Microsoft SideWinder X5 Mouse

by Microsoft

• 2000 DPI Laser Tracking Engine - For fast action
• Built to Last - Main button life: Rated to 10,000,000 clicks
• On-the-Fly DPI Switching - Instantly switch sensitivity between high (2000), medium (800), and low (400) with one click.
• Five Programmable Main Buttons - Customize your main gaming buttons to your preference.
• Macros - Create and assign macros out-of-game using included software.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.4 x 2.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001DWK4NC
• Item model number: ARB-00001
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 20, 2008

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Cut right to the chase with the Microsoft SideWinder X5 Mouse--another addition to Microsoft's award-winning line of SideWinder gaming products. This fast, durable mouse delivers super-precise action with advanced features like vertical side buttons, 200 to 2000 dpi on-the-fly laser tracking, macros, 5 assignable buttons, and more.

Features:

Quick Launch Button One-touch access to Microsoft PC Gaming features.		Vertical Side Buttons Top/bottom design makes locating side buttons easier.		On-the-Fly DPI Switching Instantly switch sensitivity between high, medium, and low with one click.

Additional Features: 2000 DPI Laser Tracking Engine: For fast action. Built to Last: Main button life rated to 10,000,000 clicks. Engineered for Speed: Right-handed shape designed for quick, balanced, precision gaming action. Quick Turn: Check your perimeter with the click of a button. Wide Rubber Scroll Wheel: With detent clicking action. Five Programmable Main Buttons: Customize your main gaming buttons to your preference. Macros: Create and assign macros out-of-game using included software.

System Requirements: Windows Vista/Windows XP 100 MB Powered USB port CD drive

Product Description

Fast. Durable. Gaming Mouse. Cut right to the chase with the Microsoft SideWinderTM X5 Mouse another addition to Microsoft¿s award-winning line of SideWinder gaming products. This fast, durable mouse delivers super-precise action with advanced features like vertical side buttons, 200 to 2000 dpi on-the-fl y laser tracking, macros, 5 assignable buttons, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for big hands January 7, 2010

By Drew L.

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have very big hands so I was happy to read other reviews on how huge this mouse is. It fits like a glove for me and couldnt get any better. Perfect button placement and very high quality design. I thought this was made of cheap plastic but it is very well designed and crafted. My only problem Ihave to get used to is how sensitive the buttons are. That i my fault though for using a cheap dell mouse that came with the computer. If you have at least medium sized hands this will be great for you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A little big, but that's a good thing. December 18, 2010

By Anonymous

Amazon Verified Purchase

Shipping: 5/5
It came in a small box that was easy to open, and came with the mouse, instructions, and software CD. Everything was well packaged and arrived quickly.

Setup: 5/5
I have Windows 7, and as soon as I plugged it in, it was recognized, I didn't even need the CD.

The mouse itself: 5/5
First off, the mouse is huge. Larger than any other mouse I've ever used. Now that may be because I don't have extremely large hands, but even my friend with giant hands said it was big. Odd at first, but within a few hours, I got used to it. There are 2 buttons on the side that can be used for macros, and they are nice and easy to use and make a satisfying click. There are 3 buttons on top, that adjust DPI (dots per inch), in other words, mouse sensitivity. There's one weird button to the rear of the mouse, right around where your palm is, that opens the Microsoft Mouse settings. It is in an odd position on the mouse, but it is not something that you might accidentally push during a game. The mouse wheel, in its normal location, clicks very easily, and when turned, makes a nice clicking noise and is very simple to use, and is great for FPS games where scrolling the mouse wheel changes weapons, and trust me, that can decide the outcome of a game when you need to switch to your pistol when you are out of ammo.

Key Points:
Large, but not uncomfortable
Nice DPI buttons
2 side macro buttons
Smoothly clicking mouse wheel.

For $25, this is an excellent deal and I recommend purchasing this mouse.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Gaming Mouse - Works With OS X December 30, 2008

By Raven A. Wind TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I went from a wireless six-button mouse to this wired gaming mouse, and I have to say the difference is significant. Where my wireless would do weird things like not recognizing clicks until I moved the mouse, and dropping out every once in a while, this wired mouse with increased resolution never does either of those things. It's incredibly responsive, and makes me glad I decided I could "live with" having a cord on my mouse.

The buttons are handy, and easy to reach. The feel is a little more blocky than I'm used to, but it's still comfortable. The mouse just feels like it's tracking far better than any I've used in a long time-- There's no "jumpy" feel to it in lower DPI settings, and less of one in the high setting than on my wireless mouse. It's kind of cool that I can switch DPI on the fly with a button.

In games, I noticed my response time was better, especially for circle-strafing and mouse-looking. While I'm not a huge FPS gamer, I did get some better control with this mouse in Team Fortress 2, and I felt a HUGE improvement in the way the mouse felt for Oblivion. Clicking on small icons and buttons on the in-game GUI isn't as tedious with the Sidewinder X5.

I use it in both OS X and Windows XP. Despite what the package says, the mouse does, indeed, come with drivers and control panels for OS X (not that OS X needs drivers, but the control panels are handy to assign buttons).

There's one button that I find sort of stupid and useless on this mouse. It's near the back (under your palm, when the mouse is being used) and its purpose varies depending on what OS you're using. It's not reassignable, either. It does what it does, and that is all.... In Windows XP, all it does is launch the Intellimouse software; That's the mouse control panel, which you can normally reach two other ways (click the desktop/Start menu icon, or go to Control Panel). That's all it does. I hardly see why a button was needed for this function. In OS X, the button just pops your pointer up to the top left corner of the screen, and again, you can't reassign this button. It's just sort of a waste of moving parts, if you ask me.

However, stupid button aside, I dig this mouse. I think I may stick with it, despite losing wireless freedom compared to my old mouse. This mouse just works better!

Oh, I should mention that this mouse has two red lights on the bottom, near the back, and one on top. They remain on as long as your computer is sending power to the mouse, and this might be annoying for some people who don't want their mouse to be all lit up. It doesn't bother me much, but it is curious that Microsoft would put bright red lights on the mouse when the laser tracking emits light that is invisible to the human eye. These lights aren't part of the tracking hardware: They're just decoration. I guess it's supposed to look cool or something. I just think it's sort of a waste of power.

A good mouse, but not for the office or conservative desktop. Definitely a step up for gamers, though. Read more ›

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent entry level gaming mouse, but better mice out there for serious use January 16, 2009

By Mary Jo Sminkey TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The Sidewinder X5 appears to be a somewhat cheaper Sidewinder version with a few less features to lower the price. If you need a cheap gaming mouse, this may be one to look at. If like me, you not only do gaming at your computer, but extensive internet browsing and other activities, you may want to look at some other mice. The biggest issue for me with this mouse was that the size and length of it was not at all comfortable and made the button placement difficult for my hands...having about normal-sized hands for a woman. In particular the two buttons on the side were regularly slightly in front of my thumb, so I had to adjust my hand and/or reach to use them. Not good, and the type of thing that causes tendinitis or RSI over time.

The mouse itself has a very cheap, plastic feel to it. Having previously used the very nice Logitech G9 Mouse I found it hard to go back to scrolling that was jerky and required a lot of tweaking to work anything near to acceptable. The turbo scroll on the Logitech mice is just so much more pleasant to work with when you are at the computer for hours at a time. I'm also never happy to get a mouse with buttons that I can't customize. In this case, there is a button on the top that might be nice to use as a quick-launch button, but it only opens up Intellitype in XP, (Games in Vista) you have no option to customize the action for it.