Microsoft SideWinder Gaming Mouse

10 Review to this product

• 

  Craig Hall
  October 11th, 2007 on 10:33 am

  Rating

  Sidewinder just feels good. Customizable weights make your pointer swoop across the screen with predictible accuracy. The 360 view feature gives my World of Warcraft character a great advantage with situational awareness. Thumb buttons are very easy to find. A well thought out mouse for gaming.

  Took a bit to set it up, but works like a charm now.
• 

  IOANNIS STAVRINIDES
  February 17th, 2008 on 2:43 pm

  Rating

  I have had this mouse for about a month now. In comparison with my old, standard optical mouse, this is light years better. Better response times, better grip, excellent weight management. One of the best mouses I’ve ever held in my hands. I highly recommend it.
• 

  P. Billingsly
  February 21st, 2008 on 9:12 pm

  Rating

  I have gone through a lot of mice in my time…. I consider myself to be a ‘gamer’. I find the majority of mice tend to wear out very quickly. Usually well w/in the Warranty period, but I tend to not want to go through the hassel of talking to customer service & paying shipping… just to replace a product that did not live up to what they advertised. This mouse however, I have had no problems w/for the time I have been using it. ‘IF’ it does wear out… this is probably one of the only ones I would go through that hassel to actually replace it.

  ***Update After More Use***
  
  1. Hardware Failure – No longer recognizes when the scrollwheel is pressed down (Turning the wheel still works in both directions).
  
  2. The mouse has issues w/precision, and will move erratically when using minimal movement. This could be due to the surface it’s being used on, but I have tried SEVERAL different “types” of mousepads (IE: Cloth, Plastic, Rubber, Hybrids, etc).
• 

  Term8r
  March 6th, 2008 on 5:12 pm

  Rating

  This mouse is not perfect but I would have given it a 4.5 so I upgraded it to a 5.

  For my large hands this mouse feels just right. It moves well on my nylon mat that I use for a pad and I have tried it on a hardwood desktop with good results. The mouse has very good yaw and pitch movement and it is easy to adjust dpi setting on the fly.

  It has a quick turn feature that works very well in first person shooters. you assign one of the buttons for quick turn around and as your playing if you want to check who’s behind you click the button and you turn 180 degree’s. If you need to change your direction fast because you can see your out numbered ahead it comes in mighty handy.

  The top buttons have a good responsive click to them and I had no problem with learning the over and under side buttons, which I perfer over my old Logitec MX518 foward and aft configuration.

  The weight of this mouse without adding extra weights feels about the same as the MX518. I choose to add 5 grams of weight to it and perfer it that way.

  The mouse wheel has a micro feeling touch and a little too light for my taste, but I got use to it fairly quickly. The one feature I think would have made this a great mouse would to have put side push switching on the wheel for adjusting look around corners.

  I think this mouse is well constructed and will hold up for a long while.

  If you running windows/vista than it has two other buttons that bring up the game file and macro changing, useful but not really must have feature.

  All in all a confident and very good gaming mouse.
• 

  Francisco Montoya
  March 12th, 2008 on 2:51 am

  Rating

  After my beloved MX1000 mouse died on me, I decided the Microsoft Optical Mouse I had sitting in a drawer was such a burden I needed a new mouse, bad.
  
  Here comes the Sidewinder to save the day, its natural weight is pretty good, however I’ve loaded it with 3 of its 10g weights, and this mouse is great, smooth switching between DPI settings, the side buttons which I originally thought would be in the way, are actually well placed, I have yet to click them on accident. The scroll wheel is great also, while I am disappointed it was not a free wheel like the MX Revolution, It has a good feel to it and it is simple but not too much so to click the middle mouse button.

  The included accessories housing/cable anchor makes this cordless mouse truly feel wireless.
• 

  Thomas L. Fluharty
  August 8th, 2008 on 5:58 am

  Rating

  The mouse is great…just too big for my small hand. A shame because I really like all the features. I have to go back to my ancient ms Intellimouse which is better shaped for my hand-size. I was hoping to become COD4 king, too…
• 

  Dale Parker
  August 25th, 2008 on 2:03 pm

  Rating

  I usually hate anything Microsoft, but this mouse is the exception!
  
  The buttons to change the resolution proved to be very useful both in games, and many other instances. I only play games a little bit, but I do work on a computer all day long, and the multiple resolution buttons have been way more usefull than I ever thought they would. I also like the shape and size. I have large hands, and very long fingers. I also have a Logitech MX revolution, and believe it or not, this microsoft mouse is much more comfortable to me… it is the only mouse I can use all day long without my hands hurting. I’m sure this is a very individual experience, it depends on your hands…. but I love it. The replacement pads for the bottom of the mouse are nice, too if you don’t lose them.
• 

  Hercules
  September 13th, 2008 on 5:29 pm

  Rating

  I have pretty big hands, and the Logitech mice have always been great for me in most respects, except that I *never* used the DPI switching on the fly. I would like to remap those keys to a ‘cruise up’ and ‘cruise down’, which worked really well.

  The problem is, that occasionally the mouse would ‘reset’ itself to a lower DPI, and I’d be mid-game trying to get it back. I’d have to go map the key to “increase sensitivity”, then go back into the game and play again. It was truly annoying, and it is the single reason I won’t buy another Logitech mouse.

  I saw Microsoft’s Sidewinder mouse and I took a chance on it — it looked reasonable, and being the owner of several Microsoft Keyboards over the years, I don’t have any problem with their hardware quality. This mouse is no exception.

  The plastic may seem flimsy, but feeling the scroll wheel tells you the internals of it are reasonably well made. It has solid mouse buttons and they are comfortable for a larger hand like mine (it’s not a HUGE hand, but big). The macro keys are something I rarely use because if you play competitively, you have to take out the ‘cheats’ in games. But all in all, it’s a really great mouse.

  The SOFTWARE. It’s great. The scroll wheel (if you use it in applications rather than games) can increase scrolling speed the faster you scroll with the software. It’s quite brilliant. The detents in the scroll make it exceptionally good for gaming, as you know if you switch weapons easily — you feel it in the wheel. My hand has never accidentally hit the DPI switch — not once. And if your hand does, it’s a quick switch back and you can view the LCD to tell you exactly what you’re sitting at as well.

  All in all, if you’re tired of Logitech’s poor software and key remapping, you have large hands, and you want a good gaming mouse — this is the one for you. Again, I never switch DPI on ANY mouse I’ve ever owned (and I’ve owned a lot) so if you play like that… you’ll find the Sidewinder a welcome choice.

  By the way, the Sidewinder X5 is not worth it — this mouse has more features and seems better to me, so save your $30 or whatever and buy this mouse. Amazon shipping and support never fails me.
• 

  Cap'n Stoob
  November 2nd, 2008 on 9:04 pm

  Rating

  Let me just say that I’ve been playing FPS (first person shooter) games since the old days of Castle Wolfenstein and I’ve always used regular mice to play. When I was younger, it wasn’t a problem to spend hours on a game with no aches and pains, but now I can’t use a normal mouse for much longer than an hour without a twinge somewhere or another in my hand. When I was looking into getting a new mouse to replace the little optical one I had been using (quite painfully, might I add), I came across this in a computer store. I tried the demo model and ordered one immediately. I was hooked!

  This mouse is BIG and HEAVY when compared to most mice and, when put up against the Logitech gaming lineup, it seems to be at a disadvantage. The mouse seems less graceful and the buttons aren’t as hair-trigger responsive as the Logitech lineup…however, once I started seriously using this mouse in everyday situations (net surfing, Photoshop, etc.) it really showed its excellent design. It fits comfortably in the hand and doesn’t require that the fingers be constantly poised above the buttons. You can rest your fingers across the buttons and push easily when you want to click. This is CRITICAL in games for me, since holding my fingers over the buttons (as I had been doing before) was what seriously wore my finger tendons out so quickly. Being able to rest my fingers, yet respond quickly to input helped keep my game scores up while not wearing out my hand. The weights seemed gimmicky at first, but I quickly learned that extra weights really helped me keep the mouse stable and it reduced my twitching in FPS games.

  The LCD IS a gimmick, no doubt, but the ability to switch 3 DPI settings on the fly is nice. In FPS games, general gameplay is good around 2000 DPI, but precision shooting (like for a sniper class in an FPS) requires MUCH less mouse movement over a broad area and more controlled movement in a smaller area. 1600DPI is perfect for this. I can instantly switch, as needed, with no delays. The side buttons are also perfect for alt fire and are easily pressed with the thumb. I haven’t used the macros, so I can’t comment on that feature, but even the heavy scroll wheel just feels much nicer on the fingers.

  The feet might make a difference if you’re not using a nice mousepad.

  The best feature by far is the weighted box that stores the spare feet and weights. It holds down the cable very well. Kudos to Microsoft for getting that right!

  In conclusion, I would say that if you still have the ability to poise your index and middle finger over sensitive mouse buttons for hours on end, you might find better results with another mouse. However, if you’ve got scars on your tendons from too much mouse use, trying this mouse out will be wonderful. The weight, button presses and ergonomics are great. The bonuses of the DPI switch, adjustable weights/feet and the cable weight box just turn this mouse into an excellent value.

  5 stars. A worthy recipient of the Sidewinder name.
• 

  E. Parrino
  November 24th, 2008 on 4:36 am

  Rating

  I am here to say that when I got this mouse I was amazed at how much better it looked in person than in the picture online. I am very happy with this product and all the features that it has. There is one thing however that does not affect me at all but may affect you, DO NOT GET THIS MOUSE IF YOU HAVE SMALL OR PETITE HANDS. This mouse may be difficult to use the clickers with. I have big hands so this mouse is comfortable and easy to click with. I also think this mouse is for you if you want to be a gamer like me.

  Other Note: Just off topic, if you’re going to get a keyboard with this item then I suggest that you get the Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard these items go well together. =]