Been in the market for a new mouse for a while to replace my Logitech G500. Problem is there are so many to choose from that its hard to actually decide, especially when I can't try them out in person. I want something with programmable buttons, good ergonomics, not too large and not too heavy, decent DPI and accessible features (No point having a billion buttons if I can only reach two of them). I have never really enjoyed using my G500 as it feels too heavy and clunky for my liking. The cord is extremely annoying as its too long and as its braided tends to get caught on things a lot. The most important thing is that the mouse should feel comfortable in my hands and be effortless to use, I don't want it getting in the way as my G500 seems to do. Budget: Ideally around the 50-60 mark but I can go higher if the mouse if worth it. Some of the mice I have been looking at include the Corsair M90 (To add to my 500r, H80, XMS RAM and TX PSU), Gigabyte Krypton, ROCCAT Kone (and its many variants), SteelSeries Sensei and a few others.
The ol' painless of mice, the Logitech G9, ticks all your boxes but the programmable buttons. The ergonomics and balance of it are perfect - I found it much more comfortable than the g500, which as you say is a bit doughy and bloated. I think it's also lighter, with none of the weights in, than the g500. Do you particularly need programmable buttons? (Also: Corsair don't give loyalty discounts. Although in your case, they probably should.)
The G500 definitely favours gorilla hands. Hello. Have a butchers here, here and here for more advice
I would second the G9. I've found the G700 the most comfortable but too much. What is your braiding snagging on?
I've always been happy with the Logitech G9. I bought it for gaming and it is perfect in everyway. I looked at all the other so called gaming mouse's out there and a lot of them are just to blingy and complicated design wise to be a worth while purchase IMO. A couple I had in the past did fail but were replaced by Logitech. Their customer service is so pain free its unreal. If I remember correctly now the second mouse was actually a bit out of the date. I voiced my grievance on how such an expensive product could fail so soon and that I was not a happy bunny etc etc . Logitech just requested a photo of the receipt and that was it. I recieved a brand new G9x the following week.
You can't go wrong with a Deathadder. If you apply the Scotch tape fix the LOD is tiny, and its generally just a very comfortable, accurate mouse.
Also, how could I forget this awesome thread, which was awesome because it covered almost every mouse on the market!
Thanks for all of the replies. The G9X and G700, as well as the Deathadder all look like good options, just making my list even longer haha. In particular the G9 looks promising although it does look slightly out-dated (Have to take a finger off of the mouse to turn DPI up or down etc...). The G700 looks really good and I like that it has a wireless mode for when I need it (Use on a laptop etc...). However not sure how comfortable it will be compared to the G9 and with the battery in I have heard its heavy (I can just remove the battery for day to day use). Also Might be worth mentioning I do have RSI in my right arm which is one of the reasons I want a light and ergonomic mouse. Programmable buttons are important but not essential. I am sort of clinging on to the chance that I find enough time again within the near future to start playing an MMO in which case having those spare buttons would be extremely useful. Beyond that I use programmable buttons for general applications and some games (The ones I can be bothered to use the Logitech Setpoint software one). Maybe I should email Corsair and get them to arrange something haha. To be fair its not my fault they make so many solid products. I read through those links, the Zowie Gear EC1 Evo looks good despite a lack of software and only 2300 dpi. Someone linked a useful Razer guide in your last link, interestingly looks like I use the fingertip grip, if that helps any. I do have smaller hands than most, probably the reason I struggle so much with the G500. The Deathadder looks good and its come up-a lot, its on my list. Wish it had an extra button or two more though. Everything. My speakers, my keyboard, my desk hell even a piece of styrofoam I use to raise my moniter. Been thinking of getting the Roccat Apuri to sort the cable out. It does not help that I have to have my case on my desk (and thus limits the room) to keep my cat away from it. Also what do you mean by the G700 is too much?
I've tried about 20 mice and I know exactly where you're coming from when you say the G500 is bulky and gets in your way, I've literally had the exact same problem. Also you use a fingertip grip just like me so I reckon I can set you aright The G9X is a pretty tiny mouse in comparison to the G500 so you would need to be aware of that in advance. Unusually small, even. The Deathadder and Zowie EC1 are similar in size to the G500 and are more suited to palm grippers due to their bulk. Same goes for the G700 and Kone. The G700 is also very heavy for a mouse (mainly due to the batteries). If I was in your shoes I'd take a look at the Steelseries Sensei or Xai, they are light, low profile, and the low shape makes for very precise aiming for the fingertip gripper. In addition all the buttons and scroll wheel are fantastic quality - super light, but still crisp and definite. I haven't had such light crisp buttons on any mouse other than Steelseries the rest all had some issue or other (whether scroll wheel too heavy or click too sharp or side button too creaky or whatever). However there is one small caveat with the Steelseries shape, the low profile and relatively wide shape may make your fingers feel awkward and splayed, so you would really need to try it first to see if it suits you. It isn't ergonomic but I personally found that ergonomic mice are overrated, you can adjust to hold an ambidextrous mouse comfortably, and I somehow suspect that ergonomic mice actually throw off the exact precision of your aim (perhaps due to the imbalance between moving the mouse to one side compared to the other?), at least that's what I think I noticed. If you want an ergonomic one, or the Sensei isn't for you, then I would highly recommend the Zowie EC2. It's amazing in shape, and a notch smaller and more agile than the Deathadder/EC1/Kone/G500/G700. Definitely better than any of those mice for the fingertip gripper looking for something ergonomic, whilst also less bulky. Regarding the M90 it really looks like a large-un to me but I haven't tried it myself so can't comment. Same goes for the Gigabyte Krypton. My personal tale started out with an intellimouse optical, and went through huge mice, small mice, wide mice, thin mice, ergonomic mice, stayed for ages on the Zowie EC2 as the size was perfect, realised it affected my aim after like a year (because it's ergonomic) so went to the Zowie AM, realised the precise movements of my aim were far better now with a non-ergonomic mouse, got tired of the heavy click and slightly mushy side buttons and went back to the Intellimouse, also had mushy side buttons and too low sensitivity, then realised I missed the awesome crisp click action of the Xai I used to have so finally managed to find an old Xai off eBay, and ever since then I've settled on the Steelseries Xai.
Thanks for the massive reply. I had in the past been very interested in the Steelseries Sensei although I have heard a lot of mixed things about it (Inconsistancies in clicks, high-failure rate, poor tracking etc...) I have heard equally as many good things. From what I have seen the Sensei is meant to be an updated Xai more or less which in itself was a great mouse as you rightly stated. I have started to come to the realisation that you can't have MMO style buttons with FPS style weight ha-ha. The best compromise I can find is the Kone+ which is still bulky (but around 120g). Shame as id like an ergonomic light weight mouse with lots of buttons (Can't they just stick them in rows along the right side?). Looks like my search has been reduced to choosing between a few mice atm, the Kova+ which is meant to be a great mouse for fingertip grips and has four programmable buttons that with EasyShift can double up to 7 (I think, one has to be dedicated for shift) which is a nice balance, although whether I actually bother use them is another matter. Heard mixed things about build quality. The Sensei/Xai look promising although as mentioned there are a fair number of complaints. Most worrying is the fact that it's supposed to be awful for tracking on cloth (which I use) despite having the same sensor as the G500 and has a stiff cord. Bit-tech actually gave it a pretty poor review, although several other sites gave it top marks (Different hands for different mice). With the Xai do you find the left handed buttons accessible during use? I have heard they are useless for right handed people due to the design of the mouse. Regarding the G9x I have smaller hands than most (7 inches from top to bottom) so I doubt size will be much of a problem although it is impossible to tell unless I try it out in-person. The G700 is still a possibility as I can remove the battery but it's very bulky from my understanding and I can't help feeling like I will have the same issues with it as I have had with the G500. Been looking more at the Corsair M65 as well as it looks good but I can't find any information about its actual weight, one reviewer said it was about as heavy as the G9 with its weights removed while another stated it was a fairly hefty mouse. I checked my grip style again earlier and found that I actually use both Fingertip and Palm depending on the game and the situation (perhaps due to my RSI/ Weight of the mouse), I tend to use the fingertip grip in FPS titles and action sequences while I tend to stick to a palm grip (Although I still arch my fingers ever so slightly) during general use and non-actiony games. Not sure how that will affect mouse choice but it's worth mentioning. Anyway rumblings aside thanks for the awesome response, got me thinking in the right direction and I may just gamble and pick up the Sensei although I want to explore all my options first (You'd think I was going for surgery not buying a bloody mouse ha-ha). Unfortunately the mouse's basic weight is 185 gr, that's the heaviest mouse I think I have seen so unlikely to work for me.
I have the M65 and the G9x they about the same weight but feel very different. Centre of balance feels better with the M65. The issue you will have we'll brew with the software as the M65 is so sensitive.you will have to take your time setting it up. I have the white M65 it does look awesome I must say.
Have you seen the Logitech G600? I haven't tried it but it looks light, with a 'Naga' number of thumb buttons Regarding the opposite side buttons on the Xai it depends on where you put your fingers, it doesn't feel comfortable right now because I never use them, but to be honest it shouldn't be a problem to use at least one of them regularly if I needed to. Using both may need more practice.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyborg-R-A-T-7-Mouse-PC/dp/B003CP0BHM Just thought i would put this one out there, slightly out of the price range you were looking for, had it for about a year, and its been amazing! Everything is fully adjustable, including the weight, can set 4 different dpi settings for different games etc etc. Worth taking a look anyway in my opinion EDIT: which means http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mad-Catz-R-...8&qid=1366372550&sr=1-1&keywords=cyborg+rat+5 is in your price range
The way you use your mouse sounds pretty much the same as me, I'm planning on getting a coolermaster recon, 9 buttons but weighs 139 g which may be too heavy for you from what I've read
