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Mouse round-up: Logitech, Microsoft and Razer mice compared

Julio Franco   on 25 May 2005 - 08:51 · 19 comments & 3391 views

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We have said it from day one in our reviews, buying guides, and even on the news when possible, spending a considerable amount of money in a good keyboard and mouse is not a waste of your hard earned cash. After all, those are the devices you will be interacting with 90% of time. Be it because of ergonomic reasons or plain comfort, if you are serious about computing, we certainly encourage you to invest in such high-end input devices rather than in the latest quad-GPU graphics board.

That is the reason today we are taking a look at six mice ranging from $20 to a bit over $50. The contenders today are from Logitech: the MX1000 and MX518, from Razer: the Viper and Diamondback, and from Microsoft: the Wireless Intellimouse Explorer, and the Optical Mouse by S+ARCK.

View: TechSpot's Mouse round-up


It is important to note that this issue is not a security vulnerability or a hack that puts customers at any risk, nor is it a vulnerability in the activeX control WGA uses to determine if a customer is running genuine Windows. This is simply an issue of users taking a validation code from a genuine copy of Windows and using it on a non-genuine copy of Windows. The threat is similar to that posed by the illegal distribution of software burned to CDs.

Of course a counterfeiter could use this method to steal software for themselves, but because the code expires quickly, it would be useless to share the code with any other users.

Q: Who would benefit from this practice?
A: This method of counterfeiting is only an option for relatively sophisticated users who are running both a genuine version of Windows (from which they would take the code) and a non-genuine version (to which they would apply it). This method only applies to the Download Center, where customers would need to know exactly what to look for, and not Windows Update or the Automatic Updates feature that most customers use.

Q: How does the code expire?
A: Microsoft “hashes” the PID returned from the validation tool (genuinecheck.exe) with a Microsoft.com timeserver time code that is checked by the page logic on the Download Center, which means the code is only valid for a short period of time.

Q: Does Microsoft have plans to change or improve WGA validation to address this vulnerability?
A: With WGA, Microsoft seeks to balance the need to make downloads easily available for customers, while trying to safeguard our IP from counterfeiters. In striking this balance, Microsoft will defer to the needs of its customers to validate their computers as easily as possible so that they can receive the updates they need to stay secure. Furthermore, because the code generated by the validation tool expires so quickly, we don’t perceive this as an issue significant enough to outweigh our customers’ needs for hassle-free downloads.

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#1 hotdog963al on 25 May 2005 - 08:54
Those look meaty
#2 Jugalator on 25 May 2005 - 08:59
Article summary: Logitech r0x0rz, although MS has good value for money on the wireless Intellimouse.
(2 replies) #3 mr_demilord on 25 May 2005 - 09:04
logitech $uckz0rs their drivers and support are crap and I had a mouse that was broke in 1 week.
#3.1 Shadow Dragon on 25 May 2005 - 15:51
Well, if you stomp on it then... .
I still have a really great logitech mouse lying around, probably 6 years old, and still it feels just like new.
I'm also gonna buy the MX1000 in a month or so .
#3.2 Rekoil on 26 May 2005 - 12:45
ur half right. i can agree that their drivers suck i mean having to download a 50+mb file to install my MX900 bluetooth mouse on an operating system that already supports bluetooth (xp sp2) is just absurd. but i have had it for about 1 year now and i have no problems what so ever except for occasional drop outs but that was because i used crap batteies and with the new batteries it works like a charm.
#4 Sjokkel on 25 May 2005 - 09:39
On the other hand logitech was great for me on the warranty department. About 6 years ago I bought a rather expensive logitech mouse (can't remember what it was called then) with a 5 year warranty. After a year the right mouse button stopt functioning... maybe i dropped it So i recieved a new one. After 6 years i've recieved 3 new mice after breaking the old ones. I started with a wired mouse with a ball and ended up with wireless optical MX700 for free! I also bought an MX 1000 a couple of months ago and i love it.
#5 woffel123 on 25 May 2005 - 10:12
logitech mice are great!, if only it wont for there drivers..
#6 Paxus on 25 May 2005 - 10:13
Nice test !!!
#7 tickbabies on 25 May 2005 - 10:13
my mx 510 works great!! logitech mice rock. the 518 looks real nice
(2 replies) #8 kronik on 25 May 2005 - 10:36
Best Precision and Responsiveness: Logitech MX 1000
Best Gaming Mouse: Logitech MX518

So the wireless has quicker response than the wired?
Also I thought a gaming mouse was all about precision and responsiveness, isnt this rather contradictory
#8.1 sinatosk on 25 May 2005 - 11:29
yeah I was wondering the same thing...

when it comes to Games, 3D Art, Architecture... you need precision and responsivness
#8.2 Slugbait on 25 May 2005 - 15:15
Both mice got only a 9 rating from MaxPC (tho' both were given KickAss awards). I believe the last time MaxPC gave Logitech a perfect 10 was for the MX700.

But I digress...in their review of the MX518, MaxPC sez that many people don't like the "floaty feel" of the MX1000 during games. Also, I've seen numerous threads on various forums complaining about losing tracking with the MX1000 during games. The issue apparently was the safety features of the mouse: if it loses contact with the surface, even for a split second (which is super-easy to do during a firefight), it shuts down the laser. It only takes a millisecond or two to reactivate, but by the time you've got your orientation back, you've already been fragged. Some people have reported that mice manufactured after Feb of this year are better about this issue, while others think all you need is newer drivers...or a RatPadz.
(1 reply) #9 Ideas Man on 25 May 2005 - 12:10
Damn, I want one of them MX1000s, though my MouseMan will do for a while.
#9.1 D-j-M on 25 May 2005 - 12:54
Get one, they're really comfortable as well.
#10 Toastyone on 25 May 2005 - 14:35
What they said about the Microsoft mouse, "Movement can sometimes skip" is very true, I can't stand it.....I now use a MX700 and it is great
#11 ps2rules27 on 25 May 2005 - 14:52
I need a new mouse... should I wait for logitech to unveil their new line?
#12 entruce on 25 May 2005 - 22:00
logitech always avoids the left handed market. They only make right handed mice, why dont they make there mice for both hands?
#13 wuzz on 26 May 2005 - 16:24
i once thought that ms intellimouse 4 is best mouse ever. i upgraded my intellimouse explorer 2 to intellimouse explorer 4 and were happy for about 2 months. then left button stopped working. ok what the hell .. i bought new one. 2 months later same thing happened
i had third one at office but there it lasted 3 months with the same problem.

now i have 2 logitech mx1000 and happy again.
#14 TheSarge on 30 May 2005 - 22:31
Ever since 1995 when I got my first Logitech product (the origonal Trackman Marble trackball) I've been a huge fan of Logitech. I've never bought a non-logitech mouse and I never will. Frankly, MS is behind the curve.
Today I use a MX1000 and I love it. It simply kicks ass.
The MX1000 is a true lazer mouse, not a red-LED mouse. You can put your eye right up to the lazer but there's no risk of eye dammage (it's an IR lazer, not a visible spectrum lazer). The MX1000 is more precise in games than anything else I've ever used, and I've used a LOT of mice over the years! Frankly, this thing is in a class by itself: If you're a gamer, it's a must-have. The 518 has only one feature on it that the MX1000 doesn't: You can adjust your mouse sensitivity on-the-fly with it.
The built-in (not removable) Lithium-Ion battery is a very nice touch: Becasue it's not designed to be removable, the designers could build a battery-charge indicator right onto the mouse. So, I always know how much charge I have left in this mouse.
For those of you who've never tried a cordless mouse, well... you don't know what you're missing. I'm never going back to a corder mouse.

As far as Logitech's drivers go, keep in mind that the MX1000 effectively has 12 mapable buttons on it if you count the four directions of the wheel as four butons. And yes, everything on it is mapable to any comand or keystroke.

The only way they could have made it better would have been to offer it in a bluetooth-compatible model (I don't know why they didn't, but they must have had a reason).

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