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Shape
Imperator shape is excellent, close to perfect for my hand. TactX is also very good, but not quite as ideal for me as the Imperator. Imperator is more a little more comfortable for the hand to relax into a palm grip, both mice are great for finger tip hold. For some people, especially those with small hands, the lesser bulk of the TactX may make it the better choice for full time finger tip grip. Nit picking: I wish the TactX didn't taper quite so narrow at the front, I'd prefer it if it was a few mm wider similar to the Imperator as that makes it more comfortable for 3 fingers to rest one over each button. EDIT: Over time I've some to appreciate the TactX shape even more, but I still like the Imperator just as much as 1st impressions
Weight
Imperator is light, TactX is very heavy - however I find this difference irrelevant to me. Glide/friction is the thing that makes a difference
Surface texture
I prefer the Imperator, it's smoother and nicer to touch. I've no complaints at all about the glossy side rests, perfectly comfortable to my hand. EDIT: over time I notive the glossy grips do get icky too quickly, of course they can be wiped easily, but it's still a minor annoyance. The slightly coarser texture of the TactX takes more getting used to - initially it felt dusty and dirty, though I polished it a little with a towel and now it feels OK. After a couple of months I now think the surface texture of the TactX is good, it's comfortable to hold, stays clean and has plenty of grip.
Button placement
For me the critical thing is the side buttons, on most mice I can't reach side buttons using my normal finger tip hand position. TactX and Imperator are both great for me, the rear most side button on either mouse is just above resting thumb position.
DPI buttons
The Imperator DPI buttons can be reprogrammed, but they are awkward to reach behind the wheel. The TactX ones are maybe positioned better, and reprogrammable, but the small size makes them awkward to press anyway.
Middle button action
TactX is just too stiff, it's a little frustrating to live with day to day e.g. I tend to use middle button on Firefox to open new tabs from bookmarks, with TactX I found more often I would right click instead and use the menu.
Wheel action
This is harsh but I don't like the TactX ratchet feel either. It feels different scrolling forward than scrolling back and back has a bigger notched clunk. I want it to be smoother in both directions. The ratchet can be disengaged via a button underneath though, so then the wheel becomes completely smooth, however that just feels wrong for gaming (but very nice for desktop use!) TactX does have the side tilt buttons on the wheel, so that probably balances the disadvantage compared with the Imperator
Glide / motion resistance
Imperator is smoother on my Mantis Control cloth pads, and on an ironed, folded, 100% cotton pillow case (which I've been using as a makeshift mousepad while I'm building some new systems) My Mantis pads are old now and I've noticed the TactX has a tendency to snag on loose fibres and hair, the plastic feet seem to be cheaper, hard plastic compared with the Imperator. EDIT: With new pads and washed Mantis, I now realise the TactX feet are actually quite poor and really would benefit from an upgrade with 3rd party glidez or skatez. Razer done excellent work with the Imperator - always smooth and withlow friction.
Tracking
So far I can't tell much difference in terms of quality, there are differences in exact feel and acceleration properties, but to be honest I'm completely happy with both and can find settings I like. Note: The Avago sensor is only 3600dpi native, the rest is interpolation trickery and sacrifices consistency with fast movement. The Philips Twin-Eye is native 5600dpi. In practice I tend to use something around 3000dpi and reduce the Windows pointer speed to 4/11 or 5/11.
Lift Off
Some people have real problems with the Philips Twin Eye sensor during lift off, but I'm not seeing the problem as severly and I cannot replicate the consistent downward, right cursor jump that has been reported by others using the Imperator (and other Razer mice with the Twin Eye sensor.) In theory the Imperator has a Philips sensor, TactX is a G9x in new clothes and probably has a Avago sensor. In practice both mice when lifted cause the cursor to jump a little in some direction. The effect is definitely less pronounced with the TactX and a cheap Logitech laser mouse I have does it even less. I'm left wondering if their are a variety of sensor specs in use by both Logitech and Razer, and for all I know my TactX and Imperator could both be using the same sensor type, with the tracking differences being due to firmware. EDIT: I upgraded to the newer Imperator firmware and that made the down/right twitch happen in a more consistent way. However:
*** It does not twitch down and right if you are actually moving the mouse when you lift ***
I tried a lot of times with both Imperator and TactX, both will twitch the pointer if lifted from an otherwise static position. The twitch doesn't occur if you are moving up/down/left/right at the moment of the list (which I think is what normally happens while gaming)
Overall
I really like both, honestly I can't decide which to keep and which to sell. So for now I'm keeping both and will see which I prefer over the next few months. TactX is, in my opinion, G9x done right i.e. no interchangeable grips and weight gimmicks, just one streamlined design.
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