Gaming mouse recommendations.

[Divine Wind]

Hi all,

So after 2 years of cordless mouse fun, my little bugger decided to go kaput on me in the middle of an excellent ETW Prussia campaign. I do have a little money stored away, so ive begun the search for a new top notch mouse and I'm looking for any opinions you chaps may have.

Any good suggestions? Would gamers recommend cordless mice?

Cheers.

[Reverend Joe]

Whatever you get, don't get an optical mouse. I've never had an optical mouse that didn't have terrible tracking problems, like randomly moving the cursor to the left.

[Whacker]

Hi. First of all, do NOT use a cordless mouse for gaming. I've had this argument countless times with other gamers, I can definitely notice some very small lag when using a cordless mouse. It becomes painfully evident during twitch style gaming. If you're fast enough and have good reflexes, load up a game that has ridiculously high framerates on a modern PC, like Quake 3. You should notice what I'm talking about. Corded is always the way to go, even if you don't play twitch style games.

Personally, I have been and remain a Logitech product whore. I've had all of their gaming mice since the MX510's, and currently have a G5 that's due to be replaced here very soon. Absolutely loved them all. The only real complaints I've had were that the paint wore off of the 51x mice I had, and the G5's cord is a horrible dust magnet.

Reverend Joe, you need a mousing surface. Buy a good mousepad, or move your PC to a desktop that has a clearly defined, visible, broken pattern that the optical component works well on. I've had this problem before on some of my old workdesks, ended up getting a nice big gaming surface for some time that worked wonders.

[Husar]

Well, I got two cordless mice now I've tried the lag thing whacker mentions with the first before buying the second and didn't really notice anything, but then I'm a slow person which is why I stay away from games like Quake 3.

Concerning optical, alternatively you can also buy a decent mouse, I've bought a cheap optical mouse and it was really bad on almost all surfaces, my two Microsoft mice are quite a bit more forgiving, the razers work best on a razer mousepad etc. Overall there isn't really much of a problem I've noticed as long as you have a mousepad and don't go for the cheapest 5 or 10$ mouse you can find.

[Lemur]

I'm a corded mouse kinda guy. One less set of batteries to worry about, and I don't see how the mouse cord is a huge inconvenience.

I've always had good experiences with Logitech's higher-end corded mice.

[Xiahou]

Another vote for corded, here.

Logitech's gaming mice all seem pretty good to me, but personally last time I needed a mouse, I went with Razer. They're pricey, but it seems to be good quality and has served me well for years.

If you can do it, go somewhere that you can "demo" mice and actually lay hands on them. I think all high-end mice will perform well, what really will make the difference is how comfortable it feels in your hand.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

The best mouse I ever had was a $10 usb corded logitech optical. :P

[Husar]

Logitech actually make the worst mice ever and I despise them!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

That's because I'm left-handed...

The last two mice, a Microsoft and a razer krait, had their left mouse button become dysfunctional, it would just not recognize some clicks, recognize clicks when there weren't any etc. Long clicks would come and go of sorts so marking a text could be a real hassle. Maybe I'm clicking a bit too hard at times but it was a bit surprising that the Razer didn't seem to survive my clicking much longer than the cheaper Microsoft mouse I had before it.
I also seemed to get some pain in my arm from using the razer Krait for a longer time, one of those gel mousepads helped a bit nut not much, my microsoft notebook mouse 5000 and the cordless laser 5000 or ehatever they're called don't seem to cause this at all, apparently I can use them quite long without any problems.

Oh and concerning mouse lag with wireless, I suppose it's not worth than the input lag on some monitors after all tghe latter is clearly visible to me while I haven't really noticed the former I think.

[pevergreen]

Logitech MX-518.

Cheap fast mouse, with adjustable DPI settings, and programmable buttons!

(What, no I don't want to hit Num5 for that item, I'll click a button!)

[caravel]

Optical mouse: Not for FPS games, use it on a consistently coloured, stable surface. I find darker sufraces are better but anything is better than a mousemat. Do not use an optical mouse with a mousemat - especially one with logos and images all over it (this is what causes the jumpy behaviour). I've had the same optical one for about 6 or 7 years and it hasn't failed me yet.

Ball mouse: Good for FPS games because you get better control from the ball (ability to turn quickly etc). Needs regular cleaning out and a mousemat is advisable.

Wireless ball/optical: Same thoughts as Lemur, I don't see much benefit unless you want to operate the PC from 10 foot away. Also there's the batteries to be bothered about... etc.

[Beskar]

I always have cordless, I even use a cordless controller with my pc. Infact, it is the same cordless you find with xbox360/wii consoles.

There is next to no lag (if any), probably the cordless mentioned further up was from a bargain bin where quality isn't an issue. As for optical, revered joe probably doesn't use a real mouse mat designed for optical mice and tried using a book or a desk with a reflective surface. A joy about cordless too, you don't have yet another USB plugged into your machine and it doesn't get in the way when you try to move it (damn cables) and in my case, I sit some distance away from the computer so having no cables going between me and the computer is nothing other than a plus. Opposed to 10ft away, I am working 4ft away from the screen, possibly slightly over, which again is some distance, especially to have cables crawling.

Note to Caravel: Yes, use a mouse mat, a real one, not a plastic one made for balled mice. Optical are superior to ball in DPI, and for example Everglide do a great range of mouse mats and you can notice a real difference and that is between the basic cloth mouse mats to more expensive ones.

As for mice, if you want a decent one at a low cost, the microsoft price range is very good from experience. The one I am currently using is the wireless laser mouse 7000 which you can pick up for around £30 easy enough. Then you can go for better or worse depending on what you actually want. The mouse I am using comes with a rechargable battery and has a rechargable stand with it so you don't have to worry about batteries either, just put the mouse on the stand while not using it and ta-da, no hassle and no problems.

[Husar]

A joy about cordless too, you don't have yet another USB plugged into your machine and it doesn't get in the way when you try to move it (damn cables) and in my case, I sit some distance away from the computer so having no cables going between me and the computer is nothing other than a plus.

That is not correct in most cases, most cordless mice have a receiver that is plugged into the USB port, my bluetooth notebook mouse doesn't since it obviously connects via bluetooth but my cordless desktop mouse has a receiver that is plugged into an USB port and AFAIK most Logitech cordless mice do as well.
If one goes for bluetooth to not have to use an USB port, then obviously the PC/notebook will have to have bluetooth built in, not a problem with most notebooks but I'm not sure about desktops, might need a bluetooth dongle then, which is plugged into an USB port usually.

[Beskar]

True, but my Keyboard and Mouse uses the same USB port (can both use same receiver), but if I wanted to plug in my wired mouse, it uses another USB port. So it really depends on situation.

[Whacker]

Optical mouse: Not for FPS games, use it on a consistently coloured, stable surface. I find darker sufraces are better but anything is better than a mousemat. Do not use an optical mouse with a mousemat - especially one with logos and images all over it (this is what causes the jumpy behaviour). I've had the same optical one for about 6 or 7 years and it hasn't failed me yet.

Ball mouse: Good for FPS games because you get better control from the ball (ability to turn quickly etc). Needs regular cleaning out and a mousemat is advisable.

Few points. About 5 years ago this was true, that ball mice were superior to optical mice for twitch gaming, Razer had the market cornered. Today's optical mice are far superior though, much faster, responsive, and accurate (on proper surfaces). Also, there are special... "mousing surfaces" that one can and probably should use for gaming with optical mice. Here is an example. They are made specifically so that the optical components have distinctly featured surfaces to track on. Fortunately my desk has a similar distinctive broken pattern and is very smooth, so I don't need one.

[Whacker]

There is next to no lag (if any), probably the cordless mentioned further up was from a bargain bin where quality isn't an issue.

If that was me, then completely incorrect. I owned one of the first good, expensive Logitech cordless mice back in the day and had huge lag issues, went instantly back to corded and gave the mouse to mom. I have tried my parent's MS 5000 layzer mouse and found it to be more of the same, not as bad though. I've tried the new Logitech G7 cordless at a friend's and found there to be noticeable lag as well. None of those are/were cheap by any means.

Who knows, maybe I'm just special, but I notice it, and I've plenty of friends who do as well. I've also yet to know of a top-ranked twitch style competition gamer who uses a cordless mouse, but I'm not deep into that scene.

Oh well. If cordless makes you happy, then by all means go for it. Some people honestly just don't notice, or it doesn't bother them. This is an opinion thread after all.

[Beskar]

It could be that you needed to adjust sensitivity as well in computer options. I know my mouse feels bulky and awful to use when the sensitivity is on low, but put it on high and it like fire on oil.

[TinCow]

Who knows, maybe I'm just special, but I notice it, and I've plenty of friends who do as well. I've also yet to know of a top-ranked twitch style competition gamer who uses a cordless mouse, but I'm not deep into that scene.

Oh well. If cordless makes you happy, then by all means go for it. Some people honestly just don't notice, or it doesn't bother them. This is an opinion thread after all.

I felt the same way until my wife got me a MX Revolution about a year ago. It's the best mouse I've ever owned, hands down, and I find it far superior for gaming than all the corded mice I used to use.

[Xiahou]

I felt the same way until my wife got me a MX Revolution about a year ago. It's the best mouse I've ever owned, hands down, and I find it far superior for gaming than all the corded mice I used to use.

I think cordless mice have come a long way from their extremely laggy ancestors- but by definition the technology would have to add some lag time, however miniscule. I'm sure that on modern wireless mice, most people would never notice the difference- myself likely included.

I think the main question one need consider when weighing corded/cordless is necessity. Do you need a cordless mouse? I have two cordless mice. I use one for my HTPC, so that I could mouse from my coffee table if I need to without dragging a cable across the living room floor. The other, I bought for my netbook, to spare me from wrapping up and untangling a cord every time I pack or unpack it. If you're sitting at a desk with your PC just a few feet away, I really think it's pointless to bother with cordless mice. You gain nothing and possibly introduce some lag and have to worry about batteries conking out on you while you play.

Also, I absolutely can not recommend a ball mouse.
That's my .

[TinCow]

I think cordless mice have come a long way from their extremely laggy ancestors- but by definition the technology would have to add some lag time, however miniscule. I'm sure that on modern wireless mice, most people would never notice the difference- myself likely included.

I think the main question one need consider when weighing corded/cordless is necessity. Do you need a cordless mouse? I have two cordless mice. I use one for my HTPC, so that I could mouse from my coffee table if I need to without dragging a cable across the living room floor. The other, I bought for my netbook, to spare me from wrapping up and untangling a cord every time I pack or unpack it. If you're sitting at a desk with your PC just a few feet away, I really think it's pointless to bother with cordless mice. You gain nothing and possibly introduce some lag and have to worry about batteries conking out on you while you play.

Any lag that is produced by my cordless mouse is less damaging to my gameplay than the occasional times when my mouse cord would get caught on my keyboard or something else on my desk. That's generally instant death right there and even though it didn't happen very often, it's far more serious than any fraction of a millisecond of lag which any person would inherently begin compensating for over time. In any case, I love the MX Revolution because of its layout and features, the cordless aspect is an entirely ancillary consideration for me. I like the cordless aspect mainly because it keeps my desk more tidy. The next keyboard I get will be wireless as well for the same reason.

[caravel]

Few points. About 5 years ago this was true, that ball mice were superior to optical mice for twitch gaming, Razer had the market cornered. Today's optical mice are far superior though, much faster, responsive, and accurate (on proper surfaces). Also, there are special... "mousing surfaces" that one can and probably should use for gaming with optical mice. Here is an example. They are made specifically so that the optical components have distinctly featured surfaces to track on. Fortunately my desk has a similar distinctive broken pattern and is very smooth, so I don't need one.

Agreed, I find optical better on all counts. My point about the FPS players using a ball mouse is that there may be some that are simply "used to it".

[Whacker]

Agreed, I find optical better on all counts. My point about the FPS players using a ball mouse is that there may be some that are simply "used to it".

Definitely true. Moving to optical was weird. There's two things that are probably good to mention here, to build on your point. There's two separate things, frictional resistance and mouse weight. Frictional resistance should always strive to be zero IMO, the mouse should move completely freely over whatever surface one chooses. Doing otherwise prevents smooth, very fine movements. The other thing, weight, is handled by those nifty weight systems that the new mice have. I've got the max possible weight in my G5 because I miss that heavier feel.

[Lemur]

If God had meant us to use wireless mice we would have been born with Bluetooth connectors!

[Hosakawa Tito]

I've been using a wired Logitech G5 for a while now and love it. Back when BF2 was hot I played on a team in the CAL Leagues. I used a wireless mouse at first, but the slight lag and always inconvenient dead batteries at the crucial moment made me switch back to a cord.

[Husar]

If God had meant us to use wireless mice we would have been born with Bluetooth connectors!

Sometimes I wish I had one and could use it to control the PC (and perhaps make the ETW AI accept a peace treaty and hold it...).

But then I wouldn't need a wireless mouse anymore.

[Hooahguy]

cordless, simple mouse for me.
if you must know which one, i use this one.
works like a charm, never any problems, but i do keep an extra battery with my laptop case, just in case it runs out of battery, which takes about half a year to die out. i remember when that did happen. i was playing BF2142 and was charging across the road when all of a sudden my mouse gave out. i stopped to see what happened, when all of a sudden a jeep roared out of nowhere and ran me over.
ah well.
overall its a great mouse.