How can I find an alternative to Microsoft IntelliMouse?

November 16, 2011 11:31 PM

Is there an acceptable alternative to the Microsoft Intellimouse?

My optical mouse is finally starting to show signs of the wear and tear on it, to the point that I have to slap it around a bit to get it working sometimes. I was going to buy another but they seem to have gone severely up in price (if you follow the links you will see the real price).

This is my second intellimouse optical in ten years, with severe abuse (dropped on floor, etc). I would love to find something similar because these seem to constantly rise in price.

I use a "claw" grip and do a lot of gaming. I've used gaming mice but they don't work well with my large hands and my grip works so well with the intellimouse.

The mouse I want would have large buttons on each side (basically the front/back buttons for webpages or alternate buttons for gaming), left and right click buttons and a clickable scroll wheel. I absolutely hate the tiny left hand side 4th and 5th buttons on many modern mice.

Is there any other mouse out there for me or should I just go with my gut and buy the intellimouse in bulk now?

tl;dr - i want
a large mouse
optical or better, no wheels or trackballs please
side buttons on both sides (large)
suitable for Clawgrip

posted by Elminster of Labor to computers & internet (10 answers total)

The Humanscale Switch Mouse is the largest mouse I've ever seen. It's optical and has side buttons. I'm not sure if it's suitable for your grip.
posted by grouse at 11:49 PM on November 16, 2011

Dunno about size, but mx518? I've had mine for about six years now and love it. I do sometimes wish for a G9, but I think those might be even smaller.
posted by oceanjesse at 12:29 AM on November 17, 2011

It's a gaming mouse, but try a Sharkoon FireGlider.
posted by devnull at 12:39 AM on November 17, 2011

2nding the Logitech MX518. I have its older brother, the MX510 and love it for its size and comfortable grip. Its side buttons are large enough to press comfortably, and its grip, being moulded specially for right-handers, fits very well.
posted by titantoppler at 1:43 AM on November 17, 2011

I made the change from an Intellimouse Explorer to a Razer DeathAdder. Once you get over the name it's actually a very nice piece of hardware; large buttons, clear clicks, even the wheel mechanism seems solid. It only has thumb buttons on side, though, but it's large enough that it would make buttons on both sides uncomfortable.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 2:18 AM on November 17, 2011

MX518 is a great mouse. G500 is another good one. It does have side buttons, though.

By the way, you only want a laser mouse. The difference between laser and optical in reliable precision is, to me, bigger than the difference between trackball and optical.
posted by michaelh at 4:27 AM on November 17, 2011

It looks like the intellimouse has been discontinued to be replaced with the touch mouse (Windows 7 only.) If you know the intellimouse works well for you it's not a bad idea to grab at least one spare while researching alternatives - EBAY is a good place to find end-of-line items at a discount.
posted by Lanark at 6:22 AM on November 17, 2011

I also love the MX518, but in only has side buttons on one side. The Logitech G300 might be good, though I've never used it.
posted by Jacob G at 6:59 AM on November 17, 2011

I've got a Gigabyte Ghost M8000Xtreme (Hey, don't look at me, I didn't come up with the name). It's big-ish and satisfies all your criteria. I love it to pieces.
posted by wrok at 12:39 PM on November 17, 2011

Thanks so much for the responses guys. That switch mouse is really interesting but the thing is HUGE! I have large hands but that is a bit much.

Interesting info about the touch mouse - love the look but functionally not so sure about it.

Out of all of these suggestions I would most likely go with the Ghost. It looks like smaller side buttons are the direction everyone is taking these days, guess I'll have to get used to it eventually. Thanks for the Ebay suggestion, after looking at these I think I will be sticking with the Intellimouse for a bit longer even if I do have to pay nearly as much for it as a laser gaming mouse.
posted by Elminster of Labor at 11:35 PM on November 17, 2011