Recently, I've had the opportunity to test many different mice. My evaluations are based mainly on the feel, which includes the size, shape, weight, surface finish, switch placement and actuation, and characteristics of the scroll wheel. I like the wheel to be rubberized, notched, and quiet. I use a palm grip, and I favor a large right-handed wired (corded) mouse with no more than 7-8 buttons. Here are my findings thus far, with my brief assessment and reasons for not selecting the mouse in parentheses:
Corsair M65 RGB (too short and low; distracting sniper button); Mionix Castor (a bit too small); Mionix Naos 7000 (too difficult to pick up easily without changing grip); Razer DA Chroma (noisy scroll wheel); Razer Mamba TE (good overall -- keeping this one); Roccat Kone XTD (excellent except for sticky-feeling light stripes and ostentatious logo); Steelseries Rival 300 (good overall -- keeping this one); Zowie EC1-A (good shape, but don't like the smooth finish).
I would still like to test the Cougar 550m and the forthcoming Gigabyte XM300. In addition, the Logitech G502 keeps getting top marks in reviews, but I have never liked Logitech mice; I am especially not a fan of their scroll wheels. The Logitech wireless mice look the most attractive to me, but I prefer to have a corded mouse.
Although I would prefer to have an optical sensor, this is not a must-have for me
For now, I am reasonably pleased with the Razer Mamba TE (although I would prefer to have an optical sensor, but this is not a must-have for me). I also like the Rival 300 much more than I had expected. I prefer the appearance of the Razer, but the Rival feels better and has more definitive switch clicks.