Everglide Giganta Ray Mouse Pad

It's not every day you see a review of mouse pad, but mousing surfaces can be a big deal to the extreme gamer, especially in first person games where accuracy and precision is important. There are many types of mouse pads out there. Some are made of plastic, aluminum, and even glass. Anyone who has tried a Steelpad, Icemat, Ratpad, or any other gaming mousepad already knows what a big difference they make. Today I will be looking at a new version of the popular mouse pad - the Everglide Giganta Ray.

Specifications:
- 9 1/2" High (24.5cm)
- 11 1/2" Wide (29.5cm)
- 1/4" Deep (approximately 6.5mm thick)
- Blue UltraBrite LED design (six LED lights)
- Non-Skid backing
- 5’ USB Cable (1.8m)
- SRP: $39.95

Closer Look

The Gianta Ray is fairly large, giving plenty of room to move the mouse around. You will not find yourself going off the edge of this pad unless you have your sensitivity set very low. The pad itself is made out of a clear thermoplastic with glitter embedded to help with optical tracking. There are a thousands of tiny, shiny, platinum colored flakes within the gel. It allows the surface reflect the incandescent lighting of your room to eye-catching effect. In addition, the pad comes equipped with six blue LEDs within the mouse pad which draw their power from a 5’ USB cable connected to your desktop computer. The lights on the Ray are bright enough to be seen in a well lighted room. Needless to say it looks really attractive. The backing of the pad is a thick non skid textured rubber that is guaranteed not to slip and slide around the desk. Pushing on it will not slide it one inch.

Using The Gianta Ray

To test out the pad, I decided to first try out a few first person shooters such as Far Cry, and Painkiller. The pad felt very good and worked well with the Logitech MX300 optical mouse that I used. Despite the surface of the pad is a rougher area, both optical sensor systems were very accurate and smooth in regards to tracking, on the entire surface of the pad. Simply, precision and accuracy was all there and I found it works great for all applications. The Gianta Ray is completely washable and the hard plastic surface is very durable and easy to clean. Over a few weeks of use, I never really had to clean the mouse pad, but it can easily be done with just house hold cleaners and a towel.

To be honest, I couldn't find much wrong with the mouse pad. It's sturdy, feels glued to my desk, and tracks great at low speeds and at high speeds. Also, I really appreciate the size of this baby and it looks great on my desk.

Pros
- performance
- High quality materials used
- The bright LEDs are visible even with the lights on (though they are most effective in a dimmer environment)
- Long USB cabel
- Providing plenty of room to move the mouse around
- Washable

Cons

- High price
- Detachable cable would be nice
- Lack of power switch

Conclusion

Overall, the Gianta Ray is probably best suited to pro gaming types who like a little friction under the mouse and a very large surface to work on, so if you are short on desk space you should probably look elsewhere. In terms of appearance, this mouse pad is very unique, I haven't come across any mouse pad like this before. At a $39.95 USD (39.95 EURO) price tag, it's at least three times as expensive as a standard mouse mat, however if you're serious about your gaming performance this is definitely a worthwhile investment. I recommend it not only for those who need speed and accuracy, but for everyone who wants to feel better when looking at his/her mouse pad.

Special note: I'd like to thank www.GamerzStuff.com for making this review possible.