As you scroll through the results for your search of "gaming mouse" on Amazon, you might be shocked to see how many brand there are. Corsair, Havit, Redragon, Razer, Logitech, Steelseries, PICTEK, KLIM, HyperX, Cooler Master, and more. It's a bit confusing at first, but in this article I will try to help you navigate around the endless search results. I'm splitting the brands into three tiers: top, medium, and low. I hope you enjoy! Medium and low tier lists coming soon.
TECH ADVANTAGE'S TOP TIER:
1. Logitech G
Logitech is like the New England Patriots of gaming gear (but no one hates them). Their mice, keyboards, and headsets wallow in pools of 5-star reviews. Although Logitech produces a multitude of different gaming products, including driving simulators, Xbox controllers, the award-winning adaptive gaming kit, and headsets, the peripheral they are most known for is their mice. All their mice are reliable and are known for having an arsenal of side buttons. Logitech G is also one of, if not the leader in wireless gaming mice. Additionally, their gaming software is much more intuitive and uses less system resources than other gaming softwares, which we'll take a look at later. Logitech's gaming mice carry a huge percentage of usage among eSports players. One mouse that really stands out is Logitech's g903. It has a 32-hour wireless battery life, you can magnetically attach hotkeys to either side of the mouse, and it is compatible with Powerplay, a mousepad that charges the g903 while the g903 is on top of it. More details coming in an imminent review!
Their mechanical keyboards are also first-rate, with Logitech producing their own "Romer G" switches. Their headsets are also more than solid options, but are a little overpriced in my opinion. Overall, an all-around exemplary, reliable, and high-quality gaming brand.
2. Razer:
As the "Apple of Gaming" and one of gaming's most hyped brands, Razer has extremely high expectations for all of its products. This brand produces an array of different gaming peripherals, with their mice and keyboards standing out in particular. Razer produces its own switches, alternatives for Cherry MX switches that they use in their own keyboards. The Razer Blackwidow Elite distinguishes itself with a fairly low pricepoint, great mechanical switches, and bright backlighting. You can also get another version that is more expensive, but also comes with 5 macro keys, a USB passthrough and a microphone/headphone jack passthrough. Now, let's transition to Razer's most popular product: mice. Two extremely popular mice that Razer has made are the Razer Naga Trinity and the Razer Deathadder Elite. There is a general consensus that the Razer Deathadder is the best gaming mouse of all time. Yes, it has impressive scroll wheel RGB, nicely placed hotkeys, and two useful DPI buttons, but those are on many mice. What really sets the Razer Deathadder Elite apart is the ergonomics. And before you roll your eyes, I was not a believer in mouse ergonomics either (and I still don't think they matter too much unless you actually have hand pains). The Razer Deathadder Elite just seems to fit perfectly into any grip or hand size. Putting your hand on the mouse feels like resting your hand on the table. Additionally, the hotkeys have perfect placement; right where you can hit the front one with your thumb tip and back one with the bone in your thumb joint. The Razer Naga Trinity is at the peak of mouse versatility; it has three interchangeable hotkey side plates. The first one is a traditional two hotkey side plate, the second has 7 hotkeys in a circle, the third has 12 hotkeys in a grid. The reason for these plates is for use in different types of games. The only major issue there is with Razer is their software, Razer Synapse. Razer Synapse has been reported countless times for using way too many system resources, for making games slower, for taking up too much storage, and for installing bloatware on the host computer. To draw the bottom line, Razer's software needs work, but overall their brand, and mice in particular, are top-notch. Also, they have a sick logo.
3. Steelseries
Steelseries makes 5 main products: mice, mousepads, keyboards, headsets, and controllers. I'll talk about the first four, since I believe their controllers to be comparatively standard. First off, their mice: They produce one of the best ambidextrous mice, the Sensei 310 (Or others in the Sensei series). Their Rival mouse series has also proven quite popular. And the best part: The sensei and rival 310, Steelseries' most popular mice, are only $35. For over 1,000 five-star reviews, that's pretty good! Now, for Steelseries mechanical keyboards, outfitted with a ludicrous amount of features. Here's an idea of it: On their Apex Pro keyboard, on the upper right hand corner, there is an LED mini touch screen to show you statistics or your esports team symbol. There are also individually backlit keys, a detachable wrist rest, a waterfall volume button, and get this: using the Steelseries game software, you can individually program the actuation point of each key. Yes, you read that correctly. The Apex keyboard series has features unlike any other, even DROP, but are conjoined with a price tag unlike any other (except DROP): $190 for the Apex Pro. It's so expensive Amazon has a pay-by-month financial plan for it! Steelseries also produces a top-notch series of wireless gaming headsets called Arctis. There really isn't too much to say about those, as the superb sound quality speaks for itself. Lastly, this may be the result of some lucky algorithms, but Steelseries has the most purchased mousepad of all time, with 4.5 stars on 27,000 ratings. In summation, a brand that doesn't have too many products, but the ones it has are superior, especially its keyboards.
4. HyperX
People know HyperX for one thing: its Cloud headset series. However, their mice and keyboards aren't half bad either. The mice themselves are satisfactory, with many different configurations and price points of the Pulsefire, allowing you to get just what you want. Most of their mice also have strong backlighting. Unfortunately, HyperX along with many other popular brands suffers from software woes. In the words of an Amazon reviewer, "It baffles the mind how horrible this software is". The keyboards are decent- they look great and use HyperX's own custom switches. However, they are priced a little too high- even their "radiant RBG backlighting" isn't worth $110. Lastly, the Cloud headset series. This headset series has been nonsensically popular, so much so that HyperX has released almost twenty versions. I won't go through them all here, but common trends have been incredibly comfortable ear-cups, crystal-clear audio through the mic, and surround sound so you can tell which way your enemies are coming from. In summary, sublime headsets and solid mice carry this brand into the top tier.
