Finding a great computer gaming mouse is one way that competitive online gamers can gain an advantage over their opponents and secure victory in the raging MMORPG, FPS or RTS games* that many play.  In the world of competitive sport winning is everything.

* For those that don't know these acronyms that are as follows: Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORGP), First Person Shooters (FPS), and Real Time Stratgey (RTS).

In a gaming mouse you want to be able to find the perfect combination of ergonomic design and powerful, percise sensor technology.  Because gamers have a propensity to spend hours upon hours sitting in front of a computer screen while they shoot, strategize, or grind away they need to keep their hands and body in tip top shape.  Carpel tunnel syndrome can kill percision mouse work so making sure that hours of working your right hand on a  mouse won't create this syndrom is pretty important to those who play seriously.  You have to keep playing if you want to win.

Another thing that a gamer needs in their mouse is the ability to move their cursor quickly with exact, percise movements.   If you want to get a head shot on a moving target while playing Unreal Tournament III you need a moust that is not going to jump, skip, or move widely.  That is why powerful sensor technology is going to be key for your computer gaming mouse.

The Logitech G5 is a pretty solid gaming mouse that offers a lot of features for a relatively cheap price. You can really get a good grip on this mouse, making it good for those who have panic responses when playing high intensity games. If you have larger hands, you might find this mouse a little smallish for you, but if you are normal handed then this probably not going to be an issue for you.

On great feature of this mouse is that you can adjust the DPI. DPI, or dots per inch, on a mouse is the measure of how little or much you need to move your gaming mouse to get an equivalent amount of movement on your screen. When the DPI of your screen and the DPI of your mouse are the same then you will need to move your mouse 1 inch for every inch your mouse will move on your screen. The Logitech G5 lets you control this on the fly with a button located directly behind the scroll wheel. You can switch between 400, 800, and 2000 DPI if you keep the settings at their default.

You can also adjust the actual weight of the mouse as well. There are 16 weights, 8 1.7g and 8 4.5g weights, that you can mix and match throughout the body of your mouse to give it the perfect feel for your hand and arm muscle structure. Getting a good weight will help you get you shots lined up right when you need it.

The Logitech makes a great computer gaming mouse because of its extensive customizition and good body structure.

The Logitech G9 is the next generation G5, adding additional levels of customization for the hardcore gamer.  Two thumb buttons that can be remapped as hotkeys for your favorite actions which will make your life a lot easier then fractions of a second matter.  

This model also features the cool, on-the-fly DPI customization and the customizable mouse weight of the previous version but now includes two different grips for the mouse so that you have two "looks" when using the mouse.  One give the mouse a wider profile for those wil larger hands and another slimmer but rougher grip.  I would recommend using both grips and deciding which one works best for you.

This mouse also features adjustable, on-the-fly DPI adjustment. Like the G5 and G9 you can change the weight and feel of the mouse.  An added feature to the Microsoft SideWinder is that you can also manage the cable inside of it.  There can be a lot of different reason to want to have a shorter or longer cable, so having the ability to manage this aspect of you mouse is really important depending on how your desk it set up.

Another cool feature of this mouse is an on-board macro recorder.  This can automate some tasks for you and make your life a lot easier while you try and get more kills or take more territory from your opponent.

Some downsides to this mouse is that it is fairly large and bulky and that the construction can feel a little cheap to those familiar with other mouse builds.  Also, the thumb button feels odd for seasoned veterans.

I honestly haven't tried out each of these computer gaming mouses myself, but you can head on over to TechSpot's comparision of these mice and find out what they think when the did their comparison.  There artilce is title, The Best Gaming Mouse and features a indepth analysis of the current computer gaming mouse landscape.  A must read.