Benq Introduces Two Zowie Mice Models: EC1-B And EC2-B

[Raevenlord]

Benq Zowie have introduced two new mice to their lineup, in the form of the EC1-B And EC2-B. These are gaming-oriented mice, and the proximity in their naming nomenclature isn't by accident: the only thing these mice differ in is size. The EC2-B has a rated "M" size, whereas the EC1-B should be more adequate for users with somewhat bigger hands, as it's rated a size "L". The two mice feature the top of the line Pixart PMW3360A sensor, but lack any of the integrated software capabilities of other mice.

As a result, these mice are truly plug and play; but due to the lack of software, users can switch only between 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 DPI through the integrated button. Which is, strangely, located in the bottom of the mice (accompanied by the polling rate button - 125, 500 and 1000 Hz - and indicator LEDs), which will make it harder for users who want to be able to adjust DPI speed on the fly. There will also be a CS:GO branded version of these, which forego the black finish and Zowie logo on the base models for a silver-blue coloring, and a gold CS:GO counter-terrorist icon. Pricing is expected to be around the $90 mark.



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[Melvis]

Optical? Why are all these "gaming" mice gone with optical? laser all the way, its not 2004-5 anymore.

 

[Jermelescu]

Optical? Why are all these "gaming" mice gone with optical? laser all the way, its not 2004-5 anymore.

I've been using gaming mice for more than a decade now and let me tell you that there's no way in hell that laser mice were better 10 years ago or now for that matter. Try using them on different surfaces and you'll see that they glitch for no good reason.

 

[Melvis]

I've been using gaming mice for more than a decade now and let me tell you that there's no way in hell that laser mice were better 10 years ago or now for that matter. Try using them on different surfaces and you'll see that they glitch for no good reason.

Not a chance in hell, I've used laser mice for close to 12yrs now and they work on pretty much any surface, optical need a mouse pad, there terrible, they go all over the place. I'll never go back to optical, ever! My best laser mouse was from 2006! so much I bought two.

 

[P4-630]

Optical? Why are all these "gaming" mice gone with optical? laser all the way, its not 2004-5 anymore.

Right!!

I'm using laser mice since 2004 lol!!
My first one was a Logitech MX1000 :

Currently using a Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser and a Logitech Nano Laser.

 

[Jermelescu]

Not a chance in hell, I've used laser mice for close to 12yrs now and they work on pretty much any surface, optical need a mouse pad, there terrible, they go all over the place. I'll never go back to optical, ever! My best laser mouse was from 2006! so much I bought two.

Well, yes, I've always used a mousepad. I've had quite a few issues with laser mice on textile surfaces.

 

[johnnyfiive]

Not a chance in hell, I've used laser mice for close to 12yrs now and they work on pretty much any surface, optical need a mouse pad, there terrible, they go all over the place. I'll never go back to optical, ever! My best laser mouse was from 2006! so much I bought two.

You need to visit the mouse section on Overclock.net (http://www.overclock.net/f/375/mice), laser mice are absolutely terrible when it comes to serious gaming. The best one might be the steelseries sensei original, but that was usurped by many other optical sensors. Optical is the only way to go for good lift off, skip free flick movement and precise consistent tracking. Maybe a handful of professional gamers use(d) laser mice and it was due to their sponsors making them. 99% of professional and serious gamers will pick a good optical sensor over the "best" laser option 9 times out of 10.

The "1.1A" sensor in the Microsoft wheel mouse optical/intellimouse is still considered to be the best optical sensor ever made. I used a 1.1A WMO for many years (10 +) before I stopped playing competitive quake 3/quake live. Best sensor ever.

I'm excited Zowie is releasing a new mouse based on the EC2, the EC series had an awesome optical sensor.

 

[francisw19]

Optical? Why are all these "gaming" mice gone with optical? laser all the way, its not 2004-5 anymore.

The issue with laser mice is they suffer from acceleration which leads to inconsistent tracking...especially for those that play at a lower sensitivity, it becomes very noticeable. The 3360 is easily the best sensor on the market. It's a good move by Zowie and long over-due to be quite honest.

 

[AlB80]

Currently using a Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser and a Logitech Nano Laser.

Logitech replaces old laser models with new P/N that have only "laser-grade" optical sensor. i.e. M510. look at the bottom.

 

[hyp36rmax]

Optical? Why are all these "gaming" mice gone with optical? laser all the way, its not 2004-5 anymore.

Optical has 1:1 tracking that is preferred for fps gamers

Laser has a wider coverage of surfaces you can use it on though. to each their own

That $90 price!?! LOL LOL LOL LOL.....

Pretty sure this is just a placeholder price. I expect this no more than $75 with a premium over their 3310 versions. Honestly shouldn't make a difference for most people that don't have the 3310 mouse spin issue. This mouse should be at $69.99 along with the other competition of the Steelseries Rival 310, Logitech G403, and Razer Deathadder.

 

[AsRock]

The issue with laser mice is they suffer from acceleration which leads to inconsistent tracking...especially for those that play at a lower sensitivity, it becomes very noticeable. The 3360 is easily the best sensor on the market. It's a good move by Zowie and long over-due to be quite honest.

Never had a problem with my SS Sensei wireless or my Logitech G700s, and i use them for many types of games. And i all so use multiple speeds more so in games like Arma.

How ever optical does have one clear advantage and that would be battery life.

I stopped buying Razer mice after the 4th failed on me.

 

[Melvis]

So basically Optical is good for FPS gamers until you remove the mouse bad from them lol

Optical has come along way since I used them for "gaming" thats for sure if thats the case. I will be sticking with laser since I can use it on my chair, desk, leg, clothes, anything, without the worry about a mouse pad all the time and lets face it, we are not all pro gamers. Im a FPS shooter that doesnt lift my mouse off the desk or very little so the issue doesnt effect me much.

https://www.lifewire.com/whats-the-difference-between-optical-and-laser-mice-2640209

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Not a chance in hell, I've used laser mice for close to 12yrs now and they work on pretty much any surface, optical need a mouse pad, there terrible, they go all over the place. I'll never go back to optical, ever! My best laser mouse was from 2006! so much I bought two.

You clearly know very little about mice. Optical mice sensors don't have acceleration (some laser mice you can't even disable it. Not ideal for competitive games).

I had a corsair mouse with a laser sensor, and got rid of it extremely quick for an optical mouse. The amount of mouse acceleration that I could not disable in the mouse software was insane. Corsairs firmware utility slso didnt work to update firmware which was said to remove the acceleration. Either way, it was not ideal for competitive CSGO play.

I dont think you can get much better in terms of accuracy, precision, and latency than that of pixart optical sensors like the 3310/3360 and logitech/pixart 3366 sensor and steelseries truemove 3, which is a custom sensor based on the 3360, like logitechs 3366.

I dont really see how needing a mouse pad is a bad thing. Its extremely satisfying moving a mouse on a good mousepad. Extremely smooth and tracking performance comes down to the sensor at that point.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Not a chance in hell, I've used laser mice for close to 12yrs now and they work on pretty much any surface

That's not true, there are some woods and laminates that laser mice don't do well on. They still work, but not well. And that's not to mention glass, unless it's "frosted" good luck with that.

optical need a mouse pad, there terrible, they go all over the place.

That's not true either. I haven't used a mouse pad in 20 years. After optical came out, there was no need anymore. Laser mice have ultra-precision thing going for them, but at the price of not working well on as many surfaces. At low movement speeds, laser mice tend to jump around. Optical's don't. When you're doing photo editing or digital creation, that "jittering" can be a constant source of irritation and frustration. And with gaming, optical is more consistent. That's not to say Laser is a bad technology, just that it's become so refined that it has developed a problem with being too precise. 3000+dpi is just not a great thing unless you have a PERFECTLY flat surface to mouse on.

BTW, I like the look of this new mouse. Very smooth, clean look. Betting it's comfy to hold and use too.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

That's not true, there are some woods and laminates that laser mice don't do well on. They still work, but not well. And that's not to mention glass, unless it's "frosted" good luck with that.

That's not true either. I haven't used a mouse pad in 20 years. After optical came out, there was no need anymore. Laser mice have ultra-precision thing going for them, but at the price of not working well on as many surfaces. At low movement speeds, laser mice tend to jump around. Optical's don't. When you're doing photo editing or digital creation, that "jittering" can be a constant source of irritation and frustration. And with gaming, optical is more consistent. That's not to say Laser is a bad technology, just that it's become so refined that it has developed a problem with being too precise. 3000+dpi is just not a great thing unless you have a PERFECTLY flat surface to mouse on.

BTW, I like the look of this new mouse. Very smooth, clean look. Betting it's comfy to hold and use too.

If you ever used the palm Microsoft Intellimouse way back, its essentially the same feel.

 

[lexluthermiester]

If you ever used the palm Microsoft Intellimouse way back, its essentially the same feel.

Yeah, that's kinda what it reminds me of. I actually still have a few of those. Love them.

 

[Melvis]

You clearly know very little about mice. Optical mice sensors don't have acceleration (some laser mice you can't even disable it. Not ideal for competitive games).

I had a corsair mouse with a laser sensor, and got rid of it extremely quick for an optical mouse. The amount of mouse acceleration that I could not disable in the mouse software was insane. Corsairs firmware utility slso didnt work to update firmware which was said to remove the acceleration. Either way, it was not ideal for competitive CSGO play.

I dont think you can get much better in terms of accuracy, precision, and latency than that of pixart optical sensors like the 3310/3360 and logitech/pixart 3366 sensor and steelseries truemove 3, which is a custom sensor based on the 3360, like logitechs 3366.

I dont really see how needing a mouse pad is a bad thing. Its extremely satisfying moving a mouse on a good mousepad. Extremely smooth and tracking performance comes down to the sensor at that point.

Again, your only talking about gaming which pretty much means F all when it comes to real world use with mice, wow so about 0.01% of people say that a optical mouse is better then laser for one thing, gaming.....stupid!

Ive only dealt with mice since the Amiga ball mouse days so what? only 30yrs? and I have used more optical mice in my time then laser mouse thats for sure with working on thousands of business computers, home user computers and my own and I can tell you now from experience that when I changed over some of there mice because they complained how terrible optical mice are unless used on a mouse pad which in a business environment is not ideal in any means I havent had any complaints back, the opposite actually. I have slowly removed all the optical mice that I use and now have all laser, all 8 or so of them, the only optical mouse I use and along with my family is funny enough on a mouse pad, unlike any of the laser mouse.

So yeah great ok an optical mouse is great for that tiny pro gamer community, but in the real world yeah.......not so much.

So yeah clearly I have no idea about mice

That's not true, there are some woods and laminates that laser mice don't do well on. They still work, but not well. And that's not to mention glass, unless it's "frosted" good luck with that.

That's not true either. I haven't used a mouse pad in 20 years. After optical came out, there was no need anymore. Laser mice have ultra-precision thing going for them, but at the price of not working well on as many surfaces. At low movement speeds, laser mice tend to jump around. Optical's don't. When you're doing photo editing or digital creation, that "jittering" can be a constant source of irritation and frustration. And with gaming, optical is more consistent. That's not to say Laser is a bad technology, just that it's become so refined that it has developed a problem with being too precise. 3000+dpi is just not a great thing unless you have a PERFECTLY flat surface to mouse on.

BTW, I like the look of this new mouse. Very smooth, clean look. Betting it's comfy to hold and use too.

All my laser mice I have here are ether on wood or a laminate table of some kind soooooo yeah nah?. The optical mice I did use did work fine on my one work table without a mouse pad, but hopeless on the rest, got annoying moving a damn mouse pad around all the time, replaced with laser, problem fixed.

I find that VERY hard to believe honestly, ether your table that you have used and only used in the past 20yrs is made of the same wood as my work desk or what mouse pads are made of, otherwise I call BS, with the experience of mice ive had over the past 30yrs. Everything you have stated in your post is the complete opposite that I have seen and this is from hundreds of different tables and surfaces to thousands of different mice, so much so I have even implemented the laser mice into business and home users with great success all saying how much better they are for every day use, yes not just gaming which everyone seems to think thats all people do these days

Basically im saying that OVERALL a laser mouse will do alot better job then an optical mouse and are alot more flexible for people doing day to day things and at a price that is as good if not cheaper then some optical mice. Three of my laser mice I own cost me under $20 AUS brand new! My main gaming mouse was $25 and its great.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Again, your only talking about gaming which pretty much means F all when it comes to real world use with mice, wow so about 0.01% of people say that a optical mouse is better then laser for one thing, gaming.....stupid!

Ive only dealt with mice since the Amiga ball mouse days so what? only 30yrs? and I have used more optical mice in my time then laser mouse thats for sure with working on thousands of business computers, home user computers and my own and I can tell you now from experience that when I changed over some of there mice because they complained how terrible optical mice are unless used on a mouse pad which in a business environment is not ideal in any means I havent had any complaints back, the opposite actually. I have slowly removed all the optical mice that I use and now have all laser, all 8 or so of them, the only optical mouse I use and along with my family is funny enough on a mouse pad, unlike any of the laser mouse.

So yeah great ok an optical mouse is great for that tiny pro gamer community, but in the real world yeah.......not so much.

So yeah clearly I have no idea about mice



All my laser mice I have here are ether on wood or a laminate table of some kind soooooo yeah nah?. The optical mice I did use did work fine on my one work table without a mouse pad, but hopeless on the rest, got annoying moving a damn mouse pad around all the time, replaced with laser, problem fixed.

I find that VERY hard to believe honestly, ether your table that you have used and only used in the past 20yrs is made of the same wood as my work desk or what mouse pads are made of, otherwise I call BS, with the experience of mice ive had over the past 30yrs. Everything you have stated in your post is the complete opposite that I have seen and this is from hundreds of different tables and surfaces to thousands of different mice, so much so I have even implemented the laser mice into business and home users with great success all saying how much better they are for every day use, yes not just gaming which everyone seems to think thats all people do these days

Basically im saying that OVERALL a laser mouse will do alot better job then an optical mouse and are alot more flexible for people doing day to day things and at a price that is as good if not cheaper then some optical mice. Three of my laser mice I own cost me under $20 AUS brand new! My main gaming mouse was $25 and its great.

Well news flash, people who are interested in these Zowie mice are interested in them purely for gaming and competitive gaming uses. Its kind of what they mostly marketted towards. Not to mention Zowie sponsers multiple eSports teams.

Until you have used one of these mice with a 3310 or 3360 sensor in it, I wouldnt try and tell people that optical mice suck. So far from the truth.

 

[Frick]

Basically im saying that OVERALL a laser mouse will do alot better job then an optical mouse and are alot more flexible for people doing day to day things and at a price that is as good if not cheaper then some optical mice. Three of my laser mice I own cost me under $20 AUS brand new! My main gaming mouse was $25 and its great.

If you base how good a mouse is on what kind of surfaces they work on, sure you have a point. This is probably the third time in my life I have encountered that definition though, so I'll say you're the odd one.

EDIT: And yes, I am well aware of how most people define it as "does it work" because they don't see the difference between a wireless Logitech tiny mouse and a glorious old huge Logitech trackball mouse but well people what can you do?

 

[erocker]

Not a chance in hell, I've used laser mice for close to 12yrs now and they work on pretty much any surface, optical need a mouse pad, there terrible, they go all over the place. I'll never go back to optical, ever! My best laser mouse was from 2006! so much I bought two.

So have I. I'm currently using a EC1-A optical mouse and it's pretty darn good. No liftoff movement, no weird issues or anything like that.