Epic Gear Meduza HDST Gaming Mouse & Hybrid Mousepad Review

[siopao1984]

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Epic Gear Meduza HDST Gaming Mouse & Hybrid Mousepad Review - eTeknix

Epic Gear are a relatively unheard of gaming peripherals company, partly because they are actually a branch of Golden Emperor International Limited (GEIL) who’s RAM most people have heard of. GEIL have also ventured into the PSU market with Thortech. Gaming peripherals are the latest venture that GEIL are experimenting with. So far they only have a few products on the market, but this could all change depending the successfulness of the current products. Having the right mouse is essential for every gamer. It can make all the difference, especially when playing competitively. Although what good is a decent gaming mouse if the surface that it is being used on is rubbish? That would be like having a ferrari but only having dirt tracks to drive it on. Having the best mouse pad is yet another variable that must be considered and can often be just as difficult as selecting the right mouse. Well it looks like GEIL have saved everyone that problem by releasing their first gaming mouse and matched mouse pad.The Meduza gaming mouse is the first mouse that we have seen that features both an optical and laser sensor. By using Epic Gear’s Hybrid Dual Sensor Technology (HDST), it is possible to use both sensors, combining the sensitivity of the laser, and the stability of optical. The Meduza also has the ability to use just one sensor, which can be controlled by a flick of a switch on the bottom of the mouse. Epic Gear have created a special mouse pad to fully benefit from the dual sensor technology, something we be reviewing alongside the mouse.SpecificationsThe follow specs are for the Meduza:

• 3 switchable sensing modes: Laser, Optical and HDST™ (Laser + Optical)
• Advanced algorithm logic technology to restrain common problems of jitter, skip and drift
• Sensitivity of up to 6000 dpi
• Optical mode: 400/800/1600/3200 dpi (4 level)
• HDST™ mode: 4 customizable DPI levels via GUI of up to 4800 dpi
• Laser Mode: 4 customizable dpi levels via GUI of up to 6000dpi
• Minimal lift-off distance of 1mm for extreme precision
• Tracking speed of up to 200 ips @ HDST™ mode
• Acceleration speed of up to 30 G @ HDST™ mode
• Longevity gaming keys of 10 million clicks
• USB 2.0 full speed: 1000Hz report rate
• 7 buttons, 6 fully programmable
• 5 gaming profiles with customizable LED color
• 15 sets of customizable long macro

• ARM 32-bit Cortex™-M3 CPU
• Onboard memory of 128KB· on-the-fly dpi change
• Independent X/Y axle change via GUI @ Laser Mode
• Supports driverless plug-and-play
• Angle snapping support @ Laser Mode
• Auto power saving mode on/off via GUI
• Ultra swift big-size teflon feet
• X-braided cable for durability
• Ferrite bead cable for anti-EMI capability
• 2 Meter USB cable
• Support Microsoft Windows® 7 / Vista / XP for both 32 & 64bit operating system (excluding Windows XP 64-bit)
• Comply with Laser Eye Safety IEC60825-1 Class 1 and FDA
• MSRP: USD79.99
• 2 year warranty

As you can see the Meduza has a wealth of features, so lets take a look.

[siopao1984]

The packaging for the Meduza is incredibly striking with its serpent like appearance. The mat black is highlighted by shimmering red outlines that are very eye-catching. The serpent’s mouth is the viewport through which you can see the Meduza is all it’s glory.



So here it is, the Meduza. Straight out of the box we can see it has a sleek and clean look to it, with no over the top designs or features. The mouse has a total of seven buttons plus the scroll wheel. These are left, middle and right, on-the-fly DPI adjustment button (top of the mouse in front of the scroll wheel), profile switcher at the top of the thumb rest, and the usual forward and backwards button also on the thumb rest. The buttons on the thumb rest are slightly counter-suck, which means they don’t protrude as much, thus not getting in the way when gaming.



The Meduza is designed with maximum comfortableness in mind, so they have factored in a ring-finger rest on top of an extended little finger rest along with a soft touch coating on the top and sides. This ergonomic design is ideal for those long gaming sessions.



From the front, you can see the ergonomic shape of the mouse. The ring finger rest isn’t always present on gaming mice, so this is a nice touch to see on a new mouse brand. You can also see part of the braided cable, this is black with specks of luminous red in. The cable is 2m long, ending with a gold plated USB connector.



The luminous red (pink?) underside of the Meduza is where the magic happens with this mouse. There is not just a laser sensor that is standard on most gaming mice, but also an optical! Epic Gear have cunningly integrated both sensors and included their Hybrid Dual Sensor Technology so that you have the option of using one sensor, or the other, or both. Other than the dual sensors, switch and the glide pads, the bottom is relatively plain, there is no weight management system or any buttons.



The back of the mouse features the Epic Gear logo and the name of the mouse. These light up when connected a PC like in the photo below:



The Meduza has a red glow by default, but this changes depending on the profile or any customisations.



The only accessory that comes with the Meduza is a setup disc, however, since the Meduza is new, it is recommended that you visit their website for the latest firmware or drivers.

[siopao1984]

The Hybrid Pad comes in a small rectangular package. The box is similar in design to the Meduza, but has a small cutout so you can feel the texture of the mouse pad.



The Hybrid pad comes in three sizes, small medium and large. What we have today is the small size which measures: 292 x 208 x 3 mm. The mouse pad is made of cloth with a textured weave that has been designed to provide maximum performance with the HDST.



The Hybrid pad comes in just 3mm thickness. The top is plain black and under that is a black foam layer with a non-slip bottom. Now that we’ve had a good look at both the Meduza and it’s accompanying Hybrid pad, lets put them to the test and see if they really are a perfect match.

[siopao1984]

As with all of our mice we get in to review, we put them through our standard battery of tests, which consist of various game genres, general use and how comfortable using the mouse is over prolonged use. We may sometimes find, that some flaws appear after many days of use, so we will update this review if anything crops up. First up are the different game genre tests. The main three genres we use are FPS, RTS and RPG as these tend to be the most popular categories, so first up is FPS:


First Person Shooters
The two FPS games that were used are Battlefield 3 – for the longer slower paced FPS and Counter Strike: Source, for the more fast paced, intense FPS. Whilst playing both of these games there was not a single flaw, the movement was incredibly smooth on the Hybrid pad and there was no jitter at all – something high DPI mice can produce on CS:S. The ability to change the DPI/profile on the fly was very useful in BF3, as it allowed us to flick between different DPIs for when flying a jet or helicopter.


Real Time Strategy
The Meduza was also faultless when it came to playing RTS games, the smooth movement meant accurate selection and scrolling was rapid due to the high DPI. We also tested out the different sensor options when playing. We found that the optical was very precise and smooth, yet a little too slow. The laser on the other hand, was very quick, yet not as smooth as the optical. The Meduza really shone when we used the HDST, where speed and accuracy were combined giving us flawless performance.


Role Playing Game
Whilst playing the RPG game however, it became know to us that the lack of extra buttons as seen on many of the other gaming mice, meant that the more popular actions that we used, could not all be assigned. Whilst this is not an issue at all with the two genres above, it is clear that the Meduza’s prime use is not for RPG. The movements still remained smooth and precise and was a pleasure to use throughout still.


General use
Using for general use was just as nice to use as it was gaming, particularly when editing images in Photoshop, as this is where the accuracy of the optical sensor really made a difference when making some fine adjustments. Probably one of the more noticeable points we picked up on straight away, was just how comfortable the Meduza is. Not only does the soft touch coating make it feel nice in the hand, but also the ergonomic shape and having that extra ring-finger rest meant there was no discomfort for the many hours we spent gaming. It is one of the most comfortable gaming mice we have had the chance to review, even more so than the RAT7 – which is a surprise in itself. It’s not just the shape and texture
that makes it nice to hold, the buttons are also very tactile and easy to press, yet they don’t protrude much, so don’t leave imprints in your skin.


Software
The software is very simple to use, although installing and running the software is a bit over the top with a fancy introduction animation. The software is divided into four sections; main, performance, macro and support. In the first three sections you can change the button assignments, sensitivity, performance and macros, for up to 5 profiles that are stored on the PC and not on the mouse.



We’ve seen how the Meduza looks, how it performs and how it feels, so now it’s time to put it all together for the conclusion.

[siopao1984]

After the many hours spent putting the Meduza and it’s accompanying Hybrid pad to the test, it is clear that this will make a decent impact on the gaming world. Epic Gear have done well to produce a gaming mouse that has function over form; it may look like a generic gaming mouse, but when you flip it over to see the dual sensors, you know you are in for something special. These sensors combined with the specially designed mouse pad, is the innovation needed to make a difference in the saturated gaming peripheral market.

It’s not often we get a mouse and mouse pad in that makes a very good impression on us, but with the Meduza we are particularly surprised – especially because this is Epic Gear’s first attempt at a gaming peripheral. The smoothness of the movement and just the sheer comfortableness makes it one of the better gaming mice we have had in. In fact, its not just the mouse that made an impression on us, the Hybrid pad has to be one of the best mouse pads we’ve had the pleasure of using – and not only with the Meduza, we tested several mice on it and all of them actually performed better than the other “top class” gaming mouse pads.

This doesn’t mean the Meduza is without its flaws though, as during it’s use it was discovered that the build quality wasn’t of the best. When pressing down the left or right mouse button with a fair bit of pressure meant the button got caught, so when released it was like it had double-clicked, although, this was only noticeable when really mashing the buttons during moments of gaming rage. The lack of additional buttons may be a problem for some when it comes to playing games, that rely having a wide range of commands literally at your fingertips, however since this is just the first of hopefully many gaming mice to come out of Epic Gear’s labs, we may be seeing something in the not to distant future that will be aimed at the RPG players.

Overall Epic Gear have produced a very decent gaming mouse and mouse pad that should not be over-looked when it comes to choosing the right gear for your gaming sessions. It’s performance is second to none, mainly down to the dual sensor technology, but the sheer comfortableness is what really stands out. It’s good to see such innovation in an already crowded market, so because of this, we are very pleased to give both the Meduza Gaming mouse and the Hybrid pad the:

[sercor::jhumzki]

naay para page up or page down?

[Fafnir]

It almost looks like the SteelSeries diablo3 mouse, without the dual sensor of course. but this looks promising.