Optical mice stink.

L

lastrites

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 22, 2003
Messages
131
I have never liked the optical mice I've tried in the past. They feel like I never have a real fine tuned control over the pointer. So, I just tried looking for a regular "ball" mouse, and apparently newegg doesn't even sell them anymore. Only optical. I tried looking on amazon and dell as well. No luck. Mind you, these weren't exhaustive searches, but a good 5-10 minutes.

Have I just ran across some crappy optical mice, or are there any out there that give you the same feel and control as the old school mice? Gosh, I really hate them.
 
:confused: i have exactly the opposite experience.
ive owned many ball-mice in the past, and bought a couple of logitech optical mice a couple of years ago. there is no comparison in responsiveness between the two, i cant imagine a mouse more precise and dead-on than my current optical mouse. im guessing that you just got a bad one.
 
lastrites said:
I have never liked the optical mice I've tried in the past. They feel like I never have a real fine tuned control over the pointer. So, I just tried looking for a regular "ball" mouse, and apparently newegg doesn't even sell them anymore. Only optical. I tried looking on amazon and dell as well. No luck. Mind you, these weren't exhaustive searches, but a good 5-10 minutes.

Have I just ran across some crappy optical mice, or are there any out there that give you the same feel and control as the old school mice? Gosh, I really hate them.
Click to expand...

Get your hands on an MX518 and I guarantee you won't have the same opinion. I've been through the MX500, MX510, and now the MX518. The 518 is easily the best of them all, hands down.
 
lastrites said:
...Have I just ran across some crappy optical mice....
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that HAS TO BE the problem. seriously, there's a reason why nobody sells those old ball mice anymore.

get yourself a quality optical mouse and you'll see why everyone else has all but forgot about those archaic ball mice. not only are they much more accurate, but they STAY much more accurate. you never have to take them apart and clean off the rollers.

you weren't trying to use it on a mirror were you? ;)
 
Well, if you can find a Razer Boomslang, word on the street is that they are the VERY best ball mice ever made.

It'll have to be used on eBay, though - been out of production a LONG time. Even Razer has moved onto optical mice, and are three generations into them, now (Razer Viper = suck, Razer Diamondback Salamander/Chamelon = decent, Razer Diamondback Plasma = awesome)

Keep in mind, if you've used a Boomslang before, they are 2000dpi. A "cheap" optical mouse will be 400dpi, so it WILL feel pretty shite. The Razer Diamondbacks (all of them) and Logitech MX518 are all 1600dpi - not quite as 'precise' as the older Boomslangs, but the optical sensor does tend to be quite accurate and the reduced weight and drag makes up for a LOT.
 
oh yea forgot about the surface thingy too
they say that optical doesn't need a pad but any shiny surface will mess up performance, that why i still use my old cushioned mouse pad so i don't notice any skipping or jumping of the pointer
 
dderidex said:
It'll have to be used on eBay, though - been out of production a LONG time. Even Razer has moved onto optical mice, and are three generations into them, now (Razer Viper = suck, Razer Diamondback Salamander/Chamelon = decent, Razer Diamondback Plasma = awesome)
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What are you talking about? How is the Diamondback Plasma and Non-Plasma any different? How can one earn a "decent" and the other "awesome"? You are simply biased towards pretty blue lights that do nothing but provide the same tracking precision as a regular Diamondback. Both are already excellent mouses.

-J.
 
GeForceX said:
What are you talking about? How is the Diamondback Plasma and Non-Plasma any different? How can one earn a "decent" and the other "awesome"? You are simply biased towards pretty blue lights that do nothing but provide the same tracking precision as a regular Diamondback. Both are already excellent mouses.

-J.
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Didn't like the sensor in the regular Diamondback.

The Plasma featured two substantial changes over the regular Diamondback:
- Agilent A3080 sensor (fixes "pixel skipping" hardware bug of the beta A3070 sensor that the regular Diamondbacks use)
- Infrared LED rather than visible light LED. Results in vastly improved tracking on non-standard surfaces (for example, non-textured solid black mousepads, like a glass Icemant....also, it will even track on many MIRRORED surfaces!)

And, of course, yeah, it's blue.
 
Everytime i am forced to use a ball mouse, I am ready to throw it out the fucking window!!! It gets dirty too much, then you have to go in there and clean the little wheels and stuff, or it always seems to stick when you are going Horizonal and Grrrr

Most agrivating expirance ever. Yuck!!!

Optical Mice > All.... Period You just need to get a good one.
 
I also feel the exact opposite, I used to get pissed as a hornet with rollerball mice. Some of you my laugh at this but I am using a really really nice Medion Wireless keyboard/mouse setup, and it is awesome, has lasted for 3 years. no problems, but I don't know if they still sell them. you might want to try it out then.
Try Their Site
I can us this mouse on any surface, well, not any, not concrete or anything bizzare.
 
Kaiga said:
I also feel the exact opposite, I used to get pissed as a hornet with rollerball mice. Some of you my laugh at this but I am using a really really nice Medion Wireless keyboard/mouse setup, and it is awesome, has lasted for 3 years. no problems, but I don't know if they still sell them. you might want to try it out then.
Try Their Site
I can us this mouse on any surface, well, not any, not concrete or anything bizzare.
Click to expand...

You *can* use them on concrete. But considering the abrasiveness of forementioned concrete, the mouse itself ma wear down to nothingness.
 
Jerunk said:
mice*
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I knew that but I was testing the intelligence of this forum. ;)

Well, I'll hand it to you-- the differences are true. :eek:

-J.
 
Hey I have a friend who used to aim on CS with his arrow keys! Granted, he had a laptop...

I enjoy at least 5 button mice. The Microsoft Explorer (Or is it MS Intellimouse 4.0 Explorer? I forget) is the best mouse I've ever owned. I haven't had a 518 though. The side buttons and wheel are a must for internet browsing.

Wired is much better than wireless, and optical is much better than ball.
 
Sounds like you've been using crappy mice, and possibly a crappy surface.

Logitech makes a good selection of optical mice, all of which are pretty good.
 
GeForceX said:
I knew that but I was testing the intelligence of this forum. ;)

Well, I'll hand it to you-- the differences are true. :eek:

-J.
Click to expand...
Never admit defeat. :p
Mouses or mice.

To the OP, you simply have bad experiences with optical mouses or the surface. In general they are leaps and bounds better than a ball-mouse.
 
I agree with the OP, I'm still using the first mouse evar made:
300px-First_Computer_Mouse_pic_2.jpg

It has 999,999,999 dpi and gets me one trillion fps's in doom 4.
Optical = teh suq
 
I would not say optical mice stink, but I do think that ball mice provide smoother tracking. People are quick to accept new tech, because it's new or cool, but optical mice have choppy movements in comparison. There was no comparison between the MX1000 & my old Marble trackball. Maybe that was an RF issue - I don't know, but on a black pad, it was surprising.

That said, I am using an 800dpi corded optical mouse right now and for general usage, the difference is not noticeable. Slow your movements down to about 2-3 inches per second, compare to a ball mouse and you would be able to notice it. Something like drawing or sniping is really going to show the difference. That's my opinion.

Offtopic: Checkout the model number on this Logitech mouse I am using - M-BJ69! :D NFW was that an accident!
 
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