gaming mice
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Can a gaming mouse filled with holes really be water resistant?
SteelSeries' Aerox 3 Wireless is an ultra-light gaming mouse full of holes that shakes off water like a duck.
Gaming accessories that can make your setup a lot cuter
Here's a list of cute gaming accessories to spice up your setup, as chosen by Engadget editors.
Mad Catz's new mice have mechanical switches with a 2ms response time
Mad Catz hopes that its new Dakota mechanical switches will entice you to think about gaming mice the same way you think about keyboards.
Get a free Razer mouse when you buy a Huntsman TE keyboard at Best Buy
Best Buy has an intriguing deal on a pair of Razer peripherals.
Razer's Viper mouse uses optical switches to get that perfect headshot
No matter how great a gaming mouse is, there's always going to be some sort delay from when you click a button, to when your computer registers it. Razer is hoping to shave that delay a bit with its latest mouse, the Viper ($80), which uses optical switches instead of mechanical ones. When you click the Viper's left or right buttons, they trigger a shutter that crosses an infrared beam, which instantly sends a signal to your computer. The company also claims it'll reduce the bounce back effect that you get from some gaming mice, which makes it harder for your computer to detect rapid clicks.
The Naga 2013: Improving on a classic by degrees
One of the hardest things to do is look at something you've created and try to make it better. Because sometimes you can't. I first picked up a Razer Naga back when I was first working at Massively, mostly because it suited my piloting style in Star Trek Online. Once I had it in my hand, I never wanted to let it go. It was small, which was a welcome fact for someone with small hands. It had a useful thumb-pad for keys that felt comfortable and intuitive. It was responsive, it was attractive, it was everything I could want from a gaming mouse. Of course, the Naga was getting a bit long in the tooth. So it got redesigned. I was sent a review copy of the mouse to take for a spin, to see if this new edition of the product was nearly as good as the existing mouse that I've been using for nearly four years. Is the new Naga a worthy inheritor, or did something beautiful get ruined by a redo?
Corsair unleashes second gen Vengeance gaming peripherals at CES, goes fully mechanical with K95 keyboard
When Corsair introduced its Vengeance line of PC gaming accessories last year, it made the odd choice of creating the K90, a mostly mechanical keyboard marred by a collection of out of place membrane keys. The keyboard was a little less expensive for the effort, but was nearly universally reviewed as a "really weird decision." Corsair got the message, and is now releasing the Vengeance K95, a black anodized brushed aluminum take on the K90, but with fully mechanical Cherry MX Red switches on every single key, including 18 dedicated macro toggles. In addition to normalizing the keyboard's tactile pleasures, Corsair has also upgraded its backlighting, allowing each key to individually enable or disable its illumination. Eliminating its predecessor's cheapo membrane keys does kill their savings, however, giving the K95 a $150 price tag. Corsair's filling out its pointer line-up too, trotting out the M95 and M65 gaming mice. Both of these rodents feature an 8200 DPI sensor and an aluminum unibody chassis, but veer off wildly when it comes to toggles. The M95, for instance, features 15 programmable buttons and onboard storage for six switchable profiles, whereas the M65 is a more modest clicker -- featuring little more flair than a DPI dropping sniper button. Choose your weapon in a variety of colors for $79 and $69, respectively.
IRL: Nuu SoftKey, MacBook Air and Thermaltake's eSports Cyclone Edition gaming mouse
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. Welcome back! This week in real-life adventures with gadgetry, Sharif recommends an $80 gaming mouse and Dan pleads with you all not to buy a certain keyboard case for the iPad. As for Philip, he just purchased his first Apple product after years of buying Windows laptops and Zune players, which means he's got a little explaining to do.
ROCCAT Savu hybrid mouse ready to assault PC gamers' senses for $60
If ever there were a prime candidate for Pimp my Mouse, ROCCAT's Savu would be it. The R.A.D. peripheral (no, really, that's the acronym) incorporates a category-first: an achievements application that rewards players for "a wide range of gaming feats, such as mouse movement, button clicks, scroll steps, etc." The tricked-out mouse also features an adjustable 4000 DPI optical sensor and Easy-Shift+ tech to let gamers program up to two dedicated functions per button. But, wait, there's more superfluousness to endure. In the event you feel the need to take this whole affair to 11, the company's also tossed in a customizable rear light bar that can be preset to one of 16.8 million colors. If you're a fan of over-the-top desktop accessories, you can snag this posterboy peripheral now for $60 at the virtual (or brick-and-mortar) retailer of your choice. Need more convincing? Then click on past the break for the hyperbolic presser from this extra-ordinary PC gaming kit.
Roccat unveils Savu hybrid gaming mouse ready for CeBIT
In the increasingly complex world of gaming mice, we'd be happy with one that doesn't scrape the paint from the top of our desk. Still, if your ambitions are a little loftier, Roccat's unveiled the Savu gaming mouse in anticipation for its big day out at CeBIT. Named after an Indonesian province, its the first mouse to include a trophy system (nope, us neither) that rewards "gaming feats" when you reach the milestone of having clicked your right button a thousand times in an hour, or something. The 4,000 DPI optical sensor device has the company's usual clutch of features including Easy-Shift+ and customizable colors and it'll be available in May where you can customize it to your whimsy for an as-yet unspecified price.
Rude Gameware's Fierce Laser Gaming Mouse v2 has a long name and a lengthy spec sheet
When the crew at Rude Gameware aren't flipping burgers, they're building gaming gear -- like this Fierce Laser Gaming Mouse V2 -- and while we haven't seen anything particularly groundbreaking, there's some bang for the buck to be had. This rodent in particular brings the heat with a 5000dpi laser sensor, a 1ms response time and 1000Hz polling rate, on-board memory to save configurations and macros for each of its seven programmable buttons, adjustable weights and on-the-fly DPI, a braided cord and even a moderately comfortable-looking design. Best of all, it'll manage to deliver all that for a nickel shy of $50 next month. Oh, it'll have some storied competitors at that price point, to be sure, but now you have more choices. Isn't capitalism grand? PR after the break.
Tt eSports' new Azurues gaming mouse has FPS players in its sights
Taiwanese peripheral manufacturer Tt eSports has launched a new three button gaming mouse aimed to please those with a penchant for fragging. Unlike other options out there such as the Razer Lachesis, which tout ever-increasing sensitivity specs, the Azurues' optical sensor engine is content to top out at 1600 dpi, and can easily be adjusted down to 400 / 800 dpi via a hardware switch on the bottom. That makes it ideal for those who prefer a little more wrist leeway while shooting. Other niceties include a black rubber coating for grip, an adjustable weight design, low friction Teflon feet, integrated lighting, and a braided cable to take repeated abuse from the thrill of desk-side battle. Unfortunately, pricing and availability are still unknown, so there's no need to remove your cursor from the back of your next victim's head until more details surface.
Razer unveils special edition Naga MMO gaming mice
How do you improve on awesome? That's a tough question, but the clever folks at Razer seem to have come up with an answer: Add some molten lava or a raging maelstrom. The gaming peripherals manufacturer announced today the Razer Naga Molten and Razer Naga Maelstrom special edition mice. Both mice sport the same specs as the original 17-button Razer Naga plus the addition of new, pulsating designs -- a swirling, cool blue maelstrom or glowing hot lava. If the themes seem familiar, it's probably no coincidence that these mice arrive just in time for Cataclysm, which is set to launch on Dec. 7. The Razer Naga is designed specifically for MMO gaming, with a special addon for World of Warcraft, allowing players to bind their spells and abilities to the mouse's numerous buttons. The mouse also supports key mapping, the way most full-featured gaming mice can be configured, and also comes with drivers for the Mac. The new designs take the place of the current pulsating Razer logo on the palm end of the mouse, adding a different level of cool to the popular mouse. Either version of the special edition Razer Naga gaming mouse will retail for $79.99 -- about the same price as the regular version -- and will become available for pre-order on Oct. 12.
Logitech G700 mouse and G930 headset review
Logitech's been making quality peripherals for as long as many of us have been computing, introducing some of us to our first wheel, wireless and infrared mice in the process. But when it comes to the latest in gaming peripherals, the company's not always ahead of the curve. Razer and Microsoft have had high-end hybrid wireless mice for over a year now, and the 2.4GHz wireless headset isn't exactly a new concept. That said, the company's reputation is strong for a reason, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that Logitech's created a mouse and headset that leapfrog -- rather than just catch up to -- what competitors have offered. See what we mean in our review after the break.
Logitech's G700 mouse and G930 headset cut the cords, G510 chops price tag of primo keyboard parts
If you've already got a headset, mouse or keyboard, here's hoping they suit you just fine, because if they don't you'll be tempted to blow oodles of money on Logitech's latest gaming peripheral lineup. Today, the company revealed (and is launching) the G510 keyboard, the G930 headset and G700 mouse, and while the first is merely an amalgamation of solid peripherals that have come before (customizable RGB backlighting, USB audio, 18 programmable buttons, the whole nine yards) the latter two are premium wireless products. That's right, Logitech finally has an answer to Razer's Mamba and Microsoft's Sidewinder X8 with its own 2.4GHz, 1000 report-per-second hybrid wireless mouse (with thirteen programmable buttons on tap) and they've ripped the wires right out of the G35 surround sound headset to stuff a play n' charge battery and two 2.4GHz antennas on board. They'll run you a pretty penny, of course, at $160 for the headset, $120 for the keyboard and $100 for the mouse, but you'll find out if two of the three are worth your while later today when we publish our full review. We'll let you guess which two. Press release after the break. Update: Logitech's got a breakneck video rundown of all the hot new G-series features; spot it right after the break. All three products are also on Logitech's website now, though the headset and keyboard are labeled "out of stock."
Razer promises Mac support for all upcoming products
Razer already provides full Mac support for a few of its gaming peripherals -- including the Naga and DeathAdder -- and basic support for others, but it's now taken avantage of GDC to "reaffirm" its commitment to Mac users. That apparently means that "all upcoming" Razer products -- including the company's line of StarCraft II peripherals -- will boast full Mac support out of the box, and that the company will be rolling out updates to some of its existing products "later this year," including the Orochi, Mamba, and Imperator gaming mice. First Steam, now Razer peripherals -- dare we say it's a good time to be a Mac gamer?
Mad Catz unveils three new 'Cyborg' gaming mice, coming 'Spring 2010'
At CES in Las Vegas this week, Mad Catz revealed a quartet of "Premium Cyborg Gaming" mice. From the base model "Cyborg R.A.T.3" at $49.99 that offers a 3200dpi laser, to the super fawncy "Cyborg R.A.T.9" at $129.99 that drops the USB cable for a rechargeable battery and offers a 5600dpi laser, all of them certainly look like something made with the Borg in mind (as evidenced in our gallery below). The standout feature for the Cyborg line is the grip adjustability of the upper three models. "For the first time ever on a mouse, the key points of contact between the gamer's hand and the mouse are fully adjustable allowing it to be customized for any grip preference," claimed Mad Catz prez Darren Richardson in the press release that announced the line. In addition to the customization factor, the upper three models also get two additional buttons (bringing the grand total up to seven, if you can believe it). No official release date has been set, but they're expected to ship this Spring. %Gallery-82041%
Gearing up for WoW: The Razer Naga [Updated]
We don't normally do hardware reviews. That's usually the domain of the guys over at our sister site, Engadget. But when Razer broke out the $79.99 Razer Naga last August 19 at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany (along with a glow-in-the-dark mousepad), and previewed it a BlizzCon a few days later, we knew we just had to get our hands on it and take it out for a spin. This was Razer's first mouse aimed squarely at the MMO market, and at World of Warcraft players specifically. It isn't the first mouse that tried to appeal to the huge MMO player base -- Steelseries unleashed a World of Warcraft mouse last year, although some players found some issues with the mouse and the way it interacted with the game. In hindsight, we probably should've done our own review of that product. So when Razer announced that the Naga "wasn't going be just a great MMO mouse (but) the best MMO mouse," we weren't going to let the opportunity slip away.[Update: Razer's Heathcliff Hatcher aka Razer|Agent responded to some concerns about the Razer Naga and how its keys currently can't be remapped right out of the box without third party applications. Razer|Agent says, "software driver remapping of keys is a standard function for most of Razer products and we do have suitable solutions that we intend to release in the near future for Naga that will enable this feature out of game." This means that the standard 123 and NUM configurations should be remappable through a future update.]Mike wrote an excellent hands-on report on the Razer Naga when we were at BlizzCon which should give everyone a fair idea of what we're dealing with. Writing a product review for an MMO gaming mouse wasn't going to be a simple task -- one reason there aren't too many full reviews of the Razer Naga is because it takes a bit of commitment to do it. Unlike first person shooters or even real-time strategy games where about an hour or two of gameplay would be enough to give fair impressions of the mouse, properly assessing an MMO gaming mouse needs to be an immersive experience. It requires mapping keys and adapting one's personal playing style to accommodate the hardware.As I'd mentioned in my gearing series that talked briefly about gaming mice, the features of most modern gaming mice are far beyond what MMOs generally demand. You won't need 5600dpi, insane APM (Actions-Per-Minute) values, or even fancy technologies like Razer's HyperResponse buttons. If there's any indication that Razer is on the right track with the Naga, it's that they've loaded it with buttons. MMO players tend to press a lot of buttons. They also took the extra step of creating (or adapting) an AddOn that allows the mapping of keybindings from inside the game. When the Razer Naga finally arrived at my doorstep after a torturous tussle with an ineffectual DHL, I finally buckled down -- as Razer would say -- to get imba. Let's take a closer look at the Razer Naga after the jump. %Gallery-75456%
