Need Advice Buying A New Mouse Mat

[Craine]

I'm using the R.A.T. 7 with the Qck+, nice and big, but my hand gets really tired after an hour or two. Looking for a hard mouse mat this time, but I don't have any experience with hard mats, so I'm looking for some recommendations. I thought about buying the Razer Ironcald, but I heard it has lots of problems with bending and wearing. I think Roccat has some good ones, but I don't really know what to choose from there. So im up for sugestions.

 

[lonesome killer]

I've only ever used the $3 mouse mats you can find at any store. I tried Googling some gaming mats when I went all super serious a couple years ago but couldn't find any answer as to what makes gaming mats different. The only real answer I found was that gray was a good choice. Apparently it helps reflect the laser back to the mouse and a lot of professional photographers use gray backgrounds because it helps bounce light.

Anyone have a valid answer with source?

 

[CorruptDictator]

I have a cheap SteelSeries mat I bought when I picked up my new keyboard. Works fine for me since my old one was falling apart.

 

[VintagePC]

I have a trackball, and so I don't use a mousepad, but my comments are below:

Any mousepad will generally serve, as long as it is good quality with a reasonable surface texture. Most "laser" mice aren't actually laser mice, just a camera with an LED, and they take pictures of a small area of the surface to compute motion. (someone even hacked one as an impromptu scanner a while back) As long as it is textured such that the camera doesn't have trouble (i.e. very shiny, smooth, and no colour variation surfaces cause problems) it should work.

Can't comment on longevity vs price though.

 

[lonesome killer]

^ Oh yeah, had read that. That's why I decided to go with gray mouse pad. Figured if it's good for photographers with $1,000 cameras it's good for a $100 mouse with a probably $5 camera inside.

 

[CorruptDictator]

Is it weird that for years I did not use any sort of mat at all?

 

[lonesome killer]

Is it weird that for years I did not use any sort of mat at all?

Yes. When I had my first job and literally had no money I just put the mouse on the desk for about a month. After a couple of weeks when I got my next paycheck I bought a mat. It worked 1,000,000 times better. Now I have a weird mark on my desk. I'll take a picture.

 

[VintagePC]

Is it weird that for years I did not use any sort of mat at all?

Nope. Only time you need one is if your desk is smooth and featureless - painted metal, for example. Then your mouse does weird shit.

Mats may be something borne out of habit too - Older optical mice (SPARCstations) actually relied on a special pattern printed on the mat (well, steel plate) to function, but now that they use camera technology it's no longer necessary.

 

[lonesome killer]

Here. Don't really give a shit about the stain as the whole desk cost me $30 from Big Lots about 4 years ago. Don't know if fancy $200 desks have the same problems.

 

[VintagePC]

Here. Don't really give a shit about the stain as the whole desk cost me $30 from Big Lots about 4 years ago. Don't know if fancy $200 desks have the same problems.

I've seen that before. It's the result of dust and basically anything small and abrasive that gets stuck on those teflon pads under the mouse. Over time it eventually wears out the surface of your desk.

 

[Reechard]

Nope. Only time you need one is if your desk is smooth and featureless - painted metal, for example. Then your mouse does weird shit.

Mats may be something borne out of habit too - Older optical mice (SPARCstations) actually relied on a special pattern printed on the mat (well, steel plate) to function, but now that they use camera technology it's no longer necessary.

I miss my sparcstation

I do not, however, miss the monitor that was something like 26" deep. That thing was ridiculous long from front to back.

 

[VintagePC]

Heh