When comparing Roccat Lua vs Zowie EC1-A, the Slant community recommends Zowie EC1-A for most people. In the question“What is the best gaming mouse?” Zowie EC1-A is ranked 20th while Roccat Lua is ranked 38th. The most important reason people chose Zowie EC1-A is:
The Avago 3310 sensor used by this mouse is exceptional. It delivers a true portrayal of mouse movement with no jitter, acceleration or prediction. The available DPI choices of 400/800/1600/3200 are all native and should ensure an equally good performance, regardless of which one is chosen.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Comfortable to use
Its rather small size and lower than usual height allow for a substantially comfortable grip. The sides have a dent which helps fingers positioning. Additionally, the sides are smoothly textured so you shouldn’t ever feel like your hand is losing its grip.
Pro Well suited for fingertip and claw grips
Unless you have small hands, this is a mouse that is meant for people who use either the claw or fingertip grip. In addition to being a small mouse and having low height, it's also extremely light, weighing only 68 grams. This makes it easy to control with a fingertip and claw grip as it relies on the mouse being as agile as it can be.
Pro Well built
Even though it’s a budget mouse, it has high quality components to ensure that the mouse can last for years. There are no unnecessary moving parts while button clicks are clear and don’t give out after heavy use. The body of the mouse consists of rubberized coating at the top and textured plastic on the sides which gives it a quality feel.
Pro Good amount of customization provided by the accompanying software
The software is very simple and easy to use. It lets you change the DPI steps, double click speed, vertical scroll speed, polling rate, very basic lighting control and the choice of hand-mode. In addition, it has the option to reassign its buttons, but since the Lua has only four buttons it’s practically useless as the main three are almost always invariable.
Pro Excellent budget sensor
The Avago A3050 optical sensor that the Lua uses has small, unnoticeable prediction and doesn’t carry over perfect tracking at high speeds (depending on the chosen DPI setting, over 60-120 inches per second or 1.5 m/s-3 m/s). But unless you use it at extremely low sensitivity, it shouldn’t be a problem. When reaching such speeds, some negative acceleration may be noticed.
Pro Full Linux support
Roccat has good Linux drivers.
Pro Can be used by both righties and lefties
Uses an ambidextrous design that actually feels as if it is and ergonomic design no matter what hand is using it.
Pro On-the-fly CPI switch
There is a button right behind the scroll wheel that will allow for on-the-fly CPI switching.
Pro Sensor and DPI options ensure fluid and optimal gaming performance
The Avago 3310 sensor used by this mouse is exceptional. It delivers a true portrayal of mouse movement with no jitter, acceleration or prediction. The available DPI choices of 400/800/1600/3200 are all native and should ensure an equally good performance, regardless of which one is chosen.
Pro Ergonomic, accommodating shape, especially for those with big hands
Though it may look tame, the mouse’s shape is quite ergonomic. Its subtle curves help your fingers position themselves while also allowing various grip types. For the same reason, the bulge of the mouse is located strictly in the middle, making it accommodating for the most amount of people, and even more for gamers that have big hands. Nevertheless, it may be more suited for palm grips because of the subtle curve at the right side which provides support for the ring and pinky fingers.
Pro Flawless movement, essential for gaming
The EC1-A delivers accurate mouse cursor movement that is essential to any gaming mouse. Virtually flawless, it has none of the precision-altering flaws that are apparent in other mice.
Pro Button switches click easily
Although the buttons have Huano switches, which are more stiff, the shell of the mouse somehow negates this and makes them click easily, just like typical Omron switches.
Pro Smooth mousepad movement
The mouse comes with two mouse feet that are larger than normal and ensure smooth movement over the mousepad.
Pro Includes a set of thumb buttons
The EC1-A includes a set of thumb buttons which are standard for most mice.
Pro Built to last
The switches don’t randomly break down, no component excessively rattles and the scroll wheel doesn’t degrade easily. Although the mouse has a rubber cable which is quite vulnerable to bending and damage, the mouse as a whole is well built and can be expected to last.
Pro Coating ensures a good grip
The mouse has a smooth plastic coating that doesn’t feel slippery. You can easily hold the mouse with a comfortable grip even without the rubber sides.
Pro Some customization options
The EC1-A has only a few customization options, all of which are sensor related. It is possible to change the lift off distance, polling rate and the DPI settings (400/800/1600/3200).
Cons
Con Lacks sidebuttons
Since it’s in the style of a classic three-button mouse, the lack of side buttons limits customization options.
Con Small size takes some getting used to
The Roccat Lua is a small mouse, measuring only 11.5 cm in length and 3 cm in height. The width is pretty standard with 6.5 cm at the back and narrows down towards the front. The small size might raise some concern about the grip. If it’s your first mouse of this size you might need to adjust your grip to accommodate for the smaller scale of the mouse. Commonly the grips change and include some elements of a fingertip grip.
Con Top DPI value may feel insufficient for some gamers
The DPI amount caps at 2000, which might not be enough for some.
Con Can suffer from small amounts of jitter on high DPI values
This mouse's DPI setting can be set from 250 to 2000, in increments of 250. At DPI settings higher than 1250, it can generate small amounts of jitter. The mouse works the best at 500 DPI with a 1000Hz polling rate.
Con Rubber cord is prone to breaking
It has a rubber type cable which means there’s less resistance and drag against the desk but at the same time can be more prone to damage when bent.
Con Light weight takes some getting used to
At 68 grams, it's about 30% lighter than most mice. Switching from an average mouse might take some getting used to and feel like the Lua is a bit floatey.
Con Uses an outdated sensor
The Lua’s optical sensor might be a bit dated, since it was released five years ago. Still, it mostly only shows weakness when it is facing really fast mouse movements. And as long as you are aware of it, this shortcoming can be entirely avoided.
Con Low palmrest height
The low palmrest height may be a turn off for some palm style users.
Con Customization options are limited due to the lack of companion software
There is no companion software to this mouse, which means you cannot do thorough customizations, such as button remapping or custom lighting.
Con DPI colors annoying and can't be customized
The scroll wheel has an LED that changes color depending on your DPI setting, but the corresponding color cannot be customized.
Con Side buttons don't register easily
The side buttons require you to press deeply before it registers an action.
Con DPI switch can't be accessed during use
The DPI switch is a button that can’t be accessed while in use because it's located under the mouse.
Con The customization process is inconvenient
All Zowie mice are built to be straightforward and simple to use. However, its settings cannot be changed easily during normal use: you have to unplug the mouse and use a combination of different button presses while plugging the mouse in, which is unintuitive and a hassle to learn.
Con Not manufactured anymore
The Zowie EC-1 is no longer manufactured by Zowie but it still can be found on eBay and Amazon from third party sellers.