GameBall Gaming Trackball Review
GameBall, is it good?
Introduction
GameBall is the world’s first trackball mouse developed specifically for the computer gamer. It’s unique design, gaming specific features and high-end components distinguish it from all other trackballs on the market today.
The GameBall trackball claims to bring gaming-grade performance to the niche world of trackballs. But does it deliver? With features like a 1000 Hz polling rate, adjustable DPI (400-3000), ceramic bearings, and an ambidextrous design, it aims to stand out. At $136, it competes with some of the best gaming mice, such as the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro or Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2. Let’s dive into the details.
The Good
- Performance meets expectations
- Can swap some buttons without installing software
Performance meets expections
The GameBall offers smooth operation, and its PixArt sensor performs adequately—especially given the trackball context. While not groundbreaking compared to gaming mice, it’s among the best in the trackball market. The ball rolls effortlessly, thanks to ceramic bearings, and the buttons are responsive without noticeable bounce. A convenient DPI toggle switch is located on the right side, making it easy to adjust sensitivity on the fly—perfect for precision tasks like sniping in FPS games.
Can swap some buttons without installing software
This feature is particularly useful for non-Windows users or those who prefer not to install additional software. Adjusting button placements during my initial use helped me find a comfortable grip. Once I acclimated to the ergonomics, I returned the buttons to their default settings.
The Bad
- Hard to get comfortable
- Had to install new firmware for it to work
- Expensive
- Loud
Hard to get comfortable
The ambidextrous design is great in theory but never left my hand feeling quite in the right place. This would seem to be a cost cutting measure to avoid making a lefthand version of the shell. It is uncommon to swap back and forth leaving a compromise neither the most comfortable they could be.
Had to install new firmware for it to work
This is in part my problem as I am a Linux user. Linux is not on their supported operating systems however there is little reason a pointing device in today’s day and age to not be platform agnostic for its core functionality. Especially as a USB device. This required me to navigate through their page and clumsily dip through PDF for each release to find a link to the firmware. Finding the previous version, that due to a typo in version number, the program seems to think it’s newer than the one on the mouse already. Either way it let me install it which gave me Linux functionality. After I found a Windows computer to run the installer, a problem that Mac users will also face if they wish to update their GameBall’s firmware.
Expensive
You better really want a trackball, but if you do, it may be worth it. Pound for pound just about any $40 mouse will match or exceed this device. The reality is that most people won’t use a mouse in such a way to ever really utilize the sensitive sensors of today. The sampling rate of 1000Hz is enough into the sweet spot for high dpi 4k screens and still responding well enough for fast paced game play. The other trackballs with this capability are similarly priced with the L-Trac which is currently $160 and the Ploopy Classic currently $149 with the USD/CAD exchange rate.
Loud
Many won’t mind, however these buttons click extremely loud compared to other mice that I have owned. The noise was significant enough that I debated swapping them out since I have spare switches for my own trackball project.
The Ugly
- Didn’t last even 6 months
Didn’t last even 6 months
This is really disappointing. In the last week it seemed to be swapping the left and right click buttons from one side to the other. You can manually do this by holding two buttons down for a certain period so I would reset it. Then it didn’t reset anymore. It was just permanently lefthanded configuration. Attempting to sort this out a reflash of the firmware was performed but resulted in completely bricking the GameBall.
At this point it is unknown if they are going to replace it but the warranty should still be valid. This device is far too expensive to have such little longevity. Considering the incredibly short lifespan it would be hard to recommend the cost of this device.
