Overclocker Cafe - Icemat Mousing Surface

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Icemat Mousing Surface

Manufacturer: Soft Trading
Supplied by: Soft Trading
Price: $28.83

by Jason Lanstra (4/28/2001)

I know everyone and their brother has done a review of the ICEMAT by now so consider me someone's cousin. I have never understood why everyone goes gaga over all of these "gaming surfaces". I have used a regular old rubber base fabric top mouse pad for the past 11 years with no problems at all. I never had a real problem with going off of the side. Or have I had a problem with them moving around on my desk. The only reason that would make me go from one mouse pad to another would be if I spilled my coffee on it or the fabric started to come off. I am not a really big game player and the games I do play (racing games) don't use a mouse any more than regular day to day use anyway. So I never really understood the benefits of an Everglide, Ratpad, or ICEMAT. Yeah yeah smoother surface, bigger area, I understand all of that, but why do you really need it? I will never understand it; I don't play Quake, or any other game that would really necessitate me using my mouse for intense tasks other than clicking on a link or scrolling up and down. When I first saw the ICEMAT my reasoning changed. I loved the looks of this thing and had to have one. It looks MUCH better than my old Dell mouse pad.

The only reason yours truly is reviewing this puppy is because I have never graduated from an old ball mouse. I am still using my trusty old Microsoft Wheel mouse. The ICEMAT being see-through glass won't work worth a darn with an optical mouse. So Dean calls me up and tells me that he is bringing me that mouse pad I have been drooling over to review.

A few things I like about the ICEMAT over my fabric mouse pads is that it does feel different to roll the mouse over it. Not really awesome or terrible, just different. The size is bigger than the fabric pads I have used in the past. And I differ on the whole "bigger is better" rationale that I have read in ALL of the other gaming surface reviews (even ours). Me personally I don't want to have a huge mouse pad taking up valuable real estate on my desktop. I have explained earlier that there is no need for my mouse pad to literally be as big as my monitor. I can adjust the "pointer speed" if I am running out of mouse pad space if need be. And the ICEMAT is as big as I would ever want. As it is I had to make room for it over my old pad.

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