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High Performance Gaming Mice Don't Perform
An anonymous reader writes "A new mouse performance speed-testing software has scientifically demonstrated that there is virtually no difference between the performance of expensive, high-end gaming mice and cheap laser office mice. The software, called Metalocity, is available for free download so you can test your own mice and confirm the empirical results for yourself. It also shows that the multi-button approach of the Razer Naga and WarMouse Meta increases user speed by up to 112 percent." Note that this report comes from someone who wants to sell you a $80 gaming mouse with a zillion buttons on it, so a grain of salt is required here. But the question is valid: are the expensive mice really worth anything?
I absolutely love my Logitech MX Revolution, which is in the same series as the previous great mouses MX 1000 etc. They are so much nicer and better to use than just some cheap office mices. On the other hand, I also have one Razer mouse that was supposedly good for gaming, but I like my MX Revolution more. Like usual expensive doesn't always mean great, but great mouses can get expensive. Likewise I love my Logitech G19 gaming keyboard with macro keys, led etc. It improves your usability a lot.
Gaming mice, bought and classed as the greatest thing ever by those same people that use gold plated martian ray proof AV cables!
The extra buttons ones I guess serve a purpose if you are incapable of using modifiers or are some kind of Octopi
Witty Comment Here
Gaming mice aren't as good at clicking through menus as their million button mouse? Doesn't it seem more relevant to test gaming mouse performance in games?
Leaving aside for the moment the fact that TFA is actually a gratuitous piece of advertising fluff, which basically says "our competitors' products are rubbish so buy ours"... I've tried all kinds of mice over the years, including high-end Razer gaming mice and the like - and to be honest, I've never found that there's any kind of big, glaring performance difference. I think the most important thing with regard to mice is just to find one that you're comfortable with. For me, the Intellimouse Explorer 3 (but emphatically not the later versions) fits my hand well and has the right number of buttons positioned just where I want them, so I use that. It also has the advantage of being pretty cheap, which is handy since the wheel tends to gum up after 18 months or so in a way that I've never been able to fix, requiring periodic replacements. But at the end of the day, any "performance" differences are going to be pretty slim, so I'd just focus on getting something you're comfortable with and that supports your hand properly, to avoid joint pains later in life. The same goes for the keyboard - I've seen players with expensive gaming mice risk giving themselves all kinds of RSI by using keyboards which, through either sheer cheap-and-nastiness or plain old bad design, force their hands into all kinds of contortions.
I have a multibutton mouse with macros that really shines when I do CAD actually. It was sold as a WoW specific mouse a while ago -- dropped the mmorpg, kept using the mouse. But I think it's more of a matter of having buttons available than how good the transducer is.
an interesting experiment, or just an ongoing process?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lSp-oIOhq00#at=55
On what you are buying it for.
If you are buying an expensive mouse because you think it will make you a l337 gaming god, then no. It won't do jack for you.
If you are buying an expensive mouse because it has better ergonomics than your cheap mouse and you want to reduce wrist strain, or if it has more buttons and you need or want that extra functionality, or if it has greater accuracy in movement and you need more precision, then yes. It will help you.
A mouse is a tool, like any other. Buy the tool most appropriate to your needs and desires. Don't buy one expecting it to make you a better USER of the tool.
In terms of things like ergonomics, number of buttons you can actually use/remap, etc. but the bottom line is that optical sensors have gotten pretty good, even at the low end.
It is true that the fancy laser stuff will let you mouse on surfaces where basic LED mice won't; but even laser diodes aren't all that costly, though they are used as a price discrimination feature.
Beyond mere ergonomic satisfaction, which is something of a matter of taste, and utility of extra buttons, which is a combination of taste and design, the only place that really dramatic differences jump out at you is with the wireless stuff. It is harder, though still entirely possible, to buy some really dire wireless mice. Slow refresh, shuts down to save power at the worst possible times and then spends 10 seconds waking up again, that sort of thing(and bluetooth? Pay double or insert dongle...)
For your basic rat on a string, though, it is hard to get too worked up about the differences between modern sensors.
I have a Razer Mamba. A top tier wireless gaming mouse.
You know what? Its worse than my laptop's $30 logitech in just about every way. Battery life of ~2 days. Random dropouts when wireless. Randomly stops working when wired and wants to be restarted. The only thing it has going for it is its great looks and physical design quality. Is it worth 180 dollars vs 30? Absolutely not. Is it any better for gaming than my old microsoft mouse? Not at all.
...than about $50 tops on a mouse. Personally, I wouldn't spend more than about $20. My latest mouse I got when I replaced my keyboard (because one of the feet had broken off), I got a mouse and keyboard combo for about $30.
As an avid computer FPS gamer, I can tell that using a higher end mouse definitely makes a difference. I've used quite a few in my days, mostly Logitech. I currently use an MX518. However, let's say for the sake of argument that the sensors are not of higher quality and don't offer any higher DPI or sensitivity than their mainstream office counterparts. There are other aspects to gaming mice that are quite important. The ergonomic shape of the mouse. The placement of the buttons. The software that allows you to configure the sensitivity very specifically to your preferences. In some mice, you have the ability to add or remove optional weights to suit your specific style. All of these contribute to being able to fine tune your mouse to give you the optimal control that allows you aim more accurately and quickly than a typical mouse that does not have these features.
We'll make great pets
I love my Logitech MX1100R, it's an office mouse AFAIK, not really a gaming one, works great in gaming and standard use. Comfy, replaceable batteries and the extra 3 buttons are handy in some games. It was a bit pricey but I haven't looked back because it's so comfortable to use for extended periods.
Buying 'bling' mice to me personally, like "high performance gaming ram" is just stupid.
Owning and loving a Deathadder myself, I find the indisputable difference to be that if I were to try to game with an office mouse like the days of old, my hand would be vastly less comfortable. I've honed my skills around my hardware- and they have improved.
But this has to be the biggest load of shit I've ever read on /.
Gaming mice in "no better than a normal mouse for non gaming tasks" shocker.
Sort it out /.
I don't know if that stupid radioshack logitech I had was just particularly bad, but when I got a "gaming mouse" It felt a lot better. Of course, I mostly use this mouse for photoshop. Where the logitech couldn't seem to sit still or move tiny amounts, the razer is fine. Also, extra buttons are very useful in photoshop for tool properties, etc.
of course, the Gold Plated USB with Gajillion Hz Polling is a little much.
Also, use mouse acceleration if you really care (not OS but in-game)
For the longest time I had a MS Intellimouse. It was great, but for gaming on Counter Strike, or BF2 % BF: BC2, I always had to adjust the mouse sensitivity to aim better. My aim still sucked because the mouse would not "land" on the head all the time and I'd end up dying.
Eventually I splurged on a Razer Death Adder Mouse after hearing it's one of the good ones and I never looked back. My K:D ratio went up considerably just by the mouse.
However, my skills improved further when I bought a 'gaming' mouse pad, as well.
So gaming specific hardware does help, you have to research so you get what you pay for because there's a lot of crap out there.
Was the Microsoft/Razer Habu. Cheap (picked one up for 30 quid), heavy, 7 buttons, nice looking. Unfortunately the switches wear out after ~6 months... otherwise they're perfect.
I don't really know about the speed or accuracy of mice, as personally I think it's all about the same. I did however buy a Razer Naga. 12 Keys on the side of a mouse is awesome for WoW. Not having to move your hand away from the w,a,s,d key area is a big advantage. If all you play are shooters I don't see the point in owning a fancy mouse.
I don't ever pay attention to stuff like DPI. Back when I was playing MMOs the most important thing to me was buttons on the mouse that I could remap. I ended up purchasing a Razer Naga and found it to be fantastic JUST because of those 12 buttons on the side... and I also like that it's corded. It's the first corded mouse I've bought in perhaps 8 years. It's not the most comfortable mouse I've used, but for MMOs its been a godsend. If you're not playing a game that would benefit from having multiple keys remapped then there's not much of a point in a high end mouse like this... and even if you are playing those types of games I'm sure you can get along fine without one if you wanted.
The most comfortable mouse I've ever used, hands down, was the old Logitech MX Revolution with the dial-looking thing where your thumb rests. I still have it, and keep both plugged in and switch back and forth depending on what I'm doing.
From a technical standpoint, looking at benchmarks and the like? It probably doesn't matter so much. The extra buttons certainly help, if the mouse is well-designed. But I'll tell you this - if I feel more confident because the mouse I'm using cost $80 instead of $20, then I'm going to play better. And that might be worth it.
Never underestimate the potential of Human stupidity. -Heinlein
It doesn't test the important part: quick acceleration.
If you take a low quality mouse and make a very quick wrist movement, the cursor will go crazy.
With a medium to high quality mouse, it will stick to your movements without problems.
But that's all it really is. This is the online equivalent of those newspaper ads where an Amish craftsman oh so tenderly puts the finishing touches on the wood cabinet of an electric fireplace, while the fireplace is inside and running.
Moreover, I don't recall ever buying a gaming mouse so that I could perform a "500-click series of randomly generated commands" in the fastest possible time. I buy them because of the control I get over the mouse motion, leading to smoothness and accuracy in pointing.
No.
"Gamer" versions of just about any peripheral pretty much guarantees that it's at least 200% overpriced, and absolutely not one iota of performance better than the standard generic version you can buy at Microcenter from the big bargain bin.
Evidence:
"Gamer" Headsets
"Gamer" Keyboard
"Gamer" network card
"Gamer" mousepad
The only positive reviews I've ever seen of this crap come from people who were given one as a freebie to "review".
-Styopa
I've got an logitech MX518, had it for quite a while, and it's definitively better than your average office mice. The most noticeable difference I noticed between your average office mice and mine is that mine works on almost any surface. Only time it didn't work was when I tried to use it on an extremely shiny surface, that really surprised me. Other thing I like is about the MX518 is that it has extra "forward" and "backward" buttons, which I can use in firefox & explorer in windows, it's very useful, and I do think it speeds up my my mouse usage quite a bit.
I don't find it hard to believe that having more buttons on your mouse could speed up a lot of things, I mean we have 5 fingers on each hand, why should we be limited to only using two? or one for that matter? (I'm looking at you apple)
Lo and behold, for I am a sig!
A good gaming mouse should have:
* An ergonomic shape to hold for a couple hours at a time. I find that it works well to have a more arched shape for continuous use, instead of a flatter shape for reaching over to occasionally click something. Thumb rests are also popular.
* Lots of buttons, in a convenient arrangement.
* High resolution. Even if you don't want it to track fast, you want the tracking quantum to be small. For productivity apps, on the other hand, a larger quantum is nice to prevent it from accidentally moving.
There are also firmware differences. Ever notice how the LED goes dim when you're idling? That's a power saving strategy. It's actually just flashing it on occasionally to see if it's moved, then going back to sleep. Cordless productivity mice do this very aggressively, and you *will* miss that golden headshot opportunity if your mouse is idled down, since it won't start tracking again until the next flash - which can be as infrequent as once every couple seconds if you've been camping a while and it's gone into deep sleep.
TFA is measuring performance of speed clicking a bunch of icons. The mouse will never go to sleep in this scenario. If they tried another benchmark - like, hold still for 30 seconds and then click the icon as fast as you can - you will see some BIG differences, and gaming mice that don't go to deep sleep will win handily.
Bluetooth mice also gave wireless mice a bad name, and so a lot of gaming mice still have tails. The proprietary wireless interfaces are much less power hungry and respond so fast I can't tell the difference between my current midrange wireless mouse and the midrange corded one it replaced, other than no longer having the wire get tangled at inopportune moments.
The right sensor can make all the difference. Optical works great on some surfaces, laser works on those and a few more. Neither of those works particularly well on clear glass. I've recently stumbled on Logitech's darkfield technology. The darkfield mouse tracks perfectly on every surface I've tried it on, including glass.
On the other hand I haven't noticed a big difference in one optical mouse to another, or one laser to another, assuming your not buying the barebones cheap model.
Only difference I've ever noticed is that the expensive mice tend to break and need replacing every ($WARRANTY_PERIOD + 1) months, whereas the cheap stuff last twice as long.
There has still never been a better mouse performance review than the ESR Mouse Score.
http://www.esreality.com/?a=post&id=1265679
results comparisons : http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=21
He later reviewed the original Razer Deathadder and ran it through the same tests here :
http://www.esreality.com/index.php?a=longpost&id=1300293&page=4
But sadly I'm not aware of him doing any later tests, I would really love to see him do an ESR MouseScore 2011
Knowing /. I probably should have directly linked the benchmarking method : http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=3
notice how the LED goes dim when you're idling? That's a power saving strategy. It's actually just flashing it on occasionally to see if it's moved, then going back to sleep. Cordless productivity mice do this very aggressively, and you *will* miss that golden headshot opportunity if your mouse is idled down,
campers who are able to get their mouse to idle due to excessive camping are horrible, horrible gamers to play with anyway.
sorry, had to ;-)
No surprise. Pinky and The Brain couldn't ever perform either...
http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/0/06/Extremes_mouse.jpg
First I used a normal office mouse. Then I used a $40 mouse, without noticing much of a change. Then after a year, I tried using a normal mouse again. I couldn't, it was just to heavy and slow.
True story. Using a $40 mouse has cost me the ability to use a normal mouse.
I'll explain my point by looking at chairs rather than mice first.
At some point, an office chair is good enough. It's got everything for a healthy working position.
Spend 4 times more money, and you will most definitely sit more comfortable... but the question we're answering here is: do you work harder with significantly less chance for injury? Maybe just a little. Probably no measurable difference.
I don't doubt for a moment that you get a nicer gaming experience with your MX518 mouse. The question in TFA was not whether you like it more, but whether you can click faster or more precise. The answer given in TFA is that you can't really.
There is only one way to find out about the quality of a gaming mouse and it is to play with it. My gaming mouse is comfortable, fast and has a lot of buttons which are all bound and used. The adjustable DPI allows me to quickly swith from a sniper sensitivity to a tank pilot sensitivity. My G500 also has hyper-fast scrolling which is useful to find specific pages in huge documents or doing funny moves in games. Furthermore, I usually browse the web without touching my keyboard. DON'T PLAYER HATE ON ME
Gaming mice with "zillion" buttons are better for MMOs because those games tend to have "zillion" abilities to manage. The naga is too small for my hands but I would love to upgrade my MX518 to something with more buttons
When I'm playing a FPS or RTS then, no, gaming mice arent better
Ive had this mouse for almost 8 years now, I bought it new in late 03 or early 04, cant remember exactly. I still use it to this day as my main gaming mouse. I play mostly FPS, RTS, RPG's and its performed great for them all. If this one ever stops working I plan on going with a MX518 as its the same shape and design.
I admit that I own a "gaming mouse". No, actually I own three of them, one for each of my computers at home. It's simply because the mouse that I found to work best for me happens to be the Logitech G5 (which now has been succeeded by the G500). The shape, the weight and the surface texture are all very nice, and unlike the less expensive mice, the "gliders" at the bottom are very large and the optical sensor works on pretty much every surface I tried it on. I just like it, and I think that when it comes to an input device you use all day long, you should buy something you really like instead of saving $30 and then being annoyed for years until you buy the next mouse.
They've taught mice to play games, and they're complaining that they're not good enough? What's next, talking dogs only able to speak french?
Personally I use a Razer Abyssus, which is cheap and has no extra buttons. However, the resolution allows me to have very high sensitivity and still have great control (Sure, FPS guys swear by low sensitivity, but I play mostly RTS). This way I can reach everywhere on the screen while only using my wrist.
Another big difference for me was putting teflon feet on the mouse and using it on a hard plastic mouse mat. With good glide everything just feels so much easier to me. I also feel much less strain in my wrist. This really can't be described, you have to try it to really know what I mean.
All this combined feels like a big improvement when I'm working as well, having to use a mouse that at max pointer speed is still slow really annoys me now.
Of course it's different from person to person what you like, this setup is ideal for me.
For those who'd like to configure a multi-button mouse on Linux, it can be tricky. I have a little writeup here for 2 models. Hmmm, server seems to be down at the moment...
Non-Linux Penguins ?
The article is absolutely NOT valid when we are talking about gaming. What does a test "designed to measure the actual performance of one mouse versus another when utilizing point-and-click interfaces" have ANYTHING to do with a game?
The reason why gaming mice perform much better in games is because of the DPI or scanning speed of the surface the mouse sits on, not because you can click faster. There's no way that a Dell laser mouse with a 400 dpi scan will track better than my G5 at 2000 dpi or a 5700 dpi R.A.T. 7.
With modern mice the whole laser accuracy thing shouldn't be too much of a revelation I guess. I recently shelled out for a Rat-7 on special which I am very happy with - not because I can shoot bad guys from the opposite side of the map with my sniper rifle because of 3 levels of laser accuracy - but because of the ergonomics of the thing. As someone said above, most peripherals are over-priced, and this one wasn't any exception - the difference is I was happy to fork out the extra $$ to get a comfortable peripheral that didn't leave my hand paralysed after 4 hours of COD.
My gaming mouse definitively pass the "slam test": before getting it I used to slam my old regular laser mouse constantly, because it used to get stuck somewhere or just stopped responding, with the new one (I don't remember the brand but is a customizable logitech with weight packages and just 5 buttons) I've never had this issue, I still suck at gaming, but I've never regretted that investment.
So any office laser mouse is as good as any high end gaming mouse? Or, as the summary says, are they saying their 80 dollar mouse with a frikin JOYSTICK on the side is as good as the gaming mouse? It has 18 (tiny) buttons multiplied by 64 modes for a total of 3072 commands.
The metalocity (which when I search google tries to come back with some heavy metal stuff) software doesn't even make sense how it works so I can't compare my mouse.
I haven't seen a mouse that's performed better than Intellimouse Explorer 3.0. Some of the "high performance" mice are nice because they are bundled with software that increases system-wide sensitivity for some really twitchy play.
I also really enjoy having a "few" extra buttons on the mouse, it definitely increases user actions, but I really think it depends on the game you are playing when it comes to the usefulness of extra buttons. Wow arena it makes sense, Starcraft 2 not so much, been a long time since I played a FPS so I'm not sure.
is the only thing I refuse to shell money out for. I actually just built a new gaming machine with a AMD Phenom II X6 1090T processor, 8GB of RAM, 1TB hard-drive, GeForce GTX 590 Video Card, HP w2207h monitor, and MS Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. Notice there was no mouse in the list and that is because my Logitech M305 does the job. It gets my mouse pointer where I want it. I don't give a flying rat's butt about two optical sensors or multiple buttons. I have macros that I can use for what extra buttons would do and as long as my pointer goes where I tell it who cares how it gets there.
I was going to mention the G5 myself; I use one at home and love it. The main features that really make it work for me are the size and shape of it (I have big hands and this mouse is fairly big), the fact that you can put weights in it to make it heavier, the extra buttons and the ability to quickly increase or decrease the sensitivity of the mouse which is great for photo work.
I guess you can only define performance once you define your priorities because my gaming mouse performs the tasks I want it to exceptionally well.
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
Just bring back the microsoft optical trackball explorer.
I also own 2. But they're relatively cheap--Logitech mx518. They go for around $30 now. I probably end up buying a new one every other year or so, but I use it a lot as I work from home and do some gaming. Either one of the mouse buttons go, or the cord connection gets loose and it'll drop out connection from time to time. Sometimes I contact Logitech and get it replaced, but I'm horrible at keeping sales receipts. Or at least terrible at being able to find them.
And holy crap the G5's are expensive now. Who actually pays $150 for a mouse that's no longer made? I take it the mx518's are still made since they're so cheap.
I loved my G5. A few weeks ago the scroll wheel stopped working intermittently, so scrolling became a PITA. I got a G500, and it's also really great. I don't do much gaming anymore, but I really like the feel of the mouse. At work, I have a dinky mouse that my hand is way too big for, so I have to hold it with my fingertips. With the G5(00), I can get my hand around it, and the rough texture gives it a nice grip.
For a minute there, I was marveling at the idea that the biotechnology industry would have need for such specialized lab animals as high-performance gaming mice. (Do you reckon they count cards or are experts at reading a bluff?) Then I realized we were talking about computer hardware. (Yes, I had a very good weekend, far away from work.)
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell
"Aye hates mieces to pieces" [WB Sylvester the Cat]
I also do not play many games. But my son does, and the retro PS/2 interface seems preferred over USB as it appears to have lower latency. Myth?
I've never felt the need to buy anything other than a standard Microsoft USB Basic Optical Mouse...
Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.
I concur.
But you forgot to add a good software package to create and edit powerful macros on the fly.
P.S: The last Logitech mouse (G700), can be both wired and wireless a win win situation.
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
I don't care about click speed, I care about movement accuracy. When my hand twitches a little, does the mouse accurately send that information in a timely manner? If I wanted faster clicking, I'd use software with an auto-repeat feature.
I use a decent Logitech laser mouse and it has very good performance and fairly good responsiveness for a wireless mouse. On the other hand, I've used office mice that I have to shake around to get a response out of.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
Polling rate on USB is configurable. (Many gaming mouse change this, but on Windows it's just a registry setting so it can be done manually too).
So I guess this is a myth.
They are the $300 Monster cables of the gaming world. I thought everyone knew that.
But AFAIK, PS/2 generates interrupts (not polled) so could be faster by 1-10ms.
"Aye hates mieces to pieces" [WB Sylvester the Cat]
Mr. Jinks, actually.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie_and_Dixie_and_Mr._Jinks
Hey, do I win pedant for the week award? :-D
Latency of both USB and PS/2 is well below a fraction of human reaction time. So it doesn't matter at all. No myth, just hype.
I bought a Sidewinder X5 a while back, and I like the adjustable weight. I detest the thumb buttons though.
I later bought an X8 and I love it. The charging cord is magnetically attached, so if I perform a particularly overzealous swipe it's not going to catch on something and break. Thumb buttons are a huge improvement over the last model.
I thought the WarMouse sounded familiar. It was also known, once, as the OpenOffice Mouse. Its lead designer, Theodore Beale, is also known as Vox Day. Vox Day is a anti-evolution, anti-feminist, christian writer and blogger who believes -- amongst other things -- that all atheists are sociopaths.
He is the author of a handful of poorly reviewed games, including the tedious looking The War In Heaven.
None of this will affect the quality of his mouse, it should live and die by its merits. But because of who is behind it, I for one, and going to give it a miss...
What do you know I wrote a novel
In your list of features, you forgot to mention a very critical feature: a scrollwheel with detents. The ability to rapidly and accurately select weapons is crucial.
However, that does not mean it doesn't matter or is imperceptible. Humans can perceive things they cannot react to; oftentimes these are called "feelings". Furthermore, many games have finger-twitch challenges that certainly will respond inside of 1 ms. If a gamer successed more often on one than the other, then that is also data.
I'm a gamer and build my own systems over the years. Lets be clear what I consider performance.
- Smooth movement (is it jumpy or does it smoothly move the icon or view in game)
- Comfort of mouse (does it feel good to my hand so my hand won't hurt later)
- Buttons (Are they quality? Do they depress easily? Are they located in the right spots?)
- Software (Does the software allow me set sensitivity and map keys?)
Mapping out how fast a click response rate is stupid. Of course there won't be little difference.
The purpose of getting a more expensive mouse are the additional features. If anyone purchases a mouse because "it's response rate is faster than an average mouse" is just stupid. I have a Razer mouse and it vastly exceeds in my performance criteria than the standard Microsoft Intellimouse.
I've tried about 20 different mice while gaming and coding and non perform for me as well as the $70 Razer I have. Is it right for everyone? no. But their study is flawed.
I have a Logitech MX518, with it's DPI cranked up to 1800. I am very quick with this mouse, whereas any of my friends who touch it tend to be slower, as the increased sensitivity often means they overshoot buttons on screen.
I would hazard that the testers might be quicker using office mice because that's what they are used to.
To much anime is bad for the brain...desu.
Sorry. Couldn't help it.
I notice a huge difference with gaming mice. Most importantly:
1) Anything less than 1800dpi is horrendous, esp for FPS
2) Wireless is a joke
3) Mapping one of the side buttons to shift, alt, or ctrl exponentially multiplies your keyboard hotkeys.
That being said, mice like the Naga are absolute overkill.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
That depends on the game. If you're playing Quake-style deathmatch, sure, that kind of camping is lame.
I play things like Project Reality where the maps are enormous and the gameplay is much slower. You squad up and hike across the map for a good several minutes without any enemy contact (though you have to be constantly on your toes). You reach a river. The whole squad crossing at once is suicidal, so you go in pairs, with everyone else staying in the trees and ready to provide cover fire. With 30 seconds for each pair to cross the river, you're going to be sitting there watching your sector for a while. Constantly looking around to keep your mouse awake just makes you easier to see. When you see a muzzle flash on the far bank, you have to react fast: the shooter's already cycling in the next round, and he's sure to have friends. The 1 second it takes your mouse to wake up is an eternity when the guy crouching next to you just took one in the head.
If you live through that exercise and make it to the enemy base, the first part is easy: run in, blow away anyone who objects to your presence. But then you have to hold the territory until you achieve the capture, which means a couple minutes of hiding on the porch or behind some sandbags, holding your breath. It's not going to be a surprise attack: you know the reinforcements are coming; it's just a matter of when and where. Moving means you become the canary. Lag - including from your mouse - means you will let your squad down when half a dozen bad guys with assault rifles jump out of the alley.
I agree that the "high resolution" portion of the gaming mice are complete bunk. After a certain point, it doesn't matter much unless you are playing on a really odd surface (like nearly unblemished glass). What matters most is the features.
I can play equally well in terms of accuracy on a cheap dell laser mouse as I can with my $100 mouse. I have the $100 mouse because I use the buttons/features (adjustable palm, thumb, etc...) which the cheap dell mouse doesn't have. If I switch out for a different mouse, I go back to a $30/$40 Logitech MX series mouse and it's fine. It's all about the other features on the mouse, not the resolution of the laser.
And just for the record, the naga makes grouping units a breeze
While it may not actually make you any "faster", the aim of a gaming mouse is never really to make you "faster" at doing anything, merely to make your mouse more comfortable to use, and more accurate to aim with.
Sadly, a lot of the "high end" gaming mice use crappy sensors which while they are able to run at high DPI, introduce all kinds of movement smoothing (small curves turning into straight lines), and acceleration, while others have terrible issues with how reliably they track (which causes jitter with the cursor, or they simply stop being able to track once you're moving your mouse at a certain speed and introduce huge negative acceleration on the movement you're putting in).
From their FAQ on getting used to the WarMouse:
"It usually takes about two days to get completely used to a new game or application."
Really?
I can tell you that the logitech wireless g7 was the best mouse I've ever had the pleasure of using. The battery changed extremely quickly (sort of like ejecting a clip and inserting a new one). It moved with great accuracy and I never had to worry about it sticking to the surface or about the cord pushing against the mouse. It was worth every penny of the $70 I spent on it. Also, it lasted a couple years. What finally took it down was pepsi and a crash to the floor. (Yah simultaneously)
My wife got an mx400 from my mom (who'd paid $35 for it). I bought the same one for $25 on ebay. They've worked perfectly for 3+ years. Plenty of buttons, never a problem except gaming with a cord.
I'd still go back to the g7 if I could but these are nice and cheap so when my wife's parrot finishes eating the mousewheels or she bites through the cords a couple more times to the point that some twisting and electrical tape won't fix them.. we'll just buy some more.
I usually spend more on a brand "gaming" mouse because of the extra features and the quality. Being able to change DPI on the fly is very useful(for me) in FPS games. Also, the 4.5k DPI lets me set mouse sensitivity to low and crank up the DPI. This means my cursor moves 1 pixel at a time instead of 3-4.
I also find that optics on higher end mice track on many more surfaces than cheaper mice. I also find brand gaming mice to be extremely durable and the last a long time.
I've used different mice, and I have seen an improvement in my gameplay depending on the mouse. I recently purchased a Zalman FPS Gun Mouse. It took a little getting used to, and I don't really like it for anything outside a FPS, but my accuracy did go up once I got used to it. Now this may have someting to do with the way you grip that mouse, but I think it also had a lot to do with the fact that you can switch between 3 different dpi settings with one button as well as the versatility of the various buttons on the mouse. I agree that its best to use whatever mouse your most comfortable with. $12 office mice just don't offer all the features the expensive gaming mice offer and those features make a difference in gaming. If all I did was check my email and write memos in word, then I wouldn't really care about what mouse I used. However a 13 button gaming mouse is great If I'm trying to heal up 5 team mates in Arathi Basin in WoW while kiting a Rogue, healing my self, AND keeping an eye on our flag, I'll take all the features I can get. I think the point is, Gaming mice offer features tailored for gaming, and exactly how useful those features are depends on the user and the game they are using the mouse with.
The highest value is in cheap microsoft mice, they seem to have a ridiculous high build quality for the price, excellent shape and flawless behavior.
for about a decade I used microsoft trekker wheel mouse, a ridiculously good ball mouse that sold for 8 euros and later 5 euros before disappearing, and then I'm currently using a "wheel mouse optical 1.1" that costs 11 euros. I like lightweight mice with classical shape and three buttons and this is it. No parasitical movement when you lift it, even by a few millimeters!
Real gamers map all their keys to a nostromo anyways... or whatever they're calling it these days. Who needs more than a few buttons on the mouse?
http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=390404
As far as I know it's limited to 120Hz on Windows (I guess the interrupt is really just on a timer, then).
USB can do far more.
Maybe Tony can play Crysis 2 on keys and will be best on the world. Gaming mouse is for gaming. Surprisingly. Stupid.
A good mouse allows you to point where you want quickly and repeatably with minimum stress. Extra buttons are a nice bonus if they're ergonomically successful.
I've used 3 optical mice and the best one is 20% slower than a ball mouse because it's erratic. Wireless mice are even worse, occasionally cutting out even if the receiver is only 2" (5 cm) from the mouse.
It's freaky to hold the mouse in one place and watch the cursor climb up the screen. I've never had a ball mouse do that.
Optical mouse technology has a long way to go before it's right.
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My ultimate "gaming" mouse, is actually not a gaming mouse at all. It has the basic buttons (who needs more anyways) but has a very cool feature : I can recharge it with a micro usb connection WHILE playing ...
This is great when when the battery runs low during a long gaming session, the battery indicator on the mouse turns red. Plug it in and continue to play !
Also this mouse works on a glass table ... which can not always be said from other L.A.S.E.R. mice.
Falling for the "gaming" tag on the box is for idiots and signature geeks.
Same shit, different day
Under linux, device drivers are written in 2 parts. The first responds immediately, and usually just records the event and notifies the OS. When the OS feels like it, the second part is activated to do the heavy lifting.
I suppose they can be written differently for special purposes.
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The one and only time I spent more than £20 on a mouse -- a Razer brand which had no features beyond standard buttons+wheel other than being advertised as a "gaming" mouse -- its left button broke after 2 weeks. I got another few days of use out of it by breaking the "warranty seal" over the screw holding it together and propping up the flimsy microswitch under the button so its dry solder joint stayed connected.
A 10-button office mouse I bought for 1/3rd of the price lasted well over a year.
Not sure how commenting on here works or whatever, but this website is probably the place to go when you want to know about gaming mice.
http://www.esreality.com/index.php?a=post&id=2024663
http://www.esreality.com/index.php?a=post&forum=13
I've always been dubious about gaming mice, because the advertising usually focuses on their high resolutions. Even obsolete ball mice had resolutions high enough that were capable of producing more data than could be transmitted through the interface.
It used to be suggested to use old PS/2 interfaces instead of USB interfaces, because it was easier to increase the hardware polling rate on PS/2 interfaces. However, even then, the real problem was that the original default polling rate for PS/2 mice was 40hz. Increasing the polling rate to 80hz made a noticeable difference; that later became the default polling rate for PS/2 mice (I think with Windows XP, on the Microsoft side of the fence). The default polling rate for USB is 125hz. It's debatable whether it's humanly possible to perceive the difference in resolution this makes.
The advantages of optical mice are better ergonomics and less trouble with crud collecting on moving parts. The only thing that distinguishes modern optical mice is ergonomics. Choose the mouse that fits your hand; the rest is irrelevant.
I use a $10 "Val-Tech" mouse on my main computer, which is a desktop attached to my TV that I use for software development, music recording, video editing, and as an entertainment PC. All In all, I probably use this mouse about 12 hours out of every day, and it works just fine. Ever since laser mice became cheap enough to replace ball type mice, I haven't had a single mouse that I've had issue with. Yes, the laser dims every once in a while, but I've never seen the issue you're describing. As soon as I move the mouse, the cursor moves too, no matter what.
How wonderfully hypocritical of you. Either the mouse lives and dies by it's merits, or it lives or dies by the creators reputation, but you can't say it should live and die by it's merits, and then pass on it for reasons unrelated.
I apparently didn't phrase that last line as I intended. What I meant to says was:
Which is not a contradiction. Very few people know, or care, who Vox Day is; nor are they likely to let that affect their mouse choices. A very small minority will care, and will either buy it because it, or walk away. But it won't be what makes or breaks the sales of this mouse.
What do you know I wrote a novel
If it's a corded mouse, it may never goes to really deep sleep. Cordless mice are the ones that have very aggressive sleep patterns.
This sort of game I've often thought would be a great idea. However it always falls down when I remember that on-line FPS gamers cant really work together. BF Bad Company 2 is about the only example of where you can kind of have team players and that's pretty much only because you get extra points for reviving, assists, resupply and spotting.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
I used to play Day Of Defeat (in good old Iron Fist League...) and was often the team's sniper. Even when camping I would constantly move the mouse; partly because the DoD sniper rifle sight moves to simulate breathing, partly to scan a slightly larger area. If your mouse is idled down you aiming at one point only, not tracking targets or scanning the edges of your field of view, and are a horrible camper anyway.
Not a sentence!
~20ms? You're a bit off, almost by a factor 10: http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/stats.php
Or on wikipedia if you must: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_time
Wow. We better not get the mouse, then, huh?
That decision is entirely up to you. You now have information you did not before, AC. Now you can decide what you want to do with it.
What do you know I wrote a novel
I think to play a game like the one he's describing - a mod, especially, which these days aren't as popular as in the old days - you'd need a bunch of people you know reasonably well. Perhaps they all hang out at the same forum, or whatever. I used to play some games with that type of group from a forum (in the days of the original Rainbow Six game, and the first few sequels), and it was fantastic - most people knew each other and everyone was playing the game as intended, forming small squads and so on, with no forced mechanism like in Bad Company 2 (which is my favorite game at the moment, to be clear).
Also, when the original Day of Defeat and Counterstrike were popular (pre-Steam), there were lots of dedicated servers with groups of dedicated people who all knew each other, like we did in the Rainbow Six days. I had a list of four or five public Day of Defeat servers I cycled between, and there would always be a fair number of people I recognized playing, and everyone took the game seriously and worked as a team. The Rainbow Six group moved to Counterstrike after the Rainbow Six games kind of lost their way, so there was one Counterstrike server I always played on and it was great (I tried Counterstrike Source and besides me being terrible at it now, all the servers sucked).
I stopped playing games on computers a few years ago, partly because that community aspect started falling apart - it's hard (if not impossible) to find public servers running games as good as then now. I do try once in a while.
I play Bad Company 2 on the PS3; it's easy to just pick up random games because of the way matchmaking works there, and generally it's fine, and the squad mechanism means at least some of the time you've got teamwork (very loosely most of the time, but it's something). Hardly a replacement for the old days, but it's fun to play for an hour or two once a week or so (which is about all the gaming I do in total nowadays...)
Mods are where it's at. Boxed releases are meant to be easy for a broad audience, most of who can't handle teamwork.
PR is *brutal* on people who can't work as a team. Occasionally you get some dork who won't follow orders and just Rambos around. He quickly ends up without a squad. Soloing in PR sucks - long stretches of hiking with no action, then a well organized squad takes you out. They get frustrated with that routine pretty quickly and uninstall the mod, having decided it's lame. The ones that remain are fair to good.
I used to be in Bellum Aeternus on PlanetSide. We played the Vanu team (generally considered to be "hard mode" for PlanetSide, at least back then). The clan was great - coordinated assaults and organized defense can take out utter hordes of Terran / NC zerglings. Over the course of the day we'd completely take over most of the universe, triumphing even when the other two races would team up against us. I heard it fell apart eventually, though.
Long ago, it was lmctf (Loki's Minions CTF mod) for Quake 2. That was the most fun I've ever had. Again, lots of people who know the basics: Coordinated, communicating base defense organized at choke points; designated flag carriers and escorts carrying appropriate runes; people who understand and use sophisticated tactics. "ROAR! ... This... is CNN." ... You had to be there. :)