Review of the Micro Innovations PD430P; a mouse the world forgot

[Phas3L0ck]

I just posted my review on eBay since there weren't any others I could find. Perhaps the best legacy mouse ever made, the PD430P is an endangered species with a design no one else can ever match. As far as I know, Micro Innovations is long gone. MI made some pretty weird mice and other parts, but this one is the best of all from them.

 

This has everything you would expect from a legacy-generation mouse; relatively compact, comfortable fit in hand, perfect shape, and beautiful Dark Blue color for the undertone!
At first, you might see it as just another mouse, but when using it, you can feel the difference!
 - The front section is rounded more smoothly than most mice, and gives the impression that it's slightly smaller, while actually similar to the volumetric size of other models.
 - For people who love the sound and feel of clicky things, this is the mouse for you. All 3 buttons have a very defined click just like older mice but still softer than before.
 - The scroll wheel has the THICKEST action I've ever felt on a mouse at any time; the grooves are very noticeable; wheel has enough resistance that scrolling can be done smoothly; also has that signature "bump" that every scroll wheel SHOULD have, so that you can scroll by one section at a time without losing control of how much or how far it goes. It almost feels like a silicone glove-- soft, premium, and durable.
 - The color scheme is like a "special edition," working to offset any boring tones in your workspace. A hue between dark/sky blue for the lower case & scroll wheel, combined with bright white for the upper case creates a stunning visual appearance, one perfect for enthusiasts of vintage and legacy technology-- a symphony of bright beige from the 90's and playful simplicity from the early 2000's.
It might even be that nice "extra" that brings a little life back to the small world of input devices.
*the blue scroll wheel was the first thing that caught my attention; I've seen and heard of similar designs, but this one is extremely rare*
 - As for the cable, it may be a bit short at around 4 feet, but well worth it for the laughably small diameter. This is one of those cases where flimsy wire is a good thing-- making it easy to cable manage on your desk, and easier to move the mouse without any recoil from a wire like modern mice.
 - Compatible with most PS/2 to USB adapters.
 - Cursor movement is pretty good... box claims 1000DPI, but I can't say how accurate that is.  Having experience with both 800 and 1200DPI mice, I feel more like it could be 900DPI based on the visual speed. This can be made fairly normal by adjusting pointer options in Windows Settings. *At the very least, I think it's great for AutoCAD, along with other applications that require precision and reasonably slower movement.

Now for the not-so-great stuff...
 - While I love my cables to smell brand new and "freshly made," mine smells a bit... too "fresh" especially for its age. I don't know what was used as a coating material, or if my own unit just has some leftover stuff that hasn't dissipated yet, but... it literally smells like the 80's. I'm not even kidding, the cable actually smells like the 80's!  Don't worry though, the mouse itself is clean, normal plastic.
 - Definitely NOT a gaming mouse. While I never intended to use this for gaming of any kind, normal desktop routines such as web browsing will benefit from the extra resolution that comes with a gaming mouse. But if you know how to adjust the pointer settings in Windows, usually it should be fine.  *at the rate it moves, it really is "fine."

Above all else, this is a great mouse to have and use, but it would be so much better if it had a slightly newer optical sensor with just a little higher resolution.  At least it looks and feels nice. And the price is just right!