Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

[HowieMandel]

start to get tired?
I mean im a die hard good ol fashioned rubber ball mouse using sumbish. But they wear out fast, for me. So after many years, i finally bought an optical.
It just seems lately its........almost acting like a worn or dirty ball mouse..... its odd.
So, i was just asking those that have been using optical for a while, if in fact..........they do wear out and start to lose percision?

[evilzucchini]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

I am sure there is some degredation in performance over time. However, I am also sure that it takes way longer than a ball mouse because there are no moving parts. Maybe you need to clean your mouse pad or maybe there is something on the lens. I think it would take a long time for a optical mouse to wear down. I use my constantly, for work and play, and I have not seen any degradation.

[HowieMandel]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

alrighty.........man thank you.

[Gav]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

No problems with my optical mouse either - at home or at work, and I've had both for about three or four years each now. Like Evilzucchini (lol - nice name) says, check the lens to see if anything is obscuring it.

Make sure you're using it on a surface that has good colour contrast too. Using it on a surface that is a uniform colour makes it difficult for the optics to detect the movement.

[LasVegas]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

yeah, it seems you have something going on with either your table-top, your mouse mat, or its just a cheapo opti mouse. i have used optical mice for years, in fact, 2 in the last 6 years, i'm still on the 2nd, and its still as good as new, if a little 'off-white'. as long as you have it cabled and not batteries, you should be fine for 2 or 3 years per mouse, or more. so i guess its down to your set up or working surface. i game an awful lot, i mean, 20 to 30 hours a week, plus regular computer work by me and the others here, and it really is still like a new mouse after 3 years heavy slaying. just a regular old microsoft cable optical mouse

[Gav]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

Both my optical mice (work and home) are cordless, actually, and I never have any problems with them. Sure, the batteries go flat and you have to change them, but I find the life (in mine anyway) to be reasonable, and you get plenty of warnings in Windows when the batteries are starting to go so I've never had the mouse suddenly die on me unexpectedly...

[OnsErwin]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

I remember my 1st optical mouse, and it was a pain in the *ss in the beginning.
The cursor didn't do that what i said he must do, when i go too the right he would go too the left and so on.
The problem was, my mousepad was too shiny and it reflected the infrared beam.
Got a new mouse pad that doesn't reflect light and the problem was solved.:laugh:

So don't use your mouse on top of anything that reflect light.

[Chowley]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

Id say clean your mouse mat. Clean the feet on your mouse and clean the bit where the sensor is (just blow on it to get out any dust or hairs, anything in there and the mouse will go very weird).

[HowieMandel]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

hmmm you know what, i think thats what it is, possibly. The mouse "feet" are worn some. I can only assume this would effect percision, as how im used to it, being so.

Possible?

[Chowley]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

Ya definately. When i get clumps of dirt around the feet of my mouse it really ****es me off. I have a very smooth mat and I like it that way. The dirt on the feet slows the mouse and it almost seems jerky at times. It really gets to me.

[imported_El_m_ent]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

hmmm you know what, i think thats what it is, possibly. The mouse "feet" are worn some. I can only assume this would effect percision, as how im used to it, being so.

Possible?

Extremely doubtful. Worn "feet" would make it harder to move around, as their only purpose is to make the mouse slide around nicely.

The mouse is optical, you can turn it over and see how it works. You have a little red led and a little lens. The lens actually uses a tiny cmos "camera" to take around 1,500 pictures every second. It sends this information to a DSP (digital signal processor) which can detect patterns and compare to previous patterns to derive how the mouse has moved since the last picture.

That being said, besides just being dirty, there are two things that will confuse the mouse. If the surface the mouse is on is shiny then the camers is overwhelmed and can't discern anything. Also, if the surface is too uniform the DSP can't find any patterns and therefore doesn't think the mouse has moved.

Try buying a new $10 gaming mat and blowing out the lens with a can of that photographers dry air. Should do the trick.

[HowieMandel]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

ahhh ok. I just figured though, that height of the actual camera (optical point) would effect percision. In other words if it were 3cm high, and the feet caused it to now be 2cm high because they wore, it would effect its operation.
It still works great, its just that its percision seems off while playing. I dont move alot in game when it comes to aiming (obviously) but now little movements are alittle, "bigger". Maybe its more precise close its closer.
arghh maybe my pc is just dying. After all im still running an Athlon XP 2600. And to tell you how long i've been running it...it was the absolute best you could buy at the time.

[Revoluti0n]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=004

That was the first one I ever owned...Lasted me 4 years. I played Counter-Strike with it, used it regularly for other games as well. I even started playing BF2 with it and used it for 4 months. I did not notice any degredation init what so ever.
I got a Logitech mx518 as a gift, and have used that since then and it's smooth. I don't see the point in getting Logitech G6, yea it has a bit more dpi, but who actually plays with 2000dpi? No one, that is right. 1600dpi is fine. The last ball mouse I used was in 1999...

[rombaft]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

an optical mouse can not loose performance , it works or it doesn't work.

the only thing that could be causing perfomance loss is :

led wich lightens up underground is dirty, so optical sensor doesn't get enough light
optical sensor is dirty
underground isn't good for your mouse

[DrMcleod]

Re: Optical Mouse........like a ball mouse do they...

They dont wear out, but the pads get sticky and the surface you are running on may change.
My advice is to buy a proper optical mouse-pad, a fresh one is great. Ice smooth and 100% accurate.