Product Review 2: Zalman ZM-300 Mouse

The Zalman ZM-300 is a gaming grade optical mouse. Hot on the heels of my last purchase (A4Tech Keyboard) comes this one. Since budget is extremely limited for me, I went ahead with these two purchases and also thought it would be a good idea to start reviewing products with these two.

Here are the specs of the ZM-300:

Type: USB Wired
Tracking: Optical
DPi Range: 625 to 2500
Buttons: 7
Price: ~US$ 14.99

LOOK:

I like the way this mouse looks! I can quite put my finger on it, but it is very reminiscent of something (maybe a car...) In any event I really like how it looks.

The shiny coating tends to lock in your finger prints so you may have to clean it after every play through to make sure it stays clean and .... well shiny.

Looks: 7/10

FEEL:

There are a 7 buttons in total on the mouse (including the scroll wheel.) There is a small red LED on the side which corresponds to the DPI settings. Unlit is 625 and fully lit is 2500.

The overall finish doesn't feel as cheap as it's price indicates though it is lighter than what I prefer. Also the mouse is small and you may have to adjust quite a bit to use it effectively.

The one problem I have in at least my mouse is that if you press both the Left and Right buttons and then let go of the Left one first, it kind of gets stuck. On closer inspection I have found the main reason for this:

The cut is not clean and they get stuck when pressed together

Feel: 6/10

BUTTON PLACEMENT:

The buttons are somewhat misplaced on this mouse. I prefer the DPI button to be below the wheel so it is not accidentally pressed however this is what will happen in the beginning and during intense gaming as well. Also the click of the DPI switch is somewhat lackluster. It doesn't press reliably every time. The Auto Fire is weirdly programmed. Playing Ghost Recon Online, you have the ability to set some guns to Auto Fire, Burst Fire or Semi Fire depending on your need. With the Auto Fire button enabled, it stops shooting after two shots when your gun is set to Auto Fire, has no impact on Burst and only fires two shots in Semi before you have to press the button again. Normally on Semi, the guns shoots at a steady one bullet at a time pace but with the Auto Fire button enabled, it fires two rapid shots and then just stops.

The Mouse Wheel is solid and the small rubber coating ensures that your finger won't slip during extended usage. The Wheel click is solid and easy. The side buttons also have a reliable and great click. I did not like the placement though as the pressing the front one is a bit of a stretch for your thumb and you will have to be really clawing your mouse to reach it all the time. It is fine for gaming but for daily use, I would prefer if the side buttons were placed a little better.

Button Placement: 6/10

LONG TERM USAGE:

The mouse is working great a month in to my buying it. Aside from the two buttons grinding each other, the mouse is working well. Only time will tell how well it stands up to rough usage. For now it is working great.

LTU: 6/10

CONCLUSION:

I am somewhat surprised at how well this mouse is holding up. It does not feel as cheap and is standing up to daily gaming without showing any wear and tear. The buttons need to be better placed and I would like it to be heavier then it is. Aside from this I would recommend that you give it a try.

Final Score: 25/40

Product Review 1: A4Tech G800V Keyboard

Hello all!

Today I will be doing my first product review.

The A4Tech (www.a4tech.com/) G800V Keyboard. It is a part of their X7 Gaming Devices line.

I recently purchased this keyboard from a sale at Newegg. It was delivered fast as always.

LOOK:

The G800V sports a black and grey paint job with a built in palm rest. It has 8 rubberized key caps (WASD, Arroy Keys.) There are a total of 15 Macro Keys and Media Control Keys as well.

It sports a Mode Key and a key to turn the Windows Key On and Off. However this part of the keyboard feels very cheap as it has a sticker with a very small "bump" of a key and spoils the overall aesthetics somewhat. Also the Right Shift key sits much lower than the rest of the keys and that looks somewhat odd as well.

Also, as seen in the picture, the G6 key sits somewhat higher than the rest of the keys. I do however like the fact that they haven't shortened the Backspace key. Interestingly there is no "G8" key. They skip over it from G7 to G9 and that is a little odd.

Looks: 6/10

FEEL:


I personally prefer a more "clickey" feel to keys whereas the G800V sports a very soft click. It is not a negative feature just more of a observation. If you like soft click you will enjoy it. The keys G1 through G4 actuate with much more force than the rest of the keyboard and I actually like it. The Rubber keys feel very good to touch and give a good grip.

Feel: 6/10

SOFTWARE:

The software is quite easy to understand and operate (though I haven't delved much in to Macro Settings.) and it also let's you download custom macros for some games (Most notably Counter Strike.)

Software: 7/10

LONG TERM USAGE:

This is where I feel I cannot give high scores to this keyboard. After about a month of using it, I have started noticing some small things.

Look at the 2 & 3 Keys

I press the 2 and 3 key with my middle finger and as you can see they have started slanting. They 2 Key is slanting more to the left while the 3 Key more to the right.

Similar deal with the Left Ctrl Key. I don't use it as much but it has started sitting askew as well. The F Key as well is now sitting at a lower place than the rest of the keys surrounding it.

It seems like the most often used keys are sitting lower as compared to other keys and this is somewhat disconcerting. I feel like this keyboard will not last as long as it should. Also for being a "Gaming" Keyboard it should outlast my budget keyboard which was basically a $4 keyboard and it is still serving me great after 4 years of heavy use.

Also when you tap the keyboard, some of the keys jiggle. All of this combined makes me feel like this keyboard will not last too long.

LTU: 4/10

CONCLUSION:

I had high hopes for this keyboard when I un-boxed it. However over time, I feel less and less pleased with my buy and were it not for the sale, I would not recommend anyone else buying it. The options are good, the software pretty easy to use however, I am less than pleased with the rest of the things. Specially the price point at which it is sitting (US$ 59.99 on NewEgg) it competing against Thermaltake, ROCCAT, SteelSeries and that is a challenge it is definitely losing.

Final Score: 23/40

A Long Hiatus

So,

This time it has been a very long break.

I do apologize for it however there have been so many things going on that I just could not find the time to sit and write.

But now I am back so look out for regular posts from now on.

What have I been up to?

1. Job challenges (finding a decent one is challenging) and in the short term I have been overworking to just survive and that did not leave me much time.

2. Some Computer Repairs. Which I will be talking about in future posts.

3. Snowstorms, Thunderstorms and a broken car which needs fixing. Needless to say this presented me with  self logistical issues. The Snow may be gone and the storm is over but my car still needs fixing and I am saving up money for that.

All of this leaves me with very little time and motivation.

However one by one these things are resolving so as I am moving forward, I am finding time to write again.

With that out of the way, onward to the continuation of this blog.