Gigabyte GM-M6980 Gaming Mouse Review

Well, I finally decided it was time to replace my aging Saitek GM-3200 Laser Gaming Mouse. After about 2 years of hard use, it's finally showing signs that's its days are numbered. Loosing tracking every so often as if you have lifted the mouse off the pad. Having to move it back and forth a few times to get it to start tracking again, in rare cases, even having to unplug and plug it back in. I can't complain, the Saitek GM-3200 has stood up to a lot of use and abuse since I do a lot of FPS gaming and use my system quite heavily. It's been a great mouse, but it's been retired.

So I hit Newegg and starting looking for a replacement. Looking up the most common "gaming" mice most people buy. The Razor DeathAdder, Logitech G9X and G500, Saitek R.A.T. 5 and 7, Moniox Naos, and a few others. Trying to decide what I wanted. Reading what felt like hundreds of reviews. Spending far more time that I really wanted too looking for my next mouse. In all that searching, I kept coming across Gigabyte and their relatively new line of "gaming" mice.

So what I ended up doing is making a simple list of wants and needs for my new mouse, then went looking again.

1. I did not want to spend a lot of money on the mouse. Most of the very expensive $70+ mice out there may have a lot of nice bells and whistles, but they really do not offer much more gameplay advantages for my main form of gaming, FPS.
   
2. 1600 DPI was what I used on my Saitek GM3200, with low in-game sensitivity. More than enough for any FPS gaming. So I knew I did not need over 1600DPI.
3. I wanted a mouse with a quality laser tracking engine with a good report rate.
4. I wanted one that was large. I have big hands so smaller mice are not a comfortable for long gaming sessions.
   
5. I wanted a quality product from a known company.
6. Simple thumb buttons. 2 of them.
   
7. The ability to adjust DPI and button use on the fly.

The Razor DeathAdder was ruled out because I knew it was smaller than I wanted. The Saitek R.A.T. 5 and 7 were dropped because there are just too many issues with them at the moment for the price, that and they may have looked nice, but it was mostly a bunch of unnecessary features. Moniox Naos was dumped because they were more price than performance. In other words, most of these mice, save for the DeathAdder, were more hype than anything. I did not want hype. I just wanted a mouse to fit my needs and not cost a fortune for mostly useless bells and whistles.

That left the Logitech G9X and G500 mice on the table, and the Gigabyte GM-M8000X and the GM-6980 on the table. Now it was just a matter of price and wanted features. Both the Logitech mice and the Gigabyte GM-M8000X were dropped in favor of the Gigabyte GM-M6980 for price and the fact the GM-M6980 meet all my needs perfectly, plus I still got a few bells and whistles to play with, even though they were not necessary.

It best matched what I was looking for. So I ordered it. A decision I am very happy with so far. This mouse and it's "Ghost" software is fantastic. 3 preset DPI settings that are adjustable from 100 to 2000 in 100 DPI increments. Very easy to use macro setup and use via the Ghost software and it's all stored on the on-board memory of the mouse. Here is the official feature list for the GM-6980 from Gigabyte.

So as you can see, for a price tag of $40 at the time of purchase (March 2011), this mouse was a heck of a deal if you ask me. I was a bit nervous buying a mouse from what as traditionally been a motherboard company, those feelings were unwarranted, the same high quality you get in Gigabyte motherboards is reflected in this mouse.

Once I hooked it up, I stared to mess around with the included "Ghost" software and I am pleased at the features it has available and how simple it is to use. Like I said, I wont use many macros and such, but it sure is nice to know I can load up a few and throw them on the mouse if the need should ever present itself. To give you a basic idea of the what the Ghost software looks like as well as a few of its features. I threw together a short video. Sorry if it looks a bit blurry, must be YouTube, it's quality is perfect on my machine.

Final thoughts:

The Gigabyte GM-M6980 Gaming Mouse is a fantastic mouse at a good price. I like it more than I did my Saitek GM300, and I loved that mouse. It's more comfortable, and the thumb buttons on the side are even a lot easier to use, much better placement.

It did not take long at all to get used to it. I hopped right in Bad Company 2 Vietnam, Medal of Honor 2010, Crysis 2 MP Demo, Combat Arms, Breach, and in every case, I had no problems at all. It was nice to not have to worry about the mouse loosing tracking in the middle of a firefight.

If you happen to be in the market for a new quality gaming mouse, you might want to give Gigabyte a try. Also, if your looking to not spend a fortune, defiantly look at the GM-M6980. Gigabyte has always made good motherboards, it's nice to see that quality carry over to their line of gaming mice. They have earned my praise that's for sure.

It's an easy 10 out of 10!