Testing & Performance

S-500 Gaming Headphones

Being the audio geek that I am, the first item I pulled out for testing was the S-500 Gaming headphones. I used them for all my computer audio for about a week, and passed them around to my circle of friends to get some other folks impressions. First off, the product documentation on Everglide’s website claims “complete noise isolation without compromising on audio quality”. Well, not really.  As Miguel pointed out in his review of the Razer audio gear recently, unless they are in-ear they have a hard time blocking all the sound. The S-500 will certainly kill off light ambient noise, but a conversation with someone standing right next to you is perfectly possible.

Regular Music and Movie listening revealed that the S-500 does not have a particularly good bass response, but can handle a high volume. I was able to turn my volume up to the point it was almost painful without serious distortion…and you can even take the headphones off and set them on your desk and hear the music just fine. Fortunately, the area where this headphone really shines is in video games. If you want to test positioning audio, the best way to do it is on a 1-on-1 Deathmatch. I played a number of rounds of Unreal Tournament 2004 doing this, and the S-500 showed me it was up to the task.

As mentioned before, the clip on microphone is serviceable, but not my particular favorite. There is also no attempt at cable management…I would have preferred to see something like the setup on the Icemat Siberia. The foam cover is easily removable.

G-1000 Gaming Mouse

Why they called this mouse the G-1000 and not the G-1600 is quite beyond me…they’re going to confuse some customers who don’t look at the specifications as carefully as they should. This mouse is not really the highest performing mouse on the market, but seems to be competing with the MMORPG middle ground. In this case, the primary competition is most likely the Razor Krait which also has 1600 dpi sensitivity. If you’re not into the level of flash that Razer generally brings to the table, the understated Silver and Black G-1000 will be much more appealing. With virtually identical specifications, the real distinguishing thing between these two is the shape and feel. The Krait was built for the most part as a retooled Razer Viper, to overcome the skipping issue the Viper had and to bring it up to speed, so to speak, with the current technology. I’ve only played around with a Krait once, but aside from the more pronounced grips on the side it feels almost like a Viper, which I do own. The G-1000 isn’t a badly shaped mouse, but it’s not going to make left handers as happy as a Krait would. Unlike the Razer design, the side buttons are actually well designed and easy to get to with minimal fumbling. The two main buttons require a firm press to articulate…very different from the hair-trigger on the Razer designs.

Everglide Titan Gaming Pad

**click to enlarge**

As I said previously in the article, one of my favorite pads is the Ripper XL. It’s smooth, big, and offers excellent tracking. After two weeks with the Titan, I can say that the Titan is easily on par with the Ripper. The differences are basically esoteric, and it will come down to your personal preference. Visually, the Ripper XL is a little flashier in the base model because of the large graphic running down the side, but the Titan can be purchased in either the DKT or Fnatic color schemes. You can check them out on Everglide’s website…the Fnatic one is pretty cool. The Ripper XL is thinner, and has a more silken texture to its surface, whereas the Titan is thicker and has a more textured feel, but it doesn’t seem to slow the play action at all. Whichever of these is more important to you, go with it. You really can’t go wrong with either of these pads…they are both excellent.

Everglide MouseGlidez

As was mentioned before, the MouseGlidez come pre-cut for seven different mice, this set being designed for the Razer Diamondback/Copperhead. Although they only give you one alcohol pad to clean the old pads with, they do supply five complete sets of feet. Since I’ve got a whole pile of Razer mice floating around, I immediately outfitted my Razer Diamondback Plasma with the Mouseglidez, and used a stock Diamondback and Copperhead as controls. Now, I will not say it’s a night and day difference, because as we’ve said before most modern gaming mice already have Teflon feet. But there was an ever-so-slight improvement with the Diamondback Plasma. I’m not really impressed with it enough to recommend buying these, however. Save up your money and get the S-500 or Titan instead.

Next: Conclusions