-- Does this thing work?
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We'll find out how this surface works with a ball
mouse and an optical one. I have a regular PS/2 ball mouse and
a Logitech Optical. Both will go up against one of the premier
mousing surfaces, the Ratpadz.
We ran the mouse over the surface using
both the ball and optical. The Icemat was definitely a lot
smoother. I can feel my mouse move with just a slight touch of
the hand. It is a totally different feeling than any surface I
have used before. The Ratpadz was also smooth, but with the
rougher surface it was the slower surface of the two.
One thing I did notice was that the
Icemat causes a severe jitter for my cursor when left alone while I
was using the Logitech Optical The cursor would jump randomly up
and down. A possible cause is the LED beam is going through the
surface and bouncing back causing some awkward jumps in
movement. This is not caused by the regular ball mouse.
The Icemat site does not list the use of this surface with a Optical
mouse, which is probably due to this effect happening with its
surface. The Ratpadz didn't matter, both the ball and optical
variety works fine.
For the heck of it, we went and applied
some of the Teflon tape to the bottom of our mice to see if it had any
extra effect in performance. The addition of the smooth Teflon
and any hard surface should create a great moving environment.
Just cut off a small piece and peel away the adhesive layer.
The addition of the extra layer of Teflon
makes for a whole lot of smooth moving! But one thing I did
notice was that if you tilt your mouse a little and an edge that does
not have this tape will cause your mouse to brake suddenly. This
can cause some bad times if you're in the middle of a major frag fest.
The easiest way to clean the Icemat is to
use a mild glass cleaner. Don't stick it in the dishwasher, it
will break. I used the unit to play a little
Counter-Strike. I didn't get more kills or anything, but I did
react a lot faster when using the Sniper Rifle. Not sure if
that's a good thing, because I still got my ass shot dead.
I did notice when you collect some small dust particles underneath
your mouse, it creates a very horrid scratching noise on the Icemat.
Cleaning the mouse does solve this issue.
Overall, the Icemat is definitely a fresh
new product for the hardcore gamer. Aside from the sleek looks,
the smooth surface is very appealing to the avid gamer who needs the
quick reaction time. The only bad points that I can muster is
that it does not work well with an Optical mouse. If you don't
fall under that category, you have nothing to worry about and this
unit should be a great companion in your complete PC gaming system.
Pros:
- Smoothest surface ever used
- Easy to clean
- Included Teflon Tape
- 6 Silicone feet
- Your friends will keep staring at it
Cons:
- Optical mouse may not work too well
- Not advised for constant movement, glass breaks easily
- May be on the expensive side for some
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