Mice & Keyboards by stefan @ 2014-11-24
The Func MS-2 mouse has given us a good impression as the MS-3 version before it and is able to deliver a good gaming experience for mainstream gamers and seems to be better suited for fingertip grip users with smaller hands. The soft-touch coating offers a good grip which is important during long gaming sessions while the extra buttons are carefully placed for easy accessibility.
At first we would like to thank again to Func for sending us a sample of their MS-2 Gaming Mouse for testing and reviewing.
“We redefined the gaming experience. It's time to make history once again.
Func will once again redefine the gaming experience with cutting edge products to make history for a second time. In 2012, Func decided it was time to revamp the look and feel of the brand and give it a fresh image. But bringing Func back to you is so much more than cosmetic changes, it’s about enhancing your gaming experience in a more meaningful way. We want to make a difference in performance, just like we did back in the day, and we want to do it in an honest and trustworthy way.
What looks simple and obvious to the untrained eye is, to us, a complex challenge. The term “ergonomics” is very commonly used today. Did you know that we spent more than 100 hours studying the human hand and how the mouse body can be improved? Not to mention the hours spent on testing the perfect placement of the buttons. Did you know that we have tested more than 200 different surface materials in search of the perfect tracking conditions?
There are no shortcuts in this business and functionality kicks in where simplicity doesn’t make any sense. We believe that your performance (besides your personal skills and training) can only be enhanced by the usability of the functions and not simply by a bunch of fancy gimmicks marketed as revolutionary product development. They make you buy it but it doesn’t give you any advantage at all.”
Ergonomically designed Grip Intelligence™
Ergonomically designed, mid-sized body to fit different grip styles aiming to minimize hand strain and stress.
3090 LED Optical Sensor
A sensor with a long standing track-record and good reputation among gamers.
Unique T+4™ thumbzone button placement for more accurate gameplay
When you find yourself in a critical play movement, the importance of easily accessible buttons and an optimized Thumbzone is crucial to avoid miss-clicks.
Instant Aim™
Switch instantly to another DPI holding down the Instant aim™ button.
Adjust your mouse exactly to your gameplay style
Ability to fully customize button assignment, profile settings and macro recordings.
Onboard memory storing up to 3 profiles
Bring your customized profiles with you; wherever you go, just plug it in and play.
Macro editor
Macro Editor with the capability to record up to 255 actions in one recording.
Firmware upgrade tool
Are you missing any software functions? Send us an email and we will try to implement it, an upgradable firmware allows us to add and edit software functions.
MCU/Processor: MCS-51 Compatible
Main Switches: OMRON
Sensor: ADNS 3090 LED optical
Memory: Onboard 512 KB
Resolution: 4000 DPI
Frames per second: 6400
Tracking speed: 1,52 m/sec (60 ips)
Max Acceleration: 20 g
Report rate: Adjustable, up to 1000 Hz
Upgradable firmware: Yes, via software
Connection: USB 2.0, Gold plated (2 m braided cord)
In this article we will be able to take a look at the newest mouse from Func, the MS-2 which embraces the nice features of the MS-3 while adopting a more regular shape and using an optical sensor in the place of the original laser one. The cardboard box sports the usual Func theme, which has an overall and professional look:
The top cover opens up like a book in order to reveal the MS-2 along with an in-depth product description:
The main product components can be also checked out on the back side:
After carefully unsealing the box, we will be able to check out the Product Manual along with the MS-2 Settings Software disk:
As we have seen with the MS-3, the newer MS-2 sports an all-black color scheme with a high quality rubberized paint finish, which offers a good grip and feel; it measures 70 x 130 x 43,, and weights about 145grams. On the top we can see the DPI switcher buttons, near the scroll wheel:
MS-2 features an ergonomic shape and Func mentions that it will be comfortable to hold in most grip types; we found though that claw grip and fingertip grip would work best:
On the left side of the mouse we will see four thumb programmable buttons; these are initially programmed as Back, Forward and Instant Aim, while the bottom one is delegated with the Mute functionality and is harder to press in order to avoid accidental commands:
On the right side we have one extra button, which accompanies the right click button and is meant for profile switching:
The rubberized scroll wheel has a plastic base which lights up in different colors depending on the selected profile:
On the bottom side of the mouse we will spot the PTFE feet for smooth glides, one factory sticker and also the ADNS 3090 sensor lens; this sensor can track up to 4000DPI, which means lower than the sensitivity values offered on laser (most at 8200DPI) but most users should not feel the difference. Also, this move was also performed in order to save some costs:
As most high-end mice, the MS-2 uses a braided cord, with a total length of two meters:
This ends up with a gold-plated connector, in order to ensure proper contact:
By default, after connecting the mouse to a spare USB port, the scroll-wheel light will create a nice effect by using an orange accent:
As we have mentioned before, the buttons on the MS-2 can be fully remapped by using the intuitive interface, which is available after installing the software utility. On the top row, Func MS-2 Settings software will also show us the current firmware which is installed in the mouse, while further down we can make a selection between the different profiles, the profiles can be saved and restored as individual files by using the respective buttons. Further down, we have the Basic Settings, Button Assignment, Color Settings, Macro Editor, Firmware Update but also Func.net buttons. Going back to Basic Settings, we will be able to adjust the values for DPI Step 1,2,3,4 but also Instant Aim; the software has currently a limitation because we cannot set custom values but preset like 800, 1600, 3200 or 4000 so we guess that Func needs to make a modification in a further release for more flexibility. Besides those we can adjust the Pointer Sensitivity, Scroll Speed, Double Click Speed or Polling Rate:
As we have mentioned before inside the article, the buttons can be fully customized with other different functions, inside the Button Assignment tab:
The menus include Default Commands, Windows Commands, Media Functions, Recorded Macros, Single Key Assignments or we can disable the buttons completely:
Default Commands
Windows Commands
Media Functions
The Color Settings menu allows working with the color schemes of the scroll wheel; we can adjust settings like Saturation or Brightness for more fine-tuning and also enable a “pulse” effect:
The Macro Editor is pretty straight-forward; first we will define the name for or macro and afterwards record our desired moves:
Next we have Firmware Update functionality which will try to detect the current version and prompt for an update if necessary, while the Func.net button will redirect us to the manufacturers’ website:
The Func MS-2 mouse has given us a good impression as the MS-3 version before it and is able to deliver a good gaming experience for mainstream gamers and seems to be better suited for fingertip grip users with smaller hands. The soft-touch coating offers a good grip which is important during long gaming sessions while the extra buttons are carefully placed for easy accessibility. As other high-end mice, Func uses OMRON switches for high durability and the ADNS 3090 LED optical sensor can deliver sensitivity up to 4000 DPI.
While the software is easy to work with, it has one current drawback so we only have the option to adjust the DPI from 800 to 800 DPI and we would have preferred to have smaller increments.
In our tests (CounterStrike Global Offensive and ArcheAge) the MS-2 performed well but we have seen a small loss in precision when using the mouse on shiny textured tables so we would recommend using this mouse with cloth mouse pads or matte aluminum ones.
The MS-2 is available online for about 47 Euros while the MS-3 is pretty close at about 51 Euros.
We would like to thank again to Func for making this review possible!