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kotau posted:I've gone through a lot of PC mics and they last about a year. I have a connectland mic I bought like 4 years ago that still works. I think it cost like next to nothing. Still works awesome, very sensitive and clear, has a super long cord, and the cord is covered with this threaded material that keeps it pretty safe from getting damaged. Edit: This isn't even a USB mic. It's one of those regular all purpose mics with the standard headphone plug. iceaim fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Dec 25, 2010 |
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Dec 25, 2010 21:38
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What are the pros and cons of upgrading my OS from XP to Windows 7? From my googling it appears that for modern games built with dx10/11 my performance should go up, while with dx9 it should be the same. Though it will restrict me from very old games. Just wanted to know how other people felt with XP vs Windows 7.
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Dec 26, 2010 03:03
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I might as well ask if anyone knows how to completely purge all ATI drivers from my system. Manually uninstalling doesn't do it, and driversweeper and CCleaner apparently miss things too. My problem is that whenever I run the ATI installer, it simply does not give me the option to select the driver to install, it just offers the freebies like the LOTR beta or browser toolbars. I've tried all sorts of combinations of uninstalling drivers, messing with my video card in device manager, safe mode, using external programs and manually deleting files, but have had absolutely no luck getting the installer to offer the option to actually install the goddamn drivers. Apparently, somewhere on my system is some trace of older drivers and the install manager thinks I either already have the latest drivers or that I don't have a compatible video card. I've tried the mobility drivers, non-mobility drivers, various hotfix drivers, all of various different versions, and have had pretty much no luck. Maybe the driver that installers like these use to determine system configuration got busted? Apparently that can happen, but I haven't been able to find out how to fix it. I can at least install the drivers through device manager, but I'm worried it might be missing things. Also, I can't install the catalyst control center to mess with my card's settings either. The only options left to me at this point are asking the internet or reformatting my computer. This is why I'm giving up on ATI cards, I never ran in to these problems when I used NVIDIA. This is actually the first machine I've used with an ATI card, too!
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Dec 26, 2010 03:08
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jvempire posted:What are the pros and cons of upgrading my OS from XP to Windows 7? From my googling it appears that for modern games built with dx10/11 my performance should go up, while with dx9 it should be the same. Though it will restrict me from very old games.
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Dec 26, 2010 03:13
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Coach Sport posted:http://www.omegadrivers.net/ try those maybe instead of the official drivers
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Dec 26, 2010 03:14
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Well for one XP is quite dandy as it is, and unless you have a pressing need to upgrade your OS, you'd be fine sticking with XP. But if this is a computer that can play DX10/11 games comfortably and you plan on upgrading & using this for a while, you may as well buy it now. But after using Windows 7 I can't go back to XP. 7 was actually slightly faster than XP on my old computer even with aero and all the eye-candy on.7 actually feels like a great upgrade and did all the right Vista was supposed to do...just without the wrong. Windows 7 also tends to detect and install basic drivers for unknown devices better and faster than XP did. Its alot more secure and UAC is actually modifiable. Im going to say this on a limb, but everything "just works" on Windows 7 more than it did on XP. This is pretty much the best OS ever now, and I swear by it.All in all, if you are still going to use that same computer down the line for a few years, and its fairly modern, i'd say upgrade. The Upgrade version of Windows 7 is 100$ for one computer, a pretty fair deal. Then again, if you really have no reason to upgrade and you want to conserve money, you should stay with XP. Fakedit: Also, upgrading from XP to 7 means your programs are going to be nuked by a clean install. Real 2nd Edit: As for cons, some *really old* and finicky programs may not work anymore. If you have some older program you are unsure about and absolutely need for work/school/entertainment, you should ask us. 3rd Edit: I suck at the English language. buglord fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Dec 26, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 03:16
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Hell, even on my EeePC 1000HA, Windows 7 boots and runs faster than XP, even with Aero on. 7 is just EXTREMELY solid.
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Dec 26, 2010 03:20
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Thanks for the help guys. Considering most of my games are on Steam, and pictures/documents are fairly small so they are easily backup-able, I shouldn't have a problem with a clean install.
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Dec 26, 2010 04:32
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Yes, Windows 7 x64 is FANTASTIC and will easily be around like XP is right now in 10 years. As has already been said, it's just really nice. Windows 7 also feels new, as in made recently, instead of 10 years ago like XP. I can't go back to XP either. As for graphics cards, I went from a 9800 Pro (ATI) to an 8800 GTS (NVIDIA) back to HD 6870 (ATI) and have never had issues with drivers at all, even a little bit. Guess I am just lucky?
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Dec 26, 2010 04:38
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Windows 7 is definitely better than XP. I play alot of older PC games due to my crappy laptop being the only computer I own at the moment, and every game I've thrown at it works pretty well. Some games may require some tweaking with the compatibility settings or the occasional patch/fix, but other than that it's gravy. If there's a game you really want to play but it refuses to work on 7, you could always do a dual boot. Hard-drives are big and cheap enough for that now. Heck, if I need to use XP I just swap the hard drive in my laptop, after shutting it down of course. I'm kinda curious about Windows 7's ram usage however. I have two gigs of ram on my laptop, and XP reports about 300MB used on idle. On 7, my ram used is around 800MB, almost half of my RAM! Is Windows 7 just being a memory hog, saving it until other programs need it, or is it just the fancy new GUI needing more RAM? My favorite feature of 7 has to be the automatic downloading of drivers whenever a new device was added. wafflemoose fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Dec 26, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 04:59
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Starhawk64 posted:My favorite feature of 7 has to be the automatic downloading of drivers whenever a new device was added. Well XP did that...but for the most part it was pretty awful and the device manager would pop up 5-6 times asking to download the same thing again.But yeah, thats one of my favorite features, because it does it fast and well.
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Dec 26, 2010 05:07
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Avocadoes posted:Well XP did that...but for the most part it was pretty awful and the device manager would pop up 5-6 times asking to download the same thing again.But yeah, thats one of my favorite features, because it does it fast and well. It did? Didn't work for me; I always had to manually download the drivers on XP to get sound, wireless, and a proper video resolution.
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Dec 26, 2010 05:11
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Starhawk64 posted:I'm kinda curious about Windows 7's ram usage however. I have two gigs of ram on my laptop, and XP reports about 300MB used on idle. On 7, my ram used is around 800MB, almost half of my RAM! Is Windows 7 just being a memory hog, saving it until other programs need it, or is it just the fancy new GUI needing more RAM? It's a bit of Aero being a bit more resource intensive, but for the most part is is saving it for programs. At least as far as I understand it.
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Dec 26, 2010 05:13
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So I gotta bunch of PC games with the online holiday sales and I was thinking of going shopping after the weekend ends for a cheap but decent gaming pad in the stores. Any suggestions for what brands I should keep an eye out for?
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Dec 26, 2010 05:17
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Just get a wired XBOX 360 controller. Another option is a bluetooth adaptor and a PS3 controller if you prefer that type.
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Dec 26, 2010 05:23
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SwissCM posted:Just get a wired XBOX 360 controller. Another option is a bluetooth adaptor and a PS3 controller if you prefer that type. Dont absolutely need the adapter. I use the USB cable and it works just fine. The 360 controller is the default for most people who dont have one though. All games for windows live games automatically support it and will automap the controls and put the icons in the game instead of generic button icons. Lot of non-GFWL games are doing this now too like Super Meat Boy.
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Dec 26, 2010 05:27
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Starhawk64 posted:I'm kinda curious about Windows 7's ram usage however. I have two gigs of ram on my laptop, and XP reports about 300MB used on idle. On 7, my ram used is around 800MB, almost half of my RAM! Is Windows 7 just being a memory hog, saving it until other programs need it, or is it just the fancy new GUI needing more RAM?
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Dec 26, 2010 05:28
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Srebrenica Surprise posted:Saving it until programs need it, but using it in the meantime to cache programs you frequently use. That way, programs launch faster as you're not hitting the hard disk but straight from RAM. This. I have a RAM monitor and I would feel compelled to go through the task manager and shut off everything non-essential whenever I wanted to play even the least-demanding games I own because I would see 40-50% of RAM in use at all times. It was totally not necessary. Will doing so give me 2-5FPS more in Crysis? Sure, but it's not a big deal for any other game. I wanted to chime in on Windows 7 for a moment. The rig I'm typing on now is my first personal Windows laptop ever. I was raised on Macs since the days of OS 7/8. I remember using Windows machines around that time and enviously eying the library of games (some that we played at SCHOOL of all places) until around the time OS X came along. No matter how you cut it, OS X was a pretty huge step up in presentation of the whole experience revolving around computers. At least now if I couldn't play the games I wanted on my computer, I could at least look drat good while I browsed the internet. As time went by Apple did a lot of really good (and bad) things with OS X, but no Windows release ever captured that flawless presentation that OS X did... Until Windows 7. It hands-down blows OS X out of the water for me. The UI is slick, the drivers automatically install more often than not, and poo poo just works. In my opinion (and it's certainly not an expert one) this is one of the best OS releases on any platform to date. If you're on the fence about upgrading: DO IT. Red Baron fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Dec 26, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 05:39
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The only thing fairly bad about the Xbox360 wired controller is the D-pad. It's in an odd place and it's not that great. For some games I'll still prefer my logitech dual shock/playstation ripoff to the xbox360 controller.
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Dec 26, 2010 05:55
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Athropos posted:Xbox360 wired controller is the D-pad. Yeah it bugs me alot. Ill have to swallow my PS3 and PC fanboyism, but despite that, the 360 controller is pretty much the best. And because its USB, its perfect for PC gaming and stuff. I hope these game controllers retain the USB standard from now on, it was a total win in 360's case.
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Dec 26, 2010 05:59
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Avocadoes posted:Yeah it bugs me alot. Ill have to swallow my PS3 and PC fanboyism, but despite that, the 360 controller is pretty much the best. And because its USB, its perfect for PC gaming and stuff. I hope these game controllers retain the USB standard from now on, it was a total win in 360's case. It's awesome because like it's been said, it automatically configures the buttons like they would be on the 360. But if I'm playing an old school emulator game or a dpad heavy game like Super Meatboy I'd rather use a playstation style controller.
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Dec 26, 2010 06:01
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Athropos posted:It's awesome because like it's been said, it automatically configures the buttons like they would be on the 360. Can you not get the "new" style XBOX controller (with the dual-mode d-pad?) in a wired format? I wouldn't be surprised, but I hadn't heard anything either way so far. E: looks like that's a negative. May have to look into a wireless adapter after all, since that d-pad sounds nice.
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Dec 26, 2010 06:03
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I want a nicer mousepad than those stock mousepads that every computer comes with. The only "serious" game I'm playing for the foreseeable future is starcraft2, I don't really play FPS games much anymore, so I'm not concerned about crazy poo poo like multiple surface types or those giant rear end mousepads for turning the sensitivity way down so you can snipe and still have space to turn around. I mostly just want one with a smooth, slick type surface, and more importantly, I don't want the mousepad to slowly slide around my desk like my current one does. That annoys the poo poo out of me. My local best buy has a dogshit selection of mousepads, and I don't really know of any other stores to check. Ideally I'd like to be able to at least feel it before I buy one, but I kinda don't think that will be possible. I took a look at steelseries' website and they have like 30 loving mousepads there  I don't think I'm asking for anything fancy here, anyone have any recommendations?Also, as far as keyboards go, I'm using a stock dell $10 keyboard, which I don't mind at all. However, is there anything I can do or buy to prevent it from slowly sliding around the desk as well? Or would I have to buy a different keyboard? I wouldn't mind doing that either really, but I imagine there's gotta be an inexpensive way to do what I want.
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Dec 26, 2010 06:05
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Athropos posted:It's awesome because like it's been said, it automatically configures the buttons like they would be on the 360. I use a DualShock 3 for my PC controller needs. The MotionInJoy drivers have evolved by leaps and bounds in the last two versions, including getting them certified so they're actually useful. Plus, they have a 360 controller emulator function, so I use my DS3 for everything. Well, my DS3 and the cheapest bluetooth adaptor you can find on DealExtreme.
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Dec 26, 2010 06:19
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bbcisdabomb posted:I use a DualShock 3 for my PC controller needs. The MotionInJoy drivers have evolved by leaps and bounds in the last two versions, including getting them certified so they're actually useful. Yeah my PS3 controller has suddenly become 10x more useful. It's pretty much the best PC gamepad at the moment, especially with the 360 controller emulation.
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Dec 26, 2010 06:25
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J posted:Mousepads Get a piece of paper and tape it down - seriously. It's small, doesn't get in the way, is slick, cheap, and replaceable. 'Generic' mousepads are terrible, they're sticky and they slide around a ton, you always have to shift them around. I haven't used one in probably 8 or 10 years.
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Dec 26, 2010 06:26
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Real men use the huge, hard mousepads with "Speed" and "control" sides. EDIT: And only ever use one side.
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Dec 26, 2010 06:49
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Okonner posted:Real men use the huge, hard mousepads with "Speed" and "control" sides. If you're talkinga bout the exatmat by razer, how the heck do I stop dirt from crusting onto the surface. I am a pretty clean goon but every once in a while theres like this deposit of what looks like dirt on the mat.
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Dec 26, 2010 06:51
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Probably dead skin and grease from your hand/wrist. (not kidding)
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Dec 26, 2010 06:54
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I use one of those mousepads you could put any image on for $2.99 with a coupon from Artsnow and have used it for like a year and it's really good, doesn't slide around, and has a nice surface, so I don't really get paying for fancy mousepads.
Srebrenica Surprise fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Dec 26, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 06:56
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I've recently come back to PC gaming, after about seven years away. Ironically though most of it is controller based stuff and (since I put a lot of money into new components) very graphically simple indie games (especially a certain long-running Japanese indie game series that I am not sure if I can mention openly here). Still, I am happy to be back on both sides of things when it comes to games.
Samurai Sanders fucked around with this message at 07:10 on Dec 26, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 06:58
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J posted:I want a nicer mousepad than those stock mousepads that every computer comes with. The only "serious" game I'm playing for the foreseeable future is starcraft2, I don't really play FPS games much anymore, so I'm not concerned about crazy poo poo like multiple surface types or those giant rear end mousepads for turning the sensitivity way down so you can snipe and still have space to turn around. I mostly just want one with a smooth, slick type surface, and more importantly, I don't want the mousepad to slowly slide around my desk like my current one does. That annoys the poo poo out of me.  Been using this for years. Func1030 COMPETITION MOUSING SURFACE  There's two sides, one that's rugged and one that's smooth. The smooth surface is wierd, after all these years it's now struggling to read my vertical movements towards the top so I'm now using the rugged side. It's also pretty good because it has a thing to roll the cord to prevent it from snagging(not pictured) and the bottom is soft rubber that encircles the actual pad so it doesn't move on the desk. But really, the quality of your mouse is more important than the quality of your mousepad. As for keyboards I'm using a Logitech G15 but it's not particulary stellar as far as keypress comfort goes, they're stiffer than my old Saitek Eclipse 2. The screen on it is really fun to monitor components usage and temperatures though, and you can change playlist songs on the fly with it. Athropos fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Dec 26, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 07:01
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Also I'm wanna plug for dungeon crawl stone soup as a suggested RPG, as its pretty much one of the most accessible and modern roguelikes out there. Plus we're mentioned in the official documentation as a go to source for info thanks to this here thread so what not too love?
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Dec 26, 2010 07:08
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Athropos posted:But really, the quality of your mouse is more important than the quality of your mousepad. Truth I swear I'm gonna stop posting in a second, but I just got my RAT 9 mouse in the mail yesterday after waiting since about August to get it. Briefly, it loving rocks. It's solid, adjustable in a retarded number of ways, and the software for it actually doesn't blow! (I'm looking at you, Logitech SetPoint gently caress YOU.) The mouse comes with three different palm rests, three different pinky "rests" (one of which is a ballin'-rear end wing which you all should use) and can be made very wide so people like me who want a loving mat to rest their hand on can be happy. However, the single best feature I've enjoyed so far is the "sniper" button. You can adjust the settings so when this button is pressed the DPI drops by a set percentage. This is perfect if, like me, you like to play at the most spastic levels of sensitivity and DPI most of the time, but still relish taking an enemy's head off with a well place sniper round. I honestly wish I could toggle my sensitivity on the fly in ALL games I play now. For anyone looking for a new mouse, I highly recommend either the RAT 9 or the RAT 7. The RAT 7 is the RAT 9 with a cord instead of two batteries and a wireless stand, if you're one of "those" people. I was previously using an MX Revolution, and this is a pretty solid upgrade in many ways. It does feel a little weird at first, so if you can see about touching one in person if you think you might not like it unless it's just right. VVVV It's actually smaller than my MX Revolution was if I compress it all the way. When you get it out of the box it's in a kind of middle-ground, but can be shrunk a little more. I have relatively small hands (for a male, 23) and it would just be a little too cramped all the way down. Red Baron fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Dec 26, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 07:10
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My hands are pretty small and I hated how the MX518 was so huge that my fingers barely got up to the 2/3 of the lenght if I wanted to lay down the bottom of my palm on the mat and use a palm grip. The Razer Deathadder was an improvement in every way in the ergonomics department for me, but it's not a very solid mouse. I expect it to start doing the single click/double click thing that all razer mice do with usury. I'll think about the RAT 7 if I ever upgrade, hopefully it's not too huge. Athropos fucked around with this message at 07:25 on Dec 26, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 07:16
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I have a simple wired laser mouse I stole from my university. The size is average, it's smooth, jet black with platinum mouse buttons. It's probably worth about 5 or 10 dollars but it's awesome.
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Dec 26, 2010 07:35
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 Click here for the full 800x449 image. A picture of my RAT 9 (more or less as big as it gets) next to my iPhone inside an Otterbox case. I've got the left wing pushed out as far as I can, and slid as far forward as it goes, the wing on the right side, and the highest palm rest on the next-to-last position. There is actually a "soft touch" rubber palm rest that I keep switching back and forth to, but it's about a quarter inch lower than what I have on there now.
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Dec 26, 2010 07:41
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Athropos posted:My hands are pretty small and I hated how the MX518 was so huge that my fingers barely got up to the 2/3 of the lenght if I wanted to lay down the bottom of my palm on the mat and use a palm grip. The Razer Deathadder was an improvement in every way in the ergonomics department for me, but it's not a very solid mouse. I expect it to start doing the single click/double click thing that all razer mice do with usury. Wow, your hands must be tiny. I have an MX518 and if I hold it under my palm, my fingers go past the end of the buttons.
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Dec 26, 2010 09:15
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Taffer posted:Wow, your hands must be tiny. I have an MX518 and if I hold it under my palm, my fingers go past the end of the buttons. Just checked and from the tip of my middle finger to the first wrinkle of my wrist, my right hand is 7 inches/18 centimeter long. So uh yeah, I dunno. I've always had short stubby goon fingers. Wish I had long piano player/pro gamer hands. 
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Dec 26, 2010 10:01
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Well I've been gaming since 3 and playing piano since 9, so maybe that influenced my hand growth?  I have huge monster hands.
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Dec 26, 2010 10:22
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