Over the past few years I've spent more money on mouses than in the rest of my life.

Before the optical boom I used the typical 2-button MS Mouse and later an IntelliMouse, which I loved, and never had a problem with them (except the usual dirt accumulation). Whith such good experiencies with MS mouses in the past I got a MS Wheel Mouse Optical which turned unusable in about 6 months: buttons making strange cracking sounds and sometimes not responding, wheel had to be forced to scroll... The thing costed me about 40€, so I kept it for some time.

Then I got a laptop and decided to try a logitech model (people seems to recommended them), so I bought a Mini Mouse Optical. I loved the thing and got one for my main rig, too. 60€ in total. Well, a year has passed and one of the units has problems with the right button and the other one has a wheel problem that makes it a pain to use for web browsing.

Having spent 100€ in 3 years makes me wonder if there's any good, solid, well-made and durable mouse unit or manufacturers around. I don't need fancy extras as high resolution for gaming, wireless, 36 configurable buttons or anything like that. I am a power user who enjoys playing games, but I don't think I stress the mouse _that_ much as to justify buying a new unit every year.

What are your experiences? Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

I hear the Logitech MX1000 laser mouse is meant to be really good. I've only heard great things about it. I'm thinking of getting one myself .

Mmmh, it reminds me of a spaceship...

Seems quite big for my taste, and the price tag is high for a mouse. But thanks anyway.

For a good optical corded or cordless mouse $79.95 USD is pretty much a "standard price," unless of course you are browsing through a local computer store and happen to see a slightly older model that is marked down or at a clearance price.

I agree, the Logitech MX1000 is an excellent mouse. Whilst only an optical mouse, MX700 is also very good. I don't know if it's sold seperate from a keyboard anymore. I've been using my MX700 for over a year with no problems (other then the paint has worn off a bit, it gets used alot).

I've owned tons of mice over the years. Been using the Logitech MX-1000 since it came out and love it. Best mouse ever. Has a two year warranty I think, which is pretty nice. Plan on buying a second one soon. Have to be right handed though. Before that I was using the Logitech Duo, which comes with an MX700 mouse. It's alright, but the battery life is short and people (including me) have trouble getting them to charge when placed on their stand. One thing I like better about Microsoft mice versus Logitech is the little tabs on the bottom. On Logitech mice they tend to be small and come off rather easily. The MX-1000 is an improvement with four large tabs that seem glued on pretty good, and the newest laser ones that were just announced (which don't seem as good feature-wise as the MX-1000 imho) look like they have followed in Microsoft's footsteps, and probably won't ever come off. One thing I really dislike about Microsoft mice though is that their wheels don't click when turned. My advice is to buy from a store with a really liberal return policy, and that doesn't have a restocking fee.

Whatever you do, please go for a USB mouse, and don't plug it in your PS/2 port with a connector. You'll lose that silky smoothness you can get with USB mice. On the downside, you'll never get used to PS/2 mice again, but most new mice are USB anyway.

Expensive newer optical mice are OK, but cheap older ones will move eratically if you move your mouse too fast, too suddenly. I prefer ball mice.

I'm using a Logitech M-BB48 that I bought in 1998 or so. It's USB, and it's a ball mouse. It's been working very smoothly for 5 years.

Thanks everyone for the good advices.

Well, for me spending 70€ on a mouse is like spending 400€ in a graphic card. Plain ridiculous. I'm not buying into this marketing b*shit, there has to be a solid, well-built mouse in the 30-40€ tag with no extra bells and whistles I will never be using anyways. Just my opinion. But looking for older models is a good point, I'll check that out.

Indeed, man. I use a PS/2 at work and miss the silky smoothness you're talking about. The difference with my 2 optical usb units is abysmal.

I prefer optical mice, but is good to know that at least *some* Logitech models are indeed good. I'll dig their catalog and see what I can find. I've also read good things about the MS IntelliMouse Explorer (one guy even said it was the best mouse MS ever did). Any experiences with that model?

Cheers.

We were looking for a durable, simple and intuitive mouse as well - optimally usable with the left hand as well as the right hand. Logitech didn't have anything to offer which seemed to offer all of the above.

Then we remembered the reason why we did choose cherry keyboards and took a look at their products list. And found this one:

http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/trend-li...ical_m-5000.htm

Its design even has a kinda retro-look to it(which fits quite well to where it will be used). In terms of technical data, the mouse cannot compete with logitechs current arsenal (only 800dpi). However, who needs more than 800dpi anyways? So we're going to order those and trust in cherry's reputation for making products with a long lifespan.

I do have no experience with the above mouse, so i cannot speak from experience. But i thought it may be interesting to throw in cherry as an alternative. Maybe someone else here has experience with this mouse.

- Lyx

Well my current mouse is the IntelliMouse Explorer 3A and is really a great mouse. The only reason I wanted to upgrade is because I want wireless. I really only have one problem with the Explorer in that the feet get dirty and stick but there is some "Mouse Skates" (IIRC) that are meant to make that problem non-existent.

I've used the earliest and second-earliest version of IntelliMouse Explorer, and a later version of the same, all on my brother's computer. They all had problems with the buttons or the wheel. My brother started using these mice since 2000 or so.

He's now using the latest wireless mouse from Microsoft, and it's having wheel problems too.

(Luckily, Microsoft Korea has a policy where you can get your mouse or keyboard changed to a new one if you bring it in. If your model isn't stocked anymore, they give you a newer model instead.)

I used a Logitech mouse for over 5 years, I can recommend this

Thanks for the input.

I had a Logitech wireless keyboard that used to run fine at 15+ meters until one day it started lagging and ultimately not responding unless the receiver was in a 1m range, and it was not a battery issue. I turned back to my trusty, corded old-ass Hewlett Packard unit which btw doesn't beep when pressing 3 or more keys at once (pretty annoying if you play games). Some friends have lag problems, too. Is this a common issue with wireless?


After reading some reviews and tests I was almost convinced to get a Logitech MX510 unit, but after viewing that catalogue I changed my mind. What an amazing set of keyboards. IIRC, Cherry was a company famous for its high-quality, robust units, right? If that's true, then this is a great choice for me. A little input about the unit would be great, but for 20€ i might just find out myself. Thanks a lot for pointing it out!

And yes, 800dpi sounds nice (heck, I believe mine's 200dpi). The MX510 has 800dpi, too, and seems to be a common choice among gamers, so it should be enough.

Cheers.

Yes, they're those who are also supplying most of the industry and offices where durability is a demand...... when it comes to *keyboards*. I have no info if this is also true for their mice. So, yes, they are famous for their construction quality of keyboards - but they're still a quite minor player when it comes to mice. Partially, this may be because cherry never really hyped their products to such degrees as other players like microsoft, logitech, razer, etc. Maybe thats because their primary focus is the industry, while the consumer market is secondary to them. In that case, their "humble" marketing approach makes sense.


I thought so as well - we may go wrong with it. On the other hand, i doubt its gonna be worse than a logitech or microsoft in terms of durability. And we need black cherry keyboards anyways, so we can as well order the mouse&board-combo and give it a try ;) Guess we'll be more wise afterwards.

The resolution of the mouse is more than enough, yes. However, logitech is already marketing mice with resolutions above 1200dpi. If the additional resolution is needed, is another matter - but in terms of numbers, the high-end logitech gear is "better" than cherry.

edit: oh, since you mentioned the price in euro. I dunno where you are living - in case its germany, then their german reseller is keybo.de. The prices seem okay there and the delivery speed(3days max IIRC) is more than acceptable.

Well, I'll see what I can find about the thing, but I'll most probably get one soon. This combo looks sweet, indeed! I'd get one myself if I could find it in my country.


Last time I checked Razer had a 2000dpi mouse, so expect ridiculous things in the near future.


I live in Spain, and usually buy from Alternate Computers. Never had a problem with them and, if available, they will ship products the next day. Since you live in Germany, maybe this interests you.

PD: customer opinions in that last page seem to be good. Could you translate the comments, please?

Thanks for the info, that preety sums up my experience with the MS Optical mouse I mentioned. I dunno about the return policies of MS Spain, but it seems that model is a big no-no for me, so better not finding out...

Ah, alternate - they do sell quite nice PC-cases, with rounded edges and mountable without any screws.

Unfortunatelly, the 2 customer reviews aren't *that* helpful. The first one just says "good affordable mouse", while the 2nd one is not about the mouse but a comment about the store ("fast, good, cheap").

- Lyx

edit: tried to find some reviews on the web. No luck so far, but if the prices here are any indication, then you should be able to get the M5000 for 14 euro plus shipping-costs.

Me neither, but I have good feelings about this. I just ordered mine (m-5003, white model). Heck, even with shipping it's almost half the price of the MX510, and can't be *that* bad. Should arrive by Tuesday, I'll let you know what I think.

Thanks everyone.

iam afraid of mice, so i use my wacom for more than a year now and still in good condition, simply put iam using it for everything not just painting stuff:

http://www.wacom.com/graphire/index.cfm

its fun to use (can be faster than mouse in lots of apps due to its absolutement (now how can i word this?))

+ additional value comes from when you get visitors and they can't target an icon

My dad used to work with one of those in AutoCAD (not Wacom, but a tablet). I wonder how they are for gaming?

gaming? hm, no idea, the only game i play is CMR series and i just use the keyboard...

Tablets are hell for gaming, but fortunately they contain a good mouse which you can use on the tablet surface, and it's "wireless" (save the tablet's wire)

Other than that, I've had my Logitech MX 500 for 5 years, now, and it works great. The pads aren't even worn off yet, and I use an everglide rough mouse pad.. It has a rough grip, so it's great to get your hands on, and is fine with sweaty hands (like mine) / doesn't build grime so easily as the smooth plastic mice. It has a high enough resolution to play insane quake 3, and more than you'll ever need for photoshopping (something 5$ mice are .. not good enough for (minimum movement 20 px, anyone?)

Well, the thing arrived today and I'm quite happy with it. It's pretty comfortable, solid and well built. It's quite sensible and *feels* smoother than my Logitech unit. The buttons requiere more force than usual to be pressed, especially the wheel, but it's nice if you liked older mice. The wheel feels fine, has that step-feel and just gets the job done. Aesthetically this isn't the most sexy unit around, but one thing I love is that it doesn't glow at night like most optical units do, as it has no translucid parts. It comes in a no-shit package with just a serial number and barcode, which includes a little user guide and an USB-PS2 converter. No software is required.

Overall a sober and functional unit. Time will tell about its durability.

That sounds very much like typically cherry. Thank you very much for sharing your first impressions. That encourages me even more to pick it for our planned retro-pub.

edit: that no software is required doesn't surprise me. Cherry seems to have an interest in keeping their gear usable on a wide variety of operating systems. Lately, they've also released a multimedia-keyboard with linux-support.

Well, there's actually a driver in their site, but it adds zero functionality and installs a 3MB tsr which does *nothing*, so just ignore it.

That Linux keyboard looks pretty good.

I dont know - the function keys are interesting for linux-use, yes, but for my taste, they are too much near the "normal" keys (i mean the function keys on the left and right side). Of course they should not be as far away as they are on some other multimedia-keyboards, but a minor cue should be there. Its one of the main reasons why i dislike "normal" notebook keyboards - because the keys are so cramped together without any cues left. I would prefer a slightly wider keyboard/notebook if that means that i can actually use it with acceptable speed(thats probably one of the reasons why i would by a thinkpad).

Well, it might be a problem if you have big hands, I suppose.

BTW, maybe this interests you for your retro pub!

Almost, currently, i'm considering to order some of the good old QuickJoys from the C64-era for use in emulators. Last time i checked (a few months ago) commodore did still sell them ;-)

I've bought the cherry m5000 as well - first impressions:

what i like:
- optimal feedback concerning button-clicking - you clearly notice when clicking a button but at the same time it does not take too much effort
- no drivers necessary
- the optical sensor is accurate and reliable
- although i was using a completelly differently shaped mouse before, it only took me 20mins to get fully used to this mouse.
- although the mouse is designed so that it can be used left as well as right-handed, it's very ergonomically shaped - every single finger has a optimal "rest"-position
- reliable middleclicking without accidentelly rolling the wheel
- its cheap (11-14euros usually)


what i dislike:
- the mousewheel is too sturdy for my taste and requires too much effort to roll it. I dont know yet if this may be a case of "it needs to be in use for a while to become better"
- the mouse is a bit too lightweight for my taste - i'd like it to be a bit more heavy
- its colored dark-grey instead of black (hey, i had to find one more disadvantage ;)

Okay, after having used it for a week, here's a more detailed review on the m5000 (ratings go from 1(worst) to 5(perfect)):

The two main buttons:
While the buttons of most nowadays mice have got a high-pitched click and high sensivity, the m5000 has a soft but clearly noticable low-pitched click. The buttons are not as sensitive as those of other mice, but they also dont require too much force. You can safely rest your fingers on them without accidentelly clicking, but need to clearly "click" them. The feedback when clicking is clear and instant. The buttons seem more sturdy and robust that those of other mice. I made another observation of which i am not absolutely sure if its by design or a coincidence. Although the mouse is symmetrical(so for left as well as right hand use), the left mouse button seems to be a bit more "soft"... so while your fingers rest on it, you will be a bit more "near the trigger" with the left button, than with the right. To check if its by design, i opened the mouse and noticed that both buttons do not use the same kind of switches. This does not make the mouse unsuited for left-handed use, but with games, you will have a minor "edge" if you're right-handed........ rating: 5.0

The scrollwheel:
Very sturdy, accurate and reliable. It definatelly requires a "wear-in"-phase to become usable, because right after taking the mouse out of the package the mousewheel requires alot of force to be scrolled(the exact opposite of most other mice). After about 50-60hours of use, it becomes more easy and IMHO almost optimal. Because of the robust built-quality of the wheel as well as clear "steps", it is no problem to "click" the wheel without accidentelly scrolling it. The placement of the wheel is also a little bit "higher" than with other mice, which i consider an advantage(i always disliked the too "integrated" placement of the wheel with other mice)....... rating: 4.0

The shape:
It's very ergonomically shaped although it is usable by left as well as right-handed users. It is also a bit "longer" than most other similiar mice, which means that you can completely rest your hand on it. While not an "instant-at-home" shape, i completely adapted to it in about 20mins. The reason why its not instant is because although the shape is symmetrical, it has resting-positions for every single finger - thats great, but other mice dont have that, so it requires a few mins to "get it". My opinion is that it's *almost* the perfect shape for a "symmetrical" mouse..... therefore the rating: 4.5

The materials:
The feeling of using it is comfortable, because of the already known "soft touch" surface, which feels soft yet still can be cleaned easily. However, the mouse for my taste is too lightweight. Its not horrible, but with a mouse of this kind i would have expected this thing to have robust surface-contact instead of just "gliding" over the surface. It just doesn't fit to this mouse, because although it overally feels "sturdy, reliable and just works", in terms of weight it feels like a cheap plastic toy. Well, yes, other mice in that pricerange are the same, but i choosed this one because i wanted something different.......... rating: 2.0

Accuracy:
Just works reliable - neither bad nor deluxe....... rating: 4.0

Software-compatibility:
Although a CD is in the package, it requires no drivers for any of its features(that also goes for linux). An USB->PS2-adapter is included....... rating: 5.0

Visuals:
Its low profile and not fancy. No "blinking" during the night because of no transluscent parts(except of the wheel which glows red). Although the specs say "black", it is not black but instead "dark-grey". The shape clearly had its design-priority on being comfortable instead of looking cool........ rating: 4.0 if you like low-profile hardware / 1.0 if you like your hardware to be fancy eye-candy

Price:
aprox 12euro for the retail-version. Very low for such a mouse......... rating: 5.0

Summary:
If
- you need a cheap, comfortable and reliable mouse which just works
- 3 buttons are enough for you
- you dont care much about eye-candy / you prefer low-profile design
- you can live with a lightweight mouse

then the m5000 is for you.