Old mouse finally starting to die, need a replacement

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BassDX

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
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189
As the title says, I have owned the original microsoft sidewinder mouse for a long time. I thought it was a good mouse while it lasted, but now the scroll wheel is beginning to die, so I think it is time to buy a new mouse. I was curious about more ergonomic mice in the past, so I did try the Steelseries Ikari Laser, but I quickly realized that it was designed for a palm grip, so I still preferred to use my old sidewinder most of the time. I

Here are some specifics about my needs. My fingers are particularly long and I generally use a light claw grip. My mouse pad is also made of cloth. I don't care about budget too much since most mice are under $100 but I don't want to spend more than necessary. Finally, I generally keep my sensitivity at around 1600 DPI most of the time, though I don't think this matters too much since I believe most new mice these days can reach much higher sensitivities.

Keeping all of this in mind, I am currently looking at the Steelseries Xai and Sensei. I know that the ambidextrous shape is more favorable for a claw grip when compared to the Ikari, but the Sensei seems a little too pricey and the Xai seems to have a boot issue with P67 motherboards.

Any other recommendations or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
I prefer a Razer DeathAdder, I have bigger than normal hands and it fits my left claw just fine. Like most gaming grade mice, the DPI is adjustable.
 
For a claw grip the best shape has the CM Storm Spawn or Xornet.

I have the Xornet (was dirt cheap :D ), it's a little mouse, you have to get used to it...
Has the Avago ADNS-3050, with the V75 firmware has low LiftOffDistance and higher PerfectControlSpeed on black cloth pads.

The Spawn is a higher end model, Avago ADNS-3090 sensor, with the latest beta firmware has better LOD and less jitter.

Both of them are equipped with very light and good microswitches.
 
If you like the shape of the Steelseries Sensei/Xai, take a look at the Zowie AM.

Other recommendations CM Storm Spawn +1, Logitech G400v2
 
I reccomend the Zowie MC2, It's been an amazing mouse for me and is perfect for claw grip, also has two side buttons and a blue light up wheel (if thats your thing) has 3 different DPI settings, one of which is 1600 dpi :)
 
Did you mean: Zowie EC2 ??? That's a 500/1000/2000 DPI mouse and not really for claw grip !!! At the highest setting the scroll wheel it's blue.... WTF
 
kzaske said:
I prefer a Razer DeathAdder, I have bigger than normal hands and it fits my left claw just fine. Like most gaming grade mice, the DPI is adjustable.
Click to expand...

This mouse is designed for palm grip. Its height and width do NOT make clawing it a natural thing to do.

Seb1 said:
For a claw grip the best shape has the CM Storm Spawn or Xornet.

I have the Xornet (was dirt cheap :D ), it's a little mouse, you have to get used to it...
Has the Avago ADNS-3050, with the V75 firmware has low LiftOffDistance and higher PerfectControlSpeed on black cloth pads.

The Spawn is a higher end model, Avago ADNS-3090 sensor, with the latest beta firmware has better LOD and less jitter.

Both of them are equipped with very light and good microswitches.
Click to expand...
Agreed, I have a spawn and love it for my claw. It even has finger grooves so your fingers can relax a little every now and again. DPI is limited to a choice of 800, 1800, and 3200 though, if that happens to matter.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I did try the Deathadder for a brief moment and didn't like it too much. The CM Storm Spawn had my favorite design out of all of them but I value customization, so I decided to splurge a little and got myself a Logitech G9x, since it has a similar design. I'll let you guys know how it goes as I use it a little more.
 
If you don't like the G9x design, I can say that the Sensei has been the best "standard number of buttons" mouse I've found to date; it works well with a claw or palm grip even if you have longer fingers, and just feels overall well put together. I especially like the configuration on the LCD underneath, but you can also use SteelSeries Engine software too for other options. Overall it provides a ton of options and seems well designed and built.

Leading the "Lots of buttons" category these days seem to be the Cyborg MMO7 and Corsair M90 in terms of button placement, hardware parameters, etc.... I also hear that the Logitech G700 is fantastic in this regard as well, but have not used it myself.
 
G700 all the way. It's hybrid wireless and wired. Plus I love the hyperscroll feature.
 
if you want to stick with cloth pads then optical is probably better. check out deathadder and g400.
 
I recently bought the steelseries diablo 3 mouse (same design as the sensei, probably lighter as it has no metal), and i'm very happy with it. (I also use a claw grip).

The mouse is perfectly balanced when lifting it, precise (low weight, around 100g), the ambidextrious design means theres nothing to force your grip here or there, you can adjust your grip as you please (which might be why it feels fine in my hands, also large hands with quite long fingers).
The switches feel great on the lmb/rmb, and it also seems to have quality switch in the mousewheel button unless some other mice.
 
I had a diablo III mouse for a little. There is acceleration in it that you can not turn off in the terrible under featured software. Also the top flare out makes clawing tough for me at least. It is light though and the buttons feel great, but I think the spawn is a far better realized design.
 
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go g9x logitech, love their customer support, and the mouse has helped my K/D a ton in bf3
 
PhantmShado said:
I had a diablo III mouse for a little. There is acceleration in it that you can not turn off in the terrible under featured software. Also the top flare out makes clawing tough for me at least. It is light though and the buttons feel great, but I think the spawn is a far better realized design.
Click to expand...

It has no acceleration, maybe you had it enabled in windows?
(Turn off "enhance pointer precision" under pointer options).
 
IE 3.0 while they still last or that Zowie AM which is a little bit long and thin. Damn, I better get another IE 3.0 edition as spare while they are still around because I heard everybody is overpricing them and it will be impossible to find them eventually.
 
Ok, I finally got to play around with my G9x for a little while. Some things that I liked: The mouse software is really nice and offers generous amounts of customization, the ability to set it to very high sensitivity levels is nice (though I still stick with 1600 DPI for almost everything). Most importantly, the sensor just feels much more precise than my Sidewinder ever did, especially in games like Starcraft II.

However, there are two problems with it that may make me want to return it. The first is the scroll wheel. I knew before buying it that it was stiff and difficult to press down, but the side scrolling is actually quite loose. As a result the entire scroll wheel is quite wobbly. So wobbly in fact that I can actually feel it when moving the mouse around sideways unless I hold onto the scroll wheel itself. It isn't something that really effects the functionality of the mouse in practice, as the build quality of the mouse as a whole is rock solid, but it is a minor nuisance.

The bigger problem for me is the shape though. I thought I would be right at home because I use somewhat of a claw grip. Nevertheless, gripping it properly in my hands doesn't feel quite natural (maybe because I am too used to my Sidewinder) and as a result I seem to suffer from hand fatigue after using it. I think the greater height on the left side of the mouse adds greater pressure to the left side of my palm, as that is where I am feeling the fatigue. Ironically enough, after testing each of the grips, the one that I found most comfortable was actually... no grip at all! I It is a shame, because without the grips the thumb buttons are more difficult to press (and I really liked the thumb buttons on the grips).

Anyway, for all I know I might just need a few more days to adjust to it since the shape is much different from everything else I am used to. However, it has made me seriously reconsider my choice, so I am going to go with the advice in this thread (and the one I made on OCN) and buy a G400 as well. If I end up liking the G400 better, I will return the G9x.
 
BassDX said:
Ok, I finally got to play around with my G9x for a little while. Some things that I liked: The mouse software is really nice and offers generous amounts of customization, the ability to set it to very high sensitivity levels is nice (though I still stick with 1600 DPI for almost everything). Most importantly, the sensor just feels much more precise than my Sidewinder ever did, especially in games like Starcraft II.

However, there are two problems with it that may make me want to return it. The first is the scroll wheel. I knew before buying it that it was stiff and difficult to press down, but the side scrolling is actually quite loose. As a result the entire scroll wheel is quite wobbly. So wobbly in fact that I can actually feel it when moving the mouse around sideways unless I hold onto the scroll wheel itself. It isn't something that really effects the functionality of the mouse in practice, as the build quality of the mouse as a whole is rock solid, but it is a minor nuisance.

The bigger problem for me is the shape though. I thought I would be right at home because I use somewhat of a claw grip. Nevertheless, gripping it properly in my hands doesn't feel quite natural (maybe because I am too used to my Sidewinder) and as a result I seem to suffer from hand fatigue after using it. I think the greater height on the left side of the mouse adds greater pressure to the left side of my palm, as that is where I am feeling the fatigue. Ironically enough, after testing each of the grips, the one that I found most comfortable was actually... no grip at all! I It is a shame, because without the grips the thumb buttons are more difficult to press (and I really liked the thumb buttons on the grips).

Anyway, for all I know I might just need a few more days to adjust to it since the shape is much different from everything else I am used to. However, it has made me seriously reconsider my choice, so I am going to go with the advice in this thread (and the one I made on OCN) and buy a G400 as well. If I end up liking the G400 better, I will return the G9x.
Click to expand...

Definitely try the g400. I really like the shape and it's a good sensor.
 
Here is an update after using both a G9x and a G400 for about a week.

I am actually starting to like the G9x more after each time I use it. On the other hand, the G400 feels kind of awkward for me to use. The thumb and pinky grooves don't conform to the shape of my hand very well (compared to the G9x), and the overall shape almost forces me to use a pure palm grip. I was able to claw it slightly, but somehow it just felt really awkward when playing games, particularly when I needed to perform fast clicking. The thumb buttons and scroll wheel also felt kind of cheap and mushy (though in all fairness, the G9x was twice as expensive, and the scroll wheel was a bit easier to depress).

Still, I think I am just going to stick with the G9x for now and return the G400. A lot of the discomfort that I had with it previously has been gradually going away as I have begun to properly adjust my grip. Thanks for the recommendations anyway, though.
 
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