How to choose a gaming mouse? Laser mice from Genius. Which mouse is better to buy - laser or optical?

Is a laser or optical mouse better? This question has probably worried many people. The operation of an optical mouse is based on LEDs. With their help, the device is able to receive information. After this, it is processed. The built-in processor of a personal computer is responsible for this process. Laser mice do not have any LEDs. All operation of these devices is based on the use of a semiconductor laser. Additionally, they have a special sensor installed. With its help, a personal computer is able to determine the wavelength of the glow. As a result, the exact position of the device becomes clear.

What is better - an optical mouse or a laser one? To make the right choice, you need to learn about all the advantages and disadvantages of these devices. Additionally, you should familiarize yourself with the main manufacturers that produce high-quality laser and optical mice.

Pros and cons of optical mice

The main advantage of all optical mice is their cost. On the market, they will cost a person much less than laser devices. Additionally, the optical mouse can boast a small gap with the working surface. As a result, you may not need to use a mouse pad. However, optical devices may not work on some surfaces. This primarily applies to glossy and glass coatings.

You should also take into account the low accuracy of the cursor. Also, the speed indicator compared to laser mice also lags behind. Overall the sensitivity of the device is quite poor. The backlight that an optical mouse has can sometimes be distracting. At the same time, this device consumes a lot of electricity. This is especially noticeable in wireless models.

What are the features of laser mice?

Laser mice can work on any surface. The accuracy rate is quite high. At the same time, the cursor speed is fast. Overall the sensitivity of the laser mouse is good. There is no visible glow in these devices. Power consumption is quite low, even in the wireless version. Additionally, the versatility of laser mice should be highlighted. If we talk about the disadvantages, we should mention the high cost of these devices. The second disadvantage lies in the large gap with the working surface. When using a laser mouse, it is advisable to use a mouse pad.

UFT optical mice

These optical mice stand out for their interesting design. The body of most models is made of bamboo. The optical mouse is connected via a USB cable. The shape of the device is ergonomic, and you can feel it in the palm of your hand. The most popular model is UFT M5. It has two buttons without auxiliary ones. The dimensions of this model are as follows: width - 50 mm, height - 30 mm, and depth - 105 mm. The market price of this mouse is approximately 900 rubles.

What is the difference between Sven optical mice?

The Sven company produces the best optical mice of excellent quality. Many models have a resolution of up to 800 dpi. The cable length of wired devices is 1.5 m. The average weight of the device is around 0.112 kg. In general, the design of optical mice is quite simple. Sven is renowned for its high-speed technology throughout the world. Moreover, many mice are capable of working on almost any surface.

The most popular model is the Sven RX-111. This wireless optical mouse has two buttons and a scroll wheel. It is practically silent in operation. The accuracy of the manipulations is quite high. The shape of this model is completely asymmetrical. In general, it can be described as simple and economical. Its cost on the market is only 300 rubles.

Another interesting model is the Sven CS-306. This optical mouse is very compact. The width of the device is 125 mm, height - 69 mm, depth - 44 mm. The cable of the device has a standard length of 1.5 m. The body of the model is plastic and quite durable. Also worth noting is the good design of the device. The cost of this optical mouse is 450 rubles.

Optical model "Zalman ZM-M300"

This manufacturer is not considered particularly popular, but this model is in great demand. Basically, the Zalman ZM-M300 optical mouse is famous for its functionality. There are as many as 5 buttons for this. Additionally there is a scroll wheel. The device resolution is 2500 dpi. At the same time, the update rate is at around 4500 fps.

The cable length of this model is 1.5 m. The dimensions of this device are as follows: width - 132 mm, height - 65 mm, and depth - 42 mm. The total mass of the device is 0.078 kg. As owners of the optical mouse note, it is very comfortable due to its ergonomic shape. The wheel of this model is covered with rubber. At the same time, it has relief stripes. Overall, this model is very pleasant to use.

Laser mice from Genius

This company is known in many countries. In general, laser mice of this brand can boast good sensor resolution. There are many expensive as well as economical models for home and office. Additionally, they all differ in design. Considering this, you can always choose the appropriate option. The most popular model is the Genius NS 200. It has two keys and one scroll wheel.

The sensor resolution of this device is 800-1600 dpi. The dimensions of the model are as follows: length - 126 mm, height - 80 mm, and depth - 44 mm. A wide variety of operating systems are supported. The price of this model is 450 rubles. Overall, this laser mouse is more suitable for the office. A slight sensitivity will not allow you to play video games at home comfortably. Additionally, the mouse has a low cursor speed indicator.

Genius GX Gaming

The Genius GX Gaming model is considered a more advanced version. This laser optical mouse is ideal for gamers. Manufacturers equipped this model with eleven buttons. The maximum overclocking rate is 8200 dpi. In this case, three areas are illuminated. Additionally, we can note the good functionality of this laser mouse. 72 commands can be assigned to this model. The cursor response time is only 1 ms.

The weight of the laser mouse can be easily adjusted. This happens due to special metal weights that are included in the kit. There are a total of 6 plates weighing 4.5 g each. Taking this into account, this laser mouse can be easily adjusted to your type of game. The standard set of the device also includes a driver for the user interface.

Plus, manufacturers include a special case that allows you to store the metal weights of the device separately. The cable length is slightly longer than the standard size and is 1.8 m. The dimensions of this model are as follows: width - 114 mm, height - 72 mm, depth - 44 mm. The price of the device is 4500 rubles.

Summing up

Summing up, we can finally answer the question: “Optical mouse or laser mouse - which is better?” Considering all of the above, the second option is considered the best. For home use, laser mice are more comfortable. At the same time, there is a wide range of models, and choosing the right option is not a problem.

The Genius GX Gaming laser mouse is naturally more suitable for gamers, but the Genius NS 200 is a very good choice. In turn, optical devices are much cheaper. Of the models presented above, the company “Sven” can be noted. The Sven RX-111 mouse is quite suitable for home use. She is not particularly sensitive, but most people simply will not notice the difference.

It is not the most important component of the entire computer as a whole, but no, without it, working on a PC turns into a very difficult, not enjoyable activity. Global brands A4Tech, Logitech, Defender are constantly fighting with each other to create the most in the world. That is why today various types of computer mice are constantly undergoing changes for the better. If you constantly monitor all the new products on the computer mouse market, and at the same time buy at least one of the latest models, you can simply be left without money.

Surely many of you remember the first mice, which recognized movements and coordinates thanks to a rubber ball inside. Everything old is always replaced by the new, which is why today mechanical manipulators are remembered less and less. came to replace the mechanical one, incorporating all its best qualities. However, not even a few years have passed, and a laser mouse, the latest development of various companies producing input devices, has already knocked on the door.

The main choice: laser mouse or optical?

While the guys from A4Tech have not yet come up with a new and better principle for recognizing coordinates with a mouse, every user of a computer, laptop or netbook has a choice: a laser mouse or an optical one. That is why it is necessary to understand the advantages and disadvantages of laser and optical mice in order to not experience any difficulties in the future when using one of the presented options.

Undoubtedly, a computer mouse, in addition to moving the cursor across the screen, has two important features - accuracy and speed. Any professional gamer will confirm these words. In the race for accuracy, a mechanical manipulator has no chance in the fight against new input devices. Therefore, be it optical or optical, they have come far in the race for precision from a mechanical mouse.

The operating principle of both types of mice is the same: the sensor takes a photo of the surface, and the chip inside the mouse analyzes this photo and determines the coordinates. When operating an optical mouse, as well as a laser mouse, the surface below the manipulator is illuminated. This is done for a higher quality and more accurate picture, which will be taken by a special reading element, only LEDs work in an optical mouse, while in a laser mouse the laser is used directly. By the way, the laser illuminates the readable surface better, as a result of which the image quality of the laser image is much clearer than that of an LED. It turns out that a laser mouse is more accurate than an optical mouse, because the laser is several times more accurate than an LED and does not distort the read image. This is the so-called slight difference between a laser mouse and an optical mouse.

However, in addition to accuracy, resolution and speed are very important in a good manipulator. Resolution is measured in units called dpi (in Russian - dots per inch). Again, a laser mouse has a resolution of up to two thousand, while an optical mouse can only boast one thousand two hundred dots per inch. In truth, eight hundred dots per inch is considered the most suitable and convenient extension for pleasant work with a mouse, but computer manufacturing companies simply use these indicators as a small marketing ploy. If you wish, the resolution of the mouse can be adjusted in the control panel, and then you will personally experience all the pros and cons of the high resolution of the manipulator.

Optical mice are available in two PS/2 interfaces, while laser mice only have a USB interface. USB technology is more narrow-profile and can be smaller than PS/2. Therefore, the cursor will not move around the screen as smoothly.

Now that you have become more familiar with input devices, try to decide whether a laser or optical mouse is better for you, and be sure to try both options when purchasing.

To solve one of the problems, I needed to programmatically obtain and process images of a small area of ​​the paper surface from a very close distance. Having not received decent quality using a regular USB camera and already halfway to the store for an electron microscope, I remembered one of the lectures in which we were told how various devices, including a computer mouse, work.

Preparation and a little theory

After googling information on this topic and disassembling an old PS/2 Logitech mouse, I saw a picture familiar from articles on the Internet.

Not a very complicated design of “first generation mice”, an optical sensor in the center and a PS/2 interface chip slightly higher. The optical sensor I came across is an analogue of the “popular” models ADNS2610/ADNS2620/PAN3101. I think they and their counterparts were mass produced in the same Chinese factory, with different labels on the output. Documentation for it was very easy to find, even along with various code examples.

The documentation says that this sensor receives an image of a surface measuring 18x18 pixels (400cpi resolution) up to 1500 times per second, stores it and, using image comparison algorithms, calculates the offset in X and Y coordinates relative to the previous position.

Implementation

We connect 5V and GND to the corresponding Arduino outputs, and the sensor legs SDIO and SCLK to digital pins 8 and 9.

To obtain an offset by coordinates, you need to read the value of the chip register at addresses 0x02 (X) and 0x03 (Y), and to dump a picture, you need to first write the value 0x2A at address 0x08, and then read it from there 18x18 times. This will be the last “remembered” value of the image brightness matrix from the optical sensor.

You can see how I implemented this on Arduino here: http://pastebin.com/YpRGbzAS (only ~100 lines of code).

And to receive and display the image, a program was written in Processing.

Result

You can notice the texture of the surface (paper) and even individual letters on it. It should be noted that such clear picture quality is obtained due to the fact that the developers of this mouse model added a special glass stand to the design with a small lens directly under the sensor.

If you start to lift the mouse above the surface even a couple of millimeters, the clarity immediately disappears.

If you suddenly want to repeat this at home, to find a mouse with a similar sensor, I recommend looking for old devices with a PS/2 interface.

Conclusion

I will leave links to materials that were very useful to me for solving this problem. It really wasn’t difficult and was done with great pleasure. Now I'm looking for information about the chips of more expensive models of modern mice to obtain high-quality images with higher resolution. I might even be able to build something like a microscope (the image quality from the current sensor is clearly not suitable for this). Thank you for your attention!

This question comes up quite often on various gaming forums. Even after long and heated discussions, forum users, as a rule, come to the conclusion that the mouse should simply suit you in those games in which you most often get stuck. Most often, it is not even the resolution or the type of sensor that are the main priorities when choosing a particular model.

Gaming mice, first of all, should be as comfortable as possible for each specific palm. Unpretentious gamers are usually content with average ergonomic mice; advanced gamers purchase expensive devices with variable body geometry.

Those who play RPGs or strategy games don't really bother with the weight of the mouse. But fans of shooters usually pay attention to this. That’s why they choose mice with the ability to adjust the weight and center of gravity.

Another important parameter is the presence of additional buttons and the ability to record macros on them with combinations of certain actions.

Finally, and most importantly, gaming mice are created primarily with a significantly greater margin of strength and durability than conventional “office” mice.

As for the design and resolution, there are several nuances.

Laser mice are generally much more accurate than optical mice. However, the latter work great on literally any surface, even uneven ones. Laser mice are extremely capricious in this parameter. Raising the mouse even a fraction of a millimeter above the mousepad, you immediately “lose” control of the cursor or, if this is a game, the aim. This will not happen with an optical mouse. In addition, even a small speck that gets under the laser mouse sensor can cause the cursor to “jump”, which can sometimes cost your life in a game, albeit a virtual one.

If we talk about sensor resolution, then, of course, for optical mice it usually does not exceed 800 dpi. Gaming mice are most often laser and have the ability to adjust the sensor resolution from a modest 400 to 2000 (and even 5200 dpi for top models).

By the way, objectively, the designation “DPI” is not a very correct term and is used rather to indicate the value of printing resolution. In relation to the mouse sensor, it would be much more correct to say “CPI”, that is, Count Per Inch, that is, the number of “values” per inch. In fact, this is the number of “changes” in the position of the mouse that the sensor records when it moves one inch.

In practice, this is expressed as follows: the higher the resolution, the slower the cursor or, if you prefer, the sight moves. On the one hand, pointing accuracy increases, but on the other hand, aiming speed deteriorates.

Today, the optimal mouse sensor resolution parameters are considered to be: 400-600 for work, 600-800 for shooters and 900-1200 for strategies and RPGs, including MMOs.

In any case, when choosing a gaming mouse, pay attention to how it fits in your hand. The pleasure you get from the game process directly depends on this. And then pay attention to the number of possible sensor resolutions, the ability to adjust the weight and center of gravity and, of course, the presence of additional buttons, preferably with the ability to record macros.

Ivan Kovalev

We continue to make mini-reviews of the most popular mouse sensors. Today we will talk about mediocre sensors - not the best, but the purchase of which in certain situations may be completely justified.

If you know what sensor is installed in your future mouse, you can learn about the advantages and disadvantages of a particular device model before purchasing. However, it should be remembered that the implementation of the same sensor may differ depending on the manufacturer.

We will talk about mid-segment sensors in technical terms (not in price terms).

Pixart A9800 (A9500)

It feels like the A9800 laser optical sensor occupies over 95% of the laser mouse market. The A9800 and its predecessor the A9500 (technically they are not very different) are the first and only laser sensor that can truly be called gaming.

The technical characteristics are impressive:

Operating speed >4.5 m/s
- 30G acceleration
- surface photographing speed 12000 fps
- adjustable lift-off height
- large photosensitive matrix 30x30 pixels
- 8200 dpi (cpi) with a step of 50 (dpi and step may differ from different manufacturers)

Technically everything is perfect. But something is wrong with this sensor. After all, 99% of professional Counter-Strike players use optical mice, not laser ones.

Main problem laser sensor A9800(and accordingly A9500) is RANDOM ACCELERATION, reaching 5-6%. You can read what acceleration is. In simple terms, the A9800 has a fairly large random error. And that's a fact. The creators of gaming devices and data from various tests speak about this.

The acceleration of the A9800 is a consequence of the characteristics of laser radiation. It is physically “hardwired” into the sensor and cannot be removed by software.

It is important to know that the acceleration effect in the A9800 (A9500) can be significantly reduced if you use mats made of hard materials as a surface: plastic, aluminum. But this creates unnecessary problems for the user: such carpets are more expensive and tend to wear out and abrade the feet of mice.

Fans of conspiracy theories can also speculate on the topic: why is the captain of the Natus Vincere team, Zeus, not considered a cool aimer? Maybe because he has been using the SteelSeries Xai (A9500) for a very long time in combination with a rag carpet? And the former player of the above-mentioned team, Ceh9, realized that he was “not pulling”, wasn’t it after he switched to the SteelSeries Sensei (A9800)? Coincidence? Don't think!

Unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to find objective information on acceleration in the new modified versions of the A9800 (Razer Taipan, Logitech g500s). Available data are contradictory.

You can also find information on the Internet that the acceleration in the A9800 was fixed with new firmware. This is wrong! The information was indeed received from an employee of one of the manufacturers of gaming devices, but he meant the absence of an “smoothing” algorithm in the latest versions of the A9800 firmware. With anti-aliasing enabled, the A9800's latency at high dpi values ​​could reach more than 20 ms.

Conclusions: The A9800 is excellent in many ways: it accurately counts angles and is finely tuned. In addition, there is simply a HUGE SELECTION of mice with this sensor on the market. Everyone will find a shape/size/weight to suit their taste. But the problem with acceleration does not allow him to be considered a saint. The A9800 remains an excellent choice for games like Dota 2, League of Legends, etc. For Counter-Strike, it's better to look for something else.

A3090

The A3090 first appeared in the second version of the Logitech G400 and was labeled S3095 (apparently Logitech made some of their own changes). Later the sensor became open to other manufacturers.

Technical part:
- maximum speed: up to 4.5 m/s (can be significantly lower on some models)
- 30x30 matrix (A3090 is a receiver of A3080/A3060)
- 6400 fps
- LED backlight (red), infrared in Roccat Savu.
- maximum dpi depends on the firmware: 3500 on earlier ones and 4000 on later ones.
- native dpi sensors: 1800/3500 (3500 dpi version) and 800/4000 (4000 dpi version)
- the separation height depends significantly on the specific implementation, but most often it is quite high

The A3090 marked the beginning of a new era of top-end sensors: high operating speed without significant acceleration, lack of angular reference (and generally calculates angles quite well), low noise level.

Many manufacturers experienced difficulties with the A3090 in terms of technical implementation. As a rule, this concerns lift-off height and maximum operating speed. But in general, at 800 dpi the sensor behaves perfectly on almost all models (4000 dpi firmware).

Many variants of the A3090 use "smoothing" technology ( smoothing). The point is that the mouse does not immediately produce tracking results, but applies some processing algorithm to the data. This allows you to significantly reduce the noise level at high dpi, but introduces some specificity into the operation of the sensor. There may be a delay in mouse response, some inaccuracy with small movements, and unnaturalness with fast long translations. Probably, at 800 dpi, anti-aliasing is not used in the A3090, or its effect is not noticeable.

The 4000 dpi version of the A3090 may have dead zone issues. When you start moving, the mouse does not respond immediately, but with some delay, which can lead to jerky movement and skipped pixels.

Popular mice on the A3090 sensor: Zowie AM/FK/EC-evo, Logitech G400/G400s, SteelSeries Kana V2, Roccat Savu.

Today, all major brands have abandoned the production of mice with the A3090 in favor of the more recent PMW3310 and S3988. However, there are still some models on the market from little-known manufacturers at a low price: Hama uRage, Genius Maurus X, etc. In addition, you can always buy a used mouse from the high-end segment.

Logitech g400s. 4000 dpi version. (c)gamezone.com

SDNS-SS-3059

SS-3059 is a modified version of the A3050. Currently produced exclusively for the SteelSeries Rival 100. Key differences compared to the original A3050:

Acceleration is minimized
- maximum operating speed increased from 3 to 4.5 m/s

The result is a very good sensor. But, as in the case of its predecessor, it is better to set the dpi lower. Questions also remain regarding the accuracy of angle calculations.

Rival 100 has already appeared among the elite of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: Dupreeh, the best player of the Astralis team, plays on it.

50 shades of Rival 100. (c) lelong.com.my

AM010 is represented by a line of gaming mice from Logitech: models g100s, g302, g402. Apparently, this sensor is a joint development of Logitech and Pixart. PMW3320 is an open version of AM010, with some changes, in particular the frame rate has been increased from about 3000 to 5000+ fps.

The AM010 performed well in Logitech mice. Almost zero acceleration (beats even the top 3310 and 3988) and a maximum speed of over 3 m/s. Probably the best sensor in terms of price/quality ratio. The only weak point is the calculation of corners. The lift-off height is also relatively high. Today AM010 is morally outdated, and, most likely, we will not see it in new models.

In this regard, the PMW3320 is an extremely promising sensor. 3320 appeared on the market at the end of 2015, and the number of mice with this sensor is constantly increasing. CM Storm Xornet 2, Azio Exo 1, Ozone Neon 3k, Roccat Kova 2016, QPad DX-20 are built on PMW3320

In theory, the 3320 should retain all the best qualities of the AM010 while rendering corners should improve due to the increased frame rate. However, judging by the first reviews, not all manufacturers were able to cope with the new sensor. Somewhere there are problems with the dpi step, somewhere with the maximum speed.

Probably PMW3320 is also the future of A4tech. In this case, A4tech will greatly advance in the price/quality ratio (of course, with normal implementation of the sensor).

This is where the average sensors end. Next up is a conversation about the top segment of the market. In the next part we will look at how the PWM3310 differs from the S3988 and find out which sensor is the most powerful today.