****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I've been a deathadder user for the past 3 years or so. Prior to that I was an MX510/MX518 user. So this is my first time delving into Zowie products. I did so under the recommendations from MANY people I've gamed with competitively. Teammates, etc. I'll go into my thoughts now and give a rundown at the end. Coming from a deathadder that I always felt was just a little too big, the EC2-A fits my hand perfectly. I have a 17.5cm hand from the base of my palm to the tip of my middle finger, so pretty small. With that said, there's a few mm clearance from the tip of my index and middle finger to the edge of the mouse buttons. I use a palm/claw hybrid grip. The coating on this mouse is excellent. It feels almost like satin in your hand. Very smooth with just a hint of texture. It's VERY grippy once your hands get a little damp from sweat but can feel slippery if you have very dry hands. For me this isn't really an issue since within about 5 minutes of gaming my hand starts to perspire a bit. The mouse is weighted perfectly at around 80-85g.. not too light, and not too heavy. The shape is very comfortable in the hand. The EC shape is the PERFECT shape for accommodating ANY style of grip whether it be palm, claw, fingertip or a hybrid.Next: The sensor. From all the testing I've done, the 3310 implentation is flawless in the EC2-A. The Pixart 3310 sensor is well regarded in the peripheral community as being an excellent sensor, only being edged out by Logitech's exclusive Pixart 3366 in both the G502 and G303. However, the 3310 is more than capable of giving you rock solid results. There is zero NOTICEABLE acceleration in this mouse. The reason I say noticeable is that there is acceleration in every sensor except the 3366, but it's only able to be produced under a perfect/specific scenario. Regardless, it's not enough to feel it. It's a small enough effect to still consider this mouse PERFECT in terms of tracking accuracy. The 3310 has a PCS(basically the max speed in which it will track) of OVER 5 m/s.. and in any normal gaming situation(no matter how intense), no normal human will reach those speeds during fast swipes. This mouse has some of the lowest lift off distance I've ever experienced, and the good thing about the 3310 is that it allows you to change LOD settings without having to use a special lens for the sensor(which zowie used to do). Low LOD is a must for any competitive gamer, especially those that play with low sensitivity on games like CS:GO. The LOD out of the box is less 2mm. A little more than 1 cd width. I find this to be the perfect setting but you can set the mouse based on the type of mouse mad you use, whether soft or hard. There is zero cursor smoothing with this mouse's 3310...and it feels very raw in desktop and in game. It's the first mouse I've used that truly feels like I'm getting 1:1 hand to cursor movement. There's a reason Zowie chose this sensor.Construction: The mouse feels very durable. It's light, but it feels very well made. There is zero rattle. Zero noises when I squeeze the shell. The shell does not flex or give when you exert excess pressure on it.Switches: Here is one area I thought about taking a star away for. The side buttons. Which I will get to. The main buttons use Huano blue switches. Now, before you get on the Omron bandwagon, the Huanos function just as well, and will last just as long. The ONLY difference is the huanos are a bit stiffer as far as actuation goes. Huanos provide even more tactile feedback, and a louder click when pressed over omrons...but the main difference is the actuation force required. I have small hands and they do not fatigue me at all, no matter how much I spam. I in fact love these switches. You will NEVER get a mis-click with this mouse, and these main button switches. They are a good middle-ground switch. Now, the side buttons on this mouse can definitely be improved on by zowie. The reason I didn't take a star away is because they function perfectly and are shaped nicely, and put in a perfect location relative to where your thumb is placed such that you can easily roll your thumb upwards to depress them without changing your grip on the mouse. The problem is they are mushy and have some pre-travel to them before they actuation and coming from a mouse like the Deathadder which I feel has the best side buttons on the market..it took some getting used to. Zowie needs to change up how they implement them to make them not have this amount of pre-travel. However, with that said... the pre-travel on these switches make it almost impossible to mis-click them since you'd know you were about to press the switch before it ever actuates. I have never misclicked a side button on this mouse. I did it ALL THE TIME with the the deathadder. Both the 4G and 3G versions. This is my only complaint with the mouse.Other information: The DPI steps on this mouse are 400/800/1600/3200 and for hardcore gaming, this is all that is needed. If you come from a mouse that allows you to change your dpi to more selections, it shouldn't take long to get used to unless you used a uselessly high DPI like 5000 or above, which no one needs even if you play on triple screens, or 4k monitors. You simply do not need that high of a DPI, and truth be told every sensor on the market performs BETTER at lower dpi settings because it won't have to rely on interpolation. Zowie is one of the only manufacturers on the market not involving itself in the "DPI RACE" that every other company out there hypes & markets on their mice. They give pro players what they ask for, and that is a simple plug & play mouse that doesn't rely on drivers, or shove software down your throat in order to use the mouse. You can change your polling rate and lift off distance, basic quality of life changes. Other than that, the mice is set up optimally for EVERYONE right out of the box, the only exception being your lift off distance settings, which for hard pad users you will have to change when plugging the mouse in by depressing and holding the specified button for the particular setting you want. This mouse just works. And it performs well beyond expectation.In summary: If you're a hardcore gamer, especially an FPS gamer looking for a no-nonsense mouse, if your main concern is EXCELLENT tracking, and having zero acceleration, prediction or angle snapping.. this is the mouse for you. If you want a LAN READY mouse that is plug & play with the essential dpi steps.. this is the mouse for you. Zowie hit it out of the park with this mouse. If you're a CS player, well.. HeatoN designed the EC shape, and zowie took that shape and put one of the best sensors available in it... and fixed the main issues such as the button click latency, and scroll wheel.I strongly believe this is one of the best competitive gaming mice on the market today.
