How long is the minimum time..

[greypanther]

I've always went with similar line of thought to Paul Knibbs, buy decent and expect it to last for years, well I'm onto my 2nd Logitech G602, 1st one side button plastic broke and this one has a dodgy tactile switch on the middle mouse button which seeing as I'm almost certainly out of warranty means suck it up or solder new tactile in. neither option fills me with joy,

Now you see, that asks the next question fro me: What is a reasonable price for a PC mouse? I did look at the 602, but at £70 thought it was to much, never mind me not wanting a wireless mouse. Some of the prices are just silly in my opinion...

@Alan: Glad to see I am not the only one who tends to anthropomorphize too much! Maybe it is to do with being a cats slave...

[pjknibbs]

Now you see, that asks the next question fro me: What is a reasonable price for a PC mouse?

I think the £30-£50 range is about right. Not silly money, but you ought to be able to get something with a bit of quality to it in that price range.

[Alan Phipps]

In 2011 I bought a Sharkoon Fire Glider optical gaming mouse (wired) that has several programmable buttons and adjustable weight for just over £23. It is the best mouse I have ever had in terms of comfort, accuracy, response and customisation. It is still going strong and performs as if new despite heavy gaming use and has even survived abuse by my 2 yr old granddaughter (and the cat)!

Unfortunately that Sharkoon model doesn't seem to be available to buy any more.

[Retiredman]

Build a better mouse and somebody comes up with a better mousetrap.
Make something idiot proof.. Somebody comes up with a newer idiot.

I've had both cheap and expensive mice... one to two years is all they last..

buy what works for you and what you are willing to pay.

[OmegaKnight]

I had to check amazon to see when I bought my mouse,
a Razer Naga Hex,
it was 2012
It's still going strong.

[pjknibbs]

I've had both cheap and expensive mice... one to two years is all they last..

I suspect the common factor there is you, then, because I've never had a mouse that's only lasted a year or two.

[Hank001]

Hank001's tips for the care and feeding of mice.

The first thing that kills mice (the electronic pointing type)
is the pads on the base of the mouse wearing down. I have long since found a few things to do as soon as the mouse comes out of the box. I prize off those four factory pads and replace them with four plastic feet that are of all things faux ivory made for luthiers (guitar makers) to use as frets. If you look around you can find 100 little things you can use to replace those factory pads with.

If you as I do and buy bundled wireless mouse/keyboard then get good at knowing how to open up the keyboard. One of the keys will jam persistantly (varies by made, but usually the same key. My Logitec it's the left shift). I swap it's mechinism with a little used keys guts (I use the home and end keys in that 6 key group I never use).
Plus I take the keyboard apart out of the box, spray a thin coat of a circuit board protctant on the keys so my typing doesn't ware off the printing on the keys. Next keep your old junk for parts.

I know this sounds Duh, but those wireless USB wireless fobs build up heat. I learned to put them on USB extention and keep them away from the case becase a good bit of case heat blows out of face or rear USB ports.

As for live mice? Stay away from pet store food. They thrive on cheap grain cereal mixes and give them goldfish crackers as treats.

Edit: My new Logitc 3D Extreme Joystick just hung me in a constant spin today. So I took it apart. Inside it was a joke, and not a ha-ha funny type of joke.

So I had an old one that fritzed a circuit in 2010 and opened it up.
Total difference. I put tye cuircuit board from the new one into the old one (Had to drill new mount holes as they too were different.)
So I used the new one to fix the old. But GOD! That new one was built so cheap it's a wonder it lasted a week playing X3!