Nova Master

Testing

To test this mat I am going to use it during general Windows usage and in games using two different mice on it for each test. The mice I will use are an old Logitech optical mouse which will help to determine the pads usefulness to a normal computer user. The other mouse is a steel series ikari laser mouse, specifically designed for gamers; this will see if the mat stands out from the rest in a gamer’s setup.

Results

Logitech optical mouse

This mouse has a dpi of roughly 800 which means it’s quite slow; however it did perform very well with the master. In general Windows use the mouse performed well on the mat where precision was not a problem. In-game the nova helped with accuracy (as I got used to the lower dpi I was able to be more precise) but was a bit lacking when it came to gaming comfort. The small size of the mouse coupled with the rough surface of the pad made my wrist sore and sweaty. The large tracking area, however, was a definite plus side as it meant I didn’t need to keep lifting my hand which is common practice with a low dpi mouse. Overall the optical mouse performed well if not slowly on the master. After a few hours gaming the pad did make me very uncomfortable with its rough surface.

Ikari laser mouse

I used this mouse at a high dpi setting of 3000 and a low of 1600 as it’s the set up that I find most suits my gaming style and reflexes. The mouse tracked very well with minimal friction and both dpi settings worked incredibly well. However the same thing happened again as with the optical mouse, and my wrists became very uncomfortable after using the Master for prolonged periods. However the higher dpi meant I wasn’t moving my wrist so much so took a bit longer to set in. The precision that the pad provided was rivaled only by the Nova Winner 3 which is virtually the same but on a smaller scale.

In-game the mouse performed flawlessly with much of this accredited to the master (no not all me however good I may be, the pad has to take some credit). On team fortress 2 I was able to get a string of head shots as sniper and mince a lot people as a “heavy”. The precision that the pad provided meant I could get all the critical hits and come out fighting almost all of the time. Overall the pad performed better with the Ikari, but this is to be expected as a gaming mouse tends to work better with a gaming pad.

Cost

Guess how much this pad costs. Go on, guess. £10? £15? How about £23. This is one of the most expensive mouse mats I have seen, and certainly the most expensive non-glass mat. Unfortunately for Nova, this could be quite a turn off for those considering pick up one of these.

Peripherals