SideWinder Mouse Tuneable Gaming Mouse from Microsoft.

Author: Jani 'Japala' Pönkkö Published: 13.11.2007 Manufacturer: Microsoft Product Group: Input In English Suomeksi

SideWinder - external views

This mouse features quite a few buttons. The wide metallic scroll wheel has one and on the top of the mouse we have three buttons dedicated for sensitivity selection. Square button at the back is the Quick Launch button that in Vista will open up the games program folder when pressed. On the side we have the dedicated macro recording button and two metallic buttons. And let us not forget the two regular main buttons.

All-in-all a nice array of buttons to press but why place that Quick Launch button at the back of the mouse? You will hardly ever use it because it is located there and to make things worse, you can't use that button for anything else as it is not user customizable.

That window next to the two metallic buttons is for the LCD screen. This screen is used to show the current dpi that the user has selected. It also shows instructions when using the on-the-fly macro recording function.

Our review sample must have been a preproduction unit as it didn't have any stickers or data located on the bottom. What it did have was a hole for the laser and sensor, set of five replaceable glide feet and a button to release the weight compartment.

Size comparison

Mouse that feels just right for you can be useless for others. As the size difference between different gaming mice is so huge, it is almost impossible to recommend a mouse to people without stating "if it feels right to your hand".

Logitech G9 is easily the smallest one here. G9 can be used with wider cover too but it would still be shorter than SideWinder. Microsoft Habu on the right has the same dimensions with the SideWinder but the profile is totally different as one can see from the next image.

G9 with its smaller cover is ideal to be handled with fingers. SideWinder and Habu on the other hand are "palm operated" devices. For me personally this poses a problem as the side buttons on SideWinder are too far for my thumb to reach. For people with short fingers, SideWinder's rear rises so high and far that it pulls the fingers away from the ideal position. If you have long fingers and haven't found a perfect mouse for you, perhaps this is the one. One man's loss is another man's gain.

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