Mionix Avior 8200 review: Southpaw or not, this gaming mouse proves that sometimes simple is better

I'm not left-handed. When I was younger – back in the late '80s – I colored and did everything with my left hand. My parents, though, made me change and start using my right hand. They said it would make my life easier, and to a certain extent they were right. Since I played a lot of PC games growing up, it was just easier to find a mouse suited to a right-hander. But I still am kind of upset with them for ruining my baseball career (I throw in the low 80s; as a left-hander, that's good enough if you locate your pitches).

Nowadays, lefties get just as much love as righties. And with the growth in quality and comfort of ambidextrous gaming mice now, my baseball career and PC gaming hobby could have both flourished if a mouse like the Mionix Avior 8200 existed back then.

The layout and comfort of the Avior 8200 is perfect for left-handed gamers, and while I'm right-handed, it's equally as comfortable for me. I use a Palm grip on my mouse when I game, but the mouse can be comfortable for either style; also, there's good grip that has a soft touch feel to the mouse. You're not going to get tired of holding it. Like most ambidextrous mice, you're going to have to fidget until you find a place to rest your ring and pinky fingers, but that's a minor grip for all mice supporting players of both hands.

Looks-wise, it's a very simple design, but there's nothing wrong with that. The mouse has sleek angles, while the mouse wheel and the Mionix symbol both glow with whatever color you choose from the customizable LED lighting system. There's nine programmable buttons, and the two on the side function as your usual forward and back buttons when you're browsing the depths of the internet. It also has a nice, braided cable, but that's standard nowadays.

For me, depending on the game I'm playing, I like to switch between different DPI settings. I tend to generically play in the 4800 to 5800 range, but I like to have freedom to switch, and my wife hates high DPI settings. You can set three different DPI values and while in-game switch between them, so I definitely like the functionality and how easy it is to switch on-the-go. Also, the Mionix 8200, like the name implies, sports an 8200 DPI laser sensor. You can also save different profiles and switch between them in-game; so you can store your mouse button commands and the color you like, and even more advanced customizable settings like polling rate.

Overall, the Mionix Avior 8200 is a great choice for PC gamers – either right-handed or left-handed – that are looking for a simple gaming mouse without all the bells and whistles. It's comfortable and has good response time and action on mouse clicks. Considering, though, that there aren't a ton of extra features and customization, the $90 pricetag is a little high. For $10 less, you can get essentially the same mouse in the Razer Taipan, but the Avior does have more heft to it. Ambidextrous mice with 8200 DPI sensors are more commonplace now, but the Avior 8200 holds its own quite well and is a really good option.

Tech Specs

• 32bit ARM processor 72mhz
• Ambidextrous design, palm or claw grip
• Grip friendly rubber coating
• 9 fully programmable buttons
• 3 steps in-game DPI adjustment
• 2 integrated LEDs in 2 colour zones
• Up to 16.8 Million LED colour options
• Lighting effects Colour shift, Solid, Blinking, Pulsating and Breathing
• 128 kb built-in memory
• Large PTFE mouse feet
• Gold Plated, Full speed USB 2.0 connection with Plug and Play
• Cable 2m long braided cable
• 8200 DPI gaming laser sensor
• Max tracking speed 3.8 m/sec (150 ips)
• Max acceleration 30g
• Data Format 16-bit both sensor and USB
• Adjustable to1ms response time
• Upto 12000fps
• 10.8 megapixel per second Image processing power

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com