mine and don't really do it justice:

Everything is very secure and it fits together amazing. Prior to this I had only really opened the g100s, g402, and some zowie mice to recable them for friends. And drat the zowie and g100s build quality is straight rear end while the g402 chassis design is poor.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2015 19:46

Khorne: May 1, 2002

I'd avoid the g100s. The left click becomes faulty really quickly. I RMAd it 5 times in around 24 months for the same problem. The marketing bullshit says "we clicked it 8 million times" but I'm pretty sure the switch stopped registering properly long before 8 million clicks. It's an otherwise solid mouse with no issues. The high lift off distance is a non-factor unless you are used to a very low one to begin with. Most older mice (think mx518 and the intellimouse gen mice) have a functionally similar lift off distance so it's not like you're going to lift it up and have it track an inch off the pad or something like some ancient mice. Either way, it's something you adapt to quickly in either direction and won't impact play if you give it some time.

The 518 was a good mouse a few years ago, but since 2011-2012 or so manufacturers have been focusing pretty heavily on making actual good mice instead of dumb cpi/laser gimmicks. They still have gimmicks, but you can usually disable them. There are lots of mice that are just as good if not better now.

Pick one with the shape and features you want and a decent sensor. The 3310 (listed as Avago 3310 or Pixart PMW3310) is really solid and in tons of different mice that are aiming to get a piece of the quality hardware market. There are other options as well, but I have to go.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Mar 27, 2015

# ¿ Mar 27, 2015 21:15

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Chillyrabbit posted:

Zowie mice have no drivers and they have several different models that can be had for 55-70 USD. Look at the FK and EC series.

Zowie mice have obnoxious dpi steps though. Something like 450/1150/something stupid high which is okay I guess because 1150 is usable but bizarre or 400/800/1600 on certain mice entirely missing the 1000-1200 range which is roughly where you want to be at 1920x1080. And no way to change those steps. I'd avoid them for that reason alone. They are made from quality stuff and have great shapes if the dpi doesn't thing bother you. I'd also check out the warranty before buying one. Not a big deal to me, but for some people it might be.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 10:31 on Mar 31, 2015

# ¿ Mar 31, 2015 10:26

Khorne: May 1, 2002

GreenBuckanneer posted:

I have an MX 518 that the scroll wheel isn't spinning anymore, so I'm in the market for perhaps a slight upgrade. I was thinking of something with more buttons for the sameish price, but I'm not sure which one to get. G400 or G700? Or something else?

Not spinning in what way? Open it up. It's probably fixable without any tools besides the phillips screwdriver used to open the mouse.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2015 03:14

Khorne: May 1, 2002

I have an asus strix claw and while I love it the contacts for the left mouse button are going and I just got this mouse on march 24th. That's like two months. Each click still registers just fine, the problem is if I hold the mouse button down except in a very specific way it will reclick mid movement and also resend a down+up event when I let go. I'm going to RMA it and hope for the best, but in the mean time I'd like a new mouse.

Only real requirements are that I can set it to 1000 dpi and some setting between 400 and 800 (400,500,800, don't care, it's for fps games so I can scale in-game sensitivity), and that it's not a brick to hold. Also no tons of buttons that are going to interfere with holding the mouse. I have an mx518 and wmo1.1a that still work so I'm not mouseless. Strix claw actually has the best shape I've ever held, and I don't claw grip.

And the strix claw is shaped like this:

I really like the height of it especially (supposedly ~45mm but the mx518 is supposedly ~38mm and is the same height or a tiny bit taller while actually being held), length and width aren't as important.

edit: Apparently you can open it up and spray contact cleaner on stuff and it might fix it. I also have replacement switches for it because they're like 50 cents and it uses Omron D2F-01F switches, but I'm not sure if I want to RMA or open it up and work on it myself. I'm going with the RMA because I think my mouse3 might be defective. It's prohibitively difficult to press, and no reviews mention that being an issue. I don't use mouse3 so it's no big deal to me, but I should probably RMA it before voiding the warranty just to find out.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Jun 8, 2015

# ¿ Jun 7, 2015 02:08

Khorne: May 1, 2002

nftyw posted:

Looks like a Razer Mamba knockoff? I got a few of another knockoff brand, the e-blue cobra (jr.) which looks much like that though less tall of a palm hump, I took a ruler and 45mm is pretty darn high. Main reason I got those cobras were being that they were so stupid cheap (like a few bucks?) that I couldn't resist. My nephew still uses one on his computer though lately he's been on his Xbone more often so I dunno if it's held up, they are knockoffs for a reason.

It doesn't have much in common with the mamba. The scroll wheel looks similar, they both use omron switches but most mice do, and the similarity ends there because the strix claw has a better sensor and is shorter+fatter+taller/"higher" with better side buttons, on-board settings, and a braided cable. They have pretty different shapes.

I'm actually really beginning to hate the omron switches that are so common in mice today. I always run into problems with them within a few months of use. On the plus side they're like 50 cents each if you want to solder new ones on, on the negative side having to do that poo poo 6 times per year is ridiculous. I'm going with an RMA because I'm not sure if mouse3 is defective or not on my mouse. It's mostly irrelevant to me, but if I am having switch issues then I might as well find out for sure on that one before voiding my warranty. No reviews mentioned it being difficult to press, and there is an actual decent review or two of the mouse.

I don't think there's a better switch on the market or anything, but it's really annoying and the only common failure point on modern quality mice.

I suppose 45mm is a bit of a lie, because the mx518 is supposedly ~36mm-38mm and is functionally the same height or even slightly taller when it comes to places your hand is actually resting on. The strix claw does have a nice high design to it, and it's one of the only mice I've used where i don't have to rest my pinky finger on the mousepad & off the mouse to get my ring finger in a decent position. The mx518/g400s' design unfortunately requires you to put your pinky on the mousepad because only your ring finger can fit under the right cliff. While the entire mouse is well designed, the right side of the strix claw is literal mouse grip heaven for me.

I ordered a CM Storm Xornet on sale for $15 just to check out the shape of that mouse and hold me over. Roccat Kone Pure Military seemed like an alright mouse too, but it's way too expensive for a temporary mouse.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 18:06 on Jun 8, 2015

# ¿ Jun 8, 2015 17:45

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Gwyrgyn Blood posted:

I wonder who used to make the switches in these old WMO's because I've got a couple that are coming up on a decade old that still work fine. Because Omrons are indeed terrible and I have no idea if anyone out there uses anything better.

Zowie uses Huano but I haven't heard enough one way or another to know if they have life span issues or not.

Do you have to replace the mouse feet every time you fix a switch or are they reusable to any degree?

There was one mouse out there where you could actually access the switches without taking off the feet but I'm drawing a blank on which one it was.

On the g100s, and a few other mice, you can literally ram a screwdriver through the pad and it won't even change the feel of how the mouse moves. I suppose with other mice you can use some form of adhesive or 2 way tape or just putting them back if you remove the feet to unscrew it. Lots of companies offer replacement feet.

On the strix claw I haven't tried. I'm unsure where the screw is. I think the screw is actually behind the label with the serial number and busting through it voids the warranty. Just feeling around there may be additional screws under the feet but probably/hopefully not because asus doesn't offer replacement feet.

The mx518 supposedly uses omron d2fc-f-7n switches (same as g100s sort of). The only major difference is the mx518 shell encloses it from dust far better than the g100s and other body designs. That is maybe why the failure rate is higher. Nothing else makes too much sense, but I'm just taking shots in the dark because I don't know. Maybe button travel distance/design is different on some newer mouse designs and it hits the switch harder/differently or maybe omron's qc or production processes have changed. Qc alone likely isn't the answer because the d2f switches are sorted in japan instead of china but are the same switch as the d2fc. And both end up having similar issues in similar amounts of time. So I don't know really. I think the ms mice also used omron switches but I'm not 100% sure on that one. There is a microsoft branded omron switch so possibly, but I don't know exact models that used which switch.

The huano switches are fine. I'm a big mouse sperg who plays lots of genres and besides being a bit firmer I haven't had any extraordinary issues with them. Just a zowie I owned had huano, and it had wire issues and the width was too small for my hand so I didn't bother repairing it. Supposedly omron makes higher quality switches than huano, but I don't know any metrics or conclusive evidence. I'll go out on a limb and say they're probably similar quality. People started caring more about switches because one of the big gaming mice companies that made crap products for a while was using cheap garbage switches in expensive mice.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Jun 8, 2015

# ¿ Jun 8, 2015 18:57

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Gwyrgyn Blood posted:

There were some pics earlier in the thread about fixing the double click issue by fixing a metal plate in the switch that gets bent out of the correct shape. I dunno if dust is also a culprit or not but I've heard a lot of people claim it is.

This works for fixing double click issues that are really common in some mice as long as that's why the issue is happening.

quote:

I didn't mind the Huano switches in the Zowie FK I used for a little bit, but it had a number of other design issues that turned me off from it. I might give them another try in the future, but for the time being I'm sticking with any company that can give me a 3+ year warranty and has decent RMA service.

I agree that zowie has other issues and that I also had no complaint about their switch choice.

# ¿ Jun 8, 2015 19:54

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Feminition posted:

So, my Xornet died (and is now $50 rather than a cushy $20) and then my Sharkk died -- on my quest for cheap mice, I grabbed a Sentey Nebulus SP. It's actually not bad! Problem is, with my tiny baby hands it feels juuust a smidge too wide so that my usual index-left middle-right palm grip isn't too comfortable; instead, my grip settles so that my middle is on the scroll and my ring is on the right, going from two to three fingers. Is that like, a common enough grip that I can just get used to, or should I look for a thinner mouse?

Xornet is still $20 on amazon. I bought one the other day and checked the price before posting this reply.

It's an okay mouse, but some of the button positioning makes little sense to me. Like, scroll wheel is so far back that I have to curl up my finger to use it, but m5 is so far forward that I have to compromise my grip to hit it. I don't really get it. I can understand one or the other happening due to mismatched hand size, but with one of those you'd expect your hand to be small and with the other you'd expect it to be too big. It's also not really high enough, especially in the front. The g100s/zowie mico are effectively taller mice by a noticeable margin when you actually grip them, and they are my examples of tiny mice. I can use both of those despite having average-maybe big size hands, and I can use the xornet fine after some practice as long as I don't use m5.

It also has the unfortunate design decision of putting the sensor far back in the mouse relative to where it is held, similar to the 3/300 series logitech mice, which makes it pretty unusable in fps games for me.

If your hand fits it well and how you move the mouse doesn't care about sensor position then it's great. I mean honestly, all the hardware aspects of it are great. I can use it fine for general use and other genres. It's mostly design decisions that are making it definitely not my favorite mouse.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Jun 22, 2015

# ¿ Jun 22, 2015 06:11

Khorne: May 1, 2002

smoobles posted:

What's the best <$30 gaming mouse that doesn't look like a prop from Batman Forever?

CM Storm Xornet is $20 and decent. It could pass for a batman forever prop if you use your imagination, but it is also a mouse you could use at work without feeling shame. The logitech g100s is decent too and you can get refurbs for $15.

quote:

Also a secondary question: Is there a wireless mouse/keyboard that doesn't have lag?

They all have batteries so who cares about lag when you have to deal with that annoyance. A bunch of people like wireless stuff for some reason so you might get some better replies than that. But there is inherent latency in being wireless.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 08:08 on Jul 7, 2015

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 08:05

Khorne: May 1, 2002

betterinsodapop posted:

Do you guys buy/use mousepads anymore?

What kind of monster doesn't?

The 3310 doesn't track well on lots of surfaces. I even had tracking issues on an all black QCK because once it gets even the slightest bit reflective the sensor just calls it quits (doesn't track on an icemat v2 or glass either). Instead of washing my mousepad every few days I just bought a puretrak talent, and outside of swiping off dust with my grubby lil mitts every now and then it requires no maintenance. It is extraordinarily large though which sucks, but if I had a smaller desk I'd probably just cut it.

But yeah, $10 cloth pads are good enough unless you have a really great reason to get a hard surface. They're comfortable, low maintenance, last ages, and track well.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Aug 17, 2015

# ¿ Aug 17, 2015 22:24

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Gwyrgyn Blood posted:

I've used an Avior/Naos 7000 on a black QCK for years and never had a tracking problem.

I rest my hand on the mousepad while using the mouse (pinkie+sometimes even thumb+butt of my palm). It mostly has tracking issues when the sensor goes over where your palm has been resting. Which doesn't happen often, but it does happen in fps style games for me and that's the worst place to have the cursor stay still until it passes a part of your pad.

It tracks fine on the QCK surface itself, but it really was annoying having to clean it when I don't eat at my computer or anything. With the puretrak I just wipe it for dust every month or so. I used QCK stuff for ever and ever so I wasn't too excited to switch. I definitely prefer smooth pads though and the puretrak surface is smoother than the qck surface.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Aug 17, 2015

# ¿ Aug 17, 2015 22:43

Khorne: May 1, 2002

I took my asus strix claw apart and made my wildest dreams came true. A bit of contact cleaner sprayed on the switch fixed the left mouse button issue I was having where it would randomly not register left clicks and let go+reclick while holding it down.

Also if anyone else has the mouse and has difficulty flashing firmware I can do a write up on how to do it cleanly. Their newer firmware update exectuable is garbage and often doesn't work. You can use their older exectuable to flash the new firmware and it's problem free. The mouse actually acts like it's bricked when the new firmware updater fails. I have no clue what's going on with the QA there. It really is a great mouse that's really well built.

The only real issue some people might have with it is mouse3 (the scroll wheel button) takes a ridiculous amount of force to press. I haven't bothered to fix it because I simply don't use it outside of rarely scrolling on webpages with it where the 3-5x actuation force of a normal click at a weird angle is no big deal.

C-Euro posted:

Really dumb question, but what's the best way to clean a mousepad? I've noticed that mine is currently causing my mouse to be unresponsive to certain small motions (checked against my wife's pad which is much newer). I should probably just buy a new one but I'm too cheap to do so right now if I can take a wet cloth to it for 30 seconds tonight instead, or something.

You can literally throw pure traks in the washing machine and then in the dryer. Although anything else you put in the dryer with it will smell of rubber. Probably works with other cloth pads, but washing it by hand takes a similar amount of time and is much safer.

I usually just wet it with cold or warm water, put a bit of detergent on it, hand wash it, and rinse until I feel like all the detergent is gone. Then I hang it on something until it dries.

I guess you could use a foam upholstery cleaner instead of detergent, but I don't have that stuff on hand. I just use regular tide and spray it down in the ol bath tub.

Det_no posted:

Speaking of the G502, anyone got any tips for cleaning the rubber grip on the right and left sides of the mouse? They have those tiny little designs and grooves, gunk is getting in there and neither q-tips nor wet wipes (without alcohol) seem to get the job done.

Use something smaller and probably metal or plastic. I guess a toothpick might work or anything that you would clean fingernails or the bottom of shoes with.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 13:05 on Nov 29, 2015

# ¿ Nov 29, 2015 12:41

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Logitech always screws up the 300 series mice somehow. It's really weird because ever since I used the mx300 I've wanted to buy one, but every time I go to buy one they always have some ridiculous mistake going on. One generation had an awful sensor, another generation had a really lovely sensor position on the bottom of the mouse, and if you look at each generation there's something ridiculously wrong with it. The current generation has a really awful shape for some reason but is otherwise great. Like, they fixed everything, except they decided that instead of using the great shape people wanted to begin with they were going to go with a really bad shape.

It doesn't matter as much these days because there are a million quality mice brands now. Although logitech is one of the few you can try in stores.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2015 13:04

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Col.Kiwi posted:

Also I agree with the guy that said true palm grip is a minority, at least among gamers. It seems to me like it would just be straight up harder to be fast and accurate. At the end of the day though whatever is comfortable for you is The Right Way

Palm grip used to be super common in the cs1.6 scene. It probably still is in CSGO, although I see players use a bit higher sensitivity now on average than back in the day so fingertip/hybrid/claw kinda grips probably really caught on.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2015 04:41

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Gwyrgyn Blood posted:

I can't tell if the side flippers are actually functional buttons or not. That could actually be a really solid mouse considering it has ?stolen?borrowed? a very sensible design, and has a great sensor in it.

The design is very flawed. Lifting it is super awkward due to the shape. I say that as someone who used one well into 2012 and still has a working one.

It doesn't look like they made any improvement to that.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2015 18:26

Khorne: May 1, 2002

PERPETUAL IDIOT posted:

I would like to buy a decent mouse that will last me a while, but I don't need any side buttons, extra platforms for my hand, etc. basically just the scroll wheel. "Should I buy a $100 mouse?" if I do not need the extra bells and whistles?

Features and quality (mostly) of a $100 mouse in a $29.99 mouse: Cooler Master Xornet II

Some warning though, the stock lens scales dpi by *0.85 and it only steps in 250 dpi in software. Why? Who knows. Companies love making really dumb mistakes. It's otherwise a great mouse. I used one of my many g100s lenses and the dpi maps 1:1 and the mouse owns. Although I had to wrestle with the top foot for the better part of an hour to get it flush again.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Jun 3, 2016

# ¿ Jun 2, 2016 07:12

Khorne: May 1, 2002

mike12345 posted:

I'm using a Mx518 Logitech, and for a couple of weeks now it has this weird bug, where it stops moving for a second, and then starts moving again at a lower dpi. Anyone know what causes this?

It's likely turning off then on.

Lots of times you can just open the shell, firmly press the usb cable toward the pcb, and then close the shell to fix it. No wire repair or replacement necessary.

The Mx518 internals remind me of a prototype. It's that easy to work with.

# ¿ Jun 17, 2016 18:21

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Audax posted:

When I told my girlfriend I have an EC2-A coming in the mail (along with me running to best buy to grab the G303), she made this video to show me how ridiculous I am.

No xornet/xornet II. A shameful mouse collection. Was the second mouse a strix claw? As much as I wanted to love that mouse it had weird tracking issues despite using a sensor that generally doesn't have them.

Although with the xornet II you need to swap out the lens because apparently cm is brain dead and custom ordered a small lens with a *0.85 dpi multiplier. Real brilliant guys. The lens from a logitech g100s fits in perfectly and works great. Most of the negative reviews are reviewers not realizing the mouse doesn't actually have big delay or something just their dpi is only 85% of what they think it is.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Jul 1, 2016

# ¿ Jul 1, 2016 01:19

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Bleh Maestro posted:

Why do these things look so left handed?

They are right hand only. I fingertip/palm hybrid grip and it fits pretty nice due to its width.

It's a $30 mouse with identical features to the $60-$90 mice. And a great shape in my opinion.

I can comfortably fingertip or claw grip logitech's mx518 / g502 which is a lot longer and bigger in general.

Josh Lyman posted:

I can't reach the DPI shift button on my G502 because I have stubby midget fingers but it's otherwise pretty great.

Not even a drawback unless you wanted more rebindable mouse buttons.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 09:05 on Jul 1, 2016

# ¿ Jul 1, 2016 09:01

Khorne: May 1, 2002

kalstrams posted:

Yeah, carpal tunnel will be even harder.

Carpal tunnel isn't guaranteed or even likely from using your wrist to control the mouse. Maintain 0-15 degrees of vertical flexion in either direction and don't hyperextend horizontally. Stretch daily as prehab, make sure not to forget if you experience soreness. If you experience pain or numbness stop until it goes away which might take a few weeks. You should be using your arm or lifting for long range or "global" movements (in CS I'd say >75-90 degrees depending on sens and situation) but using wrist for precise aim or "local" movements.

There's no reason to slam a superior aiming style. If he were physically incapable of using his wrist to aim due to carpal tunnel or did not have the dexterity to use wrist/fingers to aim then sure. If arm feels natural there's nothing wrong with it, but it has a lower ceiling compared to wrist.

kalstrams posted:

That's solidly on high end.

The high end of normal. 2.2-3.1 @ 400 dpi is a pretty normal sens range. Anything outside of that is an outlier. You have elite level players who usually fall at either the high end of that or higher (3.4 spawn, 3.5 forest) and then arm only people who often fall lower.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Jul 17, 2016

# ¿ Jul 17, 2016 19:47

Khorne: May 1, 2002

kalstrams posted:

The problems is that normal people often have very little idea about CTS and how to prevent it, and usually wrist aim implies almost immobile arm and all movements done by wrist. Arm movements with wrist adjustments are the way to go, but that comes naturally when you transition from using wrist exclusively, since it's not trivial to just "forget" decade(s) of muscle memory.
So, solidly on high end?

So we actually agree. I just thought you were in the arm only camp.

One thing I will say about only using your arm and a sensitivity of molasses is that anyone could do it and do it well with some practice.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Jul 17, 2016

# ¿ Jul 17, 2016 20:32

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Johnny Law posted:

I've gotten 5 years and counting of good performance from a SteelSeries QcK. I dunno that's probably not the hotness these days though.

e: Oops that's the name of my flexible mousepads. The hard one is also SteelSeries but I'll have to look up its name.

e2: "SteelSeries S&S" ... hm. good luck finding one.

Dang, they don't make their other mousepads anymore? I have a plastic pad I use because cloth pads inevitably drive me nuts and need to be repaired or replaced every year or three. Plus, having to wash them with dish soap and water every few weeks is annoying as hell.

S&S wears out and becomes flat and reflective over time, like most hard pads. The only hard pad that never wore out on me was the icemat v2, but it's a weird surface friction wise and has other problems like "collects dead skin at such a rate that you'll wash it 3+ times per week" and "is loud as hell even with teflon over your mouse feet" and "awkward in cold weather like aluminum pads". Aluminum pads have great surfaces but wear out ridiculously fast so aren't worth it. They're also loud.

I really love really low friction, really smooth, really fast mousepads. I haven't tried the new hybrid pads and am just sticking with a kinda thick plastic pad I've had for a while. Plastic is the lowest amount of maintenance overall, I just give it a quick wipedown during my weekly desk cleaning and it's good to go. I guess if you're a slob you can use a cloth pad for months/years without cleaning it provided your mouse continues to track and in that case they're cool until they fray.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Feb 24, 2018

# ¿ Feb 24, 2018 18:41

Khorne: May 1, 2002

I have a mouse with the avago 3320. Does the 3310 / 3320 track on silicon pads? For example, the razer megasoma 2 seems extremely my poo poo. The dex supposedly has more compatible tracking, but it's 1" less wide which matters a bit. Silicon pads also supposedly have trouble with older IR LED mice in general from what I've heard? But there's no one talking about this stuff. Does anyone here know anything about this? Google is being a big jerk.

Second question that hinges on the answer to the first, are there any mice with a shape like the Xornet or Xornet II but with the 3360/3366 sensor?

Khorne fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Feb 26, 2018

# ¿ Feb 26, 2018 00:36

Khorne: May 1, 2002

Khorne posted:

I have a mouse with the avago 3320. Does the 3310 / 3320 track on silicon pads? For example, the razer megasoma 2 seems extremely my poo poo. The dex supposedly has more compatible tracking, but it's 1" less wide which matters a bit. Silicon pads also supposedly have trouble with older IR LED mice in general from what I've heard? But there's no one talking about this stuff. Does anyone here know anything about this? Google is being a big jerk.

Second question that hinges on the answer to the first, are there any mice with a shape like the Xornet or Xornet II but with the 3360/3366 sensor?

In case anyone is wondering, the Dex and other silicon pads are really great. They're like a cloth pad with none of the garbage parts of cloth and a hard pad without any of the garbage parts of hard pads.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2018 23:26

Khorne: May 1, 2002

syscall girl posted:

Eh, I fixed mine and I'm not super coordinated or very bright really

Buy contact cleaner. Spray it at the switch. You just fixed it no matter who you are.

That this isn't common advice blows my mind. I was having logitech G100s have double clicking issues after 1-2 months of use at one point, and contact cleaner fixed it for me. And mice I sprayed it on never had the issue again, not even a year later.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2018 02:09

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 11:06

Khorne: May 1, 2002

isndl posted:

Contact cleaner can work but opening up the mouse is a pain in the rear end. I don't want to gently caress up the Teflon feet.

My Deathadder that I used for way too long years and years ago would have intermittent double clicking issues that I just sort of ignored until it went away, annoying but manageable. Eventually the wheel started having issues where scrolling down would leave me further up the page than I started and that's when I finally got a new mouse.

Depending on the mouse and feet, you can just jam a screwdriver straight through them with no ill effect beyond a cosmetic hole. Feel around for the dip where the screw is. It reduces surface area slightly, but it feels identical while using it and won't snag or anything. Trust me, I have mouse autism.

It beats the hell out of having to deal with putting feet back on. Usually good for the logitech mice with big feet. Not good for mice manufacturers that cheap out and give poo poo plastic feet (cm, probably others). But uh, the CM feet also don't really go back on well so you're screwed either way there and will want replacement feet.

I usually just do my own feet because corepad's prices are insane. You could buy 100 of your own feet for the price of 2 sets from corepad, and dealing with the raw material isn't that annoying. A lot of times with replacement feet you gotta go through the same hassle of pressing down on the edges with a metal object anyway. Which is the entire annoying part of doing it yourself in my opinion.

Khorne fucked around with this message at 12:32 on Apr 4, 2018

# ¿ Apr 4, 2018 12:25

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Should I buy a $100 mouse?

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