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The
Holiday shopping spree has begun and the super store parking lots are
packed with shoppers suffering from target-fixation carrying razor sharp
credit cards. While you may not be able to totally avoid the madness,
there are a lot of online stores that let you check off some Christmas
wish lists in the comfort of your own chair.
Gamerzstuff
wants to help you by putting some of their gear up for sale a little
early.
Right now, the
Xtreme MouseMat and the Xtreme MouseMat Ultra-Thin can both be had for
under $5.00 each! No, the Logitech MX·1000 mouse will not be included
with any mouse pad purchase. The MouseMat's size is closer to what a
typical mouse pad would be, about 8 inches high and 11 inches
wide.
The
Xtreme GamingMat also comes in a regular and Ultra-Thin model. It
is considerably larger than the MouseMat and sizes in at 11 inches
high by 16 inches wide. The XtremeGaming mats also carry a
steeper price tag with the Xtreme GamingMat (regular) going for
$12.95 and the Ultra-Thin presently on sale for $6.95.
The
UltraThin model carries more of a fundamental difference between the two
pads. Not just because it's thinner, but how it's thinner. The
regular pad (above image - right) uses the traditional rubber mat as a
backing which has a rather course surface. This acts as both a cushion
and a means to stop the mouse pad from slipping on almost any desktop
surface. The back of the Ultra-Thin pads have no rubber matting and are
almost as slick as some desktop surfaces themselves. This greatly
narrows the mouse pads practicality as far as what type of desktop
surface you can expect the pad to grip onto, without using something
like double-sided tape to anchor the pad in place. Any type of waxed
like desktop such as a synthetic wood-grain or Formica would probably be
best suited for the regular mouse pad. Natural and unfinished
table/desktops work very well with the Ultra-Thin models.
The
surface of the pad itself is exactly like what we've seen in previous
Xtreme mouse pad models before. It is a very granular texture fabricated
from a semi-hard yet flexible vinyl. The color scheme of the Xtreme
lends itself to optical mouse sensors while the texture of the pad aids
in ball-mouse maneuvering. The pads were tested with four different mice
and all but one performed with the expected agility. The Logitech
MX·1000 with its new laser optical pick-up could probably track in pure
motor-oil. Naturally, there were NO problems encountered on this mouse
pad. The Logitech MX·700 also had no problems tracking the surface of
this mouse pad. A Microsoft Explorer ball mouse was used just for
the sake of argument and of course no problems were noted. The problems
did start when an early generation Microsoft Expolrer Intelli-mouse
optical was used. Areas of the pad that are lighter in color, almost to
a white, caused slight skipping and random tracking of the cursor in
relation to mouse movement. Its doubtful that any true gamer still has a
mouse this old hooked to his/her computer, but some folks slow to get
out of yester-years peripherals may encounter this phenomenon if they
elect to use this pad.
Overall, the Xtreme series of mouse pads from Gamerzstuff continues to
impress me. The pads are very durable and can be cleaned with a mild
detergent should any drink related accidents happen during gaming
festivities over the holiday season. These pads have never been more
affordable and at this price there really is no excuse for not owning
one.
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