Question Mid-Week Question: When mousewheel scrolling, do you prefer a clicky wheel or a freespinning one?

[PCG Chris]

I asked this in our work Slack channel and opinions were strong. Heated, even!

Do you like a clicky mousewheel, or one that spins freely while scrolling? My mouse has a button that lets me switch between a clicky spin and a free spin, but I 100% of the time have it on clicky spin.

How about you? Let me know which you prefer, and why, by Wednesday morning-ish!

 

[Frindis]

Good question! I really like to have a clicky mousewheel when I am browsing the web. I just got used to hearing the sound and it helps a bit knowing how fast/slow to scroll if that makes sense. When playing a game I seldom use a mousewheel, as using the keyboard is for the majority of scenarios way faster.

 

[IndecentLouie]

I think I prefer clicky, my current one is clicky and it feels nice having this feeling of making an impact during the scroll.
Nothing against a smooth scroll but as Sweet Dee would say - "clickity clackity, clickity clackity", you can't really argue with that logic.

 

[Alm]

I am one for the clicky wheel too. It's nice to have that feedback

 

[randyl]

I use a Logitech G502 and get the best of both worlds with the toggle button. I switch between the two modes a lot.

 

[RustyLinks]

Clicky wheel here... in fact I'd forgotten all about smooth ones, don't think I've used one since I was at uni and now having flashbacks to just spinning it hard and letting pages scroll (before people realised walls of content don't really work.

 

[XoRn]

I don't think I've ever considered one preferential to the other though I suppose I have mostly used the clicky ones. I did have a lot of fun with the Logitech G500 toggle button. Spinning the wheel in the flywheel mode was entertaining if just to see how long it took to spin down.

 

[Pifanjr]

I prefer the clicky ones. The smooth ones make me more disoriented during scrolling. With the clicky ones I know exactly how much the page is going to scroll up or down with each click.

I suppose that's mostly a matter of what you're used to though.

 

[Johnway]

i like a clicky mouse wheel. It feels more tactile and i can be more precise when scrolling down windows. A free spinning one feels like its broken to me. My mouse at work allows me to switch between the 2 and yeah, definitely like a bit of resistance to my scrolling.

 

[Mazer]

My favourite mouse wheel is one that hasn't been crushed flat by a two year old. I think it used to click but time and sleep deprivation have made that a mystery for the ages.