Need a new mouse

Alright, it's about time to retire my Logitech MX400, I'm going to get something respectably good this time.

I'm looking at Razer Imperator, Steelseries Xai, and Logitech MX518. Who recommends which and why?

Thanks

Xai, best sensor/laser, but i have had trouble getting used to the shape of it, sometimes it feels awsome, other times its awkward.
MX518, really good sensor, can swing it round and do flick shots no worries so its good enough, and cheap, and i like the shape of the mouse.
Dont know about the razer one.

gotta back up pern on this one. mx518 is pretty good and not too pricey (49.99). you might have to tinker with the settings to get it how you like, but it is shaped nicely and fits right in the palm of your hand. Only setback is that one of mine shorted out, but was able to be easily replace thx to warranty.

bodybagger wrote:gotta back up pern on this one. mx518 is pretty good and not too pricey (49.99). you might have to tinker with the settings to get it how you like, but it is shaped nicely and fits right in the palm of your hand. Only setback is that one of mine shorted out, but was able to be easily replace thx to warranty.

Notoriously know for being a good mouse but.... also 1 of the easiest to short out/break tons of ppl with doa or quick kills for the 518 while many others have it long lasting but logi is really good on warranties usually so if they give you a lemon 1-4 times inquire bout an upgrade. As for Steelseries idk much bout them other than there brand name is almost on par with there mice products from what I've read while I have a razer abyssus good tracking but <stewie griffin voice>my god man</stewie> the mouse buttons are so freaking sensitive I got heavy hands but if I'm watching a vid and a rest unintentionally its a right click on the app or screen, I have had a couple of issues with magnum firing while just moving the mouse any 1 else have these issues with razer?

tons of ppl swear by the 518 though so its a got a rep but always depends on personal preference

I myself would like a mouse with better ergo mines basically normal mouse with gaming grade laser and buttons but my hands give me a big clearance away from the mouse so any recommendations out there? sry for the hijack btw but at least i gave some input too

MX 518 is pretty outdated now really. I just changed my Logitech G5 to a G500, which is the newer model. Both are great mice. I used to have the MX518 but when the G5 came out I switched to that.

What makes a mouse outdated? Is it simply consumerism? You must have the newest things, even if it's the same old with a new look?

mx518 is reliable, and a solid mouse (Unlike that POS company called Razer that has put out a new mouse every 4-6 months only to be plagued with the same old problems). mx518 with its 1800 DPI is more than enough for me. What I really want is a mouse that doesn't fuck up. So far the mx518 has never failed me, why "upgrade?" If you want to call it that.

The 518 is a bit too small for me, and the scroll wheel doesn't stick out far enough. I had to disable the scroll wheel button because I kept pressing it down on accident.
I laughed when I went to Best Buy about a month ago and they were selling the G500 for less than the 518.

G500 > MX518 in every way, it has way better button placement, a better wheel, and feels more comfortable.

I like the fact that the mx518 has a easy to press wheel because i use it for sec fire, i dont know how da fark u could press it accidently though =\
I have had my mx518 for YEARS too, by bro was using it for a long time, use to bang it around alot wen raging, its still going hard though, and its the original 1600DPI version.

My G5 is officially a POS. The crosshair bops up and down and jumps around. It won't recognize a firmware update.
It acts like it's on a surface it can't read and jumps around.

I liked the Copperhead but i smashed through 2of them. Button 1 failure.
I liked my 518 but crushed two of those.
It would seem toolight after have a weight system.
And now my Lycosa board has a broken spacebar and ctrl key.

I might try the Saitek thing i bought when CompUSA went out.
Maybe it'lllast more than a year. (See, the godamn spacebar doesntwork)

lol stop hulk smashing ur shit.

@ Rejected: The MX518 is and excellent mouse (I never said it wasnt). Ive owned a few of them and they are good. However they are outdated in terms of the fact that you can get mice with much higher DPI and better sensitivity. Lastly, the MX518s are optical mice, not lazer mice. Most gamers and gaming mice reviews will tell you that lazer mice track better and with more accuracy than optical mice. I personally also like the G5s and G500 for the fact you can add weights to them, for me the feel of a weighted mouse is better than a non-weighted one. Non weighted seems too light for me, but thats just me. On another note, I didnt like the feel of the G9s so never bought one of those.

@ Impala: Ive owned 4 G5s never ever had a problem with any one of them other than the fact that I wear them out from use. Ive had that many so I can carry one in my laptop bag without having to disconnect the one from the computer and I like to have a spare around. I broke the mouse wheel on one trying to knife someone in a really intense BFBC2 game. Also, I never had to do a firmware update but I dont use the software for them anyway. I tried a Razor mouse once and I dont like the feel of them.

@ ? I looked at some of the newer Steel Series mice at a video game show and except for the fact that they dont have weight customization, they seem like excellent mice. If they would have had weights, I would have bought one to try. They have also gotten some good reviews by some video game mags.

I think that choice of mouse really boils down to personal preference. If you like the feel of it, go with that.

Thanks for the prompt responses.

I've been using my MX400 for, hell, probably 2 years by now, so I'm pretty bloody used to the shape of it. Pretty sure the 518 is exactly identical in shape and size

The one thing that's putting me off Steelseries a bit is that, although the specs are right and I've heard countless tales of their miraculous awesomeness, their mice looks like fuckin' 10$ microsoft things. They just look unbearably cheap, and it's hard to imagine them being as good as I know they actually are.

I would look into a Logitech G5, but I've heard stories of reliability issues; not sure how exaggerated some of them may be.

I've got a fair chunk of extra cash that I won't be needing for university this year (got enough scholarships) that I don't really have a budget limit for my new mouse.

Everyone I've spoken to that has a Razer swears by it, but some of them strike me as fanboys and I'm not sure what their opinion is really worth.


Anyway, basically what I'm looking for is a wired mouse with respectable DPI and response time, obviously 2 buttons and a scroll wheel, plus I like side buttons, preferably on the thumb side. It also has to be reputably reliable. Does anyone else have a product that they care to promote that hasn't been mentioned yet?

Another issue, I suppose, is that the only stores around here I can actually find a reasonable selection of mice at are Staples and Futureshop, so if i want a Steelseries or something else less "mainstream" I'll have to order online, and I've gotten seriously pissed off with ordering PC shit online and getting it DOA

Um, any questions?

Lemme jump in as a rep for the Razer mouse.

I owned a 518 for ages, still have it for my laptop.

But for my recently upgraded desktop I wanted to splurge a little and get a Razer mouse. So I looked around until I saw the Imperator. It had a different shape than all the other razer mice I've seen so I decided to try it. This felt like a more ergo 518, it had a nice weight to it and the feet cover a nice wide area so it stays flat on whatever surface you have it on. I liked that the side buttons were also adjustable to whatever works best. Great sensor, almost too much actually. The best way I can describe the Imperator is: Basically a wired Mamba.

My MX 518 served me well, and continues to do so, for many years but when I used this one I was instantly satisfied with the upgrade.

Now if I could only find my ExactMat...

{Rx}Crowbar Ninja DJ Z3R0 wrote:The best way I can describe the Imperator is: Basically a wired Mamba.

That was what piqued my interest; I have no need for wireless and, hell, it's like 60$ cheaper

anyone know anything about the Steelseries Ikari?

Oh, and what's up with the G5 and G500 being the same price, and the MX518 being more expensive? That's retarded

Laser mice have alot of tracking issues that basically consign them to the mmo level of gaming at best. Stick with optical or infared until laser technology matures a bit.

http://www.esreality.com/?a=post&id=1265679

Not much has changed since this review, unfortunately.

Ko-Tao wrote:Laser mice have alot of tracking issues that basically consign them to the mmo level of gaming at best. Stick with optical or infared until laser technology matures a bit.

http://www.esreality.com/?a=post&id=1265679

Not much has changed since this review, unfortunately.

thats some interesting info

also, I could've sworn laser was better

Depends wat surface u use, hard surface matts will give u really good tracking with laser mice but then ur mouse feet may rub off plus u get all kinds of gunk build up on them that are hard to clean without rubbing the shit out of the surface. I would go with a tightly woven soft surface.

Specs for mx518:
* Tracking resolution: 400 - 1800 dpi
* Image processing: 5.8 megapixels/second
* Maximum acceleration: 15 G
* Maximum speed: 1 m/second (depending on surface)
* USB data format: 16 bits/axis
* USB report rate: 125 reports/second
* Sleep mode: Disabled

Specs for xai:
Frames per second: 12.000
- Inches per second: 150+
- Megapixels per second: 10.8
- Counts per inch: 100 - 5.001 (one CPI Steps)
- Max. Acceleration: 30 G
- Sensor data path: True 16 bit
- Polling: 125 - 1000 Hz (1Hz increments)

Just to give an idea of how much certain lasers have improved, and theu will keep improving.
That being said, mx518 is good enough, only problem i found is wenever i would put pressure on it(from top, and on soft matt surface), the mouse feet became alot less glidey and aiming at that point becomes like aiming at a really low frame rate.

Tranthor wrote:

Ko-Tao wrote:Laser mice have alot of tracking issues that basically consign them to the mmo level of gaming at best. Stick with optical or infared until laser technology matures a bit.

http://www.esreality.com/?a=post&id=1265679

Not much has changed since this review, unfortunately.

thats some interesting info

also, I could've sworn laser was better

Ive read many more recent reviews that say lazer mice are better for FPS gaming than optical, Ive also read comments by some people (regular consumers not reviewers) that there really is no difference between them. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) with things like this, there are many many different opinions which is why I believe that choice of mouse is really personal preference and gaming style.

So I ended up going with an MX518 because I found one on sale. Just bought it today, haven't trying gaming with it yet. feels nice so far