Overclocker Cafe - Thermaltake Gamma Pad Review

Thermaltake Gamma Pad

Manufacturer: Thermaltake Technology
Supplied by: Thermaltake Technology
Street Price: TBA

by Dean Barker (7/03/2004)

Introduction

Whoever thought that the spectrum of mouse pads would turn into a battle of specialized and sought after gaming surfaces? The first foray into this arena was by Kyle Bennett with his Ratpad. Since then, hard surface mouse pads have been put out by most manufacturers. Thermaltake is the latest to throw their hat in the ring with the Gamma Pad. On first inspection, I thought this was another hard surface mouse pad with some LEDs. Not in the least. Read on to see what I'm talking about. The white papers start us out.

Specifications

Dimensions: 288 x 228mm
Weight: 450mg
Construction: Acrylic base with upper PVC surface
Lighting: 12 LEDs
Power: USB 2.0
Line length: 1.8 meters

The pad itself is a tad smaller than the other gaming mouse surfaces on the market with 235 x 185mm of usable area for your mouse. I say usable as the clear outer ring is beveled and makes the Gamma Pad seem larger than it practically is. While it is a bit smaller, it still gives you enough room to get your frag on. The second pic below is the Gamma Pad laying on top of a Ratpad GS to give you some perspective of size.

A clear acrylic ring measuring 15mm wide circles the pad. This gives the Gamma Pad a clean look and is a comfortable transition for your wrist when in use. The acrylic ring has small bubbles throughout that bring out the Gamma Pad's lighting that we will show you in just a minute.

If you look closely, you can see that the surface is not smooth. For balled mice users, you want good contact between the ball and the pad for traction. That's where the texture comes in. The texture on the Gamma Pad is much finer than other pads I've seen. The Gamma Pad's surface feels almost smooth to the touch. Optical mice don't need grip but they do need to glide across a pad. The tighter texture seemed to do just that for both optical and balled mice. You can see the difference in texture in the pic on the right. The Gamma Pad is laying on top of a Ratpad GS.