Gaming mice shoot-up

Cyber Snipa SWAT mouse

Just take a moment to read the name of this mouse again (the first time I read it, I thought it was called something rather rude -- Ed). If you can do it without laughing or screaming then this is the mouse for you. The Cyber Snipa (giggle) is a mouse that clearly relies mostly on its image as a l33t tool. The shiny black chassis, ergonomic shape and pointless pictures of bullets dotted about the manual all point towards this.

Function wise the Cyber Snipa isn't bad. It's a standard wired mouse that connects via USB and is comfortably shaped to a flat handed approach. It also comes with a CD of poorly explained macro recording software so that simple functions can be attached to single buttons. You'd be surprised how much fun can be gleaned by re-programming a button to type your name out, especially if you set it up on a co-workers PC.

The Snipa comes with three thumb buttons, of which only the bottom one was hard to hit despite the odd shape and positioning of them, which is probably an acquired taste.

The sensitivity switch for the Cyber Snipa is also located on the thumb in the form of an illuminated and recessed button. At first we were worried that it would be difficult to press because it was flush with the surface of the mouse, but a bit of use and abuse quickly showed that it could easily be flicked on or off with a flex of the thumb knuckle.

Unlike the Equalizer the Snipa only has two sensitivity settings, which makes altering the DPI setting on the fly less of a chore. The two presets switch the Snipa, a spelling we shall forever treat with disdain, between 800 and 1600 DPI which is ample for the average gamer to use without feeling greedy.


At just under £20, the Cyber Snipa is a more reasonable price and it's a purchase that doesn't come with any of the internal moral conflict that the Equalizer may present. The macro writing software is handy for things like casting a set of spells in Oblivion and the shape of it is as perfect as flat-handed gamers will get in this price bracket.

OCZ Equalizer Mobile

Latest UK prices
Latest US prices

Yes, we've already covered the Equalizer, we know. The mobile version however is a scaled down version targeted either at laptop gamers, very small children or adults with inexplicably small hands. Its shape is rounded down a bit but it sports the same feature set, general design and cable as its larger brother.

The wire is still a little thin for our preferences though and feels like it may break easily, but it is at least long enough to work around the usual desktop obstacles of screens, phone and pizza boxes.

The main problem presented by the mobile Equalizer is its size. No matter how you look at it or intend to use it, it's always going to be uncomfortably small and ends up being dwarfed under any reasonably sized man-paw. This is a factor that is going to end up plaguing laptop gamers just as much as desktop gamers, though why someone would want to use a mobile version when there is any alternative is beyond us.

The point of the mobile Equalizer is obviously that it can be slipped into a pocket or carried around for LAN parties, though if you ask us (and you obviously are) then anyone willing to fork out almost £30 for a gaming mouse is going to want something a bit more substantial for their buck.

As usual, the bit-tech shopping channel breaks down the UK and US prices, should you choose to throw our advice to the wind and buy it.