How many mice have you used, or abused, in your gaming life?

[mainer]

I don't think any of us knows for certain how many gaming mice (Rats included) that we've gone through since we started gaming on a PC, especially if you've been PC gaming for 10 years of more. I'm just curious if you have a rough mental idea of how many mice you've gone through over the years until you found the "one" rodent that really just does it for you.

For myself, I think I'm just under the "sadist" selection of 21+ and probably around the 17-18 level. I've had cheap mice from my early gaming days when I had no idea what I was doing, mice that broke in some way, mice that I've destroyed in a game-rage, and mice that I've loved. Gaming mouse (mice) selection is one of those personal, subjective quirks that I find unique to PC gaming. To a non-gamer, a mouse is a mouse, a pointing device; but to us gamers, it's so much more.

 

[JarlBSoD]

2x logitech g502, replaced corded one with wireless one.
Before that i had a corsair vengance M60 i think it was called, and before that i had 2 Logitech MX518 (both died the tea in mouse death). And before that uhm... logitech, and then logitech, throw in some microsoft mouse late 90s early 2000s.

I would guess around 15-20 or so since early 90s, 80-90% of them being logitechs, i used to replace mice more oftenback in ye oldie days when the ball got bad and wasn't able to be cleaned acceptably anymore. Last 2 g502 i have had since 2014, replaced the wired one from 2014 with a wireless one about 3 years ago or so. the wired one still works as it should though

 

[Slasken]

10-20. I've been gaming on PC since 1994, and had an Amiga 500 before that. Lately I have been good. I am using Logitech mice, and I change them with I get the old double click. I've tried other brands, but I can't seem to find mice that I like.

My favorite mice are the two last I've had, Logitech G700s and G502 Lightspeed. I got the G502 + the wireless charging pad.

 

[Frindis]

15-20 if I were to guess. I usually change my mouse every 2-3 years. Right now I own two types, one wired Steelseries Rival 3 for browsing and a wireless Logitech G Pro "Shroud" edition for gaming.

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm just curious if you have a rough mental idea of how many mice you've gone through over the years until you found the "one" rodent that really just does it for you.

I've never tried to find the "one", I'll just use whatever is available. My wife recently got one of them fancy mouses with a bunch of extra buttons and the ability to switch DPI settings on the fly because the people she plays WoW with told her she would need it, but I don't even think she uses the extra buttons. I personally haven't encountered a situation where having more than two extra buttons or dynamic DPI would be something I need or even want.

While working I don't even use a mouse, I just do everything with the trackpad of my laptop.

 

[Zloth]

Ugh, that's a difficult question. I've been using them for about 35 years. They last pretty long... I'll guess a dozen.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I have no idea how many mice I've used over the past few decades. I don't even have a guess. But I can tell you this, I always buy cheap $10-$15 mice. They always work just fine for my needs. But I do use controllers for gaming, so there is that...

But just a fun fact about me: my first mouse was for the Commodore 64. The C64 is definitely not known for using a mouse. In fact, it didn't even have any until toward the end of its life. I used it with the GEOS operating system/GUI.

 

[Brian Boru]

I've been using them for about 35 years

Yeah, about the same. I used to swap them around a lot tho earlier on—as friends got into PC I'd gift them my mouse and get myself a different one. I'm the first sadist in the vote, wild guess is ~30—say 10 MS, 10 Logitech, 10 others.

the ball got bad and wasn't able to be cleaned acceptably anymore

Oh those were a pain! I never lost one to not being able to clean it, but heck it was a pain to do with any degree of fluff or lint in the environment.

I change them with I get the old double click

Yeah, that's the main other 'death' of mine, along with the gifting. The early MS mice were great cheapies, but would only last a year or so until double-click injury—I'd use 'em when I didn't know what better one I wanted, and always had 1-2 as spares.

fancy mouses with a bunch of extra buttons

In my search for input heaven, I messed around with gamepads and MMORPG mice. Biggest had 12 buttons on the side, but I had 2 problems with it:
♣ I could never recall quickly enough to be useful which button had the required command;
♦ I could never find the correct button quickly enough reliably.

Hare's the UtechSmart Venus Gaming Mouse RGB Wired, 16400 DPI High Precision Laser Programmable MMO I had—now there's a mouseful

I personally haven't encountered a situation where having more than two extra buttons or dynamic DPI would be something I need

Same. "The one" for me—MX Master—has a few extras which I use for work. Gaming only needs the standard 3 of L, R, and middle scroll. Of course, I don't play competitively.

 

[Zimbaly]

I'd say over 21. I've been on computers for years and omg I've bought some crappy mice. I hate to admit it. L4D series made me go through 5 or 6 all on it's own.

 

[JarlBSoD]

Oh those were a pain! I never lost one to not being able to clean it, but heck it was a pain to do with any degree of fluff or lint in the environment.

To be fair, i have had kittimittens since mid 1990s up untill a few years ago and those ball mice with the rollers eventually got so full of cat hair that i just gave upp. the past 15 years or so I havn't changed nearly as often as i did in 90s-early 2000s, when the first lazor pew pew mice came it got allot easyer removing cathair and for the past 10 years i have had a cat that didn't like being on tables and desks so allot less hair on my pad etc. And when i was young i used to drink allot of beer (to much to be healthy) and i often spilled on the mouse and pad in the heat of PVP battles in Ultima online

Kids of today have no idea how good of a time they have not having to play Counterstrike pre 1.0 with a ball mouse "Ohh this will be a nice headshot! YOINK! Tiny spec of dust on the ball! Ball stuck! ah well, maybe next time..."

 

[Colif]

I don't know. Between 1999 and 2008ish, I used to buy a new mouse every year or so, not cause they died, I just wanted a new one.

It wasn't until I got a Microsoft Gaming mouse that I stopped buying them yearly and it moved into one every 5 years or so (excluding the Razer experiment that I rejected a lot faster - I find their mouse too light). In the last 10 years I only had 3 mice. Razer & 2 Steelseries. I used a Steelseries Sensei mouse for so long it lost its outer color. I only stopped as it was conflicting with my GPU drivers. Current Rival 600 is same shape as it was.

 

[mjs warlord]

i am using a logitec g5 mouse that i purchased when it first came out in 2011.

Logitech G5 Laser Mouse : Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

It is the only mouse i have ever used on the different games rigs i have owned , it has a set of small weights that can be put in the base of it for you to get the correct weighted feel , the pattern on top of the mouse buttons has worn away but the mouse has never let me down and i cant see myself getting rid of it any time soon.

 

[Sarafan]

Not more than 5, that's for sure. I guess that I have a lot of luck, when it comes to mice. Most of them where from A4 Tech. I never felt the desire to buy something more expensive. My current mouse is A4 Tech Bloody V8M and while it doesn't fit perfectly to my hand, I'm generally happy with it. I also remember my first mouse. It was interesting because it didn't have a scroll and was from the pre-optic era. I had to regularly clean its rubber ball for it to work properly.

 

[Frindis]

Hare's the UtechSmart Venus Gaming Mouse RGB Wired, 16400 DPI High Precision Laser Programmable MMO I had—now there's a mouseful

That is not a mouse, that is a bloody house man!

I remember those roller ones. I did not have too many problems with dust. We had a family dogs, but they usually lived upstairs and I was lucky enough to have the basement. I do remember having to slam the thing from time to time when it got stuck. Not the dog, but the mouse! My bet is that I slammed the rolling ones more than any other mice I have owned. They were kind of sturdy though, can't remember them ever getting broken. Come to think of it, I never broke any mouse. Keyboards on the other hand...

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Guys, I dont know what kind of hands you all have but you need to lay off on your crushing grips. First gaming mous I bought was a Razer Deathadder in 2012, and I had that until about maybe 2020 when the clicky got sticky. Now I have a Zowie EC1-B.

Pre DeathAdder I just used whatever Dell or generic rubber ball mouse the PC came with, I dont think I ever broke one. So if the Atari ST mouse is included that means in about 30 years of mouse use I've had 7 mice.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Does anyone on here still use a PS/2 mouse? If so, you win!

 

[Slasken]

I returned to PC gaming in

Guys, I dont know what kind of hands you all have but you need to lay off on your crushing grips. First gaming mous I bought was a Razer Deathadder in 2012, and I had that until about maybe 2020 when the clicky got sticky. Now I have a Zowie EC1-B.

Pre DeathAdder I just used whatever Dell or generic rubber ball mouse the PC came with, I dont think I ever broke one. So if the Atari ST mouse is included that means in about 30 years of mouse use I've had 7 mice.

Being a tall guy, I have big hands. I need to special order gloves. Big mice for me.

 

[ipman]

I've been gaming for over ten years. Still using a Corsair Gaming mouse. They're so well made.
I do use the the variable DPI buttons because it helps when driving in certain games.
Also it's got a Sniper button, which is why I bought it(Sniper Elite V2).

 

[Alm]

I would guess it's 21+ as I've owned my own PCs for around 21 years. It might be a bit less though.

 

[mainer]

So as I was going through your posts, a couple of thoughts occurred to me:

1-Do we have any left-handed gamers here on the PCG Forum? It seems to me that lefthanders mouse choices are fewer than righties. Most "gaming mice" seem to have all additional buttons on the left side for use by a right thumb. There are probably some "left-handed" models made for various mice, but it doesn't seem common. How do you lefties cope?

2-Of all the gaming peripherals that we as gamers use, it seems like the mouse, or mice, is the one peripheral that is most often replaced or upgraded. There are graphic cards, but those are really PC components rather than peripherals. But when considering monitors, keyboards, headphones, speakers, and mice (or mouses?), which is the one that you've replaced or upgraded the most? It seems to me it's the mouse, partially because of the constant use, and partially because is much less than the others.

My bet is that I slammed the rolling ones more than any other mice I have owned. They were kind of sturdy though, can't remember them ever getting broken. Come to think of it, I never broke any mouse. Keyboards on the other hand...

I used to slam roller ball mice back in the day when they wouldn't respond to my hand movement, and while they were fairly durable, even if they were all plastic with a rubber ball, I did destroy at least one that I know of. I also mutilated a few membrane keyboards (before the advent of the mechanical keyboards), by body slamming them and having the keys pop off, which resulted in me crawling around on the floor looking for keys. Also, back in the "membrane keyboard" days, there were a few times that I destroyed the functioning of the spacebar by continually hitting it, as I played a lot of turn=based w/pause games (spacebar was the pause key). I was somewhat volatile towards inanimate objects back in my younger days.

I had to regularly clean its rubber ball for it to work properly.

I remember those days, it was amazing how much dust, hair, and "gunk" that could accumulate on that little rubber ball. There was one time that while I had a mouse apart on my desk and bumping the desk, sending all the parts to the floor. I never found that ball. Death of mouse number (unknown).

i am using a logitec g5 mouse that i purchased when it first came out in 2011.

Logitech G5 Laser Mouse : Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

It is the only mouse i have ever used on the different games rigs i have owned ,

That's just incredible to me, and congratulations for using and maintaining the same mouse for all those years and enjoying it.

(excluding the Razer experiment that I rejected a lot faster - I find their mouse too light).

Same here, I tried a Razor mouse once, and it just felt way too light for me, as well as feeling "cheap", overly fragile, and way over-priced. It was the Razor Lachesis. I don't know how to pronounce "Lachesis", but I always pronounced it as "La Cheesey", which seemed appropriate for a mouse.

In my search for input heaven, I messed around with gamepads and MMORPG mice. Biggest had 12 buttons on the side, but I had 2 problems with it:
♣ I could never recall quickly enough to be useful which button had the required command;
♦ I could never find the correct button quickly enough reliably.

Hare's the UtechSmart Venus Gaming Mouse RGB Wired, 16400 DPI High Precision Laser Programmable MMO I had—now there's a mouseful

I remember seeing that mouse years ago and thinking, "how in the hell can anyone have the hand & eye coordination to be able to use all those buttons?" I have small hands (or at least one of my ex-girlfriends said so) and I couldn't possibly coordinate my thumb to all those buttons. How would a gamer, like @Slasken, who admittedly has large hands, ever use a mouse like that?

I personally haven't encountered a situation where having more than two extra buttons or dynamic DPI would be something I need or even want.

It often feels to me that all those side buttons are more of a marketing gimmick rather than being actually useful to gamers. My Rat 8 had 3 buttons on the left that I've never used, but it also has an adjustable DPI button right behind the scroll wheel that I do use occasionally. But the main reason that I love the Rat, is the adjustable length, adjustable weight, the solid metal frame, and the interchangeable panels to fit your gaming grip.

Still using a Corsair Gaming mouse. They're so well made.

I love Corsair keyboards, and I don't see anything that will ever change that, but I had a bad experience with the one Corsair mouse that I tried. It was the Corsair M65 Pro. I thought it would be a good companion to my Corsair keyboard, but after about 4 months, the scroll wheel just died on me. I could spin the scroll wheel and get only an occasional response and clicking the scroll wheel did nothing. If you Google it, it's apparently a known issue with this mouse. Maybe that's changed, or maybe I just had a defective mouse, but that one bad experience has steered me away from Corsair mice (mouses).

 

[Alm]

So as I was going through your posts, a couple of thoughts occurred to me:

1-Do we have any left-handed gamers here on the PCG Forum? It seems to me that lefthanders mouse choices are fewer than righties. Most "gaming mice" seem to have all additional buttons on the left side for use by a right thumb. There are probably some "left-handed" models made for various mice, but it doesn't seem common. How do you lefties cope?

2-Of all the gaming peripherals that we as gamers use, it seems like the mouse, or mice, is the one peripheral that is most often replaced or upgraded. There are graphic cards, but those are really PC components rather than peripherals. But when considering monitors, keyboards, headphones, speakers, and mice (or mouses?), which is the one that you've replaced or upgraded the most? It seems to me it's the mouse, partially because of the constant use, and partially because is much less than the others.

1. I'm right handed, but I think there are a lot of mice these days that work for both right and left hands. I might be wrong though.

2. I think for me, the peripherals I replace the most are mice and headsets.

I currently have a razer deathadder elite and that has lasted a very long time in relation to previous mice I've owned. I also had a Lachesis (which didn't last long). I pronounced it La-She-Sis though, no clue if that's right.

 

[Johnway]

I'm trying to think the last time i broke a mouse and honestly on my pc gaming days probably zero. Not even for the amiga i got back in 1993 the mouse didn''t break and i abused it like hell.

Sure i've used a selection of mice on my personal PC but i just switched them out as and when i wanted to upgrade. First started with a mechanical mouse (complete with trackball) in 1999 and by 2004 when i went to uni i moved onto a wireless mouse from a pc supplier (it was crap and ran on aa batteries). Modern warfare 2 comes out in 2008ish and i switched to roccat kone (v2 of course. the v1 mouse wheel was prone to breaking). That still works but the sensitivity wasn't as good compared to more modern mice and there was a sale on. So my current mouse is a razor basilisk and that's it.


So yeah... no mice abuse on my watch. Then again i don't break things when red mist occassionally descends when playing games and i don't cheap out on gaming hardware.

headsets though? yeah broke a couple. namely shoddy plastic or damage.

 

[ipman]

@mainer yes it is the M65 Pro, so maybe it was just a bad one. I wonder if we all drift towards brand loyalty or disloyalty.

I agree about gaming headsets, prefer good audio. if I needed microphone clip it on.

 

[Sarafan]

There was one time that while I had a mouse apart on my desk and bumping the desk, sending all the parts to the floor. I never found that ball. Death of mouse number (unknown).

You could always move the pointer by rubbing the rollers in the mouse with your finger.

 

[Colif]

The thing I replaced the most apart from GPU is hdd. I will count it as a gaming peripheral as it was where most of my games lived. SSD and good luck (maybe) means I haven't lost a drive now in about 10 years now. Last one that died was a Velociraptor and it ran at 10k rpm so its only a matter of time with them.

I remember a mouse dying while I was playing Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 and as it was all mouse driven, it was a matter of stopping PC to get out. That was a long time ago.
The Steelseries died from old age. I used it for about 7 years or so. Almost bought another but I didn't want to repeat driver problems. As I said, the Rival I have now is the same shape anyway.