Optical Mice - worth getting?

[Xander]

I'm thinking of buying an optical mouse. I've seen one online that costs about £10 - $16(?) it has three good reviews for it too. I don't have huge problems with my mouse which is just a normal one that came with my PC but sometimes it sticks and apparently these optical mice are meant to be a lot better?

So just wondered if anybody here had used one so I could get a personal opinion of whether it's worth getting one and if they have a noticable difference? I do a lot of work with the mouse when tracing lines for drawings or doing work on Photoshop as I don't have a tablet so I need my mouse to be non-sticky!

[Killy]

Go for it.

[TheAbominatrix]

Definitly make the investment. I had a ball mouse for years and it stuck constantly, drove me nuts. It finally just stopped working, so I went and got an optical. Mine was about $10, but I had a friend who worked there so she used her employee discount. :D

There is a very noticable difference. They're way smoother, and you never have to worry about surfaces. My comp chair is my bed, and I just run my mouse along the bed at my side. Works great. The only thing it wont work on is glass with nothing behind it, cause the light doesnt have anything to focus on. But aside from that, it's great. Go for it.

[Ranti]

I love the opt mice...i got my first one from a friend of mine for free. That thing was much nicer than any ball mouse i have ever had...worked on almost any surface, even my hand. I got a new one with my new Dell, still awesome. I would say go for it if it is in your budget and not too draining for some reason.

[crono_logical]

Optical mice are much better than ball mice, yeah :p And yeah, they work on most opaque and flat surfaces (or almost flat in the case of a blanket :p

EDIT: Actually, it doesn't work too great if I use my laptop's LCD screen :p

[eternalshiva]

I have one at work and I don;t know how I managed with computers before... It's almost a god send ;p

[Citizen Bleys]

You'll never go back. An optical mouse never gets gummed up, ever. It wouldn't matter if you had the same one for fifty years, gunk cannot stick to light.

[Dr Unne]

Optical mice are better, yeah. Doesn't mean they can't break though. I have a Logitech, and the buttons started getting sticky after a while. Sometimes when I click, it registers 2-4 clicks on the computer, which is insanely annoying. The mouse wheel is also fairly sucky; scrolling with it sometimes works, and sometimes it'll scroll for a while without anything happening, so it's not very accurate. The little rubber pads on the buttom of the mouse wore off too, and without those pads it no longer slides smoothly across my desk like it used to. It's probably from my using it without a mouse pad though. So optical mice are better, but they're not indestructable. Make sure you get a good one.

[Citizen Bleys]

Indestructible, no, but let's put this mathematically:

ball mouse:optical mouse::tricycle:M1A1 Abrams tank

An Abrams isn't indestructible, either, but it sure takes a lot more punishment than a tricycle.

[Nait]

I guarantee, you will never go, not without being dragged kicking and screaming, back. You will love the optical. Your heart will belong to it's brilliant LIGHT! That red, beautiful laser will steal your soul and sell it on eBay and you'll care not a whit.

[Peegee]

Incidentally you can wire a LED into the power supply wire of the mouse, then play with the positioning of the mouse in order to synthesis an optical mouse red lazer glow

http://www.overclockersclub.com/guides/mousemod.php

[Citizen Bleys]

Originally posted by Pee Gee
Incidentally you can wire a LED into the power supply wire of the mouse, then play with the positioning of the mouse in order to synthesis an optical mouse red lazer glow

http://www.overclockersclub.com/guides/mousemod.php

Yes, if you're a flaming psycho

[Xander]

Thanks for the help, I have decided that 8 EOFF's can't be wrong and sent off for my mousie ;) Should be here in a few days... :D

[Citizen Bleys]

"mousie"?

*vomits*

[Ranti]

Originally posted by Citizen Bleys
"mousie"?

*vomits*

:D
so some people get anxious for the fun parts of the computer, oh yay:rolleyes2

[Red Wizard]

Personally, I want the new Micros~1 tilt-wheel mouse... you can tilt the wheel left/right.

[Yamaneko]

Optical is good, but wireless sucks, at least now. Whenever I'm playing a first person shooter and I have to move the mouse around a lot during a short period of time (5 seconds), it'll lose the signal and go crazy for a few seconds. Annoying as hell. I shouldn't complain though, since I got it for free. :p

[Shlup]

Isn't the proper plural for computer mouse mouses? Tsk.

And, yes, optical is good.

[Xander]

Originally posted by Citizen Bleys
"mousie"?

*vomits*

Hey I like the little creatures leave me alone :p

[Rainecloud]

Optical and wireless mouses/mice are the devil, in my ever-so-humble (and always valued) opinion. They look tacky, they don't have wires, and they smell like burning. In all seriousness, I couldn't get mine to operate properly - the arrow just seemed to move around in a rather odd and random fashion before grinding to an irritating and unexpected halt, leaving me knee-deep in unfinished Excel work. Needless to say, I dislike optical mouses/mice.

[-N-]

Optical mice work on virtually any surface. There is no reason not to get one.

[Citizen Bleys]

Originally posted by Rainecloud
Optical and wireless mouses/mice are the devil, in my ever-so-humble (and always valued) opinion. They look tacky, they don't have wires, and they smell like burning. In all seriousness, I couldn't get mine to operate properly - the arrow just seemed to move around in a rather odd and random fashion before grinding to an irritating and unexpected halt, leaving me knee-deep in unfinished Excel work. Needless to say, I dislike optical mouses/mice.

Sounds like your issue is with wireless, not optical. My optical mouse operates in a manner superior to a ball mouse in every conceivable way. Wireless, on the other hand, is and always has been a dodgy technology. You lose the signal at the drop of a hat, and you need batteries. (My optical mouse draws power from my USB port)

Try getting an optical, non-wireless mouse and see if your position changes.

[Rainecloud]

Nah, my boss just buys crap products for us to use, that's all.

[Citizen Bleys]

Execute your boss.

[Rainecloud]

I will, in time. I just have to use the Apple Macs for a few more months, and I'll be totally insane.

*click click* NO! YOU'VE RENAMED THE FILE AGAIN FOR NO REASON! WHICH SYSTEM FILE WAS THAT?!?!

*scream*

[Citizen Bleys]

Macs? I pity you so much right now.