best gaming mousemat and mouse?

Currently using an accutrak mousemat with logitech mx 1000. (this is a wireless mouse and optical)

Want to have the ultimate gaming mouse and mousemat with low friction (I don't like friction) and I want the mousemat to be totally unbeatable with lazer mice...

Recommendations please...

get wireless so the cable doesn't get in your way. Say logitech.

http://www.chestrest.com/

If you want low friction then a trackball is your best bet.

I use this one and thoroughly recommend it:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=011

It's optical, is very responsive, very comfortable and you're able to control movement just by moving your forefinger (the rest of the hand fits around it). No need to keep lifting and re-positioning like with a mouse either.

Thanks for your suggestions so far.

I think I'll get a copperhead razor or a logitech G5 or G7. And one of those gaming mouse mats from www.overclockers.co.uk

Anyone had any experiences with those?

Not sure about the mousepad, I've heard Ratpads are good though.

As for the mouse, I'd get either a Razer (I have a Diamondback, sucker died 'cause I abused it a bit too much though, so you may want to avoid those) or a Logitech G7.

mousemat?...just use the nearest piece of paper.

What about those high-definition mouse mats (at PC world) for optical mice? Do they make a difference?

they are not very good from what I've tried from pc world. I have the accutrak from there.

Use a Func mousepad. they just released some new version. I read some review were they said it was the greatest pad ever. I been using func1030 for over a year and they really are great.
And the mouse, dont you think a mx1000 is good enough?

If you are a serious player then you should skip wireless mice and get quality one, MX510 is enough and pretty cheap, anything more expensive like Razer is a waste of money. For mouse mats, I'd recommend Func mousepads.

Nawi: Why skip wireless. I have played almost every FPS since doom most with a mouse. I was paranoid about wireless mice so I looked on the web and asked people with wireless mice if they noticed and lag or gaming problems, and no one said "yes". So I got one and it seems fine. Do you have any facts to back up your claim, I'd be interested to see them. I can appreciate cheap wireless might be poop but good brands seem fine.

As for mousemat I have a plain old fashion cloth one, these are great. Avoid all crappy plastic coated ones.

Wireless will always be few milliseconds (or more) behind normal mice, which can be the difference between a kill or your death. Of course, you need to play on a very high skill level to notice this.

Nawi: I reasoned the same originally but have seen nothing to back it up. Lets get this straight, human reaction time is around 190ms for light and a bit less for sound: Source:
http://biae.clemson.edu/bpc/bp/Lab/110/reaction.htm (good article!) so what difference does a few MS (i.e. <10 make?) If the lag was 100ms or more I can understand it being a problem.

Get a SteelPad or IceMat if you're serious. Anyone claiming a "getting a Razer is a waste of money" simply hasn't used one.

The problem with wireless mice isn't a lag issue (certainly not at 2.4GHz) but a battery life issue.

Human reaction time is not 190ms if you are for example waiting enemy coming behind wall. There are numerous examples, just look at some professional CS videos etc, or watch some StepMania videos where you may have about 50ms time to press the arrow.

10ms lag will be a problem on a long run.

hmm, scientific sources would appear to disagree with you then. Some people's can be a bit faster but not a lot. 50ms is 1/20th of a second i.e. If you were watching TV and an icon appear in a frame, you would be able to react (by pressing a button) within the same frame or very nearly (TV being 25FPS PAL and 30 FPS NTSC). This really isn't possible. Write a mini app and test yourself. I was recently playing God of War where you have to press a button that shows on-screen. Towards the end of the game you have to press it really quickly, but I was aware that I was seeing it well before my finger pressed, it was like this weird delay of hmm about 200ms. You heard about the ruler test? Hold a ruler above someone's fingers and drop it, they have to catch it when they see it move. It drops really quite far, and around the same amount, no matter who catches it. The 10ms lag figure was just an example figure I came up with based on nothing. However, here's a valid point, what about tracking an object in a game with the mouse, now if there was a big enough lag, the cursor may be behind where you think it is. Also people learn certain responces via muscle memory and that's how they do stuff like play the guitar, you could never "think" about each note in a complex solo. Same with martial arts. Bruce Lee could actually hit someone faster than their reaction time, so they'd see it coming (well some might) but fail to move. On his movies you can pause one frame with his hand right back, and the next frame it is in their face, meaning he punched in less than 50ms. This isn't his reaction time of course, it's just his speed of movement.

FlameDuck: I bought a rechargeable battery kit for my mouse and wireless controllers, very useful.

I made up a small game to test your reaction time, my result is under 150ms, and you can probably minus 10-30ms for the time Blitz flips the screen and the screen refreshes, and the time it takes to register the mouse click. Anyway, some 30-50ms delay in games would mean huge difference, and 20ms delay would in the longer run.

heh battery times on mice these days are pretty long, as in several months with 2600mha rechargable batteries. I also like the weight of mice with batteries, allthough I expect there is some advantage to using wired mice. At least from what I can tell, most pro's use them anyway.

nawi: cool, can I have a go?

My Logitech wireless has seen me through stuff like Doom3, Farcry, CoD2, Chronicles of Rid@#!*, Pacific Assault, Nolf2 (completed all of those games), and some online gaming too. I was testing it jsut now by quickly moving and clicking and looking for lag, can't detect any. For example, clicking back on my browswer produces a windows click sound sample at exactly the same time as the mouse's click noise. I'd notice even a tiny difference as I am a musician and have done lots of sample editing with tiny time periods before. So maybe some wireless mice are poop but mine's pretty good.

I suppose to be really scientific I should write an app to test myself and then use a wired mouse to see if it's any better. I also use wireless controllers on the Gamecube and PS2 and they are really great. Still complete all my games no problems.

I found this review online of a different logitech:

The Logitech G7 is another fine addition to Logitech’s line of wireless mice. Its sleek look, and ergonomic design make it appealing to gamers and office users alike. Performance-wise, the G7 is by far the best wireless mouse I've used. There is quite literally ZERO lag (delay between movement of the mouse itself and movement of cursor on screen), and the ideal number of buttons for gaming, plus an extremely functional tilt wheel sweeten the deal.

Overall, the G7 is an excellent choice for any hardcore gamer looking to free themselves from corded mice but not lose the performance or responsiveness. Switching from the MX900, the G7 is a completely different experience. Every aspect of the MX900 that could be improved was in the G7.

AppTitle "react game"
Graphics 800,600,32,1
Print "Press mouse1 when the screen turns white"
SetBuffer BackBuffer()


Color 255,255,255
Rect 0,0,799,599,1
Delay 3000+Rand(0,3000)
If MouseHit(1) Then RuntimeError "Cheater!"
Flip
a = MilliSecs()
Repeat

Until MouseHit(1)
b = MilliSecs()
Cls
Color 0,0,0
RuntimeError "React time " + (b-a)

Thanks. Best I get is around 170, norm seems to be 190-200. You seem to be faster than me. I ran it in windowed mode as my monitor takes a while to get in the scren mode. Also removed the print line as it shows that in a console window. As you've started to test millisecs after Flip there isn't any delay there and I very much doubt blitz would delay reading the mouse for any reason. Basically your app proves my figure of normal is 190ms! Thanks :-) Of course I WAS testing with my wireless mouse, ought to compare with a wired one! Or maybe a keypress. Altering code now... OK same with a key (I used escape as space bar is too unweildy). Also tried with both hands. I notice you can get better with practice so that you constantly get 170-190. Even got a 160 at one point.

;use mouse or escape key
AppTitle "react game"
Graphics 800,600,32,2
SetBuffer BackBuffer()


Color 255,255,255
Rect 0,0,799,599,1
Delay 3000+Rand(0,3000)
If MouseHit(1) Then RuntimeError "Cheater!"
Flip
a = MilliSecs()
Repeat

Until KeyHit(1) or MouseHit(1)
b = MilliSecs()
Cls
Color 0,0,0
RuntimeError "React time " + (b-a)

What you have to realise is that when gaming, the update is CONSTANT, not stop-start, therefore a far lower reaction time is needed and that is why lag is a killer.

Reaction time with black and white offers no prediction and that is NOT the case with fps gaming.

The human brain can assess images in under a millisecond easily, and make fine changes/adjustments including movements VERY quickly when it doesn't have to go from a "cold start".

Ofcourse not. A 2.4GHz frequency gives nanosecond response time. I think it's fair to assume that whatever you agree on being the average human response time, it's going to me several orders of magnitude larger than the wireless mouse.

Exactly but not everyone seems to agree, oh well.