Hey folks,
I'm in a bit of a pickle.
Since my G9x (with cover on) died some time ago, I made due with a Steelseries Rival 300 - not that it's bad, but the buttons feel iffy, to me, if the shape is a decent alternative to what the G9x was for me.
I figured it was time to find a new dedicated mouse, as I've now completely given up hope to ever see the G9x reproduced, or its legacy live on. So, I went and brought home 4 (i'll get to why I only listed 3 in a bit), making sure that I could refund them so long as there was no notable wear or damage, and that I do so within 2 weeks.
What I dug up were, in no specific order:
Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum
Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
Corsair M65 Pro RGB
Zowie EC1-a
Now, I use what I can best describe as a hybrid palm/fingertip grip; my palm rests on the back of the mouse, with the base of my palm touching the base of it, leaving just tip of my wrist resting on the mousepad (a custom "The Black Watchmen" steel mat). My fingers are lightly arched over the buttons, alternating between the tips and pads for pressing, depending on how stressful/intense the situation is.
I'm prone to dislike having my ring-finger rest on top of my little-finger due to a previous injury that caused some irreperable (but otherwise very minor) damage to the ligament, but it's more of a paranoiac reaction than an actual discomfort.
And I'm right-handed.
I've tried each mouse for 1 - 1½ hours over various intervals, trying to compare the feel of them, hoping that one of them would stand out, so to speak - but in actuality, 1 did the inverse.
To share some thoughts:
G502 Proteus Spectrum
I know people adore this one, but I simply find the shape too narrow.
My ring finger defaults to resting on my little finger, and I often find myself grabbing the outer edge thumb-rest, when I'm finally able to forget that I'm using an unfamiliar mouse and I focus on the game.
The build quality is great, the precision is great, the looks are good, but the shape disqualifies it, more or less.
G900 Chaos Spectrum
Since I'm a gamer at heart, I don't care too much about the high price, only if the mouse is comfortable.
I find that the initial grip is very pleasing; it oozes a sense of "being accurate", but unfortunately - although I'm not sure if this is a matter of getting used to the slightly narrower shape - I find that one of 2 things start to happen as I play:
- Either my ring finger drifts down onto my little finger, which makes it feel less precise and a bit clunky (and secondly, a bit uncomfortable, as mentioned, but not too bad)
- My ring finger will "hang" over the edge of the ambidexterious design, which isn't bad nor good, just unfamiliar.
Finally, I do get a slight sense of "clenching" the mouse if things get a bit hectic in a game, although I haven't played long enough to determine whether this would lead to fatigue or not.
The build quality feels superb, as does the precision, I prefer the slightly more minimalist look of this compared to G502, and the shape initially feels grand, but feels a bit odd after some time in use.
M65 Pro RGB
This is the closest I could find in regards to the shape of G9x.
My ring finger rests across the edge of the side of the mouse and edge of the right button initially, with my little finger running along the outer edge of the mouses side.
As time goes on, it sometimes drifts - again - down onto my ring finger, and due to no surface area to support both, the pressure feels more pronounced - a quick reminder to reposition though, and it's "fixed".
The "snipe" button under the thumb is .. pointless, for me. I find it becomes much harder to aim when trying to press it - and more importantly, I don't see why I'd use it, as I don't even use the on-the-fly DPI settings most mice have these days - at best it's useless, at worst it's a distraction; "grip too hard and you'll press it".
The build quality feels great, the texture is rough, and I dont experience as much perspiration when using it as I do with most other mice. Precision is great, and the shape is by-and-large good, but at times it can feel just slightly too cumbersome to handle, although removing the 3 weights did help.
EC1-A
I bought the EC1-A version as I have a slightly large hand (I think?) (18x9 cm // 7x3.5 in), and for better or for worse, it feels almost like a carbon-copy of my Rival 300.
Like the Rival 300, the shape is good, my hand rests across the entirety of the mouse, but I find that the buttons - especially the right button - is too easy to press, and will often accidentally press it if I let my middle-finger rest completely. The mouse-wheel feels somewhat sticky - reminds me of the time I realized I should probably clean the gunk out of my G9x mousewheel, and was utterly surprised at how smooth it was meant to turn. The thumb-buttons feel somewhat cheap, with the "back" button having very little resistance - which I am, as hinted above, not a huge fan of - because I'm not prone to click it by accident, however, it's not as big of a problem as the right-button lack of resistance is.
I haven't used it as much as the others, as quite frankly the shape is very, very reminiscent of the Rival 300.
The build quality is okay, a bit more plastic-y than the others, and I wonder how it'll react if (or rather, when) my palm gets sweaty.
So, it more or less boils down to:
[strike]G502[/strike]: Shape doesn't lend itself very well to my grip and preferences.
G900: Great initial grip, degrades a bit over time when in use, worry about fatigue after prolonged use.
M65 Pro: Good initial grip, degrades slightly over time, but feels a bit clunky at times - possibly because I can't use my ring finger to maneuver as much as I can on mice where it naturally rests along the side.
EC1-A: Very similar to Rival 300 in shape, good possibility of getting annoyed at the low resistance of the button(s), and quite possibly it getting harder to handle over prolonged (sweaty) use.
I would love to get used to the G900 because of the precise feel of the grip, but worry about whether that'll ever happen.
I get all nostalgic with the M65's shape, but I worry if the grip would cost me some accuracy or whether it's too cumbersome .
I have gotten slightly used to the shape of the Rival 300, I feel, so it is comfortable, but the buttons on EC1-A come across as having too little resistance.
Any thoughts are more than welcome!
(And cheers for reading my entire rant, as always)
I'm in a bit of a pickle.
Since my G9x (with cover on) died some time ago, I made due with a Steelseries Rival 300 - not that it's bad, but the buttons feel iffy, to me, if the shape is a decent alternative to what the G9x was for me.
I figured it was time to find a new dedicated mouse, as I've now completely given up hope to ever see the G9x reproduced, or its legacy live on. So, I went and brought home 4 (i'll get to why I only listed 3 in a bit), making sure that I could refund them so long as there was no notable wear or damage, and that I do so within 2 weeks.
What I dug up were, in no specific order:
Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum
Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
Corsair M65 Pro RGB
Zowie EC1-a
Now, I use what I can best describe as a hybrid palm/fingertip grip; my palm rests on the back of the mouse, with the base of my palm touching the base of it, leaving just tip of my wrist resting on the mousepad (a custom "The Black Watchmen" steel mat). My fingers are lightly arched over the buttons, alternating between the tips and pads for pressing, depending on how stressful/intense the situation is.
I'm prone to dislike having my ring-finger rest on top of my little-finger due to a previous injury that caused some irreperable (but otherwise very minor) damage to the ligament, but it's more of a paranoiac reaction than an actual discomfort.
And I'm right-handed.
I've tried each mouse for 1 - 1½ hours over various intervals, trying to compare the feel of them, hoping that one of them would stand out, so to speak - but in actuality, 1 did the inverse.
To share some thoughts:
G502 Proteus Spectrum
I know people adore this one, but I simply find the shape too narrow.
My ring finger defaults to resting on my little finger, and I often find myself grabbing the outer edge thumb-rest, when I'm finally able to forget that I'm using an unfamiliar mouse and I focus on the game.
The build quality is great, the precision is great, the looks are good, but the shape disqualifies it, more or less.
G900 Chaos Spectrum
Since I'm a gamer at heart, I don't care too much about the high price, only if the mouse is comfortable.
I find that the initial grip is very pleasing; it oozes a sense of "being accurate", but unfortunately - although I'm not sure if this is a matter of getting used to the slightly narrower shape - I find that one of 2 things start to happen as I play:
- Either my ring finger drifts down onto my little finger, which makes it feel less precise and a bit clunky (and secondly, a bit uncomfortable, as mentioned, but not too bad)
- My ring finger will "hang" over the edge of the ambidexterious design, which isn't bad nor good, just unfamiliar.
Finally, I do get a slight sense of "clenching" the mouse if things get a bit hectic in a game, although I haven't played long enough to determine whether this would lead to fatigue or not.
The build quality feels superb, as does the precision, I prefer the slightly more minimalist look of this compared to G502, and the shape initially feels grand, but feels a bit odd after some time in use.
M65 Pro RGB
This is the closest I could find in regards to the shape of G9x.
My ring finger rests across the edge of the side of the mouse and edge of the right button initially, with my little finger running along the outer edge of the mouses side.
As time goes on, it sometimes drifts - again - down onto my ring finger, and due to no surface area to support both, the pressure feels more pronounced - a quick reminder to reposition though, and it's "fixed".
The "snipe" button under the thumb is .. pointless, for me. I find it becomes much harder to aim when trying to press it - and more importantly, I don't see why I'd use it, as I don't even use the on-the-fly DPI settings most mice have these days - at best it's useless, at worst it's a distraction; "grip too hard and you'll press it".
The build quality feels great, the texture is rough, and I dont experience as much perspiration when using it as I do with most other mice. Precision is great, and the shape is by-and-large good, but at times it can feel just slightly too cumbersome to handle, although removing the 3 weights did help.
EC1-A
I bought the EC1-A version as I have a slightly large hand (I think?) (18x9 cm // 7x3.5 in), and for better or for worse, it feels almost like a carbon-copy of my Rival 300.
Like the Rival 300, the shape is good, my hand rests across the entirety of the mouse, but I find that the buttons - especially the right button - is too easy to press, and will often accidentally press it if I let my middle-finger rest completely. The mouse-wheel feels somewhat sticky - reminds me of the time I realized I should probably clean the gunk out of my G9x mousewheel, and was utterly surprised at how smooth it was meant to turn. The thumb-buttons feel somewhat cheap, with the "back" button having very little resistance - which I am, as hinted above, not a huge fan of - because I'm not prone to click it by accident, however, it's not as big of a problem as the right-button lack of resistance is.
I haven't used it as much as the others, as quite frankly the shape is very, very reminiscent of the Rival 300.
The build quality is okay, a bit more plastic-y than the others, and I wonder how it'll react if (or rather, when) my palm gets sweaty.
So, it more or less boils down to:
[strike]G502[/strike]: Shape doesn't lend itself very well to my grip and preferences.
G900: Great initial grip, degrades a bit over time when in use, worry about fatigue after prolonged use.
M65 Pro: Good initial grip, degrades slightly over time, but feels a bit clunky at times - possibly because I can't use my ring finger to maneuver as much as I can on mice where it naturally rests along the side.
EC1-A: Very similar to Rival 300 in shape, good possibility of getting annoyed at the low resistance of the button(s), and quite possibly it getting harder to handle over prolonged (sweaty) use.
I would love to get used to the G900 because of the precise feel of the grip, but worry about whether that'll ever happen.
I get all nostalgic with the M65's shape, but I worry if the grip would cost me some accuracy or whether it's too cumbersome .
I have gotten slightly used to the shape of the Rival 300, I feel, so it is comfortable, but the buttons on EC1-A come across as having too little resistance.
Any thoughts are more than welcome!
(And cheers for reading my entire rant, as always)
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