Setup, Design & Observations
In the hand, the DX-20 feels great, very solid, and the side buttons feel well placed. My natural grip is the claw grip, though switching to a palm grip, the DX-20 felt more at home. It is quite a slender, yet lengthy mouse and should suit many people perfectly fine. Except in the case of left handers who may feel like they were lead on by its claim to being an ambidextrous mouse, yet features thumb buttons on one side. In shape/form it is certainly ambidextrous, but having no side buttons may be a killer for the lefties out there.
The mouse clicks feel quite heavy, requiring quite a fair bit of force to press, similar to what we observed with the Cougar 500M, some may prefer this as it gives much better control over your mouse clicks and helps prevent misclicks, however for games where click speed is important, be it an RTS, MOBA, or any game requiring fast paced clicking, this actuation force may cause some to experience fatigue in their hands (I certainly did after a 90minute match on DOTA2 -_-). The side buttons however felt perfect, and the mousewheel felt high quality having a silent yet tactile spin to it.
This is where we discuss the material coating as this mouse is using the rubberised/textured/coated plastic, something that many manufacturers are moving away from, favouring anti-sweat/anti-fingerprint materials that feel good, and look good for longer. After the rubberised plastic craze peaked, after a few years of use many started to note the sludgy, soft, worn, and outright disgusting feel and appearance of rubber coated plastic. Some may like the felty feel of the rubberised plastic, especially when it is fresh, and credit to QPAD, the finish of the DX-20 feels good quality... BUT... it is also the kind that is not anti-sweat or anti-fingerprint, and was soaking away all the oils from my fingertips and after just a short period, it had already retained permanent fingermarks.
Performance
We tested out the optical sensor on various surfaces, something that the DX-20 says is its strong point claiming 'Few optical products can match the DX-20’s ability to work on so many surfaces'. Optical sensors are favoured amongst a large number of gaming enthusiasts for their precise/ rapid response and zero acceleration, though are often temperamental in regards to surfaces with a clear winner being matte, plain black fabric mouse mats. We are pleased to report that on the said surface, the DX-20 felt fantastic, and did so on the majority of uniformed matte surfaces including plain card. However, as with many optical sensors, it should be kept away from glossy/white surfaces as the tracking starts dancing to its own tune. In our testing we also noted that the default LOD (lift off distance) felt fairly high so is worth adjusting. Overall the sensor seems to do the trick, but considering the market point (RRP of €69) it feels a little lackluster especially when compared with the many fantastic optical mice available in the £30-40 price point.
