Gaming mouse/mice Roundup - Bootcamp and OS X 10.8

[Dredd67]

Hi everyone,

I'm a recent PC/Mac switcher and was investigating for peripherals to suit my needs.

What I was searching:

I'm in the market for a mouse to complement my rMBP. I'd like something that has forward/backward buttons at least (it's a minimum, more is welcome), probably corded to avoid having to pack too many things, and the most important: it has to work flawlessly under OSX 10.8 and windows (bootcamp). By this I mean all the features have to be accessible somehow.

My main use would be for office stuff and photo editing (heavy lightroom and nik user here), and gaming when I switch to bootcamp. I'm not a pro, and do all the FPS stuff solo most of the time, so I don't need crazy CPI/DPI, but if it's there, I'll take it as a bonus. I would definitely have a good use of programmable buttons and macros.



My findings so far:

Working with OS X 10.8.2 (full driver support)

- Steelseries Diablo III - from http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1429588
- Logitech Performance MX (see comments in this thread)

Working with OS X 10.8.2 (plug and play on OSX, driver support and advanced config windows only)

- Steelseries Sensei (and Fnatic edition, and MLG Edition) - from http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1429588 you can store profiles made under Win 7 and use them on OSX.
- Roccat Kone [+] and Kone XTD you can store profiles made under Win 7 and use them on OSX.

Unknown status


- Razer Mamba -> Unknown
- Razer Imperator -> Unknown

Not working properly under OSX

- Cyborg RAT 7 or 9 - Drivers for 10.8 currently under Beta. Bad support. Painful bugs with OSX 10.8.2 and poor driver implementation.
- Razer Deathadder 3.5 G - from http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1467439
- Razer Taipan - from http://forum.macbidouille.com/index....owtopic=363728
NB: From these threads here and here it seems the razer drivers are crap under OSX.
- Logitech G500 - USB overdrive needed to make it (almost) work under OSX.


PS: this list doesn't take into account any USB Overdrive / Steermouse workaround. I would prefer to avoid third party solutions which to my opinion only adds more complexity and potential hiccups.


If some of you have any succesful experience using these kind of mice under OSX 10.8.2, feel free to help me update and increment this list.

[mslide]

The Performance MX is my choice (both on Windows and OSX). I've used one at work for a year or 2 and really like it. Plus, Logitech supports OSX for that mouse.

[Dredd67]

Originally Posted by mslide

The Performance MX is my choice (both on Windows and OSX). I've used one at work for a year or 2 and really like it. Plus, Logitech supports OSX for that mouse.

Thanks for your reply. So there's at least one mouse working correctly under 10.8.

As this was my last option, I think I'll wait until someone else states about the other mice cited above.

I just saw the Steelseries Sensei has an onboard CPU to store profiles and change settings without drivers. Let's add this option too.

Post #1 updated.

Whoever reads that, feel free to contribute.

[Dredd67]

Post updated with latest findings...

Feel free to correct me.

[deang001]

Another vote for the Logitech Performance MX mouse. I find it so comfortable to use. I also use it with LR4 & Capture One and it's very precise for local adjustments etc. Never had an issue with it on OSX or W7.

[Dredd67]

Originally Posted by deang001

Another vote for the Logitech Performance MX mouse. I find it so comfortable to use. I also use it with LR4 & Capture One and it's very precise for local adjustments etc. Never had an issue with it on OSX or W7.

Thanks for the feedback !

Meanwhile I've found that the Roccat mice (Kone [+] or XTD, maybe the others as well) run flawlessly under OSX without driver, just plud and play. You can use on-mouse stored custom profiles made with their driver under bootcamp.

I guess this should be the same with the Steelseries Sensei (original or Fnatic version, the RAW can only store one profile, useless if you wanna switch functions under OSX).

Will update the post accordingly.

[Dredd67]

Modified the title and added links to the mice for easy comparison. Feel free to help me

[Signal-11]

Why are you skeptical about third party solutions such as Steermouse or USB Overdrive. Both are better coded and present less stability issues than the garbage drivers/config software that comes with Logitech and particularly Razer peripherals.

Personally, I would avoid Razer periphs. After having owned dozens of Razer accessories, Razer products have a inordinate number of hardware issues.

[Dredd67]

Originally Posted by Signal-11

Why are you skeptical about third party solutions such as Steermouse or USB Overdrive. Both are better coded and present less stability issues than the garbage drivers/config software that comes with Logitech and particularly Razer peripherals.

Personally, I would avoid Razer periphs. After having owned dozens of Razer accessories, Razer products have a inordinate number of hardware issues.

Well, first of all they are not free. Adding 20$ to the price of an already pricey mouse is just pure nonsense for me. Ok, USB overdrive is a shareware, but I hate nag screens.
Then, If you have some sort of official support, you have a reason to complain and eventually get a refund if anything goes wrong.
Finally, some mice don't work well with either Steermouse or USB overdrive, and you could add a third app called something controller (dont remember the name). Thing is you'll end up with 3 drivers tested, leaving garbage behind them when uninstalled, and chances that nothing really works at all at the end is high.

That was my justification to avoid such solutions.

I broke down my personal list to these mice: Steelseries Diablo III for full support, or eventually Roccat Kone XTD or Steelseries Sensei for half support with profiles you can build under windows, but use and change on the fly under OSX.

[El Awesome]

The Cyborg RAT 7 should be Mac compatible, however mine doesen't really work. The support is working on it I guess.

[Dredd67]

Originally Posted by El Awesome

The Cyborg RAT 7 should be Mac compatible, however mine doesen't really work. The support is working on it I guess.

Yep, they've released several beta drivers for 10.8 on their blog. The feedback from their users is frightening. I think it should be avoided until they release something stable.

[El Awesome]

Originally Posted by Dredd67

Yep, they've released several beta drivers for 10.8 on their blog. The feedback from their users is frightening. I think it should be avoided until they release something stable.

And the support is horrible. The drivers made my Mac runnning slow and made several problems, support just ignored me. I called them, they said they would call me back, but I never heard of them again.

At the moment, I wouldn't buy a RAT.

[Dredd67]

Originally Posted by El Awesome

And the support is horrible. The drivers made my Mac runnning slow and made several problems, support just ignored me. I called them, they said they would call me back, but I never heard of them again.

At the moment, I wouldn't buy a RAT.

Thanks for the feedback, support is really something people tend to ignore when they buy something which is a shame. It's mostly important, just like you've experienced it.

I'll update the first post according to your feedback.

[El Awesome]

Originally Posted by Dredd67

Thanks for the feedback, support is really something people tend to ignore when they buy something which is a shame. It's mostly important, just like you've experienced it.

I'll update the first post according to your feedback.

Thanks.
To be more precise, this is my biggest problem:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1499984

If I don't launch the MadCatz Editor, then the mouseover-functions don't work (e.g. that the dock gets bigger if you go over it with the cursor).

The programmable buttons don't work, only left/right click and scroll.
I had them working at some stage, but then the suport gave me software that made everything worse and now I don't get it working again.

[Dredd67]

Originally Posted by El Awesome

Thanks.
To be more precise, this is my biggest problem:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1499984

If I don't launch the MadCatz Editor, then the mouseover-functions don't work (e.g. that the dock gets bigger if you go over it with the cursor).

The programmable buttons don't work, only left/right click and scroll.
I had them working at some stage, but then the suport gave me software that made everything worse and now I don't get it working again.

Wow, that's a real pain in the a$$, especially since you buy a gaming, you would likely have a better use of it with bootcamp. Such a shame, and a poor way to implement fixes if you need to go so deep that it messes bootloaders.

Anyway, I'll add the link in my first post.

As a side note, I just pulled the trigger on a Roccat Kone XTD with a Qck Mass mousepad. I'll do a review of it with my config as soon as I can test it, which is after Xmas (gahhh that seems so far away right now, *sob*)

[El Awesome]

Originally Posted by Dredd67

Wow, that's a real pain in the a$$, especially since you buy a gaming, you would likely have a better use of it with bootcamp. Such a shame, and a poor way to implement fixes if you need to go so deep that it messes bootloaders.

Anyway, I'll add the link in my first post.

As a side note, I just pulled the trigger on a Roccat Kone XTD with a Qck Mass mousepad. I'll do a review of it with my config as soon as I can test it, which is after Xmas (gahhh that seems so far away right now, *sob*)

Just to make sure: Bootcamp works fine!
But thanks.

I'm not going to return the mouse since I love the design and the functionality (under windows - lol), and I'm sure at some stage these retards behind the Mac Software Developement will get it working correctly.

[Dredd67]

I've just received the mouse (roccat XTD) and couldn't wait to try it. I've tested it on my daughter's Macbook Pro late 2010 (the one with a geforce in it, can't remember which, guess it's a 330m)

Verdict: it works as advertised. I should add: this mouse screams quality ! No, actually, it smells quality.

First, I've connected it to OSX without anything else, and it worked like a charm. The only complain would be that the default button settings are a bit weird, you have to get used to it. Otherwise, left and right click, dpi settings, hover, well every basic function seems to work out of the box (even if default polling is 1000...)

Now up to bootcamp:

I've intalled the driver from the website, went to a firmware update, and finally got access to the driver configuration. Wow, there's a bazillion functions available there.
I've tried several things, fiddled with the setitngs, well everything works but hey, this mouse was designed for windows so what do we expect ?

Anyway, now on for my last and also most important test: design a profile that works on OSX.

So I've tried several things and assigned functions like "windows volume up, down, mute", easy aim (decrease DPI to a minimum preset when this button is pressed) and so on. I've also assigned colors to the default windows profile and the OSX profile, to easily recognize it.

As a sidenote, this driver is packed with a ton of features, and you'd better know what you're doing, like for instance keep the same buttons across profiles to cycle between them, if not you'll be stuck with one profile unless you reboot under bootcamp and changed it via the drivers.

OK, once the profiles created I rebooted under OSX and almost everything worked as expected. The windows volume up and down and mute actually do what they're meant for under OSX, the easy aim is a life saver under photoshop for detouring, or adjusting small sliders with precision. The only thing that doesn't work, or works weird, is IE forward and backward buttons with safari, but I think I've messed it myself here, because it worked with the windows profile loaded under OSX (which means also you can cycle between profiles even without drivers.)

Keep in mind this was just a quick test.

I'll get back when I've been able to test it further, but the first impression is that this mouse is just awesome, and I don't regret my choice.

PS: the mouse wheel feels as sturdy as a rock.

[Philz]

I actually DON'T like the Performance MX on Mac, I've been using a G700 Flawlessly on OSX (can change settings somewhat on OSX, and a few more in Windows). Though I have to change mice to avoid issues with carpel tunnel (I don't have it but I've read multiple times is best thing you can do is change mouse shapes every year or so!).

So I'll go pick up a SteelSeries Sensi and compare the three. They released the driver utility for mac (some say it's bloated) but I really don't care about 100MB when I have 16GB's! That's less than one tab/browser window...

G700 needs to be on the list though! and http://www.plentycom.jp/en/cursorsense/index.html is amazing. Not really a mouse Configurator but it's slicker than slick.

As for the Performance MX it just does not glide well on my desk or razer fabric mousepad, the G700 is superior, even the DPI is higher (though I run it at 2400dpi, but it being higher will actually lead to less "twitches" in photoshop for example. I'm a Graphic/Web/Photography guy).


Also from past experience Razer Mamba works without issue, don't like the build quality, but it works, and they have a preference pane. It's not "Unknown"

[Philz]

SteelSeries is pretty nice!

Wow–I've been in the "wireless" world so long (and none of them have really been better than the previous, since my logitech G7...). This mouse is amazing!

Great tracking at 3000 dpi, easy swap down to 1000 dpi with one button (and led to show which your at). The utility works fine on OSX, all you need it for is to program the mouse. I've turned it off from starting at login as I don't like the menu bar icon–

Otherwise it's slick, can store multiple profiles, change between them ON THE MOUSE as it has a small LCD underneath. Good stuff!

You can change the colors of any of the lights or completely off.

[5Roses]

Hi guys,

I'am also a switcher and my biggest problem also was: not being able to play (first person shooter) games on Mac OS X.

I play Counter-Strike and QuakeLive and a good mouse is a must there.

I discovered (research on the internet: thank the guy again) that a few things are important (for the switchers):
- imideately switch off mouse accelaration because it's way off with the way Windows handles that
- look for a mouse with mouse poll rate = 125 (or you can switch to this poll rate). E.g. the Logitech MX518 or the Gigabyte GM-M8000.

With a higher poll rate the mouse is jumpy and you will hardly hit a thing.
I had to choose my dpi in Windows (Bootcamp) and then I could use it in Mac OS X 10.8
Make Sensitivity=1 (in the game) and after that, match the dpi to what is comfortable for you in the game.

For this thread:
- You have to configure both these mice in Bootcamp. The configtools only will work in Windows.

Happy gaming

5Roses

[Philz]

Originally Posted by 5Roses

Hi guys,

I'am also a switcher and my biggest problem also was: not being able to play (first person shooter) games on Mac OS X.

I play Counter-Strike and QuakeLive and a good mouse is a must there.

I discovered (research on the internet: thank the guy again) that a few things are important (for the switchers):
- imideately switch off mouse accelaration because it's way off with the way Windows handles that
- look for a mouse with mouse poll rate = 125 (or you can switch to this poll rate). E.g. the Logitech MX518 or the Gigabyte GM-M8000.

With a higher poll rate the mouse is jumpy and you will hardly hit a thing.
I had to choose my dpi in Windows (Bootcamp) and then I could use it in Mac OS X 10.8
Make Sensitivity=1 (in the game) and after that, match the dpi to what is comfortable for you in the game.

For this thread:
- You have to configure both these mice in Bootcamp. The configtools only will work in Windows.

Happy gaming

5Roses

Take a look at the steelseries mice that are supported on OSX, the utility lets you change all that (poll rate, DPI, etc) Maybe for next time? Really loving the Sensei.

Instead of turning off aceleration for all input devices take a look at:
http://www.plentycom.jp/en/cursorsense/index.html

Great app!

[Mr.Bullitt]

So SteelSeries seems to finally coming through with proper mac support for their elite killer mice? Before it was just like for the Diablo 3 mouse....