Notice: This product was originally purchased in October of 2014. A lot can change in manufacturing standards, materials used, etc. in 8 years! Please keep this in mind when reading this review.This product was originally purchased for me after a lot of begging as a little kid me (~13 y.o) for a new good gaming mouse to replace the cheap wireless mice I used in the interim. I can say, I wasn't expecting for something to last until I was 20, but here we are!As I said above, I got this product purchased when I was a kid. This means this product has most certainly suffered from the hands of a kid- chip dust, greasy food, you name it. And yet, it still works almost completely up until this day!Lets go over the functionality, pros, and the few cons and defects it has accumulated over its long life.Functionality Pros:Wireless USB:Yea, it's wireless! I've had odd locations for my computer setup over the years, and having a good wireless mouse has helped it a lot to not have a wired mouse get tangled with all the other stuff that needs to be wired. It is also worth noting that the connection to the computer is via a wireless USB-A port, which can also be stored inside the mouse's battery location for easy transport.Also, while we are on the topic of it being wireless, I know some people I've spoken to in real life about the idea of a wireless gaming mouse and them scoffing at the idea. Usually the common complaint is "input delay." I will put this disclaimer, I have never played, nor enjoyed, games which require insane reaction time, I'm just not the kind of person to enjoy those games (the most intense game I play when it comes to reaction time is TF2). With that in mind, I can say I have absolutely never noticed any sort of input delay, the time between me clicking and the computer registering the click atleast feels instant. Maybe if I was playing more intense games, some sort of delay may make itself apparent, however I have never experienced this.One last thing: If your USB connection is too far from the mouse, or if it is located behind a lot of cover (especially behind a lot of metal, which depending on your desk/computer layout means behind your computer with no Line of Sight), the connection may be unreliable, as with any wireless system. Try different locations for your USB connection if you have reliability problems. Beyond this way of reliability issues coming up, I've never had connection issues.Battery-Powered + Easy Replacement:This is incredibly important for gaming, and for the operation of a wireless mouse. When you are in the middle of the game, it is important that if you lose power you can very quickly hot-swap the battery to a new one in the middle of playing. The battery cover is very easy to remove and place back on, and the battery is easily accessible, even with my big fingers. Over the years, it has made it to the point where I can replace the battery in under 3 seconds, although your mileage for a new user may vary.It is also possible to recharge the battery by plugging in a USB-Micro-B (May have changed to USB-C in newer models!), however I do have complaints about this in the cons section.I should also quickly mention battery life: I am using Energizer Rechargeable Batteries (2020), and in general a battery can last roughly 5-7 hours in use. Your mileage may vary depending on brand and type, however.Free Scroll:This is a somewhat more niche functionality, and isn't necessarily important for most people, but it has the option to unlock the scrolling wheel and allow for the wheel to spin freely until either you physically stop it or until friction slowly wears it down. I tested it, with a good strong spin it can scroll for about 12,000 pixels per second for about 5 seconds, while it takes 9 seconds for the wheel to stop. You of course can keep scrolling, this was just one scroll.Scroll-Wheel Tactility:This is something about the ergonomics of this mouse that is very nice! The scroll wheel when locked has a granular tactile nature, where you can lightly feel every 'click' of the scroll wheel moving up and down.Buttons Ergonomics:Generally, the ergonomics of the buttons are very good. Left and Right click require just the right amount of force, not too light (i.e. easy to mis-press) nor too heavy (noticable force).Middle-Mouse Button also fits this description, although it will require more force as expected for MMB. Speaking of MMB, it is very easy to press and keep your finger held on it without slipping, owing to the metal side-trims and (especially) the ridged rubber surface of the MMB. Certain games I play require heavy use of MMB, and this mouse has never failed in that department.Top-Left Buttons (G8,G9,G10) for sensitivity settings are easily accessible, but not in the way whatsoever. It's rare to require sensitivity changes mid-game, but they're there if needed. I will admit: I am unsure if it is possible to change the functionality of these buttons. Maybe! I haven't ever tried. Judging from other reviews, you can!Scroll Wheel button in the middle is easy to reach when needed. It's about as much effort as MMB, and also does not get in the way. The bottom sensitivity button (G11) is a little more awkward to hit, but still isn't in the way. Even if you rested your hand as far forward as possible while still fitting the intended design of the mouse, you will not accidentally press these buttons.Front Side buttons (G5,G7) are well designed to press with your thumb and are defined enough from each other to not accidentally hit one or the other when pressing the two, unless you are in a particularly tense moment and accidentally fat-finger the area between the two.Back Side buttons (G4,G6) require you to bend your thumb more into an L shape to press (depending on how you rest your hand on the mouse), but are still very easy to press. Recommend using those for functions that are not required to be used in the heat-of-the-moment, nor using those for functions that require continual pressing. I do not personally recommend trying to press these buttons with the middle of your thumb (especially the top G6 button), as I have personally had bad luck keeping the button held / even registering a hit. It also may encourage a way of holding the mouse where you may accidentally press the button.Overall Ergonomic Design:Beyond just the buttons, the ergonomic design of this mouse is absolutely fantastic. The way to hold this mouse comes perfectly naturally, and the mouse fits in the palm of your hand perfectly. The position of all your fingers come naturally, from the thumb to the pinky, and the wear on my old mouse shows this! I've used many different mice in different settings: Other gaming mice from friends, school and office mice, etc.., and none of them can be beat ergonomically by this mouse. Genuinely, I can not rate the ergonomics of this mouse any higher, it is just the most perfect mouse I have ever had in this department.That is about everything I have to say in praise about this mouse, now lets see what problems have occurred due to its ancient age and my poor keeping of it when I was a kid. (Although, some of this can be praise too!)Age-Related Defects and Damage:Cosmetic Damage:You can tell by looking at the pictures, 8 years can do some cosmetic damage. Notably, the metal trim of the scroll wheel seems slightly rusty (probably due to me removing the protective coating due to use), the bottom pads of the mouse are peeling slightly (this does not affect gliding on a mousepad, it is purely cosmetic), and most notably, the location where my thumb and pinky commonly are have been smoothed down and had their top-most layer of texturing removed. Despite the cosmetic damage, none of this has affected performance or feel, the feeling of the thumb and pinky location is smooth solid plastic (and I actually prefer this feeling!), and as noted before, gliding the mouse on a mousepad is still perfectly fine, although I wouldn't recommend using this mouse (or any mouse) without a mousepad.The rough timing of when these cosmetic damages started appearing is 2017 for all of them, meaning it took ~3 years for cosmetic damage to start appearing. It took until 2019 for it to get close to its current state, and hasn't noticeably gotten any more damaged since then.Back Side Button breakdown:The top-back-side button (G6) has become completely non-functional, and the bottom-back-side button (G4) is finnicky at best. This started occuring around 2019 (5 year mark), however I can not definitely attribute this to age-related breakdowns or poor maintenance on my part, so take this specific breakdown with a grain of salt.Charging Port loosening:The charging port of the mouse has become very loose, where it can not keep a USB-Micro-B plugged in reliably nor keep a reliable connection. Problems started occurring in roughly 2016 (2 years), and became bad enough to be generally unusable/unreliable in 2018 (4 years). This is probably the weakest link of this product, but it is possible this has been improved.Otherwise, all buttons function perfectly, and the laser is still functional and without error after 8 years. There is a possibility of dust/crumbs getting into the opening for the laser, but these are easily cleaned with a cotton swab or blast of compressed air.Now, for the FEW cons.Cons:Wireless mouse:It's a wireless mouse, so it inherently contains some of the problems with a wireless mouse. Most critically, it may die in the middle of use, which I have discussed before. But hey, you're looking to get into buying a wireless mouse, so you knew that already, right?Charging Port is Superfluous (in my opinion) and Buggy:For the operation of a wireless GAMING mouse, the charging port is in my opinion superfluous, and may be detrimental if you attempt to use it. There is a case to using it to charge the battery overnight, but outside of that context, I would recommend NOT using it. It gets in the way when using the mouse with a charger plugged in, and if you wanted to use a wired mouse in the first place, I would've bought one from the get-go, as those are better designed with dedicated wires that are designed to not get in the way during operation.Furthermore, if you attempt to use the mouse while it is plugged in, be prepared for your mouse to suddenly stop working, it seems the connection while recharging sometimes shuts off the mouse for a half-second to a second. I can not confirm if this is a problem with the mouse from the start (I can't remember!), or if this is a defect due to age/wear, but this is certainly the case for me. That's it for cons, though!Overview:This mouse has so much to praise. Ergonomically, it is THE best mouse I have ever used. From all the buttons, to the battery door, to the overall design, it is perfect. It has no problems that are detrimental, and after 8 years of use it has relatively minimal wear, certainly no wear that has negatively impacted the core functionality of the mouse. If you are in the market for a high-end gaming wireless mouse, I wouldn't go anywhere else.Pros TL;DR:- Easy Quick Battery Replacement- Decent Battery Life (5-7 Energizer Rechargable)- Never-Beaten Ergonomics (Best of the Best)- Scroll Unlock / Free ScrollCons TL;DR:- Charging Port Wear and IssuesDamage after 8 years:- Cosmetic- Some Side Buttons breaking (Most likely due to poor maintenance on my part)- Charging Port Unreliable