The Zowie EC1-A gaming mouse is a testament to Zowie’s attention to subtleties. Whether it’s the shallow grooves for comfortable thumb placement or the slight ledges to help you easily pick up the peripheral. What may look like a simple design is actually composed of minute details that almost seem tenuous but can vastly improve your gameplay.
The last Zowie mouse I reviewed was the FK1 gaming mouse, an ambidextrous mouse that while nailing down Zowie’s attention to detail and grip, still had to make room for the symmetrical design, letting go off some finite adjustments that are ubiquitous across all other single-hand gaming mice. The Zowie EC1-A, being a single hand mouse, can instead focus on providing right-handed gamers with the best gameplay experience possible. The design is a major part of that experience.
The back of the mouse is just 5 mm thicker than the front, 69 mm compared to 64 mm, giving your palm’s base a comfortable stage to rest on. Meanwhile, the grip width is 64 mm with the base length being 128 mm. Those two measurements coupled with the 43 mm height makes it a great gaming mouse for those with a large hand who prefer palm grip gaming. On the left face of the mouse, you have two of the side buttons placed above the groove where your thumb can comfortably rest. A slight but noticeable ledge below the side buttons prevent you from accidentally clicking them whilst also allowing you to easily pick up the mouse without increasing the strength of your grip. Meanwhile, the right side of the mouse has a gentle rise, comfortably accommodating your ring and little finger. A nice, visual addition is the fact that mouse wheel glows a different colour depending on the DPI setting. Much like the FK1, the only drawback when it comes to design is the placement of the DPI button, which is on the bottom of the mouse, preventing you from switching DPI on the fly.
When it comes to comfort, I found the Zowie EC1-A perfect for long gaming sessions; not once did my fingers cramp up. Even the mouse buttons had slight grooves for added comfort. It should be noted that the EC1-A is a large mouse, meant for larger hands; you can get a smaller variant with the EC2-A. Marketed for palm-grip and claw-grip gamers, the EC1-A’s design profile suits both methods perfectly, with the fat bump that’s towards the middle supporting your palm and hand. Once again, the rough plastic the mouse is made from makes for good grip, even with oily or wet hands.
Performance wise, the Zowie EC1-A isn’t all too different from the FK1 mouse. It has the same optical sensor, the Avago 3310, and also utilises Huano switches for that hard click FPS gamers love. That said, there are a few differences. The EC1-A’s scroll wheel has 16 clicks per rotation with a lot of tactile feedback, a step down from the original EC1-A which had 24 clicks per rotation. Zowie has once again done a great job of keeping the weight down; the EC1-A weighs in at about 98 grammes. However, for gamers that prefer a heavier mouse, there is no way to change the weight. As is aforementioned, the utilisation of Huano switches makes this a perfect mouse for FPS gamers. Gamers who play MOBAs and MMOs may want to look at other mice that have a greater number of buttons and which use Omron switches.
The Avago 3310 optical sensor once again performs phenomenally in the EC1-A, giving fantastic feedback from the minutest of movements. The DPI range available was: 400, 800,1600 and 3200 DPI,making this a perfect mouse for track-aiming FPS players when used at the lower DPI ranges; unlike the FK1, I preferred the 400 DPI setting. However, when it comes to navigating desktops and menus I would suggest bumping the DPI up, otherwise, you’ll spend forever dragging your mouse across your mouse pad, which in my case was the Zowie G-SR & GTF-X.
The Absolute Verdict? The EC1-A is a fantastic gaming mouse whose strengths rest within the subtleties of its design; while its performance is on par with other mice in the Zowie range.