Is it worth getting a trackball?

[IntrospectiveBeet]

i've never really cared about ergonomics, but recently i've been having some wrist pains, and i suspect it's some sort of rsi. Instead of using a mouse, a friend recommended for me to get a trackball. Are they worth it?, How is aiming with them?

[nevin]

a trackball was the only thing i used when i used to play unreal tournament (i know dating myself...)
trackball are good for most things, they are exceptional in small spaces where you have no room to move a mouse around. kensington has had some really good ones for a long time. some mice have trackballs too, and some are tilted to the side "ergo"-ish.

do a bunch of research, watch reviews, etc... and try one out.

[rebus]

I got one when I began suffering with my elbow, and the pain went away. It takes a little to conquer the same precision you had on the mouse (and if you need to draw, the mouse still wins, but then you need a graphics tablet if you must draw seriously), but I would never come back again.

[cat_barista]

Honestly, it is worth it for every day computing: browsing the web, reading documents, and once you get better with them, even moving text around from a word document to another spot. The slimblade is my daily driver and I use it 90% of the time for these tasks. 10% goes to my vertical mouse because some things feel faster and more precise with it.

For gaming? I play things where aiming is not that big of a deal, like Diablo, where it's just a clickfest and aiming doesn't matter, I can't do it with a trackball. I've tried to game with: slimblade, ploopy and deft pro. I sucked. I couldn't get used to it. So I just game with my vertical mouse instead. Can you game? Yes, but it's hard to fight against years of training. Some do it and you can see their videos on youtube. But it depends on the games you play and how much time you can devote to re-learning how to do it.

General computer use? Love it. Easy to adjust if you put all other input devices away and then add the mouse when needed.
Gaming? Ughhh. I suck at it but you might be better with it.

[nevin]

back in the day it was the only thing that made sense for 1990's fps gaming (unreal/quake tournament) "looking around" or aiming....  was much better than with a normal mouse. (of corse most of the common mice back them were still mechanical ball mice or optical, maxing out at about 800 dpi... again.... for "common mice")

kensington expert mouse - super nice!

did a quick search... even the current kensington orbit (low budget) has the awesome scroll ring now....

worth a look... even the logitech version (closest i can find.... is the trackman marble) but the one i remember was beige (in the 90's)

[typo]

I would get a good thumb ball. do not listen to it will hurt your thumb. A good one has no resistance. I swear once you get past the learning curve you will wonder how you ever used a rodent.

[tp4tissue]

Evoluent vertical mouse is the go-to for ergonomics.

They're not great for game tracking, but for office , it's perfectly usable.

[Venatorious]

I would probably use a trackball 24/7 if I never played video games.  Kensington Slimblade works like a dream.

[ykill]

I can use either, but a ball is more fun, and it can be used with a tilted desk.

[ArchDill]

I started having pain a few years ago and went to a Logitech thumb ball and then a Kensington Expert (I think?). I started designing a lot and ended up going back to a regular mouse. The MX Master 2 ended up being the most comfortable so that is what I use now.

I got really good at Rocket League using that Kensington haha