I just got a Zowie EC1 for Christmas and I love it. I find the shape similar to the DA, but just a tad smaller. I personally like the ec1 more than my DA. The feet are much bigger, has a good lift off distance, and fits my hand much better. Not having to deal with drivers is a huge plus for me. The only thing I hate on it is the scroll wheel. So if you use your mouse wheel for anything in game I suggest not getting it. Not sure if this is any help, but there you go.

If you dig the xornet/spawn shape, get a cheapo grey mousepad to use w/ the xornet. The tracking issues it has go away with grey (and certain white) pads, probably won't feel as good as a nice one but it may be worth it to you.

http://www.amazon.com/HandStands-Extra-Large-Super-Mouse/dp/B000TD0QU2

im in love with the xornet shape too, but i haaate the rubber texture on the sides

also a lot of people were pushing this grey pad on the ESR thread for the xornet a while back, but I haven't personally tried it since i can't stand that rubber. For $10, prob worth it to find out if it works =P

It got the same guts as the Zowie AM which is flawless. I see no reason not to get it.

I've used the ec1 for liek 3 years and I fucking loved it. The laser was phenomenal. Mine has died. (playing med/demo and a lot poe recently doesn't do well for a mouse). I bought an AM and in my humble it is better, however I don't think it would be a natural switch from the DA

if your DA is randomly losing signal and regaining it you should take the wire from the abyssus and put it into your DA there should be a guide for it on esr. you just need to swap one of the leads on the abyssus wire.

My DA has just started randomly skipping a bunch until I reboot. This will be after playing almost any game and then trying to play another one. It's only started recently.

I just recently purchased a zowie AM to replace a deathadder, to me, (and this is just my opinion) zowie make some of the best mice out there, I previously owned an EC1 which was also a fantastic mouse, but using my EC1 or AM then switching to the deathadder *I* noticed exactly how much better the zowie mice felt in my hand and just overall tracked better, I also have an old basic microsoft mouse that feels good in my hand and tracks better than the deathadder. Maybe this is just me though, but it seems to me that the deathadder's sensor is just poo poo.

if u have the budget, buy the ec1.

call razer. they will prolly send you a new DA without a problem. I called them once when i first got my deathadder just to let them know that the braided cable frays really easy on the corner of a desk, and they sent me a brand new one and told me to keep the old one. They are actually really good about helping their customers. cant hurt to try.

looked at that link and saw this picture in its gallery.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51V%2BcoDP28L.jpg

hardcore gamers right there.

why not try a deathadder? it's a pretty good mouse for me in my opinion and it's big enough for my hands

I switched to the EC1 Evo about a month or two ago after having used an IE3.0 for a year and a DA 3.5g for a couple weeks in between. The shape is close-ish to a DA or IE 3.0 but feels a little bit smaller in all dimensions except vertically. Sensor has been good and I really like the way the Zowie mice let you set your DPI and polling rate directly on the mouse without installing anything.

One thing I hated about the DA was how hard it was to clean. The rubber coating on the top feels nice when the mouse is new but gets kinda grimy over time. So when I bought the EC1 I got the white version because it has a glossy finish with no rubber coating so it's really easy to just wipe any dirt off it. If that property of the DA has been annoying to you too, I definitely recommend you get the white version of the EC1 (pretty sure they make a white AM and EC2 as well).

I picked up the EC1 evo today and the mouse is almost identical to the DA only it's not as thin in the middle where the pinky and thumb grip the mouse on each side. That makes this an even better fit than the DA. I will report back after a couple weeks of testing. I'm pretty pumped about the form of this mouse, even the side buttons are better placed more out of the way so less accidental clicks.

I switched for the white version because the black couldn't stay in my hand. Loving this mouse so far.

Oh shit is that Midnight Club on the desk??

Instead of buying multiple cheap mice invest in a Deathadder and join the master race.

been using a DA for 5 years and trying to find a better fitting mouse with a good sensor ever since. The spawn was the winner but is only usable in win95, so the sensor in the AM/ec-evo's is the next best thing in a great shell.

after 2 weeks I must say this is the best mouse I've used to date. I settled on the White EC1-evo. The EC1 is a little wider than the Deathadder but otherwise identical and the EC2 is a little thinner and not as long. The white version is glossy like the sides of the DA but it's not as slippery after a few weeks. The black version is like a felt like the back of the DA and I found this impossible to keep a grip on. The thumb buttons are better situated than the DA so I don't always hit it when I'm scouting.

The sensor seems just as good as the DA yet the lift off is much better. It also doesn't randomly change

Would buy again!

Kuza how would you say you use the ec1 evo? Do you do a palm or claw grip with it? I want to claw but is it too long?

It's pretty much the exact shape and size of the Death Adder only a tiny bit wider in the middle where you hold your pinky and thumb, which I really like. But it's still just as long.

The EC2 evo is much smaller and might fit the claw grip style more.

zowie am/fk for claw
zowie ec1/2 evo for palm

all have flawless sensors.

zowie

no

The original ec1/2 had I think

Bought an EC1 eVo the other week, fawkin' love it.

If anyone stumbles upon this thread in the future and is wondering if this mouse is worth it, here is my little write up on it:

Pros:
- Flawless sensor
- Really nice rubber texture that doesn't make my hand sweat like the rubber on my Mamba.
- Very lightweight, which is great for low-sens and FPS gaming (I'm sure this is great for all games really)
- Cable is really lightweight as well, since getting the mouse I am pleasantly surprised that it is not a braided cable (which adds weight/stiffness)
- Huge mousefeet, they glide really well on both my glass mousepad (Icemat) and my cloth mousepad (Qck+)
- No annoying drivers
- Great for palm gripping.
- "Notchy"/Heavy Scroll wheel - great for FPS games where you intend to only scroll the wheel a specific number of 'steps'.
- Comes with a spare pair of mouse feet.

Cons:
- "Notchy"/Heavy Scroll wheel - not so great for using internet browsers or games where you want to scroll in and out really quickly.
- Can't turn off the LED that illuminates the mousewheel.

$60 well spent. As you can see there are basically no real cons to this mouse...unless you find Huano switches to be too stiff, but coming from Omrons, it ain't that big of a deal to me.

Because I am not much of a tech guy, especially for mice, would you guys recommend staying away from wireless mouses as far as TF2 goes? Sorry my post doesn't really have to do with your mouse dilemma.

Well, there is only one wireless mouse that is worth buying - if you absolutely have to buy a wireless mouse, which is the Razer Mamba. Loads of people parrot the idea that all wireless mice are laggy, this is true about most mice but the Mamba is just as fast wireless as it is wired. I've owned a Mamba for years and it has served me well, but they are expensive, $100 expensive. The downside for the Mamba is if you are a low-sens player, the mouse is too heavy for low-sens, but it served me well when I played high-sens (4in/360).

TL;DR: Get a wireless mouse if you've got money to blow and are willing to look past the couple downsides, personally I would just get a perfect wired mouse (ie. Zowie EC1 eVo).

wireless=input lag=no no good

If you don't absolutely hate cables I don't see why you would go for an even more expensive wireless mouse.