Here is something we at Tom’s Hardware would like to see more often. Two giants, Logitech and Microsoft, are head to head in the very specific area of high performance mice for gamers. We thought we had seen everything in this market where the firms’ engineers’ imaginations usually run wild. We have to concede, though, that the models we tested have pushed the envelope and have left their predecessors in the dust.

In the Blue Corner the Logitech G9 Laser Mouse. And in the Red Corner the Microsoft Side Winder Mouse. They may have similarities in design and purpose but these are two are truly evenly matched rivals, between whom you and I will have to choose. Time to face them off- With it’s spaceship like looks, the Side Winder Mouse breaks Microsoft’s tradition with its other products. It’s a very impressive mouse which clearly shows that it’s geared towards gamers specifically. It also comes equipped with a classic 2000dpi laser sensor. We have seen this kind of technology already in many high performance mice in the past. What else has it got?

Microsoft has equipped its mouse with an on-demand sensitivity control with 3 buttons dedicated to the functioning of the scroll wheel. This is just in case some gamers would be turned off by the lack of sensitivity in their mice.

Each of the 3 buttons is assigned a given setting for sensibility, between 400 and 2000 dpi with variable levels of between 200 and 400 dpi. This setting is recorded both in the mouse’s drivers and in the mouse itself. What this means is that the mouse keeps its settings as you travel from one computer to another. This feature means that you won’t have to install the drivers every single time. Pretty thoughtful on Microsofts part, don’t you think?