Replacement for WMO1.1a ?

Rroff · 4 Jul 2013 at 16:12

Wondering if anyones found something thats more or less a direct replacement for the original WMO1.1a - while I can still source them at the moment stocks are dwindling and sooner or later I'll have to move on.

I've tried several mice but never found anything that I'm happy with:

Deathadder - Sensor is bang on but it flares out at the front instead of tapers in like the WMO so doesn't sit well in my hand. If they tweaked the style to be more like the WMO it would be perfect.

Steelseries Kinzu - Slightly too small, sensor is close to the WMO but sometimes a bit erratic.

Zowie (various) - Fairly close match in shape/size but the side buttons get in the way, another one that would be perfect if they just made a version without the extra buttons and some slight tweaks to the sensor.

Tried various others over the years that I've forgotten the names of but all had something that let them down i.e. non-clicky mouse wheel, side buttons or just a naff sensor.

(Yes I'm a bit fussy about my mouse).

Rroff · 4 Jul 2013 at 16:37

Mostly use backspace or the back button, side buttons just don't work for me as I use my thumb a lot for directing the movement of the mouse (palm never touches the mouse).

Zowie EC1 eVo does seem to be the closest in shape/size but not sure I can get used to the side buttons even with ignoring their use as buttons.

(I am a very old school FPS player - arrow keys for movement, the block of 6 keys above for most functions, fire left mouse, jump right mouse).

Rroff · 5 Jul 2013 at 16:46

Ended up buying up someones stock of them :S hopefully I'll never need to find a replacement :S

Rroff · 6 Jul 2013 at 13:32

If the dimensions on the promo image are correct then its only 1mm lower than the WMO and otherwise almost identical. Still the same potential problem with the side buttons tho

Rroff · 7 Jul 2013 at 15:14

No experience with them, someone I know who runs a local PC store still had a few left so I bought the lot in the hope it will tide me over indefinitely however I am quite tempted to try the Zowie FK, tho I tried one of the other Zowie mice thats very similiar and found the side button position less than ideal for my use.

Rroff · 12 Jul 2013 at 21:32

unp|dissy said:
Kinzu sensor is absolutely shocking - stay away.

Its one of the first replacements I tried - its comparable to the WMO for normal movement but feels like a mixture of prediction error and mouse acceleration creeping in when your moving it faster. If they scaled the mouse body upto WMO size and tweaked the sensor it would be a fairly decent alternative tho.

Rroff · 2 Aug 2013 at 18:51

So couldn't resist trying the FK so ordered this

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-002-ZW currently I'm blutaking the mouse lead to the side of the monitor so interested in seeing if the camade works for me as well.

For good measure also ordered a couple of these

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-013-ZW

Already using one and easily the best mousemat I've used to date but its getting a little worn now so a replacement is due.

Will post again with my impressions when they turn up.

Rroff · 4 Aug 2013 at 00:44

The intellmouse has side buttons (so does the FK unfortunatly) which is a negative and probably going to mean the FK is not a good option for me depending on the positioning.

Its also a lot harder to hold with a fingertip claw grip which is the biggest issue and also heavier than the WMO which isn't ideal.

They are decent mice if you have a different type of grip and/or require side buttons tho.

Rroff · 5 Aug 2013 at 17:54

First impressions are positive its a little tiny bit lower and a little tiny bit slimmer than the WMO1.1a but otherwise seems to be shaped around the way you grip the WMO - would be better if it was just that tiny bit bigger but its probably not enough to be a problem.

The change in shape/profile from the EC and AM is enough that the side buttons are just slight removed from the grip so thats probably not going to be an issue - its only a slight change in where the buttons are compared to your grip from the EC/AM but its just enough to make the difference.

Sensor wise its a very close approximate of the WMO tho the actual DPI even on 450 is a bit higher than the "400-450dpi" of the WMO but probably close enough to adapt to it pretty quickly.

Only real negative so far is the mouse wheel which is nice and clicky like the WMO but a little stiffer and takes some deliberate force to use it as a button which isn't ideal but hopefully will loosen up a bit with use.

So far its by far the closest to the WMO of anything I've tried.

Rroff · 5 Aug 2013 at 23:45

Have to say the sensor on this is fantastic, lift off distance is perfect coming from the WMO, so far not seen it skip a beat or become erratic - very smooth without a hint of unwanted acceleration or prediction.

Rroff · 6 Aug 2013 at 18:50

Sundance said:
How are you finding the side buttons? Did the world implode when you inevitably touched one?

(Yes I'm taking the **** )

Serious answer - fortuantly with the shape of this mouse they are just above where my thumb and little finger grip - with this type of grip the thumb and little finger do a lot of the work when moving it so if theres a button underneath that position that wobbles about it can interfere with movement (and generally isn't the most comfortable for holding).

Seems this mouse was designed with the WMO in mind as aside from being slightly smaller than the WMO the contours are shaped to perfectly match the way the WMO is gripped by fingertip users.

Rroff · 9 Aug 2013 at 02:55

Yeah I managed to stock up on the WMO in the end but the FK was an itch I had to scratch.

Rroff · 9 Aug 2013 at 15:18

Really liking the combination of FK + camade + N-RF2 - only real negative is the mouse wheel which is liveable with but requires a little too much force to use to be ideal. If they fixed that and made the mouse a tiny tiny bit fatter it would be a complete superior replacement for the WMO 1.1a in every regard.

Rroff · 10 Aug 2013 at 20:54

Interestingly I'm finding the sensor on this FK a bit different to the other Zowie mice I've tried, dunno if theres been a revision since the earlier models but I've not noticed a single instance so far where the actual action of the mouse is different to what I expect from my input - the ones I tried in the past had some small but noticeable angle prediction so far this one seems completely free of it.

The problem with the wheel is the extra force over the WMO means theres a slight backwards movement of the mouse when using it - on the WMO you could activate it without any significant force being inherited by the rest of the mouse.

Rroff · 10 Aug 2013 at 21:55

arc@css said:
We're a dying breed.

If you don't find anything to suit, maybe you will just get used to the slight differences with the death adder. Sounds about it's the closest you've got so far.

Getting on pretty well with the Zowie FK - the mouse wheel while not ideal isn't a show stopper and the mouse in every other regard matches or beats the WMO.

I persisted with the DA for awhile but the way it flares out at the front just got in the way of my grip which I'd never be able to get past for any real gaming.