fUnc F-Series Mouse Pads

Mouse pads are often disregarded, as no one feels the need to spend a few extra dollars on a mouse pad. Those few extra dollars could be the difference between better hardware or the best hardware. If you’re a heavy gamer, you should already know of the importance of the smooth surface a mouse pad should provide. It is arguable whether the mouse pad or the mouse provides the precision, but keep in mind that the mouse pad has the ability to decrease friction with the mouse. With that in mind, fUnc has released a new line of smooth surface pads gamers should have their eyes on.

At this year’s E3 gaming expo, fUnc mouse pads where on display at a few of the big companies’ booths. I’ve never heard of fUnc, but their prior mouse pads received much praise from people all around the world. Although I’m still not persuaded, maybe their two new mouse pads will leave a positive first impression over my previous mouse pad.

fUnc F-Series Mouse Pads

Mouse pads don’t need very fancy packaging. They just need to be shipped with care to prevent bending and creasing. After a good look at these two mouse pads, their appealing looks caught up with me. There is one hole on each package for a preview feel of the mouse pad. The two mouse pads I received are only different in terms of size and surface texture. The smaller one is 14in x11in (35.6cm x 27.9cm) and has a smooth surface. The larger one is 17in x 11in (43.2cm x 27.9cm) and has a rougher surface. Why such a big mouse pad? For games such as Starcraft and Counter-Strike, lifting your mouse is a waste of time and can cost you greatly. The only foreseeable problem with a larger surface area is that there might not be enough room on the desk.

Both of these pads are single-sided. On the bottom, there is rubber to prevent the mouse pad from sliding around. You can immediately tell that this mouse pad is designed for gamers with the inclusion of a mouse cord clip. This clip allows the user to adjust the amount of cord. The included double-sided instructions elaborate further on how to set up the clip and the adjustment of the cord’s length. If there isn’t enough space on your desk to begin with, the use of the cord clipper might not be the best idea.

Testing the mouse pad for effectiveness requires actual use, making benchmarks and other numbers useless. For testing purposes, the Logitech MX700 will be used with both mouse pads. The mouse pads’ performance will be based on graphics work done through Adobe Photoshop and games such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Doom 3.

The moment I switched from my old steel mouse pad to the F10-S (smooth surface) and F30-R (rough surface), I felt a noticeable change in noise, friction, and precision. Noise and friction decreased, but precision seemed to have decreased more. The amount of frames the cursor jumps was not that much different. It was hard to get used to the change of precision for the first day. After the first day, graphical work in Photoshop was easier to finish. There wasn’t a big difference in terms of pixel precision. The biggest notable change was the feeling during my daily gaming. The mouse felt weightless on top of the F10-S pad. It was more comfortable to hear less noise and feel less friction over the steel pad. The F30-R caused slightly more noise than the F10-S, as it has a rougher surface, but performance was the same. Some of you might wonder why there weren’t any comments on the performance of my game play. The reason is simple; Gaming is all about your skill level in the game and not whether a mouse pad will aid you in winning.

Conclusion and Thoughts

The new fUnc F-series mouse pads brought more comfort over my previous 4s steel pad. What was interesting about this specific mouse pad was my negative first impression. It was hard to get used to and I was very frustrated. No mouse pad had ever given me the feeling of weightlessness in the middle of my game. The inclusion of a mouse cord clip to avoid cord problems is effective and appealing to gamers. This mouse pad will require the gamer to adapt to the feel before the gaming experience will be worthwhile. With a price of $14.99 for a smaller pad, and $24.99 for a bigger pad, I would recommend buying it only if you have spare cash on hand. It will be a nice addition to your gaming rig and might provide more comfort while playing games. If you’re short on cash, this doesn’t have to be on your must-have item list.

We would like to thank CrazyPC for providing us the sample. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit us up in the forums. You can also check out more of our latest reviews on the front page.