I found the recent "hardware guide" threads to be quite productive so: Does anyone know a good mouse?

[long story]
I'm a big Logitech fan. My current one is 9(!) years old and albeit getting a bit slow and outdated it still works fine, making it the longest lasting bit of computer hardware I ever got.

So, I thought, what could go wrong if I go to my local computer store and get me a medium-high priced Logitech mouse of the newest generation? Tendinitis, that's what can go wrong!

It was an MX 518, with very high dpi, 8 buttons and all kinds of extra features for "eXtreme" gaming and office use. That thing is so big, however, that it hardly fits into my big, manly hand. You have to grab it like a tennis ball. Many of the buttons are unreachable without breaking your fingers and I don't know if it's just the anatomy of my own hand, but my pinkie got stretched away a few millimeters which hurt a lot after half an hour or so. It's like those pseudo-ergonomic shoes that fill out your foot rest until you feel like having flat feet.

Anyway, the people at the store were friendly and gave me my money back.
[/long story]

But now I'm a bit more careful about getting a new one. I wondered if any of you could recommend one. Here's what I'm looking for:

• I'm still a Logitech follower. The mouse worked great when I tested it in game for example.
• I don't like wireless mice, so I'm looking for a cable edition.
• I'm looking for something flat and rather small.
• An additional button for the thumb would be nice, but most of these are almost unreachable anyway. I can live without a mouse wheel. Do they make mice without mousewheels? I find a middle button much more comfortable.

So I'm open for any recommendations, thanks in advance! :smile:

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Why snark works.

I got a Razer mouse recently. It's excellent. they also have a white "office" edition. which is the one i have.
http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_17

Here's my mousing anecdote:
I had a cheapo optical mouse for about a year, it sucked. I got an MX510, used it for two years, during which I tried a Razer Diamondback which I though was the worst ergonomic shape I've ever seen, last xmas I got a Razer/MS Habu, which is the s**t once you get the drivers set up right (which is a royal pain in the ass). By this time I had been suffering mild RSI in my wrist and shoulder for about 6 months, and it continued to get worse to the point of being unable to use the computer for more than an hour at a time before my hand would start going numb and have shooting pain all the way up my arm.

I got a refurbished Wacom Graphire4 about a month ago and use it for everything but gaming now, and in the past month my RSI has pretty much disappeared. For gaming I still have my Habu, which is the nicest mouse I've ever used, and I've tried a Logitech MX510, MX518, G5, Razer Daimondback and MS Intellimouse. My biggest gripe with it is the friggin (bright) LED lights that have to be turned off in the drivers, and doesn't save the state when you power down so they turn on every time you start your PC.

The Habu is about the same size as an MX510/518, but the shape is much nicer. It's the mouse I'd recommend highest, below that would be the MX518 :razz: .

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o

Thanks for the input, guys.

I heard a lot of good things about razor mice.

The death adder looks pretty neat. I've been thinking of the bright LEDs, too because I find them rather annoying. And it seems they can be turned off easily with the death adder. I think the death adder was licensed to MS as the Habu (at least I think I read that somewhere).

So for now: "Razor DeathAdder"

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Why snark works.

Would you be interested in a wireless mouse if it has a lithium ion battery?

You should take a look at the Logitech MX Revolution. It's what I would buy if I were to sink $60 into a mouse (normally it's $100) As far as I can tell, it has more functionality than any other mouse. I can imagine for games (or anything really) it'd have an incredible amount of use. You could check out the VX, also, which is the same thing, but smaller for notebooks. However, that one doesn't have a rechargeable battery. Cheaper though.

If you're concerned about the data transfer of a cordless mouse for gaming, it doesn't effect it. I have a fairly cheap Logitech cordless mouse and it works far better than any other mouse I've had before. The only thing that bugs me is the battery life. But, if it had a Lithium Ion battery, there'd be no problem.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

I was worried about the LED's too but it hasn't bothered me. even when playing in the dark. except when i'm trying to sleep (comp next to bed). then i just trough a towel over it.

I've got a Logitech MX1000 which was the predecessor of the MX Revolution, and I love it. No input lag like old wireless mice used to suffer so it's perfect for gaming, and it's got all the buttons you could need on it (which was my main gripe with the Logitech's other good wireless mouse at the time - the G7 - as it had removed some buttons). Battery life is good too as it normally lasts about 4 days without needing a charge, but thats not an issue really when charging it is just a matter if sitting it in its dock for a few hours.

Only gripe I have with it is that you need to do some hacky workaround to get any buttons beyond the main 3 working in games; binding them to some of the F keys instead of their default function and then binding the F keys to functions in game. You can set up profiles that auto switch on launching games/applications to keep their default functionality in windows, however.

So yeah, like Crono I'd go with the MX Revolution these days, but if you've got something against wireless I guess that's unlikely to win you around, and the shape is certainly on the large side. The Razers are generally lower profile, flatter shapes than the handful Logitechs, so I guess that should really be the range you most consider.

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