Page 3 - Subjective Performance Tests
After installing and configuring Fnatic Gear's software to our liking, we put the mouse through our series of revised standard tracking performance tests. This includes normal office usage in the Windows environment, as well as gaming. Graphics work is done in addition to regular office usage with Adobe Photoshop. Games we used in this test include Crysis 2 Maximum Edition, Battlefield 3, League of Legends, and Blade and Soul. This spans multiple genres, and allows us to get a feel as to how the mouse responds in different situations. The Fnatic Gear Flick G1 was cross-referenced with my current daily driver mouse, the Cooler Master Storm Sentinel III, in addition to the Func MS-2. All testing was completed on the XTracGear Carbonic XXL. Please note these are subjective tests, but we will attempt to make it as objective as possible with our cross reference testing methods.
When I first started using the Fnatic Gear Flick G1, there were many similarities in feel with Func MS-2, but it also had some noticeable differences too. As I used a palm grip, I found the Flick G1 to be a shorter in length than I would have liked. This mouse allows for either a palm or a claw grip, depending on the size of your hands. The mouse's surface made the mouse easy to grip onto, and its light weight meant there was minimal resistance in movement. The sloping and shape of the mouse felt nice, and this is one of the first few ambidextrous mice I actually liked using. The side buttons were placed well, while the audible and tactile feedback on the other buttons were also pretty good, despite them not being Omron switches. None of the buttons exhibited any squeaks or abnormal sounds. As for weighting, I felt like it was relatively light, but just something to adjust to. On the other hand, I found myself lowering the sensitivity because of this, as the Flick G1 was very easy to pick up and move. Combine all of the above with the Pixart ADNS 3310, and I was quite happy to see the range of 50 to 5000 DPI. Most experienced gamers actually keep their mouse at sensitivity levels of around 1600 dots per inch. Even so, having the flexibility is good to see.
As the Fnatic Gear Flick G1 is meant to be gamed with, I threw some tests at it immediately. With Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3, I first knocked down the questions of first person shooters. FPS gamers look for mice that are easy to hold, and also quick in response. Thankfully, the Flick G1 delivered on both fronts. The mouse was very responsive, and allowed me to pull off some full rotations without losing track of the position. Its smooth movement also made gaming easier. Next in League of Legends, I found the mouse to be agile enough in its movement. Multiplayer online battle arena gamers generally favor either a smaller, simpler mouse, or a mouse with a boat load of buttons. The Flick G1 fell more into the simplistic category, but it performed fine. Its quick movements kept up, despite me not playing well in my matches. Blade and Soul is new to readers at APH Networks, but it definitely needs a capable mouse. With the number of clicks needed in multiple combinations, in addition to controlling movement and targeting to an extent, a smooth and capable mouse is required. Despite the game being played in third person, it still was helpful to have smooth tracking to navigate around. Thankfully, the Fnatic Gear Flick G1 brushed this off like a boss.
As for graphical work, the Fnatic Gear Flick G1 was very capable. I fired up Photoshop to test a few things. First was to get some lasso testing, to see if the mouse was capable of selecting predetermined elements in an image. This allowed me to check for not only tracking and precision, but also for jitter while moving about. Secondly I performed the straight line test, by trying to draw a straight line with the brush. This allowed me to test for mouse prediction. Some cheaper mice will almost "autocorrect" itself, predicting and drawing a flat line. While this may sound great, it will hamper you in both a graphical and gaming sense, as it masks the micro movements you may want. For the Flick G1, it passed both tests with flying colors. There was zero jitter while moving about, but it was also quick to pick up my inaccurate lines and draw as such.
Overall performance of the Flick G1 was great. Gaming was made easy with accurate and smooth tracking. There was no acceleration either. There was one thing I found annoying, and this was the lift off distance. Unfortunately, the software did not let me adjust it, so every time I picked up and put down the mouse, the cursor jittered. This can be annoying for those who lift up their mouse frequently. I think this can be easily fixed by adding such an option in the software settings. Even so, I am happy with the Fnatic Gear Flick G1's capabilities.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
