Battle of the Mice - Conclusions
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We've come to the end of this comparison. As expected the clear winner is the laser technology. But that doesn't mean that everybody should use only laser mice. I'd personally prefer to say that the end result was a draw. Both optical and laser mice give us a huge advantage compared to the good old mechanical mice. That technology truly is obsolete already. Nowadays nobody should stay with mechanical mice.
As I promised, I am going to give you my recommendations for a wide range of computer users. Let's start with an Average Joe that uses his computer every once in a while to surf the web, check his emails, casually chat on IM and play Minesweeper to keep his mind awake. This kind of user doesn't really need a laser mouse. While he may benefit from its high DPI, it would be overkill. He would perhaps be annoyed by its sensitivity and those extra buttons. I'd recommend without regrets an optical mouse of no more than 800dpi. It is all about the design and how comfortably the mouse fits his hands rather than its precision. Also, he shouldn't spend more than $20.
The above recommendation applies for office workers too. By office worker I refer to those people who mostly use their systems for applications that require around 90%+ keyboard usage. For example: Microsoft Excel, Word, database management (Oracle, Access, MySQL) and so forth. Programmers may or may not fit in this category due to the extra/additional requirements that projects tend to have. A true coder even if s/he uses mostly the keyboard still prefers absolute precision. For them it is up to personal preference. I'd still consider a 2000+ DPI laser mouse to be overkill. A comfortable ergonomic design with accurate 800 DPI precision is perfect.
The next category is for design artists and hardcore gamers. People who fit into this category require excellent over-the-edge performance and precision. They truly need and are going to benefit from 2000 DPI based laser mice. True performance coupled with a bleeding edge mouse pad specifically for enthusiast gamers will result in a day-to-night difference; it might ultimately lead to that must-needed millisecond that decides who dies first in a FPS. And we all know that a gamer wants to succeed, right? At least as much as a design artist hates to slow down and corner around pixels because his pointer slides away…
As a side note, I'd like to point out that I have not taken into consideration cordless features throughout this article. Deciding whether you want a cordless mouse is easy; if the cord tends to get in your way then yes, you'd enjoy a cordless mouse. If you want a cordless mouse then research battery life; also, there are a few that allow back-up batteries too.
Before I end this article I'd like to mention that we have a dedicated forum for peripheral related questions at "DevHardware Forums." So, do not hesitate to join our community and ask for help or clarifications. Our community is built by dozens of experienced knowledgeable members and it is growing! Let us help you with your computer hardware struggles, or spark a provocative discussion and talk like the pros. I challenge you to do so!
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