Computers Articles - Microsoft Sidewinder X8


by SANDRA PRIOR - Date: 2009-07-29 - Word Count: 580 Share This!

The previous rendition of Microsoft's Sidewinder mouse was an aesthetically divisive beast at best. The sharp, angular lines and sticky-out buttons were not to everyone's taste but after a bit of use it became clear that it was actually very comfortable to use. In our book, the Logitech G9 is the current pinnacle of gaming mice, but can Microsoft's latest wireless change that? The styling of the X8 is similar to that of the last Sidewinder but some of the sharper edges have been smoothed out and the round forward/backward thumb buttons have been replaced with sleeker, flat buttons. Like the rather unpleasant and lightweight X5 version, the X8 doesn't have the gaming weights that the first iteration of this new design had, but because of its wireless nature, the necessary batteries make up for this shortfall, making its mass and inertia feel reassuring in the hand.

The G9 is around $90; if you need a wireless mouse, wait until the X8 gets closer to that. It also comes with Microsoft's new BlueTrack technology rather than the standard laser. This makes it far happier on more awkward surfaces, and also helps make sure that it doesn't suffer from the lag that has driven the hardcore gamer away from its wireless contemporaries. It's a neat setup, too: like the wireless 360 gamepad, you can hook up a cable to charge the device and still keep on using it. And like the MacBook power cable it's also magnetized, making running low on juice no problem at all.

Unfortunately, for the money Microsoft is hoping to convince you to part with, you'd expect the cable to sprout legs Thing-style and plug itself in should the need arise. And maybe make you breakfast in the morning too. It is a lovely mouse, but the price premium on the wireless front is just too much to pay right now.

WOW MMO Gaming Mouse

This mouse costs $l30. Yup, you read that right, $l30. For a mouse that only really struts its stuff in one game. Stop laughing at the back. Need more convincing? Well, er... it's got some swirls on its flared base, oh and can glow different colors. What's that, you're still not rushing out to buy one? Well, you can assign macros to those buttons - although the actual macro tool is a pain to use, so maybe not such a great point. It's got runes on it... To be honest, we're not convinced either, if any peripheral ever smacked of 'cash in', this would gleefully scoop the award.

The finish would be more at home on a Halo accessory - indeed, if it weren't for the WoW badge, we don't think anyone would guess which game this was supposed to work with. The weight and build quality is surprisingly uninspired, and in use there's little support for the palm of your hand - it's little more than ‘okay' though those hooked on Arena matches may garner some cool tricks from those extra buttons, but we're not convinced about that either. A keyboard is a much better input option for normal macros than twisting your thumb round to use a D-pad on the side of this thing.

There aren't many games that justify specific hardware, and while WoW does offer an audience of 11 million eager players, this is so unremarkable and expensive as to be little more laughable.

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Related Tags: microsoft, gaming, mouse, wireless, buttons, mice, sidewinder, x8

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