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OS X Need new mouse good enough for gaming on Mac.

Dirtyharry50

Dirtyharry50

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 17, 2012
1,769
183
Sadly, my Logitech Performance Mouse MX is having major issues. I first encountered this when I got my late 2013 iMac which unlike my mid-2011 has USB 3.0 ports and my backup disc is USB 3.0 and connected to one of them. Apparently it turns out after contacting Logitech in the past that this causes problems with their wireless mice, at least predating USB 3.0 which would include my Performance Mouse MX purchased in 2012. Their solution to this problem was to send me a USB extension cable to plug the wireless USB connector into and thus move it away from the USB 3.0 ports in use by USB 3.0 devices. This seemed to work okay mostly but for some reason many months later I now have the same erratic behavior as before with errant mouse clicks, double clicks, released button presses even though I am still holding the button and more. Naturally, this quickly became something I couldn't live with. So now I am using the Magic Mouse which will do temporarily but doesn't allow for simultaneous left and right button presses to aim and shoot a scoped rifle in a shooter for one thing. I also find it less than ideal just in general although it does work good enough for KOTOR that I am playing now.

My biggest question is, are new wireless mice immune to this issue now? Has the interference problem been overcome? I went to Amazon hoping I could buy a new model Performance Mouse MX because I liked the thing so much but they seem to be selling the very same model I bought before. The page even tells me I bought this one from them already.

What I liked about the Performance mouse was that I could plug it into USB to recharge its battery while continuing to use it. Of course, I also liked the mouse itself, being somewhat sizable and fitting my hand well. It's just comfortable to use to me. It has a few extra buttons but I never used them. I don't need or want extra gaming buttons really. I just want a responsive mouse that feels good and works decently on a Mac not only for everyday use but for gaming too. The Performance Mouse MX while not cheap, fit that bill very nicely.

So, what's the deal now? Am I safe buying a wireless mouse for an iMac with USB 3.0? I would hope so but I don't know. So hopefully you guys can clue me in. If you can recommend something similar to what I had from a well known and respected maker of mice, I'd be very interested, preferably something i can order on Amazon and again, I don't really need a mouse with a ton of buttons on it although a few wouldn't bother me I guess so long as they were not placed such that I could have issues hitting them accidentally. An option to turn them off would be a nice thing if I wanted it.

By the way, I checked for bluetooth mice on Amazon and the results were not encouraging. So it appears I need to stick with USB but please correct me if am wrong there. Bluetooth would be great if I could find a decent Bluetooth mouse.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
http://steelseries.com/products/mice/steelseries-sensei-wireless

This is what I got about two months ago to replace my Razer Mamba mouse, which I loved but Razer's driver for Mac was absolutely worthless. It'd kernel panic my nMP frequently.

The Sensei Wireless has been all around solid. Good stable driver, the dock is nicely made, and the mouse feels great. It's plugged into my USB 3.0 with no problem.
 
crispys said:
http://steelseries.com/products/mice/steelseries-sensei-wireless

This is what I got about two months ago to replace my Razer Mamba mouse, which I loved but Razer's driver for Mac was absolutely worthless. It'd kernel panic my nMP frequently.

The Sensei Wireless has been all around solid. Good stable driver, the dock is nicely made, and the mouse feels great. It's plugged into my USB 3.0 with no problem.
Click to expand...

I also have a SteelSeries. I like the design, it is more understated, they don't scream in your face "I AM A GAMING MOUSE", like the Razer or other gaming mice.

Btw, have a wired mouse. Before buying the Steelseries I had a Logitech bluetooth mouse, and more than once I lost connection or battery power during raids.
 
No issue with the razr mouse drivers here either...also, you can turn off the stupid LEDs in the app which make it look more understated and less of a GAMING mouse.
 
So nobody here has had an issue with the synapse cloud software then, that now comes with the razer mice ?
 
i use logitech gaming mouses for mac.

logitech has mouse software for osx. they work great.

gamers usually choose between logitech or razer.
 
So, you are all using wireless mice on Macs that have USB 3.0 ports and USB 3.0 devices connected to them without any problem? That's the big worry here. I don't want to buy something that has the same issue the Logitech Performance Mouse MX does in this configuration.

Thanks for you responses so far too by the way. I appreciate it.
 
soulsyphon said:
wired is better for gaming.
Click to expand...

That may be so but it isn't of any consequence to me personally. I was doing just fine with a wireless mouse for years before it flaked out on me due to interference problems with USB 3.0.

So I still want a wireless USB or Bluetooth mouse myself.
 
Dirtyharry50 said:
So, you are all using wireless mice on Macs that have USB 3.0 ports and USB 3.0 devices connected to them without any problem? That's the big worry here. I don't want to buy something that has the same issue the Logitech Performance Mouse MX does in this configuration.

Thanks for you responses so far too by the way. I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I have a 2013 15" rMBP and a Logitech Anywhere MX mouse. The wireless USB dongle works perfectly on the right side USB 3 but stutters on the left USB 3 connector. It's a fantastic mouse, replaced my Razor Orochi which had issues with my Apple bluetooth and fell asleep very quickly.

I've yet to find a non Apple made bluetooth mouse that works worth a damn.
 
blueroom said:
I have a 2013 15" rMBP and a Logitech Anywhere MX mouse. The wireless USB dongle works perfectly on the right side USB 3 but stutters on the left USB 3 connector. It's a fantastic mouse, replaced my Razor Orochi which had issues with my Apple bluetooth and fell asleep very quickly.

I've yet to find a non Apple made bluetooth mouse that works worth a damn.
Click to expand...

That's unfortunate but thank you for the heads up on Bluetooth mice. Looking on Amazon I didn't see anything I'd be interested in for those anyway unfortunately. I wish Apple offered a 2 button Bluetooth mouse but no!

My USB ports on this iMac are all in a row on the right side which is right on top of where the mouse itself sits on the desk practically other than being on the back of the computer.
 
Washac said:
So nobody here has had an issue with the synapse cloud software then, that now comes with the razer mice ?
Click to expand...

I've not, although I resisted and prefered my settings be on my computer without having to check-in with the cloud on startup. Somewher along the line, it updated to the synapse version and I threw in the towel. I think you can download older versions of the software from Razer.
 
Dirtyharry50 said:
Sadly, my Logitech Performance Mouse MX is having major issues. I first encountered this when I got my late 2013 iMac which unlike my mid-2011 has USB 3.0 ports and my backup disc is USB 3.0 and connected to one of them. Apparently it turns out after contacting Logitech in the past that this causes problems with their wireless mice, at least predating USB 3.0 which would include my Performance Mouse MX purchased in 2012. Their solution to this problem was to send me a USB extension cable to plug the wireless USB connector into and thus move it away from the USB 3.0 ports in use by USB 3.0 devices. This seemed to work okay mostly but for some reason many months later I now have the same erratic behavior as before with errant mouse clicks, double clicks, released button presses even though I am still holding the button and more. Naturally, this quickly became something I couldn't live with. So now I am using the Magic Mouse which will do temporarily but doesn't allow for simultaneous left and right button presses to aim and shoot a scoped rifle in a shooter for one thing. I also find it less than ideal just in general although it does work good enough for KOTOR that I am playing now.

My biggest question is, are new wireless mice immune to this issue now? Has the interference problem been overcome? I went to Amazon hoping I could buy a new model Performance Mouse MX because I liked the thing so much but they seem to be selling the very same model I bought before. The page even tells me I bought this one from them already.

What I liked about the Performance mouse was that I could plug it into USB to recharge its battery while continuing to use it. Of course, I also liked the mouse itself, being somewhat sizable and fitting my hand well. It's just comfortable to use to me. It has a few extra buttons but I never used them. I don't need or want extra gaming buttons really. I just want a responsive mouse that feels good and works decently on a Mac not only for everyday use but for gaming too. The Performance Mouse MX while not cheap, fit that bill very nicely.

So, what's the deal now? Am I safe buying a wireless mouse for an iMac with USB 3.0? I would hope so but I don't know. So hopefully you guys can clue me in. If you can recommend something similar to what I had from a well known and respected maker of mice, I'd be very interested, preferably something i can order on Amazon and again, I don't really need a mouse with a ton of buttons on it although a few wouldn't bother me I guess so long as they were not placed such that I could have issues hitting them accidentally. An option to turn them off would be a nice thing if I wanted it.

By the way, I checked for bluetooth mice on Amazon and the results were not encouraging. So it appears I need to stick with USB but please correct me if am wrong there. Bluetooth would be great if I could find a decent Bluetooth mouse.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

It really depends on whether or not input lag for bluetooth will be a problem with the types of games you play.

Shooters? Card games? RTS's? RPGs?

----------
crispys said:
http://steelseries.com/products/mice/steelseries-sensei-wireless

This is what I got about two months ago to replace my Razer Mamba mouse, which I loved but Razer's driver for Mac was absolutely worthless. It'd kernel panic my nMP frequently.

The Sensei Wireless has been all around solid. Good stable driver, the dock is nicely made, and the mouse feels great. It's plugged into my USB 3.0 with no problem.
Click to expand...

It's not the driver. It's the control panel software Razer offers. It's Synapse and it's at version 2.0 right now.
 
Currently using a wired mouse with my iMac 5K; Logitech G502 which performs great for the price. However, my wireless controller Logitech F710 has been having problems with input lag and other things recently, for some reason this didn't happened when it was new. I'm really looking forward to buying the Steam Controller as my next controller. Anyone got a workaround to remedy the USB 3 interference issue?
 
UniDoubleU said:
Anyone got a workaround to remedy the USB 3 interference issue?
Click to expand...


Have you tried a USB 2.0 hub?

Back to the topic at hand, I use a Logitech G602 with my Mac. No problems at all since the company got its act together and released a functional software package.
 
saturnotaku said:
Have you tried a USB 2.0 hub?

Back to the topic at hand, I use a Logitech G602 with my Mac. No problems at all since the company got its act together and released a functional software package.
Click to expand...

Yep, the dongle thingy is plugged into a USB 2 hub. Seems the issue can occur whenever a USB 3 port nearby is being used.

I reckon the Steelseries Sensei Wireless and the likes should work fine as they've got huge receiver. Not so nice that the battery is irreplaceable though. And my one and only Sensei (wired) developed jittering so probably not going to get another Steelseries. Plus the wireless version is definitely pricey.

Everybody seems to make 2.4 GHz wireless gaming peripheral, but that band is already super saturated. The only Bluetooth gaming mouse I can think of is Razer Orochi and they are tiny. As for controller guess I might have to look at Dualshock 4.
 
Those mice should work in the sense that when you plug them in, the cursor will move, and the three primary buttons will function. In order to get the rest of the buttons to work, you would need a 3rd-party driver as those companies don't have Mac-specific drivers.
 
I use wired Logitech.

Razr are too small for my hand.

Go to a store and hold them in your hand to see what's comfortable.
 
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