Lets talk Roccat mice (and other "exotic" brands)

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Vittra

Gawd
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Alright, so Roccat's not so exotic over in Europe, but over here in North America they are still fairly new but gaining traction slowly. Many threads have been popping up in regards to helping people select mice, and we've seen some discussion on the board in regards to more "exotic" ones such as Kone, and more recently the Mionix Naos 5000 has received some attention. I'm more curious about some of the other mice that others and I have possibly come across. Hell, include other peripherals as well.

I recently came across Roccat's "Kova" mouse and as someone with smaller hands it interested me. This following review does meander about, but it does shows the features of the mouse. Essentially, it is a lighter and smaller alternative to the Kone, and does not use any drivers at all, instead relying on a series of buttons and sequences on the mouse itself to make adjustments to DPI, lightning, etc. It uses an optical sensor by the way - 3200 DPI if I remember correctly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWw7pvNVXPI

Side by side comparison to Kone here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubp1o-vqoQc

Another mouse I've come across is the Ozone Smog. Interesting brand name and product naming scheme going on :D. The mouse is a bit unusual at first glance, but seeing some of it's features and it's layout has actually interested me. Ozone appears to be a brand that caters to headsets and mousepads as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cocypkR6vEY

http://www.ozonegaming.com/ozone/ozone_news.php
 
Thanks for info on those, I haven't seen or heard of them before.

Since I have an obsession with gaming input devices for computers and consoles I'm looking forward to seeing cool stuff in this thread and dreading how much it could end up costing me.
 
I have been looking for a retailer who sells the Roccat Kova, have not had any luck.
 
I use the Kova and Kone. I have no complaints, my wife likes the smaller size of the Kova.
 
but these only have 3200 dpi sensors. I much prefer Logitech's offering with dpi up to 5600.
 
Roccat seems to have many QC issues... Their popular Kone has a terrible scroll wheel that breaks very early on, but I think they made a secondly version and not sure how well that turned out.

From what I've heard about the Kova, well it's just a flat out terrible shape, I remember even seeing a picture of some guy having a 'fix' or 'mod' for the shape, and he basically just sawed off the back of the mouse...

And about Ozone... The Smog has been discontinued, it looked like a very nice mouse however, especially with the avego sensor, the ceramic feet, and switchable side grips...

I personally bought myself a Ozone Radon 3k (also a 5600dpi version) and I'm really dissapointed in it. Overall I thought the shape was quite awful on the right side, it doesn't properly fit your fingers in place at all. Another issue I found much more troubling was that I'm pretty sure the small piece holding the laser at the bottom didn't seem like it was set in properly and it was sticking out at a bit of an angle (I will send pics when I get access to a camera). But What this caused was whenever I dragged the mouse backwards on my mousepad, there was a terrible scraping feeling even though the tracking seemed untouched. The rest of the mouse seemed decent, but again the terrible shape and the problem with the bottom piece ruined it for me, I couldn't contact anyone at Ozone's Customer Support...
 
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krazmych said:
but these only have 3200 dpi sensors. I much prefer Logitech's offering with dpi up to 5600.
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"only" 3200 DPI. I think your getting pretty silly at this point. A 1920 x 1200 24 inch monitor is about 95 DPI so 3200 dpi would be 1/94th the size of a pixel on that screen. I've had two mice in the 5600 range though so who am I to talk.
 
Well, no, I don't think I'm silly. I actually use the 5600 ability on my mouse when I game. Actually makes a HUGE difference when you can turn around instantly and see who is around you. Actually helped me get better in FPSes. Granted, I dont go all the way up to 5600ever, but still, I stay around the low 4000s sometimes. Slowly inching my way up. :cool:

rally9x said:
"only" 3200 DPI. I think your getting pretty silly at this point. A 1920 x 1200 24 inch monitor is about 95 DPI so 3200 dpi would be 1/94th the size of a pixel on that screen. I've had two mice in the 5600 range though so who am I to talk.
Click to expand...
 
yes, it helps tremendously when you can spin a dozen times with a flick of the wrist. does nothing for accuracy though.
 
krazmych said:
but these only have 3200 dpi sensors. I much prefer Logitech's offering with dpi up to 5600.
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rally9x said:
"only" 3200 DPI. I think your getting pretty silly at this point....
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I agree with rally9x, and the Logitech isn't really 5600dpi anyway - it's just firmware interpolation trickery for marketing purposes. See here for an honest description of the same sensor Logitech use: http://www.aceofsweden.com/ace/mouse/edge3200.html It's 'only' 3600 dpi boosted by firmware to whatever the seller wants - Gigabyte pushed theirs to 6000dpi :rolleyes: I have two >5000dpi mice and tend to use them in the 2000-3200dpi range., anything more requires reducing the pointer speed to the extremes and that just leads to very noticable acceleration problems. All contemporary gaming mice have plenty of dpi, so other features are more important.

siluro said:
I personally bought myself a Ozone Radon 3k (also a 5600dpi version) and I'm really dissapointed in it. Overall I thought the shape was quite awful on the right side, it doesn't properly fit your fingers in place at all.
Click to expand...
I recently got one of these also. I kind of agree, it seems the shape is intended for people who want to rest their pinky on the top of the mouse, my hand is too small for the Radon so it's uncomfortable. Not blown away by the quality either: the textured surface is quite patchy on the buttons so it's left shiny around the edge. It's not a problem, it just looks a bit cheap.

I can vouch for the Ground Level mousepad, a decent enough cloth design: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1531075 The Exposure pad is OK as well, hard plastic surface so not really my cup of tea, but the quality looks to be adequate

siluro said:
Roccat seems to have many QC issues...
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I'm afraid I have to concur, I've seen the chopped Kova photos on ESReality, and another guy was complaining about being on his 7th RMA! I was interested in the ARVO keyboard, but all I can find is complaints about crap feel and it being extremely noisy, and the Taito mousepad I tried was sharp all the way around the edges. It's not good to see that kind of quality on something so basic. Roccat have rapidly earned a reputation for very poor quality and the brand is difficult to recommend.
 
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IanM said:
I recently got one of these also. I kind of agree, it seems the shape is intended for people who want to rest their pinky on the top of the mouse, my hand is too small for the Radon so it's uncomfortable. Not blown away by the quality either: the textured surface is quite patchy on the buttons so it's left shiny around the edge. It's not a problem, it just looks a bit cheap.
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Did yours have a scraping problem? And did it seem like the little holder for the laser seem out of place?


I also own the Ozone Exposure mousepad and it's great, but too slick for my taste, I wish I had chosen the Ground Level over the Mionix Alioth...


Also Krazmych, have you ever considered just setting up in game sensitivities to equal your 5600dpi?
I'm a really high sensitivity player, and I use my deathadder at 900 dpi on 1080p without any issues.
 
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siluro said:
Also Krazmych, have you ever considered just setting up in game sensitivities to equal your 5600dpi?
I'm a really high sensitivity player, and I use my deathadder at 900 dpi on 1080p without any issues.
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I have... but I prefer quickly switchable dpi. I just like being able to get either more precise or more "twitchy" depending on the situation or the class I play in TF2.

Meh, its just personal preferance I guess.

I will have to read about the dpi interpolation though. Didn't know that could happen.
 
siluro said:
Did yours have a scraping problem? And did it seem like the little holder for the laser seem out of place?
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I'm not sure I see the same issue - the laser is mounted in what looks like the middle 'foot' of the mouse. The foot does protrude out from the body and is evenly aligned, but it has a sticker on it saying 3200dpi laser so it's not really an optimal gliding surface material to have in contact with the mousepad.

If I rest some weight on the back of the mouse it does bog down a little and scrape the surface too much on my soft mousepads (I have the Corepad C1 and a Razer Mantis Control on my desk currently.) Overall the Radon glide is ordinary, and unimpressive for a gaming mouse. Usable, but nothing extra compared with standard mice. It may be suited to using on a hard pad, or even a plain desk surface as the feet may be more durable than the slick teflon pad on more expensive mice.
 
IanM said:
I'm not sure I see the same issue - the laser is mounted in what looks like the middle 'foot' of the mouse. The foot does protrude out from the body and is evenly aligned, but it has a sticker on it saying 3200dpi laser so it's not really an optimal gliding surface material to have in contact with the mousepad.

If I rest some weight on the back of the mouse it does bog down a little and scrape the surface too much on my soft mousepads (I have the Corepad C1 and a Razer Mantis Control on my desk currently.) Overall the Radon glide is ordinary, and unimpressive for a gaming mouse. Usable, but nothing extra compared with standard mice. It may be suited to using on a hard pad, or even a plain desk surface as the feet may be more durable than the slick teflon pad on more expensive mice.
Click to expand...


Yeah that's what it seems like to me, although the 'foot' as you call it seems to be at an angle as well.. Good to know thanks!
 
Not gonna lie though, I was just checking out the Roccat website...

that USB hub looks kick-ass. The Roccat Apuri. Would work awesome for connecting keyboard, mouse, and other usb peripherals and all. Hmmm... definitelly will take a look at that.
 
krazmych said:
Well, no, I don't think I'm silly. I actually use the 5600 ability on my mouse when I game. Actually makes a HUGE difference when you can turn around instantly and see who is around you. Actually helped me get better in FPSes. Granted, I dont go all the way up to 5600ever, but still, I stay around the low 4000s sometimes. Slowly inching my way up. :cool:
Click to expand...

we'll just say unless you have to cover 5 WS monitors with the flick of a wrist then theres no use whatsoever for anything close to 5600 in a FPS. its a gimmick, obviously.

jiminator said:
yes, it helps tremendously when you can spin a dozen times with a flick of the wrist. does nothing for accuracy though.
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this x 10000000000.

i'd like to know how many times one can spin in circles just by moving the mouse an inch @4000 or 5600 even.

i guess im in the minority, i never go past 1700, thats almost too much
 
I don't know how hard some of you guys are on mice, but I've never had any of these described issues with my Roccat mice, 7th RMA good god...

They're not for everybody, but I like them mainly because they're "rare" over here.
 
I have the Roccat Kone (name a gaming mouse that I dont have... seriously, try me...)

I think its alot of show but the dpi settings are crap (only presets, nothing below 800, no led indicators, if you try to get a 'super slow' DPI by setting the mouse sensitivity super low to match a DPI of say, 200, the mouse suffers from 'jitter' and poor accuracy). The software is merely OK. If you got to have the disco LED mouse, this is all its good for. I have a hard time seeing any reason to pay the price for this mouse.

I would suggest the Sharkoon Fireglider over this mouse for half the price (see my thread for more details if this mouse is for you). Either that or the Giga-byte M8000x, which I rate higher than the Speedlink Kudos, Mionix Naos 5000, etc.

I have the new G700 on the way as well as the new CM inferno... will have to see how they do.
 
Haha, wasn't expecting this thread to get revived at such a later date.. I've been following a few of the threads, most notably yours undertheradar, lots of good info on mice in it. The Sharkoon Fireglider (and it's black version variant) have interested me but finding it in Canada isn't easy.

Ended up with a Dell Tactx (g9x variant) for now.. I'm curious about the Zowie EC1/EC2, they seem like updated IE 1.1/3.0's but the price is a bit.. high for what it is.
 
Since this thread is also talking about other mice... I'd like to throw the Nova Slider X600 out there...


The overall shape isn't all that great, I can pick up the mouse easier then the Steelseries Ikari, but the ring finger and pinky grooves are too small for my average sized hands.

It also uses ceramic feet which many would think is really good because it has WAYYY less friction then anything else I've used.. But I would say it's a huge disadvantage just because it's too slippery on any surface I've used.

Lastly the sensor doesn't seem to work at all, I may have a defective model and I'm trying to contact Nova about it. But on any cloth mousepad I've used (ACI Supermat, Razer Goliathus Speed, Mionix Alioth, and Frys mousepad) the cursor will skip across the screen even when I'm not moving the mouse... However it seems to work just find on my Ozone Exposure...


I wouldn't recommend it... Even if the sensor worked, the shape which didn't fit my hand very well (too small) and the ceramic feet which I find are too slippery just doesn't make this a very usable mouse for gaming.


To date after all I've tried, the Razer Deathadder is the best mouse I've used...
 
Im playing with the G700 as we speak... interesting mouse. Can it unseat the x8 as my favorite wireless mouse? I dont know yet.

Then I will mess with the Cooler Master Inferno...
 
krazmych said:
but these only have 3200 dpi sensors. I much prefer Logitech's offering with dpi up to 5600.
Click to expand...

You don't need, and you don't use 5600 DPI effectively. Turning DPI to maximum and dropping your in-game sensitivity doesn't make you more precise either, it just forces your application to start throwing away all the extra counts the mouse is taking.

If you DO play at 5600 DPI, Windows mouse slider at the 6th(Middle) notch, without in game sensitivity dropped to like .05, Then you're also probably horrible at games.

Moving the mouse 1cm for four 360 degree turns is not a good a thing, and is in fact, *retarded*.
 
I ordered the R.A.T. 7
Should be here this week sometime.I cant wait to play with the robo cop of mice.
 
I find the RAT7 to be adjustable for only those with small to medium hands and the thumb-swing-pivot is useless.

OTOH, Im digging the G700. I was skeptic of having 4 buttons so close together, but the tactile feel from their ridges takes care of that. The button setup is awesome... you can swap any of the G buttons as you like, including the profile switcher, DPI up/down, etc. I think this is the new 'it' mouse.

The Cooler Master Inferno is pretty cool. I dig the extra buttons, but the three buttons on the thumb side are hard to tell apart (hard to tell where they are exactly since they are so flush with the side of the mouse). Other than that, its a good mouse, and some of the button assignments (like the full auto) are pretty cool... just as cool as the treble-click button on the Sharkoon Fireglider. The extra left and right mouse buttons make the regular ones a bit narrow, but I have big digits and they still fit just right. The DPI button feel is hard to make out, much like the thumb buttons (they could have used some ideas from the G700 here). I think I will add some rubber grippy stickers or something to make some of the buttons stand out more. Other than that, it should be fine. Oh, and the software still does that whole 'optimazation' BS that reconfigures the sensitivity when you start up the utility (I hated it on the Sentinel and I hate it on this one too!!).

Of note, neither of these mice have weights... I wont miss em!
 
undertheradar said:
I find the RAT7 to be adjustable for only those with small to medium hands and the thumb-swing-pivot is useless.

OTOH, Im digging the G700. I was skeptic of having 4 buttons so close together, but the tactile feel from their ridges takes care of that. The button setup is awesome... you can swap any of the G buttons as you like, including the profile switcher, DPI up/down, etc. I think this is the new 'it' mouse.

The Cooler Master Inferno is pretty cool. I dig the extra buttons, but the three buttons on the thumb side are hard to tell apart (hard to tell where they are exactly since they are so flush with the side of the mouse). Other than that, its a good mouse, and some of the button assignments (like the full auto) are pretty cool... just as cool as the treble-click button on the Sharkoon Fireglider. The extra left and right mouse buttons make the regular ones a bit narrow, but I have big digits and they still fit just right. The DPI button feel is hard to make out, much like the thumb buttons (they could have used some ideas from the G700 here). I think I will add some rubber grippy stickers or something to make some of the buttons stand out more. Other than that, it should be fine. Oh, and the software still does that whole 'optimazation' BS that reconfigures the sensitivity when you start up the utility (I hated it on the Sentinel and I hate it on this one too!!).

Of note, neither of these mice have weights... I wont miss em!
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Can you please explain what this optimization is? lol everytime i have it , like you said it starts and calibrates , idk, i just look at it blankly or pic pro gamer or something.

also, the thumb has the little dent on the side to differentiate it from teh other 2 buttons, this is how i remember the difference between the three, i just have that as my initial starting point, and the dpi up also has it too, i agree the macro/rapid fire are placed nicely.
 
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