Laser mice and mousepads

[Silikone]

I have a laser mouse (G500), and I have heard that cloth pads don't work well with the sensor, and that hard pads are the best choice. A friend of mine lent me what I suppose is a cloth pad from Steelseries, and I did not notice any problems. While I didn't get the chance to do some proper tests, I can personally say that most of the rumors are bollocks. Still, I would like to know if more sophisticated tests prove otherwise. If any of you have this mouse, I would like to know your experiences.

[jwaz]

I have a Lachesis and have used it on a cloth pad without noticing anything.

[Autolyze]

I've got a G500 at home and another at work and they both seem cool with cloth pads.

[davkol]

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[Arc'xer]

You need to ignore all those comments that you have read, in fact most should ignore it except for the PTE sensor and it's jitter effect which is merely an effect from the z-axis tracking in it's sensor. It's certainly not a bull**** rumor because it has been observed when properly tested. The most common reasons would be dust, remember laser sensors read at much more finer granularity than optical; this also explains why they perform worse with cloth because they are reading the individual fibers of the cloth pad and being "too accurate" as strange as it sounds. The more solid hard pad or certain cloth pads with a different weave would produce better results as the sensor has a harder time "catching" the more individualized portion.

But there is one primary reason as to why most will never, ever find problems and like you said "and I did not notice any problems". The reason is most people use a high sensitivity or if they don't know anything about their sensitivity use a sensitivity that is way too high i.e. crank up the DPI and sensitivity as high as possible. Most of the problems come from people who are low sensitivity, a few medium sensitivity users have observed issues but it's much less so compared to a low sensitivity. If your a low sensitivity user then you may observe problems occurring especially if you are particularly sensitive to these kinds of issues.

[vun]

My G9x works perfectly fine on cloth and I believe it has the same sensor as the G500.

[FoxWolf1]

My Zealot (also Avago 9500) has no problems on a cloth (and old, and dirty, and cheap) mouse pad-- but then, I use high sensitivity.

[Nighted]

I use a Steel Series QcK Mini with both a Corsair M60 and my MS Wireless 5000. Absolutely no issues. I like it so much that I have bought 2 back ups.

[1391401]

I've used the same type of cloth pads that I used with ball mice since forever

[Rinx7]

The Rocketfish is decent if you want a cheap hard mousepad, if you have a SS Sensei you gotta try the thing on a hard mouse mat, with those giant pads it has on it it is lifechanging.

[All The Fire]

You need to ignore all those comments that you have read, in fact most should ignore it except for the PTE sensor and it's jitter effect which is merely an effect from the z-axis tracking in it's sensor.

I had a feeling something like this was going on, every time I click my RAT7 I get jitter in a very similar pattern to how it tracks when lifted. And also found it more prominent on the thick cloth pad, less on the thin hardmat and pretty much non existent on my wooden desktop.

[MadScientist46]

I have a G500, too, and I changed from a SteelSeries 4HD to a Puretrak Talent (clothpad) about 5-6 months ago because a friend recommended it to me.
Although I wasnt really convinced of clothpads at that time, I don't regret that I gave it a try.
I must say, that I'm a mid-sense player, so the tracking issues going around the net havent appeared to me yet.

[Netdewt]

What's a mousepad?

[Daniel Beaver]

What's a mousepad?

It's like a smartphone screen protector, but for Teflon feet.

[All The Fire]

Anyone here using a G9x and a cloth pad (I am using a Cyborg Glyde7, whatever); try lifting the mouse very slowly while ever so slightly moving it around, I am getting tracking with slight jitter up to 3mm LOD, then nothing, but then again at 6mm LOD I get tracking with extreme jitter all the way up to 12/13mm LOD.

Now with a hard mat (I am using a Roccat Sota); I get pretty much the same up to a 3mm LOD, then nothing, then again at 6mm LOD I get tracking with a bit less jitter up until an 8mm LOD.

Thought it was interesting.

[Gawkbasher]

I used IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0s with X-Trac Rippers.  When I upgraded to a G9x, it didn't perform very well, but my pads were old and sort of worn.

I use a Razer Scarab now and while I can't say for sure if it performs better, I have a strong preference for it.  No dirty/hazy pads to constantly wash or replace.