Cymae
07-05-2007, 08:17 AM
Review: OCZ Equalizer Laser Gaming Mouse (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/ocz_peripherals/ocz_equalizer_laser_gaming_mouse)
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/7-6-07/Equalizer_D.jpg
This mouse is perfect for what I want, though I can see why it gets mixed reviews in the desktop version.
General:
I'm playing at a pretty low DPI setting at the moment, but I’m LOVING it. I've never had a laser mouse before, and it handles beautifully. I didn't actually know laser mice didn't shine any colour but now I do!
Key Features:
This little baby has something called on-the-fly DPI modification, which means there's a handy little button underneath the scroll wheel, indented and neatly outside of all accidental reach, which changes the DPI setting a step when you push it (to more sensitive, or at most sensitive, back to the lowest). BUT, one thing that really got me when I used it, is that the scroll wheel changes colour according to the current DPI setting! with 6 DPI settings that's a lot of colours to remember, so the kind people at OCZ put a colour key on the underside of the mouse for you!
In brief:
Light off = 600dpi, green = 800dpi, yellow = 1200 dpi, red = 1600dpi, then it gets really cool. At 2000dpi, it flashes between red and yellow, and at 2500dpi, it flashes between green and orange, which looks insanely awesome.
Another neat little feature is a button in between your left click button and the scroll wheel called the triple shoot button. I tried the machine gun in COD2 and WOW, did I LOVE this. Instead of shooting once, it shoots 3 times, giving you more time to pick your targets. This little button also doubles as double click in windows, so you can have the convenience of single click browsing without the annoyance of it constantly being active! It's slightly more pressure sensitive than the left and right click buttons too so you can be sure your finger won't slip and do something you'll regret.
Other Features:
The non-slip grip is really comfortable, and is just in the right spot where you should have your thumb. It nicely guides your thumb back to the correct position so you can access the buttons on the left side of the mouse.
The two small thumb-access buttons are nothing particularly fancy. They just perform a basic back and forward function, as quite a few precision mice do these days. BUT, they're never the less pretty handy, and I don't discount them as a standard feature for all mice, so I can appreciate their existence.
I was a little worried that it would be too light, and I'd have to invent some sort of weighting mechanism that would void my warranty, but the worry was in vein! it's a lot heavier than any mobile mouse I've ever used, and the weight is excellently balanced between the size and effort to push it.
Price:
This baby has a recommended retail price of roughly $40USD on the internet. Of course that doesn't include postage, but some places will ship for free or next to nothing (remembering it's a very small package). At about 2/3 of the price of your Logitech G5, It's a fair price considering what it can do. When you pack that into a tinier package than your normal mouse, and take into account that a mobile gaming mouse is pretty rare and there isn't much choice, I’d say it's a pretty good deal.
Cons:
As vain as it may sound, one thing I did dislike about this mouse is the colour. The black with the blue, the silver and the orange make it look slightly tackier than if it was just two colours, especially when your mouse wheel turns any colour on the rainbow. I can see why the tripple shoot button is bright orange and matches with nothing else on the mouse, it does after all make it easier to see, but who's looking at their MOUSE in the middle of a frag-fest? All in all, silver would have looked MUCH nicer and stood out just as well.
Weight is pretty important in a gaming mouse. I've gamed with pathetically light laptop mice which nearly made me cry as they'd fly across the desk and get me killed for the 15th time. Considering the size of the mouse, I thin this weight is perfect for me, and it IS pretty heavy for a laptop mouse, but if the weight of the mobile version is identical in the desktop version, i can see why some people might get irritated. This would seem far too light in a desktop mouse.
As Awesome as the idea of the changing colour scroll wheel for the DPI settings is, and despite the fact that I love it, the flashing lights on the 2000 and 2500dpi setting can be annoying. They don't stop flashing and red orange yellow and green are very bright colours. If you're using a high DPI for an FPS, it can probably get really irritating really fast.
Overall rating: 9.5/10
This rating is for the MOBILE VERSION of the OCZ Equaliser Precision Gaming mouse. The DESKTOP version probably handles and feels quite a bit different. Precision gaming mice in mobile version are very difficult to find, and compared to all other mini mice I’ve tried, this one's by far the leader. Those flashing lights on the higher DPI would have to be what lose this mouse a 10/10 rating, simply because I can see how it would be a problem for gamers.
Other notes:
If I was looking for a desktop mouse, I can see why this model wouldn't appeal. There are other, better brands of Precision desktop gaming mice, which have pretty much the same features (though the glowing scroll wheel is pretty awesome), and on top of it go to a higher DPI, have tilt sensors and custom weighting. So although this mouse is AWESOME for someone with little hands, or gaming goodness on your laptop, I wouldn't throw out the old G5 just yet.
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/jdbnsn/7-6-07/Equalizer_D.jpg
This mouse is perfect for what I want, though I can see why it gets mixed reviews in the desktop version.
General:
I'm playing at a pretty low DPI setting at the moment, but I’m LOVING it. I've never had a laser mouse before, and it handles beautifully. I didn't actually know laser mice didn't shine any colour but now I do!
Key Features:
This little baby has something called on-the-fly DPI modification, which means there's a handy little button underneath the scroll wheel, indented and neatly outside of all accidental reach, which changes the DPI setting a step when you push it (to more sensitive, or at most sensitive, back to the lowest). BUT, one thing that really got me when I used it, is that the scroll wheel changes colour according to the current DPI setting! with 6 DPI settings that's a lot of colours to remember, so the kind people at OCZ put a colour key on the underside of the mouse for you!
In brief:
Light off = 600dpi, green = 800dpi, yellow = 1200 dpi, red = 1600dpi, then it gets really cool. At 2000dpi, it flashes between red and yellow, and at 2500dpi, it flashes between green and orange, which looks insanely awesome.
Another neat little feature is a button in between your left click button and the scroll wheel called the triple shoot button. I tried the machine gun in COD2 and WOW, did I LOVE this. Instead of shooting once, it shoots 3 times, giving you more time to pick your targets. This little button also doubles as double click in windows, so you can have the convenience of single click browsing without the annoyance of it constantly being active! It's slightly more pressure sensitive than the left and right click buttons too so you can be sure your finger won't slip and do something you'll regret.
Other Features:
The non-slip grip is really comfortable, and is just in the right spot where you should have your thumb. It nicely guides your thumb back to the correct position so you can access the buttons on the left side of the mouse.
The two small thumb-access buttons are nothing particularly fancy. They just perform a basic back and forward function, as quite a few precision mice do these days. BUT, they're never the less pretty handy, and I don't discount them as a standard feature for all mice, so I can appreciate their existence.
I was a little worried that it would be too light, and I'd have to invent some sort of weighting mechanism that would void my warranty, but the worry was in vein! it's a lot heavier than any mobile mouse I've ever used, and the weight is excellently balanced between the size and effort to push it.
Price:
This baby has a recommended retail price of roughly $40USD on the internet. Of course that doesn't include postage, but some places will ship for free or next to nothing (remembering it's a very small package). At about 2/3 of the price of your Logitech G5, It's a fair price considering what it can do. When you pack that into a tinier package than your normal mouse, and take into account that a mobile gaming mouse is pretty rare and there isn't much choice, I’d say it's a pretty good deal.
Cons:
As vain as it may sound, one thing I did dislike about this mouse is the colour. The black with the blue, the silver and the orange make it look slightly tackier than if it was just two colours, especially when your mouse wheel turns any colour on the rainbow. I can see why the tripple shoot button is bright orange and matches with nothing else on the mouse, it does after all make it easier to see, but who's looking at their MOUSE in the middle of a frag-fest? All in all, silver would have looked MUCH nicer and stood out just as well.
Weight is pretty important in a gaming mouse. I've gamed with pathetically light laptop mice which nearly made me cry as they'd fly across the desk and get me killed for the 15th time. Considering the size of the mouse, I thin this weight is perfect for me, and it IS pretty heavy for a laptop mouse, but if the weight of the mobile version is identical in the desktop version, i can see why some people might get irritated. This would seem far too light in a desktop mouse.
As Awesome as the idea of the changing colour scroll wheel for the DPI settings is, and despite the fact that I love it, the flashing lights on the 2000 and 2500dpi setting can be annoying. They don't stop flashing and red orange yellow and green are very bright colours. If you're using a high DPI for an FPS, it can probably get really irritating really fast.
Overall rating: 9.5/10
This rating is for the MOBILE VERSION of the OCZ Equaliser Precision Gaming mouse. The DESKTOP version probably handles and feels quite a bit different. Precision gaming mice in mobile version are very difficult to find, and compared to all other mini mice I’ve tried, this one's by far the leader. Those flashing lights on the higher DPI would have to be what lose this mouse a 10/10 rating, simply because I can see how it would be a problem for gamers.
Other notes:
If I was looking for a desktop mouse, I can see why this model wouldn't appeal. There are other, better brands of Precision desktop gaming mice, which have pretty much the same features (though the glowing scroll wheel is pretty awesome), and on top of it go to a higher DPI, have tilt sensors and custom weighting. So although this mouse is AWESOME for someone with little hands, or gaming goodness on your laptop, I wouldn't throw out the old G5 just yet.