PC Peripherals Question/s & (hopefully) Answers

[Codicier]

Right ladies and gentlemen, my old mouse is on its last legs, and when I searched the forums i couldn't find any threads on pc gaming hardware choices so i thought i'd start one in the hope that

A: i might get some useful advice on my problem,

B: it might in future prove a useful spot for others with similar problems in the future

 

anyway this is the faithful workhorse Mx1100 that has served me well the past few years

 

I tend to mostly use a mouse while playing strategy games, & MMO's BUT I'm planning on making a foray into Lord Management in the near future and it's the seemingly very mouse intensive nature of that genre that has made me make the leap and decide i need to upgrade.

 

Watching Sean on the Thumbs stream was kinda a scary reminder of just how many clicks I'm going to need to be making, and just how important get the timing of those clicks right is going to be if I'm going to be proficient at managing lords. So any and all suggestions are welcome.

 

I'm currently considering the following 4 and if any thumbs have any experience with any of them or other outstanding choices id be glad of the info.

Roccat Kone XTD

Logitech G500s

Razer Deathadder

and also.... (drum roll) the

CYBORG r.a.t.5

 

[Brad Leclerc]

I'm seriously considering the new version of the Razar Naga, I was using the old Naga for a couple years before about 2 weeks ago, and I was going to try something new, like a G600 or something, but then they go and made it even better... so conflicted.

[Codicier]

ahh the naga, i took a look at it but i'm worried after years of using a mouse with a 'thumb rest' area a mouse with keys in the exact same area would just lead to miskey after miskey.

That said people do seem to speak very highly of them in general. What type of game do you typically use it for bradleclerc? i can see it's utility in mmo's certainly but do things like DOTA really benefit from all those keys?

[elmuerte]

I use a Logitech M500 at home and at work. I have never used an expensive game mouse, not really see the point in them. All that matters if the sensitivity (still need to fix my skeets, but current games don't rely on perfect twitching).

[Brad Leclerc]

Don't play Dota or anything like that, occasionally jump into some MMO's, but mostly I find it useful for FPS games, or things with a lot of keyboard shortcuts that can be remapped like Civ 5, Arkham City (a mouse key for each gadget makes it SO much more fun/quick to use gadgets during combat).

 

The thumb buttons do take some getting used to, but after a week or so I was totally up to speed and hitting what I wanted. The new layout looks like it make make it even easier, so I'd imagine that would be ok. Certainly not instant, but shouldn't take long to get used to it.

 

I really liked my old naga, but with it dying I read up and it seemed to be pretty common to die after around a year (sometimes less), so I was sold on trying something new. Now I dunno. lol.

[SecretAsianMan]

I'm currently using the G500, which I suppose is the predecessor to the G500s.  I think it's pretty good.  It's got a sturdy build and fits my hand pretty well.  The biggest problem I'd say is the thumb buttons.  There are 3 buttons, but the center one is hard to hit accurately because of how small and close they are.  It takes a bit getting used to if you use them a lot.  If you're considering the G500s, I'd look into the G500.  They seem to be functionally identical apart from the dpi (the 500 has a max of 5700 while the 500s goes to 8200 but do you really need that much?).  The only differences seem to be the look and the price, with the 500 costing 25% less.

[elmuerte]

I rarely use the back and forward thumb buttons when gaming. I'm used to pressing keys on my keyboard. I used to use esdf giving me more key access. But I switched back to wasd because modern games didn't use that much keys, and remapping everything was often a pain.

[Codicier]

I'm currently using the G500, which I suppose is the predecessor to the G500s.  I think it's pretty good.  It's got a sturdy build and fits my hand pretty well.  The biggest problem I'd say is the thumb buttons.  There are 3 buttons, but the center one is hard to hit accurately because of how small and close they are.  It takes a bit getting used to if you use them a lot.  If you're considering the G500s, I'd look into the G500.  They seem to be functionally identical apart from the dpi (the 500 has a max of 5700 while the 500s goes to 8200 but do you really need that much?).  The only differences seem to be the look and the price, with the 500 costing 25% less.

 

I'm going to go round a few bricks and mortar stores to actually try out a few of the contenders, I think I'll try and get my hands on both the G500 & the G500s an see if there is any noticeable difference in the way the mice feel. I've got a Razer Nostro pad and i really like the semi-matt finish they use. Thanks for that tip if there's not a noticeable difference in feel I might go for the cheaper version.

 

I've always been a little wary of extra buttons on things like the naga, but then again I use a Razer Nostromo which I now almost can't game without and i know felt incredibly awkward to begin with, so I'm open to the idea that I could learn to love a true multi-button mouse like bradleclerc does. But in the end I think I'm similar to Elmuerte in that most of my pc gaming has been done with a keys plus just the basic 3 mouse buttons (even if the mouse I have allows more).

[Brannigan]

I've had a naga for several years, works great. Stopped playing mmos though. I still use the side buttons, but never the full range of them. Works great in dota for using items. Even then though I only really need the first 6. I'd only spring for a naga if you really felt the need for that many buttons. It is something you need to get used to, takes about a week.

[Sno]

Every Razer product i've ever bought has either exhibited some technical problem or outright broken within a couple of months, and i bought more of their stuff than i really should have before taking the hint. I really can't steer anybody towards their products anymore.

My current mouse is this thing.

I quite like it, so far. It's been pretty fantastic. (If you're not into the gimmicks, everything's remappable, of course.)

[Codicier]

Every Razer product i've ever bought has either exhibited some technical problem or outright broken within a couple of months, and i bought more of their stuff than i really should have before taking the hint. I really can't steer anybody towards their products anymore.

My current mouse is this thing.

I quite like it, so far. It's been pretty fantastic. (If you're not into the gimmicks, everything's remappable, of course.)

 

I ended up getting "that thing". Thanks for the late recommendation Sno. The M65 fit my palm really well and the buttons had a really nice solid click to them. Think the R.A.T was a surprise 2nd choice for me, feeling a lot more solid than it looks. Currently tweaking the new mouse's sensitivity levels to fit my personal taste really like the sniper button and can imagine it being very situationally usefull

[Sno]

I wasn't sure about the DPI switching when i got it, but it's implemented really well and i've actually found it helpful in a variety of games. I also just find that it's really comfortable and, after having been through a few mice with really terrible wheels, that the mouse wheel is blessedly precise. The buttons do have a nice solid click too, but i haven't had it long enough to know how those buttons hold up after a lot of use. (Allegedly it is particularly well made, as gaming mice go.) Also a few other small, dumb things that i find appealing, like the absence of any glossy plastic making it very simple to keep clean.

[Latrine]

Have you considered the type of mouse grip that you have? http://www.razerzone.com/mouseguide/ergonomic I use a palm grip and personally find that an ergonomic mouse with a high arch is the most comfortable. I'm currently using the G500 which I think is one of the fatter gaming mouse designs out there and I find it quite comfortable. Theoretically the other grip styles might improve your game but I'd rather not deal with the hand strain, and I find I can still arch my fingers a little with this mouse to get finer controller.

 

I don't know if the G500s still has this issue but recently with the G500 I've run into a problem where sometimes the mouse would double click on a single click which is super annoying. Apparently this is because of an engineering design flaw where there is static electricity build up on the button triggers. This can be a bigger problem if you're in a low humidity environment. So far the standard response of disconnecting the mouse and mashing the buttons to remove the charge has worked, but I've seen videos of guys taking their mouse apart to put in insulation which seems like a pain.

[Codicier]

Have you considered the type of mouse grip that you have? http://www.razerzone.com/mouseguide/ergonomic I use a palm grip and personally find that an ergonomic mouse with a high arch is the most comfortable. I'm currently using the G500 which I think is one of the fatter gaming mouse designs out there and I find it quite comfortable. Theoretically the other grip styles might improve your game but I'd rather not deal with the hand strain, and I find I can still arch my fingers a little with this mouse to get finer controller.

 

I don't know if the G500s still has this issue but recently with the G500 I've run into a problem where sometimes the mouse would double click on a single click which is super annoying. Apparently this is because of an engineering design flaw where there is static electricity build up on the button triggers. This can be a bigger problem if you're in a low humidity environment. So far the standard response of disconnecting the mouse and mashing the buttons to remove the charge has worked, but I've seen videos of guys taking their mouse apart to put in insulation which seems like a pain.

 

Wow had never seen a page like that before, definitely interesting info even if i don't think it would have changed my decision had i known it earlier. Think I'm somewhere between the "palm" & "claw" grips as I do tend to arc my hand a bit but I do rest the body of the mouse in my palm.

 

 

I wasn't sure about the DPI switching when i got it, but it's implemented really well and i've actually found it helpful in a variety of games. I also just find that it's really comfortable and, after having been through a few mice with really terrible wheels, that the mouse wheel is blessedly precise. The buttons do have a nice solid click too, but i haven't had it long enough to know how those buttons hold up after a lot of use. (Allegedly it is particularly well made, as gaming mice go.) Also a few other small, dumb things that i find appealing, like the absence of any glossy plastic making it very simple to keep clean.

As i said earlier i hate the "feel" of glossy plastic, one of the reasons why i really took to the mouse when i tried it out in store

[SecretAsianMan]

I don't know if the G500s still has this issue but recently with the G500 I've run into a problem where sometimes the mouse would double click on a single click which is super annoying. Apparently this is because of an engineering design flaw where there is static electricity build up on the button triggers. This can be a bigger problem if you're in a low humidity environment. So far the standard response of disconnecting the mouse and mashing the buttons to remove the charge has worked, but I've seen videos of guys taking their mouse apart to put in insulation which seems like a pain.

 

Hmm, that's interesting.  I've had the same mouse (G500) for a couple years and I've never had that problem.

[subbes]

Thumb-controlled trackball supremacy for life, yo.

[Brad Leclerc]

Thumb-controlled trackball supremacy for life, yo.

My wife uses that mouse and swears by it. Of course, she also can't understand wtf I'd want so many damn buttons for on a Naga, so depends on the point of view. heh

[TheLastBaron]

I have that and use it a lot, but never for gaming.

[Sno]

I don't know if the G500s still has this issue but recently with the G500 I've run into a problem where sometimes the mouse would double click on a single click which is super annoying. Apparently this is because of an engineering design flaw where there is static electricity build up on the button triggers. This can be a bigger problem if you're in a low humidity environment. So far the standard response of disconnecting the mouse and mashing the buttons to remove the charge has worked, but I've seen videos of guys taking their mouse apart to put in insulation which seems like a pain.

 

I had a problem of unwanted-doubleclicks with my last Razer mouse, but i wasn't able to do anything to fix it, so i don't know if it was exactly an issue like this.