There are now more mouse than ever before and it can be difficult to discern their differences and compare them to traditional mouse. Here’s an introductory article about wireless mouse, how they work, how they differ from their wired counterparts and what the mouse price in Pakistan.
Argument
A few years ago, when the wireless Rival 650 was still in its infancy, I was talking to gamers about wireless mous. It was a surprisingly controversial topic.
Some have been thril with the wireless versions of their favorite mous. Others look at it with a mixture of fear and disgust, explaining that they would never buy a wireless mouse, talking about the risk of signal loss and battery drain in the middle of a game. There were many people who had no idea about this, most of which were contradictory.
What is the most important thing in a mouse?
Before we talk about the relative advantages of wired and wireless mous, we need to look at what makes a good mouse. Think about what is important to you in a mouse. One of the most common answers to this question is ergonomics. If you’re going to play with a mouse for six, ten, or twelve hours in one sitting, you want this mouse to fit nicely and comfortably in your hand.
Most of us have experience the futility and inconvenience of an uncomfortable mouse. A good mouse should feel so natural that you will even forget about it, as if it were a real extension of your hand. Wireless mouse should be no different from this ergonomically, and what applies to wired mouse also applies to wireless mouse.
The other thing people value is performance, and wireless mouse are the most skeptical about this. Unfortunately, beyond “it works” and “it doesn’t work”, the question of “performance” can be tricky and the average consumer won’t be able to evaluate it on a detailed and specific level unless something is noticeably wrong. Manufacturers share specifications, but it can be difficult for many to understand what works out of context.
Measuring Mouse Performance
The performance of the mouse can best be describe as a high-performance mouse that “must mirror my hand movements on the screen as accurately as possible.” This is usually achieved in three ways:
- Sensor accuracy
- Firmware delay
- PC shopping speed
For example, the Rival 650 has the exact same sensor as its wired counterpart, the Rival 600, so sensor performance is maintained. However, moving to wireless can have a big impact on the latency and speed of purchases.
Detain
Latency in mice is measured by the time it takes for your hand motion to be transmitted to the PC. This number is important because if the latency is too high, you will feel like your mouse is slow or lags. Feeling slow can be very uncomfortable and abnormal, and it can make you feel nauseous. That’s why firmware developers go to great lengths to keep latency to a minimum in order to ensure the minimum time between mouse movement and on-screen response.
Scan speed
The minimum latency a device can have is determine by the exchange rate. Shopping rate indicates how often the PC “requests” data from the mouse. The baud rate is usually determine between the operating system and the mouse when the mouse is first connect. Shopping speed is usually measure in hertz: a shopping frequency of 1000 Hz means the device is query 1000 times per second, so the shopping speed is 1 millisecond. If the device is query at 500 Hz, the minimum delay is 2 milliseconds.
The speed of purchases affects more than just latency; It also affects the fluency of your cursor. Because the purchase speed also determines how many samples the PC takes from the mouse. Basically, the more samples (1000 per second), the more detail. This is why SteelSeries USB mice have a default baud rate of 1ms and are widely used by gamers.
Cut the cable
Now that we’ve cover the basics of measuring performance with sensors, firmware, and purchase rates, let’s take a look at how performance is impact by moving to wireless.
Bluetooth as an option?
As mentioned in the previous section, SteelSeries mice default to 1000Hz; this is the maximum value supported for a full speed USB connection. In comparison, the maximum baud rate supported by Bluetooth is 125 Hz or even lower for other reasons.
Essentially, this means that Bluetooth has 8 times the latency of an equivalent USB device. This dramatic drop and change in shopping speed affects mouse fluency more than, in many cases, even negates the effectiveness of a high-end sensor. In short, Bluetooth (because it’s not design for high quality wireless audio) is not the right solution for mouse.
However, the Rival 3 Wireless mouse adds Bluetooth to a solid 2.4GHz wireless network, making it a great option.
Device solution
If the answer isn’t Bluetooth, then what is it? As with wireless headsets, SteelSeries wireless mouse come with a device that uses a proprietary RF protocol that provides significantly lower latency than Bluetooth. With this device, a wireless mouse can achieve higher performance and lower latency, as well as a 1ms rate of change like wired mouse.
Pest control
One of the big problems is that other devices can interfere with all wireless devices. Wire devices are effectively shield by their cables, which means that two wired devices do not affect each other since they are not physically touching. All wireless devices operate in the same environment, and if two devices try to communicate on the same frequency at the same time, interference can occur.
Almost all wireless mice on the market operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. It is a combination of 80 frequencies between 2.4 GHz and 2.5 GHz on the electromagnetic spectrum. This frequency band is use by many Wi-Fi routers and all Bluetooth devices. That is, if there are too many in the room, there will be more interference. Microwave ovens also use this frequency band, so even an older microwave without good shielding can affect wireless network performance.
Create a protocol by which devices recognize each other. For example, in Rival 650, all packets sent from the mouse must be recognize by the machine. If the mouse is not recognize, it resends the data. If you want to guarantee some latency, you need to send packets at least twice as fast. By doing so, you can compensate for packet loss and not “lose” or “drop” data due to interference.
Starting the wireless mouse
The more data you transmit to your wireless devices, the more power you use. A high performance, low latency mouse consumes more power than a regular Bluetooth mouse. To meet the power demand, wireless gaming mice must have a good built-in battery; this battery is also a bit heavy. This can be a problem for some, so if you prefer a very lightweight mouse, a wireless mouse may not be the best option for you (at this time).
If you’re trying to extend the battery life of your mouse (or headset), you can either turn off all the LEDs or set them to turn off if there’s no input for a while, and it can significantly improve battery life (similar to dimming your phone).
A good wireless mouse can also be use with a cable, a dead battery will never slow you down.
So does it work?
The biggest complaints about wireless mouse are related to performance and power, but new advances and technology have help wireless mouse like the Rival 650 overcome these issues and create the best wireless mouse on the market. It doesn’t just work, it works just as well as its corded counterparts
