Yet another mouse recommendation topic

[vometia]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone could recommend a mouse? I'm not after anything fancy other than it having five buttons, my main requirement is reliability, something which seems to really be eluding me.

That pretty much rules out Logitech: I've seen their quality go downhill over many years, and as much as I loved my G5, it soon developed the infamous disconnect/reconnect problem that seems to plague their mice. AFAICT their newer models tend to be even worse.

Similar story with Microsoft: historically their mice and keyboards were unexciting but solid, but in the last few years their priorities seem to have changed to interesting but shoddy, at least in my experience.

I'm currently using a Steelseries Sensei mouse which I like a lot, but it's yet another one with an apparently common long-standing problem that'll probably never be fixed, which is that the wheel has developed an annoying habit of randomly scrolling backwards on a regular basis, which is driving me nuts.

Although I'm a gamer, I don't especially care about DPI or millions of programmable buttons, nor am I especially bothered about it being wired or wireless, at least beyond my tendency to forget to put the latter in its charger. I just want it to be well behaved, and to still be well-behaved in six months' time, and preferably a few years' time.

Any suggestions?

[CeeSA]

I bought many mice last year. Many more than keyboards.
Imo mice are nowadays are low quality products... just following the overall trend of short lasting / low quality products.

I heard good things about the mice from Mionix though. It's a company which I havn't bought mice until today because of other reasons. I would choose a mouse from the 7000er series, because of the good optical sensor.

[andrewjoy]

I bought many mice last year. Many more than keyboards.
Imo mice are nowadays are low quality products... just following the overall trend of short lasting / low quality products.

I will agree with this, i had the original razor diamondback, its that old its not listed on there site anymore( the one with the clear top not rubber). It was built way way better than the diamondback 3G the plastics where thicker and the cable was higher quality, its just a shame i broke the usb connector and i was too inept in soldering back then to fix it ( i still suck but i can do the basics ).

I think you can find 1/2 decent build quality now but i find that the covering on the casings are the problem, its all rubber and "soft" covering that wear out after 2 years.

My deathadder was built OK-ish but the cable was just an absolute joke ( like seriously crappyer than pound shop cable) and they used a soldered in ribbon cable to connect 2 boards inside and this is a weak point if you open it to clean it as i did( serially what would 2 flat flex connectors cost you 0.00003p ? The boards however where very good quality PCBs with all SMD components, no cheap electrolytic hanging off the board .

I have a logitech performance MX now (just for games ), that is built very very well, still the same issue with the "soft" covering but its built like a tank , i have not opened it yet so i don't know how the internal construction is done. Sensor is not the best but if you lower the DPI a bit its fine so i think they may be over driving it at the high end.

[vometia]

Thanks, guys. It does sound like I'm not alone in my observation that mice seem to have become "consumables"; I guess I just don't really like that way of looking at things. If I weren't so cack-handed I'd replace the cable in my G5, which I think is commonly assumed to be the cause of the disconnect problem (though nobody seems to know for sure) but it is a bit of a bummer.

I guess my other options are either to look at older mice, maybe second-hand (shouldn't really be a problem ideologically-speaking for someone who loves vintage buckling-spring keyboards, for example!) or to be a bit more daring and to go for the lesser-known brands like Mionix: thanks for the suggestion, I'll check them out and see if the Amazon reviews make any sense.

It's also interesting to hear about the older Razer mice. I understand that people kinda like their stuff, but that it tends not to stay in likeable condition for long, but if the retired models are better... well I guess I'll class that as vintage as well!

[andrewjoy]

I have been looking everywhere for an old diamondback can never find one . Still its not as if i use a mouse that mutch slim blade FTW!

[seebart]

Hmm I hope my sensei does not start scrolling backwards![emoji46]
Logitech are generally good quality but I have not used one in a while.

[Khers]

I bought a Razer Diamondback way back when. It's still going strong after all these years (I think I must have bought it in 2005/6), though I haven't used it for the last couple of years since I have switched to using trackpads, also for stationary computers. But just looking at it brings up fond memories. I remember having a hard time choosing between the DB and the Logitech MX518.

The other day I decided I needed a good mouse for work though. Wireless was a criterion, likewise was a good optical sensor. Ended up ordering a Logitech G602. Will see what I think of it when it arrives...

EDIT: for andrew: http://www.ebay.de/itm/Razer-Diamondbac ... 2a4a83a496

[andrewjoy]

thats sweet i want it !

[gogusrl]

Used a Logitech G9 for ~5 years. Then got a CM Xornet, then a SS Sensei and just last week I managed to find a NIB G9x which I grabbed immediately. Best mouse ever !

If you want the best sensor on the market the Mionix Avior 7000 is king (do NOT get the 8200 version).

edit : my sensei is scrolling backwards like 30-40% of the time now and it's ~5 months old.

[ramnes]

I'm really hating myself for loosing two original DiamondBacks with 3080 sensor in my successives last year relocations...
Right now I'm using a DiamondBack 3G and a Ninox Aurora (a good one), that are both great, but I kinda miss my old DBs.

Too bad the one on your link is peeling on plastic, Khers.

[chzel]

I have the Avior 7000 and it is a great mouse. The coating is a bit of a hand oils magnet, but it is easy to clean. Not for those with very big hands, it's on the small side!
The software is a bit lacking, nothing as refined as Logitech's, but you can control the LEDs to tone it down and store macros and settings on-board.

[noobie94]

I will most likely get myself an Avior 7000 next week. Trying to sell my G9x that I bought from ebay some months ago. Pretty good mouse, but does not suit me.

[andrewjoy]

I'm really hating myself for loosing two original DiamondBacks with 3080 sensor in my successives last year relocations...
Right now I'm using a DiamondBack 3G and a Ninox Aurora (a good one), that are both great, but I kinda miss my old DBs.

Too bad the one on your link is peeling on plastic, Khers.

its the blue one as well witch is the second one if i am right ? original was red ? and yes lower dpi but sensor was way better imo

[the1onewolf]

Modern QC is just terrible haha.
You really don't have that many great choices these days.

Logitech definitely had a bad period where they cheapened out on internals. Especially with the G400s and G500s. G9x also had that bad scroll wheel.
For Logitech I think the G502 is actually pretty high quality and sturdy though. They also changed the mousefeet which seemed to cause issues for alot of early adopters. It's also extremely heavy though (for low sens gamers) at least.
I'm not really sure about the g302 and g402 though - they definitely don't use the best materials for those devices since they aren't the "flagship" mouse.

Roccat generally has high build quality. Probably look into the kone pure military series. The soft touch rubber coating might wear off though after a year. You can find some pics of that issue. If you don't mind a laser sensor also look into their other stuff.

I think for Mionix the Naos and Avior 7000 are decent build quality. Definitely not the best out there and it smudges really easily but it should last for you. You can get it on sale on massdrop too right no. I think Avior 7000 might be a good choice for you coming from the Sensei.

For Razer, I think you'd want to stick with the abysuss and deathadder. Everything else has been pretty much known to break down fast. Even the deathadder suffers from a clicking issue which develops over time - not sure if the latest revision the DA Chroma has actually fixed that.

I would definitely say no to Steelseries and Zowie because of how terrible I feel their QC is.

[seebart]

I guess I have had luck with my sensei then. I have used it over a year now with no problems so far! The build quality is good imo and their software is usable compared to razer`s. I´d like to try the G302 Daedalus Prime.

[the1onewolf]

I guess I have had luck with my sensei then. I have used it over a year now with no problems so far! The build quality is good imo and their software is usable compared to razer`s. I´d like to try the G302 Daedalus Prime.

Oh to clarify a little bit cuz I got sidetracked.
The Sensei actually has very good internal components. It's just as you said the software is practically unusable because of how buggy and laggy it is. I also wasn't a fan of the "frying pan" coating either. For me the skin near the dpi buttons started peeling a little bit after 1.5 years.

However, the Rival (which was announced late 2013) pretty much had some of the worst components and switches. They really cheaped out on the Rival.

[vometia]

Some nice ideas to be working with there, so thanks for that. I'll start window-shopping on Amazon now, I think.

And thanks for some reassurance that "it's not just me", I sometimes worry that I'm a bit of a magnet for bad luck when it comes to these things!

[vometia]

... well after a bit of my usual blend of prevarication and impulsiveness, I took the1onewolf's advice to grab myself a Roccat Kone Pure. I settled on the Camo one because it's kinda military-ish and sometimes I worry about how my mind works, or rather doesn't.

Hopefully I'll end up with something with no disconnect problems, whose mouse-wheel goes in the direction I want and which doesn't develop any clicking issues. Peeling I can deal with, I guess it's just a sign of the times considering even one of my expensive Le Creuset pans has a sticky and peely non-stick coating. :/

[Eszett]

Imo mice are nowadays are low quality products... just following the overall trend of short lasting / low quality products.

I agree. Since I have big hands I bought a Mad Catz R.A.T.7. I was disappointed in two ways. First, it’s still too small for my hands, and the adjustments are a gimmick, actually pretty useless. Second, the overall built-quality is not what I expected for a mouse with a ~80€ price tag. Cheap plastic, which even wiggles ... At least the optical sensor is quite ok, and it looks nice in glossy red Overall ... I can tell you: don’t buy it, it isn’t worth that price!

I’m still looking for a better mouse, in regards of size, quality, feel, ästhetics, etc. BTW, do you think those colorful mice are authentic or fakes: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/M ... 65825.html

[noobie94]

I have the Avior 7000 and it is a great mouse. The coating is a bit of a hand oils magnet, but it is easy to clean. Not for those with very big hands, it's on the small side!
The software is a bit lacking, nothing as refined as Logitech's, but you can control the LEDs to tone it down and store macros and settings on-board.

I am curious about the 2 side buttons on the right side.(I use it with the right hand) I would actually never use them so I am afraid that they are annoying or that I hit them accidently. How is your experience so far?

[chzel]

The way I hold the mouse (claw-ish, I rest the heel of my palm on the mouse and hold with ring+pinky and thumb) the front button touches the inside of the ring finger, but needs a conscious movement to actuate. I actually use that as a Back button and love it. The rear button is almost impossible to press since it is too far back.
The buttons have a nice smooth contour and are not annoying at all.
And of course if you find you actuate the button accidentally you can disable it with the software.

[the1onewolf]

If you are worried about touching the right side of the avior. Check out the mionix caster which will be out supposedly starting March

[seebart]

@ Eszett, I've never seen MS intelli mice in those colors. They look nice though!

[Eszett]

@seebart Ja, aber irgendwie verdächtig: gibt es nur auf alibaba, ich finde keine andere Referenz, daß dieses Produkt offiziell existiert. Und natürlich nur aus chinesischer Produktion. Hmmm.. sieht mir einfach nicht ganz koscher aus, was denkst du?

=> I wrote it looks suspicious. There is no other reference to this products than alibaba, produced in China ... I asked seebart about his opinion. I’m tempted to buy, but I hesitate. Help me

[Nuum]

Why German? This could be interesting to other people as well.
I'm not sure whether these are clones but the price seems to be a bit to high for clones. The colors are really nice, if I were into older Microsoft mice I'd give it a try.

[seebart]

Those intelli´s must be aftermarket mods, or even worse fakes.

[Hypersphere]

After much searching, I came across the Razer Deathadder Black Edition. It is perfect for my needs. Here are some of the things I like about it:

1. Excellent basic mouse without a lot of gaming features -- only five buttons, no flashing lights, no balancing weights, etc.
2. Perfect size and shape for me -- not too big, not too small.
3. Easy-click buttons, including the center button/scroll wheel.
4. Quiet scroll wheel with excellent control.
5. Smooth, non-sticky surface that seems always to feel dry.

The only thing I don't particularly like about this mouse is that it has a braided cable. Some people prefer this, but I would rather have a standard smooth USB cable.

Overall, I like this mouse so much that have purchased two extras in case it wears out and goes out of production.

[andrewjoy]

I think you made a good choice, but yes i agree that the cord is pathetic. Its not even nice braid, if it was nice soft braid like that on the slim blade then i would say its a good thing to have braid but not the crappy plastic stuff on the deathadder.

The conductor in the cable is also some of the thinnest i have seen, i opened a cheap pound shop cable and it was thicker than that of the deathadders cord. I would speak to plexon and see if he can make you a nice replacement cable

[noobie94]

How are MS intelli mice compared to modern ones? I am also interested but I don't want to end up with a fake with that price. I guess I will go with a Mionix.

[seebart]

the IntelliMouse Optical 1.1A is pretty much a "modern" mouse. The build quality is not bad. It´s not part of Microsoft´s product range anymore, for years actually.

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now like Eszett wrote there seems to be a revamped licensed version of this by alienware which is interesting:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/NEW-Arri ... 05411.html

it´s actually just a modded Microsoft IntelliMouse EXPLORER 3.0!

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-ie ... plorer-3.0

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