Microsoft SideWinder X8 Mouse

10 Review to this product

• 

  Jeffrey Green
  March 12th, 2009 on 6:22 am

  Rating

  This mouse is the best mouse I have owned and I like it better than any Logitech mouse. There I have said it.
  
  To start off with this matches and compliments my Microsoft Sidewinder X6 keyboard. While this mouse is not for small hands, my hand is of normal size and the mouse feels good. The mouse comes with the Intellipoint software where you can really gear the mouse up as you would like. The X8 Mouse is a gaming cordless USB drive mouse with a round disk with one end plugged into a USB slot and then it gives a cord that rolls out from the disk that you attach to the base of the mouse when you want to recharge or use it as a corded mouse. It is the best of both worlds. No more swapping or changing batteries as the mouse can recharge from this method while you use it. When the included AA rechargable battery needs to be recharged the mouse pulsates its red color to let you know that it is time to recharge. There is even an On/Off switch to conserve batteries.
  
  I have put this round disk that contains the wire to run or recharge the mouse out of sight under the opening I have at my desk. I even tested the mouse out on different surfaces form a desk to a rug to a bed and the mouse performs very well without missing a beat. There are different feet for the mouse, but I can not tell that there is much difference in the way the mouse performs or feels, but as stated the movement is fine without changing the feet on the bottom. On the front of the X8 you have three LCDs to change your DPI on the fly. This feature works very well and there is a noticable difference so it conforms to what your needs will be whether you use it for gaming or as just use it as your mouse of choice all of the time. It has up to 4000 DPI. The mouse itself has many buttons that are well laid out. You can customize some of them to fit your needs.
  
  Now I must say that I have stayed away from these Microsoft mice in the past due to the smooth scrolling of the wheel. I can not stand that. It would feel like you have no contol of what you scroll. Well this mouse has detents on the scroll wheel so this dislike I have for other Microsoft mice is no longer an issue with the X8. The scroll wheel is also adjustable with its speed which is a must for me.
  
  There are so may other features that I have not even bothered with as of yet. Yes, this is a Microsoft product, but forget that. The X8 mouse not only looks good, but is comfortable and performs flawlessly with evey feature a mouse can possess. I hope the sturdy feel of the mouse holds up over time, but I am quite pleased with not only the X6 Sidewinder keyboard, but just as pleased with the X8 Sidewinder mouse. At this point I give the X8 Sidewinder Mouse the highest rating.
• 

  V. LEWIS
  March 12th, 2009 on 11:20 pm

  Rating

  I went and bought a second one (as a back-up)while the price is 59.99!
  
  I agree 100% with JEFFREY GREEN!
  
  Plus the EASY OPEN plastic packaging is TERRIFIC – no more broken finger nails/cuts. Go Microsoft SideWinder X8 Mouse!
• 

  Gregory E. Landis
  April 13th, 2009 on 2:26 am

  Rating

  awsome mouse..works great..does everything it is setup to do..very smooth on the mouse pad..great feature that lets you set you own DPI control..the 2 side buttons are real handy..the 1 in front hard to reach though..great for gaming!!!
• 

  C. Wilber
  May 30th, 2009 on 8:31 am

  Rating

  I purchased this mouse as a replacement for the Original Sidewider Mouse. The original had a higher Bump in the center that made your hand cramp while using it. The new X8 has a much more comfortable fit. This is a Large mouse so if you have small hands you might find it a bit difficult to use. The over all comfort level i give a 8 out of 10. Buttons are comforably placed on the side and are easy to hit. The Adjustable DPI is great. I am very happy with the product and would suggest it to anyone who likes to play games. It has great response time and no lag in games for a wireless mouse. Over All.. Excellent Product.
• 

  rbriann
  August 19th, 2009 on 2:34 am

  Rating

  I have a collection of mice and all of them have something I don’t like about them. I decided to give the Sidewinder X8 a try and was very impressed. It’s advertised as a gaming mouse, but works well with any application. It has many of the buttons you find on most of today’s mice and nearly all of them are programmable. One of the buttons (which I haven’t used yet) is a record button you can use in your favorite games to record macros and then play them back with a one-button-click. Some of the features I like best are: Three small buttons on the top, behind the wheel, allow you to program different resolutions. Pressing any of those three buttons will change to the set resolution on-the-fly. The resolution can be set from 250 dpi to 4000 dpi. I find that for most of my needs, 750 to 1000 dpi works fine. This mouse does not use RF (radio frequency) for wireless connection. Instead, it uses 2.4GHz used by the older cordless phones. I’ve noticed that this eliminates the lag I use to experience with some of my more resource-intensive games. Now, when I move the mouse, the cursor moves right with it. The transmitter/receiver reminds me of a yo-yo, approximately 3 inches in diameter and 1.2 inches high. It connects to a USB port on your computer. The thin charging cable wraps around the receiver like the yo-yo’s string when not in use and connects to the bottom of the mouse, magnetically, when charging. This allows you to continue using the mouse like a corded mouse while charging. Charging takes about one hour for a full charge and lasts two days with continuous use without turning off the power switch (and I use this mouse on an average of 16/7). You can remove the top of the receiver to reveal two extra sets of feet of different colors for the mouse, to suit your taste. Currently, there are only two things I might change or add to this mouse. The sensitivity (resolution) can only be set in 250 to 500 dpi increments. I would have liked it better if Microsoft allowed a custom field where you could type in a resolution such as 800 or 1100 dpi. The other is the square, silver button, located behind the three sensitivity buttons. When you press it, it opens your Games Folder (in Microsoft Vista). I would like to program it to open my internet browser, instead. In summary, I am very happy with this mouse. It is, without a doubt, the best mouse I’ve owned so far.
• 

  Gregory S. Ellis
  November 17th, 2009 on 5:25 pm

  Rating

  This is without a doubt, the best mouse I have ever owned! The response time is excellent, & the feel is great, especially if you have a large hand like me. Battery life is also great, & being able to self program buttons helps in games, and is a breeze to program.
• 

  Thelvyn
  November 23rd, 2009 on 11:00 pm

  Rating

  I was wary of this mouse mostly because of it’s wireless, and my hatred for them for lag and crap battery life.

  When I got the X8, I hooked it up, installed the software and set my 3 DPI settings.

  Then I logged into L4D and invited some friends to run around on Expert mode, fully expecting the wireless lag to get me killed a dozen times.
  
  To my surprise there was absolutely no lag time, and the on the fly DPI switching was a godsend for sniping.

  I put this mouse through it’s paces in a dozen games, from Counter Strike, TF2, and L4D to unknown games like S4 League.

  It handles like a dream regardless of what I am playing.

  And when the battery is going dead, it gives you plenty of warning instead of just cutting out. It’ll begin to flash A battery logo on the LED display, and also begin flashing Orange(It’s a noticeable difference from the red it normally glows).
  
  It couldn’t be any easier to charge this thing without interrupting gameplay or anything. with the quick connect charger, I just have it near my mouse pad, and when the mouse starts to die I just slide the mouse up to the charger connect, it magnetically snaps into place, and I move the mouse back down into ‘game position’
  
  It takes less than a second.

  The buttons aren’t to stiff, the mouse wheel scrolls with a good amount of resistance, the mouse wheel tilt is easy to press either direction, and the whole mouse fits nicely in my hand.

  I would highly recommend this mouse for any gamer. Even though it is wireless.
  
  The on the fly DPI swap is great, and placed nicely to be accessed without having to look at the mouse.
  
  The program-able thumb buttons are comfortably in reach.
  
  You can change out the feet for more traction or less.
  
  Charging it can be done while you use it, and it takes less than a second to connect it to the charging cord.

  I can’t think of anything else, there is really nothing about this mouse that displeases me. It feels great, moves nicely, connects to the charging cable effortlessly, and after weeks of heavy gaming it has yet to let me down.

  I rate this thing a 5/5

  If you are looking for a new mouse, this one is a damn fine one.
• 

  D. Cray
  November 28th, 2009 on 6:47 pm

  Rating

  I have been using this for a couple of months now and LOVE it. charging is easy and quick. Have had 0 issues. It is nice in the hand too. Not bulky like others I have tried.
• 

  Shawn Chesak
  January 1st, 2010 on 12:25 am

  Rating

  Prior to purchasing the Sidewinder X8 I had been using a Logitech G500, and before that the G5. I have used (and loved) the Logitech mice for so long that I honestly cannot remember what mouse I used before the G5 and G500. Over that time I wasn’t narrow minded though, I tried out many other “gaming mice” (Predominately a lot of Razer models as well as several previous iterations of the Sidewinder series) and none provided the combination of comfort, control and durability that I demand in a mouse.

  Fast forward to now…I had no choice but to replace my Logitech mouse. Since the advent of Vista the Logitech Setpoint drivers have been flakey, losing custom DPI settings and being hit or miss as to whether they would properly recognize a game and apply custom button mappings as setup. With the release of Windows 7 I had hoped the newest Setpoint would resolve these issues….but alas, that was not to be the case. So I have given up on Logitech, permanently. 3+ years of waiting for them to sort out what the issues are with Setpoint and Vista/Win 7 is long enough.

  Upon making this decision, I did some searching of the web to try to find a good alternative to the G500, and this is one of the mice I looked at. The wireless aspect,combined with the ability to go wired to charge while still being able to use the mouse ended up being a deciding factor. I sometimes play my games piped over to my HDTV while relaxing in my easy chair…and not having a cord to deal with on my mouse is a huge bonus.

  So how does this mouse perform? Flawlessly, I’m happy to say. Custom bindings are activated properly with every single game, a feature I’ve too long not had consistently. And the precision and control of the X8 felt, suprisingly to me, better than the G500. I particularly liked the ability to bind a button to precision mode which slows down the tracking rate of the mouse without changing the dpi whenever the button is pressed (or held, depending on what you set it to). This proved to be quite handy when going into “sniper mode” in several of the shooters I like to play. You also have the option of binding keypresses, or even custom macros, to buttons. I used the keypress bindings a lot with the G500, but the macro option is not something I’ve had before…haven’t found a use for it yet, but I imagine as I get used to the fact that it IS an option for me, I will find uses for it.

  The weight of the mouse, for me, is a little on the heavy side. I would have like to see a lighter mouse with custom weight capability for those who like it heavier, like some of the other gaming grade mice out there (including the G500). I know I tend to like my mice on the light side, though, so I won’t hold it against the X8 too much. I also felt the mouse was a little bit large. Initially, until I got used to it, it was a bit uncomfortable even for me, and I have huge hands…I have to order gloves special, as off-the-shelf sizes don’t fit me. As I got used to it, it become comfortable for me, I just needed to slightly adjust my grip and raise my arm-rest one notch to account for it being a very different “form” over what I was using previously. Those with small hands, however, might find it impossible to adjust and should be warned that this may not be a good choice of mouse for them.

  Hands-down, I consider this an excellent gaming mouse. Do I like it better than the G500/G5? Nope…I doubt I’ll ever find a mouse that I consider better than those, simply in terms of the sheer comfort, which is very important considering how many hours straight I sometimes game. But in all areas other than comfort, the X8 matches or beats the G500/G5 series. And, drivers work properly all the time…which is more than I can say for Setpoint over the last few years. So, ultimately, I give it a higher rating.
• 

  Russell Bomar
  January 27th, 2010 on 10:57 am

  Rating

  This is a great mouse. Not only does it perform exceptionally, but it down-right looks awesome. I wouldn’t trade this mouse for any other mouse in the market today!