I just recently purchased a <span class="bold">Roccat Kova</span> (a few weeks prior to Xmas), and I think it's great.

Now, you did say "Preferably wireless", and this is a wired mouse. But you didn't say "required", so I thought I'd post about it.

One thing important to me is I need an ambidextrous mouse - because I am 'ambi-mousetrous', meaning that I use the mouse in either hand; and switch hands quite often. The Kova is such. Maybe not important to you, seeing as you didn't mention that - but just in case..

Also, it has a lot of extra buttons (which I generally don't use) - and you 'need' to go online to install the drivers. BUT - it works just fine without its special drivers; and the buttons have reasonable defaults if you don't install the drivers. I myself have not gone online and installed any drivers for it - and it works great on my Win7-64 PC.

It tracks really nicely and feels great in the hand (for me at least).

It replaced a Razer Abyssus, which I also liked a lot - but it always had some tracking issue. I blame my weird "old table used as a desk" that has an odd pattern on it - but the replacement Kova tracks wonderfully on it. Both mice claim to be 'optical', but for some reason the Razor had trouble tracking (although it wasn't so bad that I put up with it for several years) and the Kova does not.

HTH

Logitech G700S

I've the non-S version but it seems very similar in overall design. It's wired and wireless which is awesome. I think I've logitech's extra software but I don't run it as it tends to mess with things more than they solve, all I have are the USB/wireless drivers installed. The only downside is those ridiculously lame pads under them. I've a cheaper [url=http://cms.cmsoffice.se/img/kunder/61/bilder/1(1).jpg]Ace Edge 3200[/url] mouse but it sports really hard, ceramic pads that I bet would take decades of intensive gaming before they would show some wear.

The Ace Edge 3200 was discontinued but it has apparently resurfaced under a different name:
Sentey Revolution Pro Laser Gaming Mouse

The downside with the Edge 3200/Sentey is that it's only wired and the cable has a life of its own.

Ever since I bought my Logitech I haven't really kept update on modern ones except those very expensive Mad Catz R.A.T that look quite interesting if they are as customizble as they seem to be.

My tips though is to go to a local store and try the ones they have first.

I already know the best mouse, hands-down. It's wireless and doesn't include a bunch of annoying crapware, as you said. I've been using it to game with for the past year or so and it's AMAZING. The thing clicks like nobody's business with minimal wear. Although you wouldn't expect it to be good with fighting games, I can definitely say it's helped me win quite a few, you can tell by looking at the format of it. But before you do that, check out these features:

- fully compatible with any system
- waterproof
- one-year warranty
- comes in lots of different colors
- usually costs around $20
- has an interesting hands-free voice control option which doesn't always work, but sometimes can be used to execute special moves/combos
- extremely user-friendly

See attached picture for more details.

It's pretty good for Street Fighter. Despite the lack of battery/usb power, it'll run for some hours without recharging. It's eco-friendly, y'know, so these things take time sometimes.

it has it's issues but makes up for them in great spirit

I got this. I got it the diablo edition because it was cheaper and I love diablo (plus, in theory, it resists more clicks, which comes in handy for a nervous wreck like myself, because I smash the buttons for no reason at random moments). You can get it without the diablo theme, google "SteelSeries Sensei Raw".

I like the movement and, even if it is not as ergonomic as the famous razer deathadder or whatever it's called (my friend has it and it felt nice), I think this mouse is pretty comfortable to use. I have it for almost a year now (very heavy, prolongued and violent use) and still works flawlessly and my hand doesn't hurt at all (my low average of computer use, work and fun, would be 12 hours a day) [I got this mpouse because I kept breaking cheaper ones or they hurt my hand].
The only drawbacks I find are that the cord bends and that it gets pretty dirty (which is my fault really, as I use the mouse while eating and all). For this reason, if I were to purchase a Raw Sensei, I'd get the glossy version, as this is the rubberized one, which IMO looks nicer, but again, gets sticky.

My sympathies, it's a sad time trying to replace a mouse:(

I use Microsoft mice, they are plain and good quality. I absolutely cannot stand those so-called "gaming mice" which are covered in buttons and just look plain ugly. You only need right/left click and scroll.

EDIT: I also HATE wireless mice, wired or death!

Aww, me want that mouse!

I suppose its a matter of perspective (i.e. if your tiny...) My vote is for wired mice. Have had wireless everything over the years and the cost of batteries, or constantly charging the things is just a pain. I recently replace my Razer mouse with Steelseries Rival and really happy with it. Feels really nice in the hand, very responsive and quiet. Don't know about longevity but would recommend.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Video-Games-SteelSeries-Rival-Optical-Gaming-Mouse-White/dp/B00Q1HFIXK/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1453716053&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=SteelSeries+Rival+Optical+Gaming+Mouse-White

Over the years I found that wireless mices are not reliable.
Currently using Zowie EC2-A

Gaming mice are okay-ish for shooters... I have a G300 and having grenades and melee on two additional mouse buttons right next to your left mouse button is very convenient. And if you're playing something with sniper rifles, it's quite useful to have aim and a "switch to low dpi on hold" command (=aiming with high precission) on the two buttons next to your right mouse button. But for other genres they're mostly useless. I got my gaming mouse and gaming keyboard mainly because they're absolutely awesome for optimizing your workflow!

The programmable buttons can have different functions in different programs (and switch between profiles depending on the program you're currently using). In Photoshop I can zoom in and out of a picture with a simple click instead of hitting ctrl and + or ctrl and -. I can create a new layer from all visible layers with one button on my keyboard, instead of pressing ctrl+alt+shift+e. There's another button that replaces ctrl+alt+shift+w, one for ctrl+shift+s and another one for ctrl+shift+a. When I switch to my browser, I can save a site as a bookmark with one click, have the back and forward buttons on my mouse and I can go through tabs or open new tabs with one key on my keyboard. In Dreamweaver I have ctrl+shift+s, ctrl+c and ctrl+v on my mouse and lots of other stuff on my keyboard, depending on what I'm currently doing. Sounds silly, but those "shortcuts" save you a lot of time if this is what you're doing six days a week ;)

I'm not sure what that is either. I'm using a wireless Logitech M325, and I don't think there is any autoupdater running. I have installed the Unifier software which provides the driver for the wireless USB receiver I think, and it allows me to detect any wireless Logitech devices that I want the PC to use (keyboard, mouse, trackball...).

I don't have that Unifier software running all the time, I run it only if I need to detect some new wireless device for that PC.

Maybe he is referring to some software that allows extra buttons on the mouse, deciding what exactly those buttons do etc.? I presume that needs some kind of utility running in the background? This M325 is a common (wireless) mouse with two buttons and a scroll wheel, nothing fancy.

I've been using the Logitech Performance Mouse MX for several years, and as far as I remember you should be able to run that without any extra software, just Windows getting the basic drivers from Windows Update (I'm currently on Linux and not looking to switch back anytime soon). The good thing is, unlike some mice that require switching batteries or putting in a dock to charge, it's got a micro-USB jack where the cable would protrude on a wired mouse so you can plug it in and use it as if it were a wired mouse until it's charged.

It does have four extra buttons, but I rarely think about them, and unless I remember wrongly, they all have default actions in Windows even without the software (back/forward in web browser/windows explorer, and a couple others).

Is that two different colored eyes or is it missing an eye?