Frigging mice...

Mircea Neacsu

My turn to rant ... A couple of months ago, lulled by positive reviews like this[^], I got myself a Corsair Harpoon mouse, may its name live in infamy! This is nothing like what I've expected. Biggest problem is the ridiculously short battery life: about a week on average and that's without the fancy RGB lightning. I was used to Microsoft mice where I would recharge batteries once every 6 months or less and now I'm stuck with this thing that dies on me every other week. To add insult to injury, the software that comes with it is atrocious. All fancy-schmancy UI but every other day it says the device is not available and it cannot show me the battery level. I have to restart the frigging UI to find the mouse again. Besides the battery level is available only when using the RF dongle, not in Bluetooth mode. That occupies another USB port on my hub. In short, this is not a wireless mouse. It is a wired mouse that can occasionally be disconnected. bleah... [end of rant] Can someone recommend a mouse that (in order of importance): - is ambidextrous. I alternate between my hands to avoid RSI. - has a good (maybe gaming level) resolution. I occasionally do PCB design and other CAD work. - is wireless. Heck, we are in 21st century! - doesn't break the bank

Mircea

Maximilien

Mircea Neacsu wrote:

Biggest problem is the ridiculously short battery life: about a week on average and that's without the fancy RGB lightning

DAMN!!! Ye man, get yourself a cheap logitech mouse, I have an old Logitech mouse M510, I don't remember the last time I changed batteries (it uses 2 AA batteries) It's quite symmetric (couple of buttons on the left side that I never used) so can probably be switch left/right.

CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair

Mircea Neacsu

Thanks for the tip. One review[^] says:

Quote:

This is an affordable mouse for people who don't care much about how accurate or responsive the mouse is,

Well... I care about how accurate it is :laugh:

Mircea

RedDk

Mircea Neacsu wrote:

wireless

There's, indeed, your problem. I can sympathize with the Corsair iCUE interface myself ('seems overly bedazzling and arrests CPU cycles at oddly ironic times) ... but it's the heavy duty braided USB cable attachment to USB (blue) that guarantees voltage and makes a ... closet full of M65 RGBs my go-to supply of input devices when a switch on an 'old' one goes south. I even engrave them as they pass through my daily use pattern on their final leg to eternity standing on Saturns rings, audible, at rest in Valhalla.

RickZeeland

Maybe one of these best-ambidextrous-gaming-mice[^]

Mircea Neacsu

Thanks for the list Rick! It will take me some time to read all the reviews and try to decide on one. As a side question, I've noticed you always/frequently have extensive lists of products or solutions for many questions. How do you manage to keep them organized? I can't seem to find the pencil I used yesterday :laugh:

Mircea

RickZeeland

Well I just go to the Slant site and ... search :-\ And when I see an interesting topic I often get carried away and add some recommendations of my own and wait to see if others think it is good.

Kris Lantz

I have an old Logi M310 that's survived 10+ years. Not for gaming per se, but it's logged many hours doing so. If you have larger hands, it might be a bit uncomfortable for daily long term use, but otherwise the battery life is great, and it's cheap. No fancy buttons or software to keep up with; just plug and go.

Mike Hankey

I've also had a hell of a time with mice lately. Don't care for the one I have...generic lump of crap (I believe that's the brand name)...but I'm stuck with it for now, but definitely looking.

The less you need, the more you have. Even a blind squirrel gets a nut...occasionally. JaxCoder.com

honey the codewitch

Here are some of the things I've found: 1. if you gets one without a rechargeable feature - like it takes AA batteries - it will last longer. 2. Cheap ones aren't very accurate, but also tend to be both hand friendly because the designers don't care about "ergonomics" - speaking as a lefty, I hate when they *do* care. 3. Bluetooth is a battery pig. Edit: If you CAD at your desk you may consider getting a wired gaming mouse, and keeping cheap, long life one around for regular use. You can plug both into windows at the same time (or at least you used to be able to). It might not be the most ideal thing, but what you want (long life + accuracy) is hard to get because of all the radio traffic it requires. Edit 2: Some mice have a charging docking bay that they just slide into. If you can find one that meets your requirements and has one of those, as long as you don't forget to dock it the battery life shouldn't be an issue.

Real programmers use butterflies

Memtha

A good mouse is hard to find. I have been repairing my mouse since I got it almost 15 years ago because it is without equal and yet was discontinued by the manufacturer in favor of the wireless port that has numerous issues, for reasons I can only imagine involve battery company shadiness. (Used ones go for $80 on ebay/[amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Trackman-Wheel-Optical-Silver/dp/B00005NIMJ) whereas the wireless ones cost $15 new, I think I paid $20 for this one new and have spent around $20 in repair parts). I have replaced the right click button twice, left click once, the optical lense once, scratched the cat hair out numerous times... and yet I've never had to replace the battery because it is wired. It's also a trackball, so it does not physically move, ever, so being wireless is of zero benefit. My friend, who bought the wireless version after I talked up my wired version, and has replaced it *three times in the last 12 months!* He uses NiMH rechargables which last about a week so he just keeps a spare all charged up and ready to go.

OriginalGriff

I have one of those, and love it. Been using logi trackmen for 30 years, and wouldn't go back to a regular mouse.

"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

Mircea Neacsu

honey the codewitch wrote:

if you gets one without a rechargeable feature - like it takes AA batteries - it will last longer.

You are probably right but I don't see why. I used to put 2 NiMH rechargeables in my Microsoft mouse and they would last 6 months. Why the frigging LiIon-s can't do it.

honey the codewitch wrote:

Cheap ones aren't very accurate

That's a problem. For any CAD work I need to be somewhere between 2000 and 5000 dpi if I want to work comfortably. Otherwise I need to zoom to tremendous scales to hit something. Looks like I have to wait for the 22nd century for a decent mouse. :laugh: Edit:

honey the codewitch wrote:

If you CAD at your desk you may consider getting a wired gaming mouse

Unfortunately it looks like that :(

Mircea

honey the codewitch

Refresh. I edited my previous reply a couple of times. Maybe what I added will help. :)

Real programmers use butterflies

Lost User

Never met an "accurate" wireless mouse. Maybe if it was the only wireless thing around.

"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I

Mircea Neacsu

Me too :) Thanks for suggestions!

Mircea

Mircea Neacsu

Well, this one, I have to give it to it, is very accurate. No sudden jumps or lack of responsiveness even in Bluetooth mode.

Mircea

Jon McKee

Whatever you get, I recommend a laser sensor for precision movement. Optic sensors are ok but in my experience they have a very noticeable "dead zone" if you use very sensitive settings. I had a Corsair M60 Pro that was great for probably 5-6 years but then the right-click died a couple months back. I'm using a Logitech M500s now (had to find something local) which has been ok. The construction feels good (a nice stiffness to the clicks) but the sensor is dog-water at ~3000 dpi or higher. If you move the mouse a millimeter at a time from a dead stop as if you were carefully adjusting the cursor position, the cursor sometimes won't even move. You have to "snap" the mouse to kind of "wake up" the sensor before any fine movement.

Mircea Neacsu

Jon McKee wrote:

Whatever you get, I recommend a laser sensor for precision movement. Optic sensors are ok but in my experience they have a very noticeable "dead zone" if you use very sensitive settings.

That's what I used to know too. Seems however that these days special optical sensors are back in the game. Logitech calls them HERO or something. AFAIK Corsair has also an optical sensor and cannot complain about any lack of sensitivity. Maybe that's why it drains so much battery.

Mircea

Jon McKee

Interesting. I just looked it up and wow that HERO sensor is a leap. 25,600 max DPI? Who on Earth needs that? Pretty neat though, I wonder how they pulled that off and if it requires some special mouse-pad to reliably achieve that. 1ms polling rate too which surprises me. A lot of the optical mice (including my M500s) use the default 8ms which is... not as awful as people say but certainly noticeable.