Mionix Naos 5000 High Performance Gaming Mouse

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Trotter

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Mionix Naos 5000 High Performance Gaming Mouse
By: Lamar Trotter

Introduction

For the past couple of months I have been testing the Mionix Naos 5000. Mionix was gracious enough to provide the Naos, as well as a Propus 380 High Performance Mousing Surface (see the review here), to Tech-Forums for us to review. I lucked out and got to do the review.

For those who are not familiar with Mionix, here's a little background:
Mionix Facebook page said:
Mionix was founded in 2007 and our head office is situated in south of Sweden. Our goal is to develop products with high performance and suitability for all type of players. Mionix stands for quality, design
and a touch of innovation.
Our goal is to develop products with high performance and suitability for all type of players.

Stars have always been important to every culture. They have been used in religious practices and for celestial navigation or orientation. As well as certain constellations and even the sun, stars have their own myths and the most prominent individual stars were also given powerful names. That is why we named Mionix gaming gear after stars so they can symbolize the prominence in the world of gaming.

Mionix gaming gear like many stars have their own myths. In some cultures stars were thought to be the souls of dead kings and gods. In Mionix culture every gaming gear has a soul inside to help you perform.
As to the name Mionix has chosen for this mouse I will defer to their description:
Mionix product page said:
A STAR HAS BEEN BORN
This prominent gaming mouse is named after the star Naos, a blue super giant and one of the brightest stars in our galaxy. Naos means “ship” and is enough powerful to create comet tails and huge clouds of auroras visible from Earth. Naos is constantly moving away from its original position in the constellation of Vela and it spins about 100 times faster than our sun. Since its birth it has covered a distance of 400 light-years. No one knows exactly why Naos has such a high rotation speed, but an explanation to this phenomenon lies in the gravitational interaction between many other stars.

Specifications

Mionix product page said:
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
  • Truly ergonomic design
  • Grip friendly rubber coating
  • 7 buttons (7 programmable)
  • 3 steps in-game dpi adjustment
  • In-game profile switch
  • Configurable dpi up to 5040 dpi
  • 6 integrated LEDs
  • Adjustable polling rate
  • 128 kb built-in memory
  • Large teflon feet
  • Balanced weight tuning system (up to 40 gr)
  • Gold-plated USB connection
  • Full speed USB 2.0 with Plug n Play
  • Cable length: 2 m (braided for durability)
  • Compatible with all kinds of surfaces
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT
  • 130.84x84.72x38.67 mm / 5.15x3.33x1.52 in
  • Netto (w/o cable): 106 gr
  • Netto (cable incl.): 158 gr
  • Weight tuning: up to 40 gr
SENSOR SPECIFICATION
  • 5040 dpi gaming laser sensor
  • S.Q.A.Tâ„¢ - Surface Quality Analyzer Tool
  • Adjustable lift distance
  • 1 ms response time
  • 12 000 frames/sec
  • Tracking speed: 5.1 m/sec (150 ips)
  • 10.6 megapixels/sec image processing
  • Acceleration: 30 g
  • True 16-bit data path

Product Features

The features of the Naos 5000 are many. The mouse itself is ergonomically designed and perfectly shaped to fit the right hand (sorry lefties). Many mouse companies claim this, but the Naos actually delivers with indentions for both the ring and pinkie fingers as well as a long side indention for the thumb to both rest and grip the mouse. This graspable shape is then paired with a rubber coating to ensure that the Naos 5000 does not slip while gaming.

The Naos 5000 comes with its own weights that allow you to customize the heft of the mouse. It comes with eight 5g weights, up to four per side. Each of the weights are engraved with the Mionix logo.

The Naos uses a 5040 dpi laser sensor, this sensor gives the mouse a very nice feel when gaming - once you've become accustomed to the sensitivity that is. I was using a 4000dpi mouse previously so luckily there was not much for me to have to get used to, making this review much easier for me to do.

The mouse also has a customizable LED lighting system that is accessible through Mionix's downloadable software. The software allows you to choose between 24 pre-set color configurations. While not a huge thing to most, gamers like their stuff to match their own personal theme and Mionix has listened to their target audience.

Here's the complete list from Mionix's web site:
Mionix product page said:
Truly ergonomic design
  • Truly ergonomic design with support for all five fingers
Maximum grip
  • The rubber coating ensures a maximum grip
Balanced weight tuning system
  • A unique weight tuning system for an optimal weight distribution
5040 dpi laser sensor
  • Remarkable tracking performance built for gaming
128kb built-in memory
  • Bring your settings and recorded macros with you stored into one of the 5 profiles
Customizable LED light system
  • Personalize your mouse with extensive color options
S.Q.A.Tâ„¢ - Surface Quality Analyzer Tool
  • Surface Quality Analyzer tool to measure the tracking quality on a certain surface
3 steps customizable dpi in-game adjustment
  • Set 3 dpi values and switch easily between them in-game
7 programmable buttons
  • The buttons can be assigned to any key, mouse command or macro
In-game profile switch
  • Switch easy with a click between stored profiles in-game
Adjustable polling rate
  • Tune it all the way up to 1000Hz through the software
Plug n Play
  • Completely Plug n Play, software needed only for configuration

Image Gallery










Installation

In its default configuration the Naos 5000 is a plug and play mouse. However, it would be a complete and utter shame to leave this mouse in such a state. While Mionix does not include the software in the box with the Naos 5000, it is readily available from their web site. The software for the Mionix comes as a 2.61Mb compressed file, so it is easily downloaded even by dial-up users. Once downloaded and uncompressed the installation is very simple; it has been a couple of months now, but I do believe that the software required a reboot to finalize.

The software itself is very straight forward and simple. It has five tabs to choose from: Mouse Settings, Sensor Performance, Color Settings, Macro Settings, and Support.

Mouse Settings – This tab allows you to assign what action you want associated with which button on the mouse. The mouse has seven buttons (left click, right click, middle (wheel) click, front thumb, back thumb, and two small arrow buttons behind the wheel). Each button has a default setting, but you can choose from any of them, a list of other commands, or even assign it to a recorded macro. This tab also allows you to assign buttons in up to five profiles which could be very useful if you play multiple games.

Sensor Performance – The mouse allows for changing the DPI between three settings on the fly; this is the tab that you will use to set those levels. As with the Mouse Settings tab, this tab also has the same five profiles for you to choose from. Also available on this tab are setting for pointer speed, lift distance, and the Surface Quality Analyzer.

Color Settings – You guessed it, this tab lets you choose the colors for the LEDs. You can also choose which LEDs are lit, be it all, none, or selective between those on the mouse. Again, all five profiles are here.

Macro Settings – If you want to use macros then this is where you will record and save them. I don't use macros so I have only looked at this tab in passing.

Support – This tab is a quick link of sorts. It has a clickable button to connect your browser to the support page on Mionix's web site, as well as a clickable button to check for software updates, and another to check for firmware updates.

Test Setup

I tested the mouse on my current computer. My specs are:
  • AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition w/AC Freezer 64 Pro 92mm
  • ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO
  • 4GB (2x2GB) Crucial Ballistix Tracers DDR3 1600
  • 4GB (2x2GB) G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 1600
  • EVGA GTX 260 Core 216
  • Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Testing Methodology

I used the Naos 5000 in my every day computing for two months. This included my duties here on Tech-Forums, my other online activities, and gaming (of course). While I am not a hardcore gamer, I am accustomed to using a higher end gaming mouse whether gaming or not. The games I am currently playing include Borderlands, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Bejeweld 3. This isn't a glamorous lineup, but each one has its own unique needs that a mouse must fulfill. Borderlands and BC2 are both FPS so accuracy is a huge need for both. BC2 offers a continuously changing environment so movements must be swift but controlled. Borderlands allows for a slower pace, so steadiness comes into major play. Bejeweled 3 is a casual game (whoever designated these games as casual must be suffering from caffeine overdose) but requires a mouse that can keep up with where your eyes are looking while still allowing you pin-point accuracy.

Results and Impressions

The Naos 5000 really delivered over these past two monthss. It has lived up to all that Mionix promised, something that cannot be said about many other products out in the market today. Whether I was ripping through member profiles, performing fine textual editing, or just fragging to my heart's content, the Naos 5000 served me admirably well.

My impressions of the Naos 500 have been a bag of mixed emotions. I own and use a Razer Lachesis, so moving to the Naos 5000 was not an easy thing to do. The Lachesis uses a fingertip grip, but the Naos 5000 requires a full hand grip. It took me a couple of days to become accustomed to this difference in handling. It still doesn't feel natural to me to use the Naos 5000 but this is completely due to the way I am used to holding my mouse; it is hard to try to undo five years of custom in only two monthss.

Outside of my own personal awkwardness, the Naos 5000 has most definitely impressed me on all counts. I had my hesitations going into the review but all of them have been laid aside. The performance of the mouse, coupled with the design, show that Mionix is a company that is serious about its business. This is no cookie cutter mouse; Mionix has produced a true classic in every sense of the word.

While someone who is unaccustomed to high DPI mice may have difficulties starting off with the maximum settings, the ease of use of the Naos 5000 would quickly lend itself to the user becoming used to them. The grip allows for precise handling while the customizable weights give the user the ability to form the mouse to his or her own liking

Pros
  • Looks
  • Ergonomics/grip
  • Sensitivity
  • Customization

Cons
  • Right-handed only
  • Software does not come in packaging
  • Pricey

Conclusion

The time I have spent with the Naos 5000 has been awesome. Performance-wise, the Naos 5000 has blown me away. The 5040 dpi is silky smooth and so very easy to become addicted to. The ease of setting the various selections in the Mionix software only adds to the worth of this mouse. While I am not accustomed to a weighted mouse, I took the plunge and put all 40g in the Naos 5000 from the beginning and have found myself enjoying the additional heft; this was especially welcomed while playing BC2.

On the appearance side of things, the Naos 5000 is a real looker. The black rubber surface embracing the smooth contours of the mouse will look killer on any gamer's desk and would definitely turn heads in an office setting. The braided cord resists tangles and adds to the allure of the mouse as well. The build quality of the mouse as a whole is exceptional. Add to this the ability to choose from 24 LED colors and you have a clear win-win scenario.

This review has taken much longer to complete than was warranted due to many different circumstances, which I will not enumerate here; for this I apologize to Mionix.

Rating

I can honestly give the Mionix Naos High Performance Gaming Mouse a five out of five star rating. It has shown itself to be a true gaming mouse of the top caliber. Well done, Mionix.

5star.gif

I would like to thank Mionix for furnishing Tech-Forums with the Naos 5000. It has been a pleasure to review this mouse and to learn more about Mionix. I look forward to seeing other great Mionix products in the future.

 
I am so jealous. I wanted this review and this mouse! :lol:
 
I already have 2 mats so I aint worried about that. My SteelSeries Mat does fine for me right now. When I need a change i go with my ZowieGear mat. But I cant for the life of me go to my SteelSeries mouse and lose my buttons. The forward and back buttons on my mouse get more use than the right click does. :lol:
 
I am actually using the back button now, mainly because of where it is placed. I would love to be able to compare the Naos head-to-head with the Razer Imperator, though.

Here's some shots of the software from Mionix's site. I meant to include some but it slipped my mind.

naos_5000_driver_medium_2_0.png
naos_5000_driver_medium_3_0.png
 
What a nice find Trotter! If I actually did any PC gaming I would buy something like that. For web browsing and graphic/video editing, I use the MS Wireless Keyboard set, I believe it's actually from 2007 but it's so comfortable and hasn't failed yet, and it has a nice leather armrest built into the keyboard.
 
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