How can we have a Mousepad Roundup without a Mouse Roundup? The top mouse companies have sent us their best and now it is time to determine a king of the hill.

Last year we saw the emergence of laser precision in the mainstream
mouse market via the Logitech MX1000, and the question on the minds of
many was would it be as big of a need as it was made out to be. What
laser technology needed to do was to have the same effect as optical
did on the mechanical mice market; complete and utter destruction.
However, it did not, and we are left teetering on the fence as to
whether this is worth forking out another $30-$70 for the upgrade. I
contacted Saitek, Microsoft, Razer, and Logitech to send me their best
gaming mice in each technological category. Before I introduce our
contestants, let me give you a run down on the history of each
technology and what they bring to the table.

A Bit of Mouse History
Doug Engelbat was an electrical engineering graduate of UC Berkeley and
is the father of the modern mouse. His goal was to create a device that
was more natural to control and manipulate than a keyboard. During
World War II, he received his inspiration from being a radar
technician. During the war, he came in contact with many types of
computer input devices that resembled the mouse as we know it. He was
granted the opportunity to manifest his idea in 1959, and by 1968, he
had succeeded. Engelbat and a group of computer scientists and
electrical engineers presented their invention to the Fall Joint
Computer Conference in San Francisco. It was a flop and did not catch
on in the “mainstream” until the Apple Lisa in 1983. This of course
evolved over the years and became the mouse as we know it today.

Optical Mice
Optical mice provided a far superior method of cursor manipulation
compared to their predecessors. The major change it presented was the
lack of mechanical parts. This meant no more cleaning the ball, dirt in
the gears, or aging of the mechanical parts from stress. Optical
engines enlisted the help of a red light emitting diode and a small
camera to track the motion of the mouse. This new technology allowed
the mouse to work on any non-reflective surface. It quickly caught on
to power users and entered the mainstream market shortly thereafter.
This was a revolution in the mouse world. Soon, more precise tracking
engines and higher resolution imaging would allow faster movement
speeds with greater accuracy.

Laser Mice
This past summer, Logitech announced the emergence of Laser technology
in mice with their MX1000. I was one of the early adopters myself,
curious to see what it had to offer. The Laser technology is yet
another first in a long list of firsts that Logitech holds. In 1982,
Logitech had the first commercially available mouse on the market. In
1984, they developed the first cordless mouse and the first cordless
optical mouse in 2001. Finally, in the summer of 2005 they were the
first to announce a mouse endowed with Laser technology.

“We’ve turned off the red light on these optical mice and replaced it
with an invisible laser that will change the industry,” said David
Henry, Logitech senior Vice President of the Control Devices Business
Unit. “Laser will eventually make the optical mice of today obsolete.
With laser technology, mice will see more microscopic detail. The
nature of laser light gives mice the ability to track with amazing
accuracy on more surfaces with more responsiveness than ever before.”

The laser tracking technology is the result of an alliance between
Logitech, the world’s No. 1 manufacturer of mice, and Agilent
Technologies, the leader in mouse tracking technology. The nearly
singular wavelength of laser light is capable of revealing much greater
surface detail than the red light-emitting diode (LED) found in today’s
optical mice. In tests conducted at Agilent, the laser mouse was found
to have 20 times more sensitivity to surface detail than LED optical
mice. Hence, the laser can track reliably even on tricky polished or
wood-grain surfaces.

Back in June/July, Logitech ran a survey of more than 2,000 LED-based
optical mice users; more than two-thirds of respondents were interested
in the ability to use a mouse on more surfaces. Because of their
ability to illuminate the surface in greater detail, laser mice will
track on surfaces on which LED-based optical mice tend to falter.

Twas’ the Paragraph Before the Review

This is a two part review. First, we will review the optical mice and
find the best of our optical contenders. Second, we will take a look at
the laser mice and determine the best of our laser contenders. Finally,
we will take a look at the best of each and determine the top mouse of
them all! Doesn’t that sound exciting?

Each contender will be judged on 7 different qualities. These qualities
are most important to gamers when looking for a new mouse. The scale
will be 0-5; 0 = Terrible, 1 = Bad, 2 = Below average, 3 = Above
average, 4 = Good and a 5 will be a perfect score.

• Aesthetics[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
• Ergonomics / Grip
• Buttons
• Weight
• Glide Factor
• Features
• Price

These are the characteristics needed to compete for the heart, I mean
hand, of a gamer. Let’s take a look at the optical mice first.

Conclusions

[[ =PAGE= ]]
Optical Mice
Logitech MX518

First up is the Logitech MX518. This mouse evolved from the original
MX500 gaming mouse. It became the MX510, a colored version of the
MX500, and now, the MX518. This is considered their gaming grade
optical mouse.

Aesthetics: 3.5 / 5
The mouse looks the same as every other Logitech MX mouse except for
the color/look. While it was smoother to the touch, the silver coloring
looked like it had dents in it and it drove me nuts. Others may be able
to get over this; however, I like my products to look shiny and new. In
other words, there is nothing extraordinary about its looks.

Ergonomics / Grip: 4.5 / 5
The mouse is comfortable. You can rest your hand on it and get a good
grip. It is shaped and designed for only a right hand so it loses some
points there. However, it has a rubber coating along the side which
makes it very easy to hold onto as well as comfortable. Its size,
however, makes it difficult for people with smaller hands.

Buttons: 5 / 5

Not only does this mouse come with, what is now the standard, five
mouse buttons, but they are well placed and easy to depress. Two
buttons on the left for the thumb and the 3 on top make it nice and
simple. Easy.

Weight: 3 / 5
This was one of the heavier mice that I used while reviewing all these.
Its bulk, size, and weight made it less effortless as the other mice I
reviewed. It seemed heavier than necessary when similar mice were not
as heavy.

Glide Factor: 2.5 / 5

This mouse is equipped with 5 tiny Teflon feet on the bottom. These
feet are small and became gunked up real fast. What I mean by gunked up
is that after a fair amount of use the feet will shift slightly. This
shift exposes adhesive and dust, hair, and other fun stuff gets trapped
there. The glide is only a bit above average.

Features: 4 / 5
Many of the mice we are going to review, but this is a relatively new
feature in the mice world. Being able to adjust the mouse resolution
right from the mouse is very nice feature to have. This mouse places
the higher resolution button above the wheel and the lower resolution
button below the wheel. The button just below that is the application
switch button.

Price: $38.89
[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
[[ =PAGE= ]]
Microsoft Comfort 3000

It should be noted that Microsoft sent this mouse so they would have a
competitor in the optical category. Currently, they do not make an
optical gaming mouse and will not be marketing the Comfort 3000 as such.

Aesthetics:

2.5 / 5
There is nothing spectacular about this mouse nor is their anything
ugly about it. It could be accurately described as average looking.

Ergonomics / Grip: 3 / 5

The mouse isn’t bad but it could be more comfortable. It has a
symmetrical design so no matter which hand you use it doesn’t fill out
enough for the weaker pinky side of your hand. This is compensated for
on the Razer by providing a rubber grip and being able to guide it with
your fingertips. The Comfort 3000 is much too slippery for this.

Buttons: 2 / 5
This mouse comes with 4 buttons. Left click, right click, middle click,
and one small red button on the left side of the mouse. If you are left
handed this button becomes almost useless, at the very least, awkward.
For gaming 5 buttons is almost a must now and this mouse did not cut it.

Weight: 4 / 5
This mouse was very light and easy to push around.

Glide Factor: 2.5 / 5

This mouse scores a bit higher than the MX518 because it utilizes only
4 feet all of which are larger than the feet on the MX518. With less
points of contact it makes for pretty easy gliding, but still nothing
more than average.

Features: 2.5 / 5
Average mouse with average features. This mouse best features are the
horizontal scrolling and the very smooth wheel scrolling. However, if
you like your wheel to click while turning in the least this mouse is
not for you. It does not click at all or even acknowledge its turning
at all.

Price: $18.50
[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
[[ =PAGE= ]]
Razer Diamondback

Razer has shown us many mice over the years. The Diamondback is what they consider to be their best optical
gaming mouse available. Previously, we reviewed the Razer Pro|Solutions
lineup and I am not seeing many differences here, but let’s take a look.

Aesthetics: 5 / 5

Razer was kind enough to send their Razer Diamondback Plasma Limited
Edition. Needless to say this mouse is stunning. That’s all I have to
say.

Ergonomics / Grip: 4 / 5
Razer has always said that their mice take a bit of getting used to.
The Diamondback is no exception. I have learned how to use my
fingertips to guide this mouse via the rubber side rails. It’s
symmetrical design makes it easy to use for both left-handed and
right-handed gamers. The mouse very comfortable, but loses a point for
the learning curve that accompanies it.

Buttons: 4.5 / 5

With 7 programmable buttons, this mouse is a dream for a button freak.
However, to use the pinky side buttons can be a pain and they are best
left at their default setting for changing the dpi. The buttons on the
left would have been better left separate than connected, but they
recover a bit by making them very easy to access along the rubber side
rails.

Weight: 4.5 / 5
As with all Razer mice, this mouse was extremely light and easy to manipulate.

Glide Factor: 4 / 5

This is one area I have always expected more out of from Razer, yet
they stick with what they have. They utilize 3 teflon feet in all. Two
miniscule ones towards the fron and a larger curved one in the back.
Because the mouse is so light the lack of feet in quantity

Features: 4 / 5
The Razer diamondback comes with one great feature that is well
implemented and that is On-The-Fly Sensitivity adjustment. To adjust
your sensitivity, just uses the buttons on the right side for going up
or down. Well done. The only thing that makes it imperfect is is the
lack of a way to tell what level of sensitivity you are at while in
game.

Price: $39.99
[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
[[ =PAGE= ]]
Saitek 1600dpi Desktop Gaming Mouse

Saitek has been known to create some fantastic products such as the
keyboard we reviewed not too long ago. They have made gaming
peripherals for years such as joysticks, keyboards, and gaming pads.
This is their first venture into gaming mice.

Aesthetics: 2.5 / 5

This mouse is not a bad first try. The only major aesthetic problem
that I perceived was the blue led. My thoughts from the pictures would
be that the blue led remained solid while in use however it is not the
case. The blue led flashes as you move it which I find very irritating.
Would be nice if you could change this via the drivers but you cannot.
In all I would say this mouse is a bit above average in terms of
aesthetics, but the flashing light and such is an annoyance that
brought it’s score in this category down.

Ergonomics / Grip: 3 / 5
The mouses overall shape looks very similar to the Logitech mice. It
has a semi-rubberized coating on the sides and a decent shape that
makes holding it an average experience. The indentation on the right
side is a bit odd; however, I could see the design working for a left
handed users, which gives them an extra half point for trying. Overall,
they could have done better.

Buttons: 4 / 5
Saitek does know that many buttons are necessary. Too many can be a
hindrance, too little can be a frustration, but a perfect amount is
hard to prescribe for each user. Saitek provides six buttons in total.
While I am glad they realized that a gamer such as myself prefers at
least 5 buttons, I am disappointed with the placement of the buttons. I
found the two on the left a bit difficult to hit and I never used the
one on the right due to the awkwardness of hitting it.

Weight: 4.5 / 5
This was their best category. They managed to keep the weight of their
mice down and on par with the Razer mice which is not an easy
accomplishment.

Glide Factor: 2 / 5

While 4 teflon feet reside on the bottom of this mouse they are tiny and close to being pointless.

Features: 3.5 / 5
The only feature this mouse offers that a few of the others don’t is
it’s ability to switch from 800 dpi to 1600 dpi resolution at the touch
of a button. However, this feature is better implemented in the other
mice and best implemented on the G5. Good idea, but poor execution.

Price: $29.95
[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
[[ =PAGE= ]]
End of Round 1 – Optical
Let’s see who came out on top![[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
The overall scores and ranking for the 4 optical mice we compared are:

1. Razer Diamondback with a 4.3 out of 5
2. Logitech MX518 with a 3.75 out of 5
3. Saitek Gaming Mouse with a 3.25 out of 5
4. Microsoft Comfort 3000 with a 2.75 out of 5

Nice job everyone! A few things should be noted before we continue. All
of these mice scored to be above average mice in general. The Microsoft
mouse was not branded or marketed as a gaming mouse. Microsoft simply
sent their best optical mouse to compete in the optical category.

Now that we have our standings for optical mice, let’s take a look at what competition lies in the Laser category!

[[ =PAGE= ]]
Laser Mice
Razer Copperhead

We introduced Razer in the beginning. It might be worth saying that
this is Razer’s first attempt at a laser mouse, but let’s find out how
they did.

Aesthetics: 5 / 5

Razer does it again with a stunning clean look this time. Illuminated
blue side rails and a slow pulsing 3 snake logo on the back of the
mouse are all that glows. The mouse looks very elegant and well
designed.

Ergonomics / Grip: 3.5 / 5
This mouses curves on the sides cave in a bit more than the diamondback
and it makes a big difference. This may be an illusion caused by the
fact you have to hold it more in those indentation to make the side
buttons more readily available, but nonetheless it is far less
comfortable than it’s optical brother.

Buttons: 3 / 5

While this mouse may look very similar to the Diamondback, it has a
subtle difference. The buttons are place below the side rails and are
angled in upwards. This angle and the button position make them very
difficult to hit accurately time and again. Unfortunately, this hurts
them a great deal.

Weight: 4.5 / 5
Razer, again, has managed to make a very lightweight mouse and still enable all the buttons and hardware. Well done.

Glide Factor: 4 / 5
Same teflon feet setup as the Diamondback. Thus, same score.

Features: 4 / 5
This mouse offers the same On-The-Fly technology as the Diamondback,
however, with the button placement the way it is, utilizing this
feature is more of a nuisance than anything. It’s a Great idea, but was
poorly executed.

Price: $78.99
[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
[[ =PAGE= ]]

Logitech G5

Logitech has been on the peripheral pulse for a long time and it was no
shock when they were the first to announce laser mice. The G5 is what
evolved in their gaming category from a lot of research. Let’s see what
is has to offer.

Aesthetics: 5 / 5

Complete and utter beauty. Ok so maybe it’s not for everyone, but the
rusted metal look is very nice and appears to have had quality time
designing the look. This doesn’t just speak for the aesthetic quality
but the mouse as a whole.

Ergonomics / Grip: 4 / 5
Like many of the other mice we have reviewed this has a rubberized
coating over most of it. However, it isn’t like the other coating where
the mouse was left smooth. This rubberized coating is rough and
provided amazing grip. As for the ergonomics, the G5 offers the same
great level of comfort as all who came before.

Buttons: 2.5 / 5
This is where the G5 comes up short. All of Logitech’s previous gaming
mice have featured five buttons at the minimum. For some reason
Logitech chose to only add four buttons to this mouse. This was an
enormous disappointment because I am used to having two buttons by my
thumb and the G5 only has one large button. While the placement is
great and all, the lack of a fifth button makes this mouse average in
the button department.

Weight: 5 / 5

This mouse has one of the coolest new features I have seen on a mouse
in a long time: a cartridge that ejects out of the base of it. The
cartridge has slots in it to insert the varying weights that came with
the mouse. This allows you to find the exact weight you need to feel
comfortable.

Glide Factor: 5 / 5
The G5 uses 3 oversized teflon feets. The large feet make the glide factor of this mouse simply amazing.

Features: 5 / 5
Where do I start? The G5 has adjustable sensitivity with a visible
meter on the top of the mouse. It also has an adjustable weight
cartridge. The cord of the mouse is cloth and the grip is rubberized in
a high quality fashion.

Price: $53.65
[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
[[ =PAGE= ]]

Saitek Laser Mouse

Saitek offered to enter this mouse to us under the premise that I am to
inform you this is not a gaming mouse. This mouse is simply a mouse
endowed with a laser rather than an led. For what is supposed to be a
‘generic’ mouse, it was a bit surprising.

Aesthetics: 1 / 5
This mouse is just plain ugly. It is the oddest looking mouse I have
ever encountered. Due to its odd shape and peculiar style, I found it
very unattractive and scored it a 1 out of 5 in this department.

Ergonomics / Grip: 3.5 / 5

The entirety of this mouse is covered in some sort of soft coating. I
won’t call it a rubber coating because it does not grip at all, but is
strangely soft to the touch. The shape of the mouse, while weird, was
actually decently comfortable. The lip on the right side provided a
nice resting place for those extra fingers.

Buttons: 4 / 5
The buttons on this mouse were nicely places and depressed well. I
found them to be very responsive and defined clicks gave the feedback
to let you know they had been pressed. The buttons were a pleasure to
use.

Weight: 3 / 5
The Saitek Laser actually was well weighted. At first glance, you might
think it was heavy due to its abnormal size, but it was actually a bit
lighter than the average mouse and was pretty easy to move weight wise.

Glide Factor: 2.5 / 5

Same as the other Saitek mouse, it carries but 4 small Teflon feet that
would give little help to keeping this mouse gliding anything more than
average. When it was tested, it was just as I thought: average.

Features: 2.5 / 5
The only feature this mouse has is horizontal scrolling making it average.

Price: $49.95
[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
[[ =PAGE= ]]

Microsoft Laser 6000

Microsoft is now entering the gaming mice industry with their first
mouse being a laser mouse. This is a bold move and not a shabby one.

Aesthetics: 4 / 5
A glossy, dark gray lacquer coats it surface and creates a nice clean
look. No lights, no typical black color, and a normal shape makes this
mouse stand out above the average. Well done aesthetically.

Ergonomics / Grip: 3.5 / 5
This mouse has the same shape and design as the Comfort 3000 and what I
said about the ergonomics and grip of the Comfort 3000 stands for this
mouse as well. The mouse isn’t bad but it could be more comfortable. It
has a symmetrical design so no matter which hand you use it doesn’t
fill out enough for the weaker pinky side of your hand. This is
compensated for on the Razer by providing a rubber grip and being able
to guide it with your fingertips. The Laser 6000 has buttons on either
side where your fingertips would go so it would be impossible to guide
it using them.

Buttons: 3.5 / 5

Microsoft gained a point above average for recognizing that many gamers
prefer 5 or more buttons. However, they placed the fifth button on the
right side of the mouse making it awkward to hit. You can get used to
it, but you can also accidentally hit it very easily. This proved to be
a problem. Nice number, but bad placement.

Weight: 4 / 5
The weight of this mouse was something I was pleased with. Previously,
my experience with Microsoft mice has been that they run a bit on the
heavier side. The Laser 6000 did a great job of keeping the weight
down, but not as nicely as the others reviewed.

Glide Factor: 2.5 / 5

Four feet on the bottom of this mouse and they are shaped very
similarly to the Logitech feet. They wore down quick and by the time
this article was finished the feet had worn to the point of noticeable
drag. For this I can say that the glide factor of this mouse was
nothing more than average.

Features: 2.5 / 5
No extended features to speak of and thus, this mouse scores an average score.

Price: $44.99
[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
[[ =PAGE= ]]
End of Round 2 – Laser
Let’s see who came out on top.[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]
The overall scores and ranking for the 4 laser mice we compared are:

Job well done to all our contenders! Again, we saw that all mice scored
above average. It should be noted again that the Saitek mouse here was
not entered in as a gaming mouse. Saitek wanted to enter their only
Laser mouse to see how it would compete with the rest. It is no
surprise it came in last.

Now that we have our standings for laser mice, let’s move on to the conclusion and some final commentary.

[[ =PAGE= ]]
Conclusion
This was a very difficult round-up to complete because of the many
differences, however, I believe we found a testing approach that worked
very well. We had 2 mice from every major manufacturer of mice in the
gaming industry. To recap these were each category’s standings and the
conclusion I drew from each.

Optical[[ ADVERTISEMENT=34 ]]

The Razer Diamondback was our winner by over half a point and for good
reason. The Diamonback not only has great aesthetic quality, but
provides performance and precision consistently. The others have some
minor improvement that are necessary for competition in the market.
Good luck to you three in the future.

Laser

The Logitech G5 is quite simply an amazing mouse with phenomenal
aesthetics, features, and precision. A job well done to the Logitech
team in their design of this mouse. Its only flaw was the lack of a
fifth button which will hopefully be seen in their next gaming mouse as
it was in previous Logitech mice. To the rest of our contenders, we
hope to see the improvements made in future products and can’t wait to
see what comes out of these companies in the aftermath of this
round-up.

Popularity: 7% [?]

You Should Also Check Out These Post:

• Valve Joins the Cloud Computing Trend
• NVIDIA Updates
• Sapphire's Radeon HD4850X2
• Get out and vote
• AMD's Deneb to Sample Late November

More Active Posts:

• Some Updates (8)
• NVIDIA has an overcomplicated lineup (8)
• What happened... (8)
• Welcome To FPSLabs V3 With Added Awesome! (7)
• NVIDIA GeForce 9800GTX on April 1st (7)
• Razer Piranha Review (7)
• Microsoft to sell XP until 2010 (6)
• Weekly Hardware Recap (6)
• The Weekly Hardware Recap (5)
• Newbie's Guide to Vista: The Look (5)