Life In 19x19

Do I need a better mouse?

My gaming rig sports a quad core processor, a year old graphics card, memory with a latency so low it forgot that it took time, a HAF case, a 24 inch monitor, a reclusa keyboard, a 7.1 surround sound USB headphone set, and, top top it all off, an ancient microsoft laser mouse.

To explain. I have massive hands. No, really, I can palm your face. You know that old ancient Xbox controller everyone hated? It was the PERFECT SIZE. I cried when they discontinued it, and, through the original xbox's life span, I collected the ancient massive controllers to use.

All of this means that with the new 'smaller is better' mentality in mice, keyboards, and computing in general, I end up with hand strain because the equipment is just too small.

Microsoft used to make optical mice the size of small dogs, making them perfect for my hand. The one complaint I have with many mice made by logitech these days, is that they seem to be made for children with hands the size of my newborn neice.

Enter the R.A.T. 7. It's a serious piece of hardware by the folks who bring you flight sticks and drving wheels, Saitek, marketed by MadCatz, and it recieves gushing reviews.. but.. Does anyone have one of these? Can anyone tell me what size it really is? Are there any other truly massive gaming mice out there?

After trying to play SC2 with my ancient mouse, I'm kinda tired of misclicks, short movements and otherwise tedious mousing.
So, to all you Hadware Geeks: What's the best mouse for the money?

Hmm, I also have pretty big hands. I use the Razer DeathAdder and I absolutely LOVE it. You can do a search on this mouse at TL or /r/starcraft and the reviews will be mostly positive, it's really a top-notch mouse (though I have different opinion on Razer products as a whole ). Extremely comfortable, great gaming mouse, and it looks cool too .

I love my logitech G5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logitech_G5. I have the updated blue crackly one. I don't leave my house without it. Seriously. And I don't even have a desk job.

Perhaps not the biggest of mice, but at least it's a full-size mouse, not one of those pesky little things all the cool kids use nowadays. The horror. You can make it pretty heavy too, which is perfect if you're like me and like to play some instagib capture the flag every once in a while.

I use the Logitech G3 and I love it. The main factor for me when choosing a mouse is for StarCraft, and this is the best one I have found. It's light, accurate, and most importantly, doesn't have a lot of extra buttons that just get in the way. Some of the higher models are good too, but with extra baggage you don't need for SC.

See, my problem is this:

I have a 7 inch hand. That is, from the tip of my first finger (clicky clicky) to the base of my hand, is slightly over 7 inches. 5 inches to the center of my palm. Idealy, I'd have a mouse at least 6.5-7 inches long.

Most 4 inch (standard size at work) mice rest (un)comfortably under the point where my knuckles meet my palm. This leads to a rather tiring hand position, where my fingers are curled upwards, my hand rests on the mouse pad, and my mouse is at the center of a 'claw'.

My old microsoft mouse is a barely better 5 inch long monster. That means my hand actually partially rests on it while I play, relieving some of the strain.

Idealy, I'd like to find a mouse that can reach 6 inches long. Anyone got any hints? So far, the DeathAdder/Razer is the only website which lists /any/ size specs for their mice. I'm curious to know how long the R.A.T.7 can reach, how long the g500 (the newest g5 update) is, how long the older g5/g3 are, etc etc.