This mouse has been great since day one. I bought it from a ebay store for $60 AUD about half a year after it came out. The things I love about this mouse are the on the fly DPI buttons and the placement of the forward and back buttons.

The perfect complement to the X6, or just another mousing also-ran?

Microsoft's new SideWinder X5 Mouse is a stripped-down version of last year's SideWinder Gaming Mouse . Where the original model was a packed-to-the-gills gaming powerhouse, the X5 feels flimsy and expensive for the AU$99.95 Microsoft wants you to spend.

Improved sculpt; Moisture-resistant coating

Competing Logitech mouse offers more mouse for the buck; Lacks heft

Sporting an ever-so-slightly trimmed-down shape compared to the original Sidewinder gaming mouse, along with a stripped down featureset, the Sidewinder X5 delivers great performance at a very reasonable price.

Sensor is super-accurate; Top-and-bottom thumb buttons kick ass; Love the three button sensitivity adjustment

Still too honkin' big; No reason to install the software, unless you want to make sensitivity adjustments.

good for gaming but its a bit light for me.

The price for the Microsoft Sidewinder X5 is Rs 2,867, which is only a little better than the earlier Sidewinder which was priced around Rs 3,000.

After a number of gaming mice emanating from Microsoft intent on claiming the higher priced end of the gaming market, the SideWinder X5 is the first attempt at cracking the budget end of the mouse buying public.

Moisture resistant coating; constantly smooth movement

Bulky frame not for everyone; feels a little lightweight

Sporting an intimidating all-black design, the Microsoft Sidewinder X5 is a somewhat simple but quite effective mouse for gaming enthusiasts. It doesn't feature a plethora of gimmicks like adjustable weight or an LCD display, but it does have on–the-fly DPI adjustment and several programmable...

2000 DPI sensor is precise; on-the-fly DPI adjustment; lots of programmable controls

Lacks some of the bells and whistles of other models; sensitivity not as high as some competing units

After a hiatus from producing joysticks, gamepads and other gaming peripherals, Microsoft relaunched its famed SideWinder brand of gaming hardware last year with the release of the SideWinder gaming mouse.

This mouse is decent. I enjoy the fact that I can change the sensitivity on the fly with the buttons on the top, and it is a very robust mouse that serves your needs. I use it for gaming as well as every day things like web browsing and work.