Gaming surface needed

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Up until a few weeks ago I used my Microsoft Intellimouse (still going strong, but the pads are wearing very thin!) directly on the surface of my old desk. It would glide effortlessly and then my world fell apart....I got a new desk!
OMG, not only does it scrape horrendously across the bare surface, there's masses of friction too!:(
My wife managed to pinch a cloth mouse mat from work, but that hasn't really helped. There's a slight decrease in the friction, but it's nowhere near how I'd like it to be and it is incredibly tiny.

So what gaming surfaces would you guys recommend?
Ideally I want to avoid cloth-type ones, and around £15-20.
 
Get a QPAD XT-R.
http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=...ent=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wf

Saw it recommended by Custom PC magazine like 1-2 years ago...wanted it way back then, but it was selling for like over £40 at the time. I finally got mine a few months ago for £15.99 from 'the store that do free deliver'...been using it ever since and absolutely loving it! It is Carbytek surface and it is kinda big (the width is roughly 4 mouses side-by-side), but if you desk got the space it should be fine.
Some pictures here:
http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=QP...d=0CA8QsAQwAA&ei=ktvVS5jOMZyh_Aag_bmqDw&gbv=2
 
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I used the wowpad, I feel like it's an unsung hero.
http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Notebo...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000HWOUU2

I found most other pads to be massive and a little bulky too. This thing is ultra thin and tiny, 5" x 7" which is literally the perfect size IMO for moving the mouse about and not touching your keyboard.

Works excellent for gaming with every mouse I've tried. The top side surface is as smooth as Teflon and the back of it is a gentle sticky material (like the material you get on the fluff remover rollers). If it gets dirty you can clean it with soap and it's back to being sticky again.

My only complaint is that the thing isn't as sticky as I'd like it to be, so I've just taped down two sides and it's perfect now. Doesn't look silly with clear tape. It's very durable, had it for years now ad there's not a single sign of wear (no joke, it's scarily in perfect condition and I use the PC a megaton). They even offered to replace it when I asked for suggestions about making it stick better.

It's only about a fiver!
 
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I use a bit of A4 paper, blue tac'd down to the table. Seriously, it's incredibly useful. You can write codes on it, places, cheats, objectives, whatever. Yeah it gets grubby after a month and you need to buy a new one, but come on, it's A4 paper! it's like 0.001p per sheet. Best mouse pad I ever used....made.... whatever.
 
Thank you all so far for your time & input.

@Invader675
I have tried paper, cheap & plentiful! Unfortunately the mouse doesn't glide over it at all well!
I've tried numerous other improvised mouse mats, such as record sleeves, magazines (glossy & matte), chopping board, etc, but nothing has come anywhere close to matching my old, dirt cheap, black wood-effect MFI desk!:D

@trentlad
2 out of those 4 reviews aren't too favourable, and another states they are a novice laptop user....might skip that as I need something a bit more "hardcore gamer".

@Marine-RX179
Now that looks promising! I will look into that one a bit more, cheers.:D
 
@trentlad
2 out of those 4 reviews aren't too favourable, and another states they are a novice laptop user....might skip that as I need something a bit more "hardcore gamer".

Yeah I read those. In my experience the only review that held ground was the one below which was fixed by using a 50p sellotape:
"It would not remain stuck with the table, but shift often when I moved the mouse."

Personal preference and user intent though. If it's just gaming then this will bode very well, all mice slide across it like butter and it's ultra durable with a high contrast surface to get the most out of your mouse optics.
 
Check out some Razer mats. Ive got the eXactMat and works brilliantly, and they do "desktop skins" aswell, in case you want something low profile.
 
i use the eXactMat as well, really dont like using anything else anymore.

also it has 2 seperate surfaces depending on your mouse style, speed or control
 
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