Microsoft SideWinder mouse - It’s big

The Microsoft SideWinder Mouse is all about gaming and rocks it hard. There are loads of customisation options available to you. I suggest plugging it in as is and giving it a good go before you start trying to find the right settings for yourself. It’s tough to really get to grips with all the possibilities that are literally at your fingertips.

Initially I found the mouse really heavy but guess what? Luckily you can change that. Simply take out a weight here or there - OK not here or there, you specifically have an area that allows you to add or remove little weights that can aid you in the overall weight and subsequently the glide or feel of the mouse for our wrist. While we’re talking about glide (and this is something I’ve always wanted in a mouse) there are also different sorts of, um, “feet” that will allow you to alter the level of friction or glide that you incur while using the mouse. This is pretty important when you are sliding around the top of your desk trying to kill anything or everything in sight!

Something that I didn’t particularly enjoy about this mouse is that it’s virtually impossible to reach the top end of the mouse without actually lifting your wrist from the top of your arm. This ends up being quite a lot of work in the long run. It’s fairly important considering there are some important buttons that you might need to push at the top of the mouse. I mean they are present and accounted for which means that in different games these buttons have varying and important roles to play.

There are three really nifty buttons at the top of the mouse just below the scroll button. Generally changing the speed of your pointer is a laborious process that involves a few steps depending on which OS you use or game your are playing. With these three lovely buttons you can alter the speed of your pointer at the touch of a button (pun intended). The three speeds range from 200DPI to 2000DPI but come standard set at 800 DPI, 1,000DPI and 1,600DPI.

One button that had me on my head with confusion was what serious (read proper or real) gamers would call a “turn on a dime” button - I had to Google that one. This basically means that when you are playing a FPS (First Person Shooter) game you are able to turn your character 180 degrees with one click of a button. What a great little button. Never again will you be stabbed in the back by some vampire/zombie/nazi/cartoon character.

Technical Specs

• Shape Designed for Handling
• On-the-Fly DPI Switching
• First-Ever LCD Display on a Mouse
• Cable Anchor + Accessories Storage Box
• Quick Launch Button
• 5 Programmable Main Buttons
• Advanced Gaming Software
• Engineered for Speed
• RESOLUTION: 2000 dpi
• IMAGE PROCESSING: 7080 frames per second
• MAX ACCELERATION: 20 G
• MAX SPEED: 45 inches per second
• USB REPORTING: 500 Hz
• GLIDE: 3 sets of different mouse feet (for glide preference)
• BUTTONS (Left/Right): 9 million clicks
• Replaceable Mouse Feet
• Wide Metal Scroll Wheel
• Vertical Metal Side Buttons
• Adjustable Mouse Weights
• 3 Year Warranty

Conclusion

I stand by the fact that I personally wouldn’t have a need for this mouse as I’m not a very serious gamer. But for those of you who are serious gamers I would suggest this as a fairly decent purchase. Other’s online have suggested that there are newer gaming mice that would suite your needs better but this one is simple, effective and relatively diverse.

Get this mouse if you are used to using gaming mice or if you are interested in becoming a serious gamer.

Price and Availability

The Microsoft SideWinder mouse is available from all major stores and you should look to spend between R500 and R600 on this whopper. You can also buy this mouse online from selected online retailers.

Rate this review:

(5 votes, average: 1.8 out of 5)

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Filed Under Accessories, Computing, Featured Reviews, Gaming, Microsoft, Mouse