Microsoft SideWinder X5

Back in the day, shopping for gaming peripherals meant sifting through a ton of Microsoft’s SideWinder products to find what you needed. Everything from SideWinder controllers, to joysticks, to force-feedback steering wheels lined hardware stores; to say that they dominated the market would be spot on. Eventually the entire range started phasing out and the series was all but forgotten. In an attempt to revive it, Microsoft has released the SideWinder X5 and X8 mice, along with the X6 Keyboard.

To be honest, when I saw the first few pictures of their new gaming rodent’s design, I thought it looked butt-ugly. In fact, until quite recently, I didn’t expect too much from the series since I’ve had my share of bitter experiences with other Microsoft hardware, including their last gaming mouse endeavor with Razer – the Habu.

More from Reviews

Best phones under Rs 75,000 (March 2025): Apple iPhone 16, OnePlus 13 to Google Pixel 9 Apple iPhone 16e First Impressions: The budget gateway into Apple Intelligence

My opinion of Microsoft’s hardware hasn’t always been bad though. The original Intellimouse was a brilliant non-gaming mouse that fit the role of a gamer’s companion pretty well, with incredible tracking that never skipped, and the kind of overall durability that made the product last close to a lifetime. With the SideWinder X5, Microsoft has proved once again that a tiny part of them that created the Intellimouse is still alive and kicking in some corner of the company.

From the minute I laid my hands on the X5, there was no doubt this mouse was designed for maximum comfort. The mouse might seem too broad at first glance (because it is), but every centimeter in its breadth is justified by its ergonomic design – my palm, as well as every finger, rested perfectly on its well moulded exterior. The thumb area or left side of the mouse protrudes and is designed along the lines of your thumb, ensuring that with the help of the perfect inward curvature of its surface, your thumb rests comfortably.

The right side protrudes too, allowing your little finger to rest on it at a rather comfortable angle, and not dangle uncomfortably along the edge as with smaller mice. I was never a fan of small mice, but a while ago Razer’s Diamondback made me change that. After using the X5, I was reminded of why I love larger mice…

__PAGEBREAK__

The back end of the mouse is designed in a rotund manner that fit right in the cavity of my palm, as if it was designed for it. In other words, this mouse is ideal for those who like resting their palm and fingers on the mouse. The other sect of mouse users – people who use their fingers as a pivot to control the mouse – will find the mouse annoying since the bulbous backside will nudge their palm constantly. I for one prefer ‘palming’ the mouse, so I loved the X5’s overall structure.

The rounded back merges smoothly into the left and right buttons, each of which has a slightly curved surface similar to that on the thumb side, allowing your index and middle finger to rest comfortably. To add to the way the mouse feels, the sides have a slightly rubbery texture that feels great, and at the same time ensures excellent grip.

The mouse scroll is one of the best I’ve seen amongst high-end gaming mice. It has a rubbery texture and ridges engraved on it, giving you excellent grip. The best part about these ridges is that they move along the mouse vertically, and not horizontally like in the Habu. This ensures that those of us with sensitive fingers (who hate overly textured mouse scrolls) will find it smooth and a lot less annoying than the Habu’s scroll. The scroll features a flat top which allows your index/middle finger to rest comfortably on it, which is a big boon when compared to those that have a rounded profile. Rounded profiles tend to get uncomfortable after prolonged use, since they keep pressing against the base of your finger.

The only area that could be improved upon is the depth of the middle mouse button – or the mouse scroll button, if you please. It’s way deeper than it should ideally be, increasing the effort and time taken to press and release it by a fraction of a second. This might not be an issue for many, but for those who’re into twitch-based first person shooters where timing is crucial, the use of the middle click might be rendered highly impractical.

Speaking of buttons, the X5 boasts of five fully programmable ones. When I first read about it, I was under the impression that it had five programmable buttons apart from the 3 basic ones (left, middle and right click). As it turns out, these “five buttons” include the three main buttons, the other two being the ones on the left or thumb side of the mouse. That didn’t work too well for me – the only two buttons I could assign macros to were the lower and upper thumb buttons, since I hate messing around with the three default clicks. I’d hoped that the three buttons underneath the middle click would be programmable too initially, but that isn’t the case. Those buttons are solely for setting your DPI from 200 to 2000. If it’s any consolation, the mouse’s driver software (IntelliPoint) is identical with Windows’ own native mouse control panel, so using it to set macros is a piece of cake. Also, you can manually set each DPI button to a preset that suits your needs, which works well for people who change their DPI between games.

Lastly, I wasn’t too impressed by the mouse’s feet, since they were rather large and not very smooth. The deal with larger feet is that they generate more friction, making matters worse when you don’t have a smooth surface to work on.

The SideWinder X5 is priced at Rs 2840, which makes it a little expensive for an entry-level gaming mouse. While the mouse is ideal for those who game for many hours at stretch, the number of buttons is inadequate for most MMORPG players who love their macros. If you’re looking for a decent mouse for first person shooters, the X5 fits the role perfectly. As a cautionary note, those with smaller hands or left-handed people should steer clear. If you do consider buying it, ensure that you have a smooth mouse pad to accompany it.