Mousepads come in all shapes and sizes these days, and most people feel that you have to pay upwards of forty dollars for a high quality pad, well you don’t. Enter the X-Ray Thunder9 mousepad, an excellent, high quality mousepad that comes with a carrying bag and even mouseskates for under thirty dollars. The Thunder9 is a great performing, hard surface mousepad that will make you and your mouse very happy. Read on to learn more…
Xraypad Thunder 9 Smooth Surface Mouse Pad (BK1)
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: X-Ray Technology
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
X-Ray Pad Thunder 9
BK1:(Smooth)
-Giant surface size guarantees freedom of border-less movement.
-Unique award-winning surface of THUNDER8 is inherited.
-Best support for optical mice meets the highest industrial standard.
-ABS base is enduring, distortion-free and anti-erosion.
-Silicon rubber feet enable firm grasp to your desk
-Back surface in beehive shape ensures best flatness and firmness.
Dimension: 350mm280mm4mm
Price: $21.99 from NewEgg at time of review.
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A Better Look at Things
:
The Thunder9 comes in a brightly colored box with some assorted pictures of the contents on the front.
The back of the box lists the specs and features, there are stickers attached to the box as well stating that the X-Ray Pad is the ESWC Official Mousepad.
Taking the pad out of the box, the first thing we see is the carry bag. The bag is a lightweight mesh material with velcro closures on the front. The back of the bag has a small tag that say ‘X-RAY’ The bag itself seems very well made, it will survive through quite a bit of travel I’m sure.
Removing the Thunder9 from the bag we can also see that X-Ray included some mouse skates as well.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
The Thunder9 I received for review is the smooth surface type, there is a rough surface version available as well. In case you didn’t notice the Thunder9 is a hard surface, plastic mousepad.
In the bottom corner of the Thunder9 is the X-Raypad logo and in the top right corner is the Thunder9 logo.
The bottom of the Thunder9 has a beehive pattern that supposedly insures the Thunder9 stays flat and keeps its shape, there are also numerous rubber feet to keep the pad from slipping in even the most intense frag session.
Yhe Thunder9 mousepad is very well made, it seems like it will last for quite some time. It is lightweight and with the included carrying bag, is very portable. The bag is made for transporting the Thunder9 and also for protecting it as well, while it is not in use. The mouse skates that are included are a nice added bonus to the combo.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
Installation is easy, just find some space on your desk and put the Thunder9 there. I’m a big fan of quality cloth mousepads, but I had forgotten what it was like to use a nice quality hard surface mousepad. Going from the cloth to the hard surface is actually a big transition in terms of responsiveness of your mouse, and the speed at which you mouse can glide over it. I have quite a few mice here that I use for testing, my two main mice are the Logitech G5 and the MX1000, these are the two that I use the most.
I’ve been trying to get back into doing a bit more gaming, I recently purchased a whole bunch of newer and older games that I just never got for whatever reason, and getting the Thunder9 really game me a reason to play them.
Gaming with the Thunder9 is a joy to behold, your mouse just glides over the surface like it was ice, adding the included mouse skates improves on this performance exponentially. My mice just seem so much more responsive and much easier to use on the Thunder9. None of the mice I tried missed a beat while tracking across the pad, while playing Quake4, BF2142, BF2, or any other other games I played.
I’ve been using the Thunder9 for about two weeks now for everything I do, and it has made everything seem effortless. The mouse just seems to float across the pad, and I remember what I like about hard surface pads.
The mice I tested made no sound as they moved on the Thunder9, some hard surface pads make a scratching sound, but not the Thunder9, it seems to be the prefect mousepad.
Tracking on the Thunder9 is superb, the addition of the mouse skates just makes the Thunder9 all the better to use.
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Summary:
The Thunder9 is possibly the perfect mousepad. It has a low cost, excellent construction and design, and even includes some nice extras. If you are in the market for a new mousepad, you don’t need to pay lots of money for a quality pad, the Thunder9 is a premium quality pad at a very low price. Try it out and I know you’ll love it.
DragonSteelMods gives the X-Ray Thunder9 a 5 out of 5 score and our Recommended Award as well.
Pros:
-Low price
-Nice extras that come with it
-Very responsive
-Great tracking
-Very smooth
Cons:
-None
I would like to thank X-Ray Technology for the chance to review the Thunder9 and for their continued support of DSM.