mouses or mice? Microsoft or Microshaft?

llatsni

I've been thinking about buying a new mouse and I've been reading reviews etc. etc. and I realised that there apparantly is some dispute about the differances (apart from layout and price) between microsofts IntelliMouse Explorer and their IntelliMouse Optical... does ANYONE know what the real differance is? Which one is better? Does anyone have either of them? does anyone know if theyre better than the Razer Boomslangs???? Argh too many questions

Hobbes

I have tried the MS and Logitechs optical mouse.

I have 2 MS mice and both have died within a year. I have no idea what is wrong with them. The 2 logitech mice I have I got around the same time and are still going strong.

Personally I would recommend an optical mouse as you don't have to clean the crap off the ball or wheels.

llatsni

So what is the Ultimate overall mouse then? (for games and apps) Logitech? Heard they were crap??

Bard

Personally, I'd go for a trackball over a mouse any time. Once you get used to it and the difference between it and a mouse, you'll find it can be far more easy to use and accurate for general use, graphics work and games alike.

I'd go with Logitech.

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Bard

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"We do know it was we who scorched the sky..."

[This message has been edited by Bard (edited 30-04-2001).]

Excelsior

Paul Donnan you are pulling our leg with that Logitech are crap line.

Less of your nonsense!

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My Adolescent website:
http://www.iol.net/~mullent

llatsni

If you could read you would have noticed that I said "I heard" that they were quite bad Anyway - if youre so sure theyre good prove it!

-Toppy-

MMmh well I thought that the MS optical mouse had an limited lifetime warranty which covers the cable etc. The mouse that died on me was replaced by this straight away..

Cheers
-Toppy-

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Gerry

you have used a boomslang, rest assured the microsoft is much worse. Boomslang is expensive though, so I'd go for a logitech.

Dustaz

i heard that optical mice arent as sensitive for gaming. Is this true? or is it only reall really good players that notice this. I like the idea of no ball, but if it handles like a cow...:/

Kali

For price/performance you can't beat the bog-standard MS Intellimouse... if you pick up the better of the two types (one where the wheel isn't incased in a plastic spherical thingy).

Hobbes

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Dustaz:
i heard that optical mice arent as sensitive for gaming. Is this true? or is it only reall really good players that notice this. I like the idea of no ball, but if it handles like a cow...:/</font>

I use an optical mouse in T2... is that your corpse in front of me.

I don't have to clean it, and it hasn't died yet... Logitech mouseman wheel optical.

Dustaz

Good enough for me

quozl

Far as I know, not a single pro quake player uses optical mice. And you dont get more anal than them. They're horribe for gameplay. They inaccurate compared to mechanicals, and jerk.
A good test for a mouse is to see how small a figure of 8 you can draw with it. Youll find the optical mice will stutter all over the place.
A good mechanical intellimouse, logitech or a boomslang (tho i dont like the feel of them myself) will vastly outperform an optical mouse in games.
Though you have to clean them. But its worth it to me, playing with an optical mouse is like playing football with a broken leg.
quozl

Shinji

This depends entirely on what kind of sensitivity you use Greg. Opticals suffer when it comes to large movements at high speeds, because their tracking loses its position; ball-mice suffer when making small movements, because slippage is more pronounced.

For the record, a number of the players at the CPL CS tournament two weeks ago and the CPL Q3 tournament last week in TPF were using optical mice. More than were using boomslangs, in fact...

SantaHoe

Logitech all the way, don't feed the Mon$ter!!

llatsni

I went a mouse hunting yesterday afternoon in Dublin city center... and nowhere at all has a decent selection of mice. I tried IT Direct, Dixons, Maplin, Peats, Unity etail, Compustore... etc. etc. The only place was the madly overpriced PC World... and I mean MADLY overpriced. As was Unity (www.unity.ie) this yuppy Computer store on Jervis St. £59 quid for an intellimouse optical! COME ON!!! IT Direct (when they have them) sell them for £39. Anyhow that life I suppose. Anyone recommend a place?

quozl

clear

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Shinji:
This depends entirely on what kind of sensitivity you use Greg. Opticals suffer when it comes to large movements at high speeds, because their tracking loses its position; ball-mice suffer when making small movements, because slippage is more pronounced.
</font>

At high speeds opticals are absurdly ****. Its true. Quick turns in qw dm4 are a joke. But I also find them worse for small movements. I play cs and q3(useing the rail) and both of those require small accurate aiming movements. The optical mice are better at this than quick turns, but are still much less accurate than mechanical mice. They go from being hideously **** (for highspeed) to being merely annoying for low speed small movements.
As to mechanical mouse slippage. A clean mouse with a good mat doesnt slip. I still use the dell cloth mice mats as recommended by koopa for so many years. A clean intellimouse and one of them,and I know it will always do what I want it to. No mouse mat has managed to get me an acceptable response from an optical mouse.
quozl
If anyone wants to try opticals out, try either DNC. The mice are fine, I just much prefere mechanicals.

PS as for more opticals than boomslangs. Thats unsurprising. A hell of a lot of ppl , myself included cant stand boomslangs. I'd bet money there were a lot more logitechs (especially) and other mechanical mice there than opticals.




[This message has been edited by quozl (edited 01-05-2001).]

_CreeD_

Boomslang's take a bit of getting used to but you won't find a better mouse. In TFC it comes into it's own with the extra 2 buttons' side placements (Much more comfortable than the logitech or microsoft offerings). Makes grenades a lot easier to handle.
Also, our 'Safety moment'of the thread, you'll end up with your wrist flat on the mousepad when you're used to it, it's a lot less painful for long gaming sessions.

Ratpadz or Everglide are the way to go for Mechanicals' mouse mats (and no I'm not just a brand-wh0re they really are excellent).


[This message has been edited by _CreeD_ (edited 01-05-2001).]

m1ke

I use a microsoft intelli mouse with intelli eye, in Quake2 and Quake3 it's preformance is excellent.

In Quake3 the settings I use are : fov90, sensitivity 9.0000, com_maxfps "120", and r_displayrefreshrate "120". With the monitor rf rate and fps synced the mouse moves much smoother... very precise movement. I also find in windows the lower the refresh rate the more precise. In quake3 it's as smooth as a mothafocka... couldn't ever go back to friction city.

Leverz

I have tried a lot of mice, and now, personally, I could not leave my Raver Boomslang. I even tried going back to my MS Intellieye Explorer, but found it unresponsive in comparison. I found the same also on some of the other Logitect/MS ball mice I have lying about. For speed and accuracy I would have to agree with _Creed_ as I have the mouse and I have an Everglide mat(board). Best ever setup I have come across.
Costs you and you can only get the mouse at Wireplay. But for performance it is well worth it.

Cake Fiend

Most people I've spoken to about Boomslangs who don't like them either haven't used them long enough to get completely used to it, or have been using a dodgy mouse. (Gerry is a convert )

I've been using a Boomslang-Everglide combo for months now, and there's now way I could go back to the old Intelli-Allsop crap I used before. I'm going to have to buy a couple of spare boomers now for when my present one eventually dies...

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Put 'em in your mouth and suck 'em
Clan Acid