Gaming Mouse Pads

[martini161]

me too, everything on my desk except the computer and the monitor is logitech, the speakers, headset, mouse and keyboard

[DMB2000uk]

Hey, I haven't deleted any posts

I've looked in mine before now, so that's why i suggested it

Dan

[martini161]

Hey, I haven't deleted any posts

I've looked in mine before now, so that's why i suggested it

Dan

ORLY?
http://forums.legitreviews.com/about6640-60.html
i think this earns me a point

[DMB2000uk]

Hey, I haven't deleted any posts

I've looked in mine before now, so that's why i suggested it

Dan

ORLY?
http://forums.legitreviews.com/about6640-60.html
i think this earns me a point

I thought you were using the word mod as a pun (as in modify the case, and not as in moderate the forums)

I didn't delete any posts! (so no points )

Dan

[Digerati]

I find that using a good gaming mousepad helps in gaming. I run out of space with POS mousepads and my G5 doesn't track as good as it does with gaming mousepads. I use a Razer Mantis Control pad and my mouse glides smoothly and it's also somewhat comfortable for my hands.

[KPRROK]

Update:

I got rid of my pad and just have my mouse sitting on my desk and it's actually better! It's more comfortable, no size restrictions, and no problems with reaction speed.

Looks like I saved myself a bit of cash.

KPRROK

[aircommando13]

yea the mousepads on newegg, if you look at the physical dimensions, they are HUGE. If you're computer desk is anything like mine, you need all the space you can get for other junk, not a mousepad jeez.

[Digerati]

yea the mousepads on newegg, if you look at the physical dimensions, they are HUGE. If you're computer desk is anything like mine, you need all the space you can get for other junk, not a mousepad jeez.

You can always put the other stuff on the pad.

[JohnnyVic]

I have a new Logitech MX518 and I purchased a RatPadZ GS mouse pad. The new mouse was working OK under Vista but I had to adjust the default mouse settings which required way too much movement and time to cover both of my monitors. After that adjustment I was ok with the new mouse but when I started to play Prey I found that the mouse was not responding well, there was a fair amount of hesitation at times and I had to get rid of the mouse pad and just use the desktop which was much better but not perfect.

Not sure why I had this problem but lately I have just been using the desktop which I liked better because the mousepad was fairly thick and my wrist was too low and also was bumping into the edge. The GS has the disadvantage of not being fully rectangular (has a 1/8 moon shape cut out at the bottom) and has a slick shiny logo at the top right. This limits the amount of area for the mouse and makes it more difficult to get your entire hand on the surface.

I bought the more expensive RatPadZ and use it at work (no gaming of course) and I love it there because it gives a nice flat surface compared with the desk underneath which has a slight discontinuity at that spot. That pad has a very nice feel to it when moving the mouse around and it is just the right size, a full rectangle, and no logo. The surface has an almost slick feel to it which makes moving the mouse very easy but you get great precision. I think the surface is better than the one on the cheaper RatPadZ GS.

Anyway, both mousepads together were only about $30. For home I would prefer the larger pad so my whole hand could be on the surface. Now I am trying the GS pad oriented vertically which solves the hand problem and the pad is wide enough to let me traverse both monitors without having to pick up the mouse too much.

The other thing that works really well for me is to route my mouse wire over the top of the LCD stand and then it comes down and forward underneath the LCD, not touching any horizontal surfaces, so I get no interference from the mouse cable.

[/dev/null]

Got a question...is there any advantage to having a special "gaming" mouse pad versus a standard one?

Also, got any links to good ones?

This is an interesting question that I would have answered very similar to everyone else who thinks it doesnt make a difference in todays world of optical mice what kind of surface you mouse on. I recently started using a X-Ray 'Thunder 8' mousepad (http://www.xraypad.com/products_1.html) that an old roommate left with me before moving across the country... and I must say it is a very nice change from using a generic mousepad all these years. The mousepad has two different sides you can flip the inlaid middle section over, one side is smooth, the other rigid. I prefer the smoother side obviously because it translates to smoother in-game response. The ability to track and move smoothly is easier than it ever has been before.

I don't use a 'gaming mouse', I actually just ordered my mouse for $10 on newegg last october, and I would get the same exact one if anything ever happened to it. It is a Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical 1.1a USB and is by far everything I would need for fps gaming. The reason it works so well is that I have clocked the USB polling rate for my mouse to 500hz, up from the stock 125hz for the wheel mouse optical. This mouse, when overclocked to 500 or 1000hz polling rate reacts as smoothly as mice that cost $100+. Not many mice out there will allow you to adjust the USB polling rate as sucessfully, and many gaming mice come with a 500hz polling rate out of the box, or a way to change it through software. The reason you'd want to do this is the response time of the mouse, which at 125hz is 8ms. At 500hz (which I use) the response time is 2ms, which is a 4x improvment from the stock polling rate. With this mouse you need a couple pieces of software to enhance the polling rate. Do a google search for "usb mouse polling rate" with whatever operating system youre running to find the appropriate software. There was a review of most major gaming mice done in 2007 or 2006 that clued me in on how to do this, when I find the link I'll update this.

That $10 mouse overclocked and a good gaming mousepad rock the house in FPS. I just started playing Quake 3 Arena about a year ago, and I am regularly in the top position on the scoreboard after most matches I play, and in Q3A most of the remaining players have been at it for almost ten years, so it's no walk in the park. Likewise I also tried Half Life 2: Deathmatch which was free through steam since I own a Nvidia GFX card, and in one months time I was accused of being a cheater and even banned from several servers because I was owning so hard. I have never played half-life 2 single player or multi-player before a couple months ago, I took it as flattery that so many people were getting up in arms and accusing me of cheating in my first month playing. I might add that I have a natural 'talent' for fps.

/dev/null

edit: oh yeah, another tip for fps players is to turn off mouse acceleration *entirely* through windows, it hinders gameplay.

edit2: heres the link I mentioned above, it's the most comprehensive mouse review I've seen done:
http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=1

edit3: For anyone who was wondering what programs I was using to modify and analyze the mouse usb polling rates in XP, here they are: (all changes are completely safe and reversible)

USB mouse polling rate modifier: (changes the polling rate of your usb mouse)

http://files.filefront.com/hidusbfzip/; ... einfo.html

mouse polling rate analyzer: (gives you a readout of the exact polling rate of your mouse while you move it around)

http://tscherwitschke.de/download.html

[metsamees]

Well i have that g5 mouse and common mouse pad(blue with the wrist holder or what ever that is, made out of silicon) and i'm totally fine by that. Tough the g5 didn't improve much

Edit
Just thought id add this

The attachment Reaction time.jpg is no longer available

check this out

dareaction.JPG (27.97 KiB) Viewed 6745 times

but you were doing it wrong, you were just macroing the mouse button, you have to actually wait for the green light

Edit: just made 0.03766666666

[martini161]

/dev/null: although he may be trying to make those reviews as scientific as possible, he is obviously catering his final scores toward low sens players. high sensplayers couldn't really care less about malfunction speed or any of that
metsamees: those reaction time tests arent really acurate because you know your taking a reaction time test so your expecting the light to turn green. however when your gaming your not expecting someone to sneak up behind you and knife you

[/dev/null]

/dev/null: although he may be trying to make those reviews as scientific as possible, he is obviously catering his final scores toward low sens players. high sensplayers couldn't really care less about malfunction speed or any of that
metsamees: those reaction time tests arent really acurate because you know your taking a reaction time test so your expecting the light to turn green. however when your gaming your not expecting someone to sneak up behind you and knife you

Hah, first rule of gaming is to always expect the spy to try and sneak up and knife you! Heh, yes the review is comprehensive, I use a high sensitivity and found it an interesting read... the only reason I had mentioned it in the first place is that it is the first place I heard of overclocking the usb polling rate and its effects on latency, its very good stuff to know.


For anyone who was wondering what programs I was using to modify and analyze the mouse usb polling rates in XP, here they are: (all changes are completely safe and reversible)

USB mouse polling rate modifier: (changes the polling rate of your usb mouse)

http://files.filefront.com/hidusbfzip/; ... einfo.html

mouse polling rate analyzer: (gives you a readout of the exact polling rate of your mouse while you move it around)

http://tscherwitschke.de/download.html

party on

[Dreamcrusher]

I just pick mine up at Walmart. They sell an extra large pad that is pretty cheap. I just have an Microsoft Optical Wireless. It works fine.
I've been owning with it for a long time. People say not to use wireless but I've used both and don't notice a difference in score at all.

I haven't ever tried a high end Razor but wouldn't mind checking it out. Just can't afford something like that.

[metsamees]

/dev/null: although he may be trying to make those reviews as scientific as possible, he is obviously catering his final scores toward low sens players. high sensplayers couldn't really care less about malfunction speed or any of that
metsamees: those reaction time tests arent really acurate because you know your taking a reaction time test so your expecting the light to turn green. however when your gaming your not expecting someone to sneak up behind you and knife you

yep but if you are experienced gamer/player then you look the environment around you and listen any movements. Also many games have map/hud so quick look at the minimap should also give you heads up either it's friend or foe that's coming towards you.