Of Mice and Mousepads.

[Capt. Eduardo del Mango]

So I bought a mouse pad with wrist support about six months ago. I started playing FPS games again about five months ago after a break. I sucked, fiercely.

Turns out the mousemat was absolute cack and I hadn't noticed - mousepad gone, back to killing people slightly more often than I got killed. But it has made me think about the importance of control inputs and getting a decent gaming mouse to replace my old Microsoft IntelliMouse.

I don't think I want to spend more than £50 or so, and would ideally prefer something that isn't covered in 'tribal tattoo' designs and doesn't look like a Transformer. Thing is, I know nothing about them, so... Anyone with any suggestions from experience? Also, does anyone who games on a PC use a mousepad, and if so, any recommendations for one of those?

Cheers guys,

-Eduardo

[FuriKuri!]

Mousepad - I use this http://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-...4570226&sr=8-1. It's made of glass. The surface is frosted so you get good tracking with optical mice. It's exceptionally easy to clean and since it's not rubber or plastic the material hasn't deteriorated after years of use. It's quite large - I use mine in what I can probably best describe as 'portrait mode' and the width is still more than adequate. Yes its pricey but prior to buying this I was replacing mousemats every year (or when I was using cloth, every 2 months). It has rubber feet to prevent slipping on your desk surface. The only negative is that since it is glass it will be colder than rubber/plastic/cloth mats and moisture from your hands will accumulate on it a bit when you first start using it each session. Not a huge problem though.

Mouse - I've used a crapton of clickers in my time, I'm yet to find the perfect one. One solid piece of advice - don't buy wireless. Oh and another - buy one which is easy to clean and doesn't have any metal on the top (it will rust). This is quite a personal question though, look around and make a note of the features you *really* want (no. thumb buttons, dpi, tiltwheel, etc) and buy from there...

My feelings by brand;

Razer mice always seem to have one fatal flaw which makes them unusable (plus they're expensive) so avoid - they came close to perfection with the Microsoft-partnered Habu but the cable was shit and stopped working after a couple of months (on two mice). They're the one brand I wish I *could* recommend but I've found that there's always one big fat fly in their pricey ointment.

Logitech are good all-rounders although had more logitechs die on me due to faults than any other brand. I'm using the G500 at the moment http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-910...4570869&sr=1-8. Also, they've never fit my hand quite as well as I'd hoped - the thumb button furthest away in that shot is out of reach for me. And the tiltwheel on that thing is only of use if you don't have middle mouse click bound to anything since you will inevitably tilt it when you don't want to.

Microsoft, on occaision, have produced some good mice but I haven't personally found their lineup to be appealing for awhile. The Habu pissed me off a bit. However they are overall extremely solid in terms of quality.

[Net_Bastard]

Don't hate on the Cyborg R.A.T series for their shape. They're like that for a reason. The reason being that you can adjust them to fit your hand.

[buemba]

I have an Everglide Titan mousepad that's pretty good. Steel and glass mousepads are the shit and all, but for me cloth pads offer the best balance between price, performance and comfort.

As for mouses, I used a Razer DeathAdder for about 4 years and loved it (Though it started to look a bit ghetto near the end once the coating on the top started to wear off) but the right click button crapped out a few months back and I decided to replace it with a Logitech G500. Frankly I prefer the way the DeathAdder feels and since you can disable the dumb glowing bits it looks pretty good, but the customizable weight and extra side buttons on the G500 are pretty nice so in the end I'd have no problem recommending either of them.

Still, the best way to buy a mouse is to go to a store and test them (Or at least put your hands on all of them) since what feels comfortable for one person might feel pretty terrible for another.

[mrpier]

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0, best mouse I ever had. I run it on a S&S steelpad which has worked well (it's not steel, it's made of plastic). I had a glasspad but didn't like it, never got used to how cold it felt, and it was too high so in combination with how hard it was it chafed my wrist on longer sessions.

[Kelron]

I got a Coolermaster Storm Inferno recently and it's a really good mouse. It's big enough to grip with your full hand if you want but light enough to move around quickly. Comfortable and customisable with extra buttons in sensible places. Obviously shape and layout are highly subjective but I was looking for a middle ground mouse between the bulky Logitech models and the slim (and expensive) Razer ones.

I've not used many of the more advanced features (you can assign macros or rapid fire triggers to buttons, and it has a shift button for more combinations), but it's nice just having a well-designed mouse with extra buttons without having to shell out £40+. I'm not a fan of the "gaming mouse" design but that seems to be unavoidable if you want the gaming mouse function, and at least you can turn most of the lights off.

[CMaster]

I use a Logitech MX620, which I love (although not quite as mch as I used to love my MX700, RIP). The range on the wireless is disappointingly short however.

It's teamed up with a <a href="http://www.allsop.com/mousepads-and-wrist-rests/charcoal-metal-art-mouse-pad">Allsop Charcoal Metal Art</a> mouse pad. Which is a plain looking, large and sturdy pad that has low friction and optical/laser mice track very well on.

[Capt. Eduardo del Mango]

Thanks for the help, guys. I didn't know mousepads got this fancy! I'll go through and have a look at everything you've all suggested.

@Net Bastard - you may be right about that. I do have sausage fingers, so having a fully adjustable mouse might be a good shout after all.

[Rii]

Just a heads-up: Logitech's G700 is terrible. The buttons are stiff and unresponsive, the build quality doesn't reflect the sticker price in the least, and the manual wheel mode switch precludes easy access to the other button on top of the mouse. Looks like I'm sticking with my MX Revolution for a while longer.

[Skalpadda]

I don't have any direct suggestions for you (I'm using a Razer Deathadder which probably isn't what you're looking for) but my general rule for mouse and keyboard purchases is that comfort is everything. If you're buying something you're going to operate with your hands for hours at a time, not having to cramp your hands around a tiny mouse and having a keyboard that's comfortable and easy to type on are far more important than stylish looks or programmable macro buttons. I guess what I mean to say is: If possible, try before you buy.

[westyfield]

My mousemat is a Razer Goliathus. It's pretty good, I've had it a few years and it's only a little scuffed which is impressive for a fabric mat (it's also a bit sun-bleached). The main reason I use it is because it's massive (40cm wide, 30cm tall) and my desk surface is a bit bumpy.
Mouse-wise, I used a Logitech G7 for a few years (one of these sexy beasts), until it abruptly died. Sad, because I loved that mouse. Now I use a Razer Mamba, which is a) way out of the price limit you stated, and b) not worth it anyway. Being able to switch between wired and wireless is nice, but it turns out that since I last used a wired mouse (before I got the G7, so 2005-2006-ish) wires have improved substantially and no longer get caught on the edge of desks, other wires, etc. I think it's due to the braided sleeve around the wire, rather than the rubber they used to have.
From what I've heard and observed, Logitech mice tend to wear out the teflon pads quicker than they really should, and Razer mice tend to develop squeaky scrollwheels after a while (which is ridiculous and annoying). More of an un-recommendation than a recommendation, but there you go.

[MD!]

I haven't needed a new mouse since purchasing my trusty MX518 many moons ago, so I can't tell you too much from direct experience. I do spend a fair bit of time playing Quake and reading what other FPS players have to say about (among other things) hardware, so a few tips:

-don't go with a laser mouse. They often have tracking problems, and even if you find an appropriate surface, the ones I'm aware of don't have great sensors.
-if you want to save some money, consider a Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical, if you can find one. They're cheap, but a lot of fairly serious FPS gamers swear by them
-your intellimouse might also be pretty decent (sometimes the insides vary without the model name changing, so I don't know if all IMOs are created equal -- but I know some fairly serious gamers consider the IMO a decent mouse)
-this is very outdated, but is still definitely worth a look
-get yourself a big mousepad, so that you can at least try out a lower sensitivity than you're (probably) used to.

And I can recommend the Razer Mantis mousepad from personal experience. I use the 'control' version, and there's a 'speed' version if you'd prefer something smoother. I think they're both fairly easy to get used to, nothing crazy, just a decent consistent surface.

[slick_101]

I've got me a Steel series mouse mat and have been using it for a while. for me after using mouse mats since I started using computers it's probably the best I've ever used and it only cost me £10. As for a mouse I use the Roccat Kone, It does come with some fancy lights on it but in the driver menu you can turn them all off so it looks like a black gaming mouse not sure how expensive it is going to be as there is a new version of it out. alternatively you could get yourself a cyborg v3. You can pick this up for around £20-30 at Novatech or online. I got it for my dad and overall it's a pretty decent mouse and fits my average hand size pretty well. and my Dad (who it was originally brought for) likes using it too.

[Gerbick]

I have a Logitech MX518 and it's great. Comfortable in long stints, and enough buttons without overkill. The on-the-fly sensitivity is somewhat useful in TF2, but not sure if it helps me get any more kills!

I no longer use a mousepad of any sort. Used to have a glass one that came with my previous MS intelli mouse, but as mrpier says above, it was cold and raised-up slightly, which became annoying after a while (also: Kids + Glass pads = stress).

[Berzee]

I know it's not a mouse like you asked but this is the secret to all my success and I cannot resist posting a link to it on all mouse-related threads. =P (Logitech M570 Trackball)

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-910-0.../dp/B0043T7FXE