A mouse aimed primarily at eSports users and serious gaming users. ZOWIE have released a new white version of the EC2-A.
Product on Review: BenQ ZOWIE EC2-A
Manufacturer: BenQ ZOWIE
Street Price: £56.99 / $59.99
BenQ, better known for their displays and projectors, bought ZOWIE back in 2015 since then they’ve been fleshing out their gaming offerings, with high-refresh displays, keyboards, mice etc. The BenQ ZOWIE EC2-A is their first right-handed gaming mouse aimed at E-Sports, available in two sizes and now two colours; the white one in for testing today is the new addition.
The EC2-A features a 3200DPI sensor, a sleek, ergonomic design suitable for claw or palm grip types, a glossy white coating and a 4-colour scroll wheel.
The mouse in for review today is a little different to anything we’ve reviewed recently, lacking RGB lighting or a huge DPI sensor, so let’s put it through its paces and see if such a mouse is still relevant in today’s market.
BenQ ZOWIE on the EC2-A:
Technical Specifications
USB 2.0 / 3.0 Plug & Play
Buttons: 5 buttons
Cable Length: 2m / 6,6 ft
Report Rate: 125 / 500 / 1000 Hz
Size: Medium
Design: Ergonomic
Packaging & First Look
The EC2-A packaging is incredibly basic, showing the colour, the model number and a basic 1:1 scale outline of the mouse.
On the reverse, you’ll be hard pressed to find any extra information. This packaging would be next to useless for those doing any kind of store-browsing.
The mouse itself is held in place by a plastic tray, providing plenty of protection and being designed in such a way that the mouse can be repackaged easily.
Included with the ZOWIE are some replacement mouse feet, a ZOWIE sticker, a multi-lingual User Guide and some brief warranty information.
The EC2-A looks awesome, the all-white styling with the small black and red accents are very different from everything else we’ve seen recently.
Closer Look
The EC2-A is a beautiful mouse with its glossy curves and minimalist design. ZOWIE have relied on Hunao to provide the switches under the right and left click buttons.
The ZOWIE logo and BenQ badge adorn the back and rear quarter panel of the mouse while maintaining that minimalist approach.
The right-hand side of the ZOWIE is perfectly smooth with nothing worth mentioning. The side is incredibly glossy, so grip may be an issue.
The left-hand side features two large thumb buttons, for backwards and forwards, with a slight concave shape to aid grip with your thumb.
Closer Look (Continued)
On the flip-side, the EC2-A features two huge Teflon glide pads, of which there are included replacements. BenQ has counted on PixArt for the sensor, going with the extremely reliable PMW3310 sensor which is located centrally, alongside the DPI switch. The switch is pre-programmed to 400 / 800 / 1600 and 3200, along with an associated scroll wheel colour to indicate the selected profile (Red / Purple / Blue / Green respectively.)
The moulded USB looks nice with the ZOWIE logo, which can often be handy for identifying items around the back of your PC, though, surprisingly, BenQ has decided to go for a rubber coated cable instead of the, almost expected, braided cable. The rubber cable chosen offers next to no resistance, so should never be any issue.
Performance Testing
The PixArt sensor and Huano switches were tested using Orcs Must Die: Unchained, War Thunder, Paladins and Battlefield 4, providing a reasonably broad range of games. The sensor performed remarkably well on all 4 of the available DPI options (400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200). The lack of any driver or software (competition rules) obviously limits the ability to fine-tune the DPI, so in-game settings must be changed to achieve a similar result, by adjusting sensitivity. Due to this being an eSports mouse, it’s designed to be taken with you to events and plugged into the provided machine, providing the exact same experience regardless of location. The Huano switches provide positive feedback, much more so than OMRONs used in rival mice.
ZOWIE have included a method, described in the user manual, of adjusting the polling rate, with 125Hz, 500Hz and 1000Hz being possible. The process is as simple as holding the required button while connecting the mouse to your chosen USB port.
Something of note, the scroll wheel features a 24 point click-system, with deep notches requiring a relatively large amount of force to spin, makes the scroll wheel much more reliable as a button for use as Grenade or similar; we liked that a lot.
The mouse itself is very appealing, with the glossy white exterior and classic shape. The scroll wheel lights up to indicate the chosen DPI, with 4 colours available (Red / Purple / Blue / Green.) BenQ ZOWIE’s choice to use small logos bodes well with the minimalist design, keeping things very understated. The contrasting black thumb buttons stand out and are well positioned for rapid access, though they feel awkward to use, with a decidedly ‘two-stage’ click feel about it; they just don’t feel solid enough to be used effectively. Other than the thumb buttons, the overall build quality is good.
Unfortunately, the main pitfall of the EC2-A is the glossy shell, while it looks incredible and provides something very different within the gaming sector, it becomes very sticky and difficult to use after a short period of time; this may be down entirely to personal preference, however, we weren’t taken to it here at Vortez.
The cable chosen by BenQ, being a thin rubber affair was found to provide so little resistance that it’s not worth considering; even when bundled up in front of the mouse, you will never find it difficult to push out of the way. This could be crucial during tense moments.
Conclusion
If you’re serious about competitive eSports and require a reliable mouse to travel with you, the ZOWIE EC2-A should be given some serious consideration. The PixArt sensor is incredibly reliable, the Huano switches under mouse 1 and 2 provide a nice ‘clunky’ feel, the scroll wheel feels manly and requires genuine force to turn; all of which is encased in a beautiful white exterior.The lack of driver software may not be for everyone, limiting the adjustability of the mouse quite considerably, though ZOWIE has figured out clever ways around most of this. On the other hand, the mouse is designed for eSports, where the rules generally state that no driver software is to be installed on the PC. Horses for courses.
Unless you’re planning on attending multiple competitive events, you’d be better off looking at a general purpose gaming mouse, the EC2-A is too serious to be used otherwise.
The glossy shell is the only real problem for us, providing a sweaty experience after a short period of time; this might put a lot of users off. The black version doesn’t share the same coating, so wouldn’t suffer from the same problem.
One thing we’d like to see with an eSports mouse is a small pouch to carry it in, preventing any damage or it getting dirty.
For £56.99, you will be hard pressed to find a better driverless mouse; the EC2-A is ideal for eSports and should be thought of as such.
+ Great sensor performance
+ Beautiful design
+ Huano switches feel great
+ Good build quality
+ Excellent driverless workarounds
Cons
– Glossy shell gets sweaty
– Thumb buttons feel wobbly
– Lack of carry pouch
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
