One of the latest hardware devices coming out of Redmond is all about combining the latest cutting-edge technology with new features to improve your gaming experience. This device is just one of the new high-precision and laser mice Microsoft has released this year. Does this mouse live up to its promises? Read on to find out.

Setup & Installation 

Setup: The installation is quite simple. Just plug in the mouse to your USB port. To use the magnifier or to use the advanced functionality, you must install the Microsoft IntelliPoint software (see below).

Microsoft IntelliPoint Software

If you want to customize your mouse, you will have to install IntelliPoint 5.4 (about 60 MB), which requires a restart. To customize your mouse keys, select either "Mouse" for the Control Panel or "Microsoft Mouse" from the program menu. On the buttons tab you can click on the different buttons and reassign the keys to a variety of functions. In this software you can also change your pointers, other pointer options, view which hardware is connected, change scrolling options, and view wireless features. The software is easy to use and is required for advanced functionality of the mouse. One of the new features of IntelliPoint 5.4 is the magnifier button. This new magnifier allows you to bring an zoom box on the screen in all types of programs. One really cool thing about this feature is if, for example, you use it in Excel, Word, etc. you can edit within the zoom box. This feature is a much improved version of the accessibility magnifier feature within Windows.

One of the new IntelliPoint 5.4 features for this specific mouse is Precision Booster. Because of the new laser functionality, you can switch resolutions depending on different needs for the game. In other words, you can move the mouse between very fast speeds and more precise control. This is useful if you are switching between an action scene and target shooting, for example. By default, Precision Booster is set at 50% of the regular speed by default, but you can change this setting, as shown below (10-90%). You can switch between toggle and press and hold mode.

The next new feature is that of the gaming toggle. This feature allows you to quickly switch between weapons or program favorite game key sequences. To activate this feature, you have to press the button assigned to gaming toggle for one second to start record mode. While holding down the button, you then type up to 16 key presses to record the action. You can also record a 2nd action by repeating these steps. If you want to record more than two actions, you need to assign another button to gaming toggle. We were sadly surprised to find out after you restart, log off or shut down your computer your saved actions for this button would be lost. Maybe in the next version Microsoft can correct this issue.  We have tried these features in games in Windows and have noticed an improvement in precision, and ease-of-use.

Mouse Design

The Laser Mouse 6000 is about 4.5 inches long, 2.5 inches wide, 1.75 inches high and weighs just a few ounces. The mouse includes five buttons (two on top, the wheel and one on each side).  The side buttons (which are matte silver) is meant to be the gaming toggle or precision booster, but you can reassign that functionality if you wish. Of course, the mouse has the Tilt Wheel technology included, which allows you to scroll left and right as well as having the additional button. The top (one piece) is a dark metallic silver, with matching plastic grip material on the sides, and a plastic bottom. The side buttons are small and well integrated into the sleek design. The scroll wheel is the standard transparent white. Because the mouse is ambidextrous, both left and right handed users will be able to use it. The Microsoft Laser Technology Logo is on the bottom front. The cord is indeed thinner and more flexible. Because of the wire, you should expect even better responsiveness from the laser technology then the wireless mice with the same technology.

Microsoft Laser Technology

Microsoft has provided a well deserved update to an already great optical technology. This product includes the new Microsoft Laser Technology which aims to improve performance at much higher levels than the previous optical technology, including the High Definition Optical Technology on other Microsoft mice. The technology is 6000 frames per second (FPS) - an improvement over the 2500 FPS of most of the previous optical mice. Other technology improvements that have been made include 1000 dots per inch (DPI) resolution (responsiveness), 85 million operations per second (MOPS), .18 CMOS technology (preciseness) and the Microsoft Intelligent Tracking System (smoother tracking). Unlike the Microsoft High Definition Optical mice, the Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000 has a 600 nm laser providing optical input. Microsoft optical technologies have been well tested for many years now and work smoothly on most surfaces. It has been broken-in well with previous mice, so you know you won’t have any problem. 
 

Final Comments

The Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000 is a very good, responsive gaming mouse while still providing all the standard features (such as the Tilt Wheel) you have come to expect from Microsoft mice. The already great optical technology has been vastly improved to be more responsive, more precise, and much smoother with Microsoft's new Laser Technology. In addition, not only is the magnifier feature great for accessibility reasons, but also allows easy editing of small text, data, etc. One downside is the fact that you lose button memory upon restart. Note, the gaming features are available using IntelliPoint 5.4, so you can enable them on some of the other new mice. If you are a gamer and still need a top-notch mouse for everyday use, I recommend this mouse.