Don't let the product information on Amazon's page fool you. It is not a 24x30 mouse pad.
From the SteelSeries website:
Specifications for SteelSeries 4HD:
Material: Hard plastic
Surface treatment: Heat
Dimensions: 240 x 290 x 2 mm / 9.4 x 11.4 x 0.08 in
Size: Small
Glide: Semi-rough
Compatibility: Optical, laser, ball
Like some of the other reviewers, i'm not a gamer. But i do enjoy having a large area to work with when it comes to my mouse, and a mat is a necessity for me because my desk is glass and the keyboard tray has holes in it.
I spent quite some time finding a mouse mat that worked well for me -i hate the fabric ones (too slow and 'sticky'), and i hate the cheap vinyl/plastic ones as well (too slick, no traction at all), so that rules out most of the general-purpose pads available. I eventually settled on a piece of thin cardboard, which, despite being kind of ghetto, actually worked incredibly well. The texture of hard cardboard is almost perfect for me. But... cardboard absorbs moisture very easily, and a combination of summer humidity and a year of contact with my hand has ruined it. So i started looking for a real mat, and after first looking at Razer's offerings (most of my friends are gamers, so it was the first company that sprang to mind), i decided on this.
Since i am not a gamer, i naturally don't have any idea about the ideal surface for quick movements or whatever, so i can't comment on that. All i can comment on is how well it works with my mouse (currently a Mighty Mouse, soon to be upgraded to a Magic Mouse) and how it compares to previous surfaces i've used.
First of all, the pad looks very nice. I'm sure a lot of people don't care about that, but it was a factor for me, and it's one of the reasons i didn't like Razer's mats -they were all too 'extreme'-looking. Ideally i'd like something with a bit more of a creative design (are you listening, mouse-mat people :/), but this will do too.
One thing i don't like is the little curve at the bottom of the pad. I'm not sure what it's for, i suppose it must be to prevent compression of your wrist, but that's not an issue for me. It just kind of bothers me, it's so subtle that it almost looks like it was un-intended, like maybe somebody couldn't keep their scissors straight when they were cutting the mat. Minor irritation.
The texture of the surface is what i would consider smooth, but it has a slight friction too. It's definitely more 'grippy' than a standard vinyl mat, but not greatly so. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the smoothest/fastest vinyl mat and 10 being the slowest fabric mat, i would put it at maybe 4. (On that same scale my piece of cardboard would probably have been a 5 or 6, so this is definitely an increase in 'quickness' for me.)
As far as tracking, i haven't noticed any issues with either my LED-based wired Mighty Mouse or my laser-based wireless Mighty Mouse. No jumping or sliding or anything like that.
The backing is nice, much better than the old-fashioned fabric/vinyl mats i've used. I haven't had any problems at all with the mat slipping.
The size is almost perfect, it fits the 'depth' (front to back) of my keyboard tray almost perfectly. I do wish it were slightly thinner, but it's probably not a wish i would be willing to back up with more money, so that's fine i guess.
Speaking of money, this would be my main complaint with the mat, although it's not a huge one. I definitely am happy with the purchase, but for what is essentially a simple sheet of plastic, i think maybe 18 or 20$ would be the worth i'd assign to it. I realise gaming mats are kind of a niche product, though, so i guess it's not surprising that it's a little more expensive -and it is MUCH cheaper than most of Razer's mats (which was the other factor in not getting one).
Overall i'm happy with it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a midto large-sized mouse mat for general use. Whether it's good for games, again, i can't say
Buy SteelSeries 4HD Professional Gaming Mouse Pad (Black) Now
So after doing research on mousepads on which one to buy, I decided to get the 4HD. I'm not the type of gamer that takes up a whole lot of space, I generally play with my wrist area mounted and I pick up the mouse quite a bit. The mousepad is a good price, not really big, sticks well to the surface, it doesn't slide around all easily or w/e.
I was thinking about getting a Puretrak Talent, however, I saw a youtube video that showed the acceleration on that one against the 4HD. Perhaps a big factor in why I chose the 4HD.
Basically, Optical/ball -> cloth
Laser mice -> hard surface
I use a G9X on the 4HD and it's been good, and the surface is not all slippery, you still have control!
Read Best Reviews of SteelSeries 4HD Professional Gaming Mouse Pad (Black) Here
I've been resisting buying a mouse pad for a long time. I didn't see the point of a mouse pad for gaming or otherwise. I'm one that looks at these items as novelties marketed to gamers because we've shown to the world we have a lot of money to spend on brand names and terrible software. So I hesitated here, considering the overpriced nature of products from Razer and Saitek amongst others.
A friend of mine allowed me to play games on his mousepad, a Cyborg V.5 Gaming Surface It was pretty sexy, but I found the mouse too floaty on one of the sides, and too rough and ghostly on the other. Both were smooth, but they were extremes of 'smooth' I wasn't comfortable with. However what it did do, was make me realize that a mousepad is something more than just a piece of plastic. The dynamics of the surface really do make a difference~!
I ordered the Steelseries product on the fact that I had one of their headphones and have used their mice and keyboards so I knew Steelseries to be of good minimalistic quality. So I plunked down the change and decided to give it a chance with low expectation. My friend had a brand new gaming mouse, my old Logitech couldn't possibly fare that well I thought.
Boy was I surprised to feel the texture on this pad. It felt slightly rough to the touch, but the mouse took to it like it was on velvet ice. I say velvet because despite the fact this mouse floats over the surface like it was made of gel, it has a slight sense of friction that gives you a bit of feedback to the hand. This allows me to make small movements even on high sensitivity, and I can stop the mouse on a dime regardless of the sensitivity of the game.
It took some adjustment, but I found that this pad was far better than any of the cloth pads I've ever used, and better than the Cyborg v.5 pad my friend had. It's right in the sweet spot of smooth and textured that I needed, and compared to all the other plastic mouse pads out there~ this was in a delicious pricepoint.
Definitely going to be considering Steelseries' products in the future. :)
Want SteelSeries 4HD Professional Gaming Mouse Pad (Black) Discount?
When I decided to go laser for my next mouse I wanted a new mouse pad. I did alot of research and this one was developed for laser mice in particular. They have a bigger version if you have more money/room. Moving from my steel series qck mouse pad I'd have to say this is a jump up. It doesn't get junk stuck on it so I see this having a long lifetime. My g9x glides on it real easily makes playing sc2 even more fun. Get this mouse pad if you have a laser mouse!
I've tried many shoulder braces, and this is easily the most comfortable to use, and also one of the most versatile. I must admit that most of the time I travel light, and so I will often configure it without all of the parts, but even so, it is a great piece of equipment, whether used in part or whole. You can feel it's quality no matter the use.
