Zowie (BenQ) - EC2-A

Hey all, Longtime lurker here—been quietly reading posts on this sub for years, but I randomly felt compelled to write this after a bit of a personal breakthrough in-game. Maybe it'll help someone else who's been stuck in the same cycle I was. I’ve been playing Counter-Strike since 2001 (yes, I’m old), and over the years I’ve used more mice than I can count—definitely a bit of a mouse whore. My hands are fairly large (19.5 x 11 cm), but for some reason, I’ve always gravitated toward smaller mice. Let’s rewind for a second… My earliest memories were with that classic white Logitech Optical Mouse—didn’t take gaming too seriously back then, but I remember it being on the smaller side, and I guess that stuck. When I started getting more serious, I switched to the Microsoft Intellimouse 3.0 and that was honestly my golden era. My aim felt crisp, clutch plays were regular, and I never thought much about the mouse—it just worked. After that, I fell back into the small mouse rabbit hole: SteelSeries Kinzu, Razer Diamondback, etc. I still held my own, but I noticed something: I sucked with the AWP. I just accepted it—"Guess I’m not an AWPer." Eventually landed on the EC2-A for a long stretch. Never quite regained that 1.6-era magic, but I chalked it up to aging, life, priorities shifting… all that stuff. I kept going with small mice anyway—FK2, MM710, MM720 (honestly loved that one for pure comfort), and most recently the MM712. From 2017 to now, I’ve been on and off with CS. I’ll grind for a few months, then disappear for a while. Recently jumped back in and found my MM712’s sensor acting up. I had a few backups lying around, including an old Glorious Model D wired—a mouse I never gave much time because it was big, and hey, I’m a “small mouse guy,” right? Wrong. I booted it up, played a few DMs, and… damn. My aim felt locked in. Tapping was on point. I had way more control than I ever did with smaller mice. That “floating” feeling from smaller shapes? Gone. Micro-adjustments that used to mess up my spray? Gone. This thing just plants itself in my hand like a brick, and suddenly I’m palm gripping again like it’s 2005. Even the AWP, which I’ve always struggled with, started clicking—literally. Shots are connecting more than ever. For years I told myself, “I’m just not an AWPer,” but maybe I just never had the right tool in my hand. It made me realize: I’ve been prioritizing what feels comfortable over what actually performs best for me. The EC2 probably should’ve been an EC1. Who knows, maybe I’d be lifting a trophy at Katowice by now /s. I’ve had my eye on the Vaxee E1, but it’s more in line with the EC2 size—and now I’m thinking I’ve been going too small for too long. Might be time to go full circle and pick up the EC1-DW instead. I’m finally starting to understand that bigger might just be better… at least for my hands and how I play. Has anyone else experienced this? TL;DR: Big-hand guy who loved small mice realized he was nerfing his own aim for years. Turns out comfort doesn’t always equal performance. RIP to all that lost ELO.

ec2-a of course

lmfao this is how i grip my mouse for comfort i loved my ec2a used it for like 3 years rn im trying out a Razer Viper v3 pro chinese clone. my mains are gpx and op1 thi

Nice review, many thanks! 👍 Since you have big experience with mentioned mice, maybe you can give an advice. Prehistory: I've been using EC2-A long time ago, comfy, quality, ok - ideal mouse at that time for me.When it started to double click i decided to switch to something else and bought G703. It appears to have too big back hump (I was even thinking to sand paper a bit). After several other changes like g pro x potato stone, xlite v2 mini, now I'm at Xlite v3 eS (pretty decent shape, no surprise, it is almost ec2). I wanna changes again and to top up collection, presently I'm on the crossroad with one highway (EC2-DW) and slight alteration (Pulsar Zywoo). How do you think if increased back hump of zywoo will be a problem? Or it is less hump than g703? Again thanks for review and hope for advice.

I have 19 x 10cm hands and went from a G502 to an EC2a in 2016 and after a week of constant use found it to be a huge improvement. Zowie might be behind in terms of tech and features but they are still the goats of shape. Plenty of other brands do that ergo shape, but none come close to the feel of the EC. While I don't daily drive that EC2a anymore, I always have my EC3 and camade bungee connected for use when other mice need charging or just for nostalgic comfort. The only thing that is a bummer are Zowie's scroll wheels. They feel pretty cheap and nasty compared to every other manufacturer.

I know right? I thought zowie will surely be mentioned in FPS. Mine is EC2-A and been with me for such a long time.

I fell in love with EC2-A when I was at my friend's place back in 2018 and bought it later that year. It's been 7 years and this mouse is still with me, not a single issue

I would like to say that ive had my zowie ec2 for ~10 years and am only now thinking of an upgrade. Mice can last a very long time, I wouldnt even change mice but mine double clicks on left mouse and one of the side buttons, and the scroll wheel doesnt work that well anymore

I had my zowie ec2-a for around 14 years give or take a few years, 10 atleast, and I only got a new mouse about a month ago. Now after that long time the mouse still looks good, no scratches just a shiny surface due to sweat oher the years etc. It does double click sometimes now, especially the side buttons. But 14 years is a long time and a good investment.

Surprisingly enough ive never taken any special vare of it, just cleaned it once every 6 months or so and packed it somewhat safely when traveling with it

I love the ergo feels coming way back from the og EC2. But for the love of god i cant aim with Ego mice. If i do wider swings i Never end up horizontally and i have to correct that during the swing.

I bought a g502 and a zowie EC2A on the same month, I was surprised the EC2A was the first to start double clicking.

Strongly recommend benq zowie ec3 or ec2 (3 being large size and 2 being medium). Its hard to figure out which models are discontinued now but I’ve been using ec2-a since my mad catz rat mouse’s wire broke (so like 2017 I think) and it’s still working with no problems, I have some big palms for a girl and this is basically the best mouse I’ve had

Strongly recommend benq zowie ec3 or ec2 (3 being large size and 2 being medium). Its hard to figure out which models are discontinued now but I’ve been using ec2-a since my mad catz rat mouse’s wire broke (so like 2017 I think) and it’s still working with no problems, I have some big palms for a girl and this is basically the best mouse I’ve had

I think it's alarming that you never tried the good old ec2. I've tried multiple different newer mice with good internals and different shapes(the last one was op18k), but I always go back to my trusty ec2a from 2017. So comfortable and I'm aiming great in cs2

I think it's alarming that you never tried the good old ec2. I've tried multiple different newer mice with good internals and different shapes(the last one was op18k), but I always go back to my trusty ec2a from 2017. So comfortable and I'm aiming great in cs2

Its exacly like my grip on old zowie ec2-a. I have white coating one and planned to upgrade to new black. I don't know how much the coating will affect the lifting since white is glossy.

Tried a bunch of ergos and this is my ranking of them Dav3 pro>outset ax>dav3 hyperspeed>pulsar xlite v2 mini>ec2a>ajazz aj179 Im a cs player with 18x10cm hands and always thought I’d prefer smaller mice, but I actually ended up liking the bigger ones

I find this quite strange because I share the same concerns as you, but unlike you, the curved side of the EC2 is why I always used mice based on that; IME 3.0, and then EC2 versions over the years (EC2 OG with glossy sides, EC2 Blue rubberised, and a few years ago the EC2-DW. However, I switched to the Vaxee AX O because I experienced some skipping issues with a few EC2-DW units. My Vaxee has recently given me some double-clicking issues after a year and a half, and I'm thinking what's next

the makeshift ring support on the EC2 is amazing haha (miss the divina line sm)

I have a very similar hand size to yours, and I have tried many mice in the past few weeks. I usually play with a relaxed claw grip. If any shop where you live offers a return policy or allows you to try mice in their shop, I would suggest that. Your palm should have decent support, and all of your fingers should be able to rest naturally. I didn't like the Viper V3 Pro because it was too narrow in the middle, and the clicks caused my fingers to go into a V shape. My pinky had no place to rest. The Maya X and Superlight 2 are much more comfortable and universal for symmetrical mice. For ergos, I might recommend the EC2 or Xlite V4 medium, which are very popular shapes. I believe that mice under 122x62x40 will feel weird if you sometimes palm your mice and are used to good palm support. Smaller mice would work, but you need a different grip style with your hand size.

I dont have particularly big hands, but for some reason ive prefered larger mouses, and have been having a great time with my Zowie ec2: [https://zowie.benq.com/en-us/mouse/ec2.html](https://zowie.benq.com/en-us/mouse/ec2.html)

I've used a Zowie EC2 for almost 6 years now and can highly recommend it

Ergo: Zowie EC2: my preference is palm and it fits my hand very well for that. I have gained a lot of stability with this mouse (most noticeably in cs) being able to just simply get my crosshair on the target in a more controlled and consistent manner. Symmetrical: GPX/GPX 2: Part of it being it’s the first shape I ever used with the old G pro wireless. But it’s also, for me, the shape/size that offers the most utility. I can palm or claw if I want to, have always had great target tracking on it, ability to hit nasty flicks, while also feeling stable in slower fps games.

I have 22 cm and vxe R1 is really small in my hands, i suggest you the Zowie EC2

Ec1 is larger and forces a palm grip even with pretty large hands. Most people will be much better off with the ec2 and if you use relaxed claw it's much better for micro adjustments while still offering a tonne of stability. I use an ec2 with 20x11cm hands and a relaxed claw

EC2. As someone that loved the 3.0 back in the day, I medium size version is perfection even for my large hands 

Same hand size and but with relaxed claw grip. Really like the EC2. Ec1 forces me in to a full palm so get that if you want palm

Absolutely! Ec1 is only good for Palm gripping with 20Cm+ hands. Ec2 with any type of relaxed claw is a much better pick.

ERGO: Zowie EC2 is the gold standard for ergo shapes. Almost every popular ergo mouse has cloned this one, check it out if you haven't. AMBI: Zowie FK1/2 and Logitech GPX. Razer cloned the FK1 shape for the older Viper models and the V3 is a GPX inspired shape.

EC2. I’ve tried a ton of ambi lightweight mice but I aim best with an ec2

Viper v3 pro is my current favorite symmetrical shape, but if you were interested in trying ergos I’ve been using a pulsar xlite for a while now and it just melts perfectly into my hand. My current favorite ec2 clone

Similar hand size and I use relaxed claw. While I vaguely tried to follow the small mice rule, none of those were great for comfort. Talking about the VXE R1/Mad R size. Those were giving me pain around the little finger. The comfortable ones were mid to large sized. EC2, S1, Haste, DAV3 were infinitely better. Currently using ATK Z1 (EC2 clone) and it has been great. My conclusions were - length of more than 120mm and grip width of 62mm or more.

>In my opinion most ergos feel more or less the same with minor differencies I couldn't disagree more. For example, I can't stand the Dav3 shape, it's super unconfortable, too long, the front flair hits my finger... The classic EC2 shape feels much better, and recently got the x3 which is close to my favorite shape (G403/G703) which feels so much more natural to use than anything else. This is all just for me as this is VERY subjective. As for the Dex I haven't tried it, but except the shape, what is different from the superlight 2? I feel specs wise logitech fell far behind everyone else.

not op but been using ec2 for cs2 and its god tier if you have a claw grip. ive had the mouse for 9 years without fail

Used Zowie EC2 iirc, great mouse very durable. Used Steelseries something, it sucked in terms of durability and quality, wheel became loose rather quickly. Used Logitech G300 or whatever that wireless basic model is, decent mouse. Using G502 wireless now, good mouse. To be honest mouse is not very much important so long as it works decent enough. Not a big fan of many buttons or lighting or macros etc, 2 extra side buttons is enough and a life changer for casual internet browsing imo. I prefer my mouse a bit on the bigger side and don't like superlight mice so G502 is good on that regard.

Honestly, not everyone playing at an above average tier or even pro level will have benefits from low weight. Its really a matter of aim styles, grips, body and arm position, etc. I can only find my ideal sens for both flicks and tracking with a bit more weight, without it, one is always a bit off. You just gotta look around, many pros in many games still use mice like the ec2 or even the deathadder. Low weight is not better, its just more suited to the majority (i agree with that). And Im all about diminishing returns , its super fun to maximize potential! But in my case and many others in my gaming circles a bit of weight can give better results no matter if you play slow, super fast, etc. It's really personal "preference". I wish these things were predictable, my wallet would be happier !

It’s not that weird. That’s a pincer claw grip with a strange thumb position. I do the same, but with the thumb below the buttons. Zowie EC2, Lamzu thorn, G Pro superlight, Asus Harpe Ace work for me. Might work for you too. Zowie ZA-13, Vaxee Outset AX or NP01-S get recommended for this kind of grip a lot, though I haven’t tried them.

Pulsar Xlite v3 is far and away my favorite at the moment. Have used DAV3, Ec2, gpro DEX, Vaxee outset. It’s essentially an Ec2 clone

Medium and I got the cheaper, non-es one on Amazon for 70 bucks. It’s nearly identical to the Ec2 shape

As someone who has had the DAV3 Pro and DEX, tried the NP-01s, Xlite and the EC2… For shape, it’s the DEX hands down. Build could be a little better for the price but shape is king/queen. Note: hands are 20.5 x 11cm and I use relaxed claw. I’ve also heard good things about the E1 but I can’t find a 3D scan of it anywhere.

Gpx if you’re not price sensitive and wanting a safe option that’ll let you experiment with different grip styles. Viper v3 is a solid pick too with a better sensor, coating (get white), and weight but has a slightly more restrictive shape and could be on the larger size for your hands. Tons of ergonomic options too if you prefer that - I’ve tried the ec2 and thought it was super comfy. Though after buying like 9 more mice I still perform the best with the gpx lol. Everything is pretty good nowadays and battery life is great. I recommend playing on 2k polling for the best blend of performance and battery life.

he loved the ec2 before it died

The wired zowie is better than all these 3. U will de dissapointed if u want it yo be ec2 level. What about Deathadder hyperspeed? that would be way better than all 3 and doesnt cost much more i think

i feel like nobody uses large mice anymore, but rather they just palm smaller mice like gpx and ec2, razer vv3 razer Dav3hyperspeed. Niko the only one using dav3, even spinx switched to zowie ec2 now

Bro, everything is good for palm. I never seen a mouse i cant palm, even the g303 i palmed lol. 0 discomfort, even palm the gwolves mini mice (18/10 hands). My fav shapes were za12 ec2 mx518

I adore ergoes from mx518 to ec2, everything

I have a few. For ambi, it's Viper v3 and XM2w. For ergo it's EC2 and G502.

yeah get ec1. even as a mere 19cm i can't get along well enough with ec2 using palm grip.

Its the same length as ec2, only a bit wider.

Ec2 seems the way shape wise tbh. The rapoo vt3 pro seems interesting too from a shape perspective, or the vt3s gen 2 its slightly shorter though.

for me its either S2/EC2. used bunch of mouse shape before but always keep getting back to S2/EC2 as both of them suits my hand really well and most comfortable :)

Zowie Ec2 for sure. Haven’t used ergos in forever now

My Mount Rushmore of mice: Xtrfy M4/M64 (my goat), Zowie EC2 (my safe place), G pro x superlight (my basic b), Roccat Burst Pro (my first love).

I have around the same hand size as you ergo: DAV3, EC2, EC1, Xlite size 2/3, Zaopin Z2, Vaxee E1, Lamzu Thorn ambi: Maya X, VXE Mad R (small but I can still claw it), GPX, Viper V3 pro

Feinmann will probably be too small, I would try the EC2 or E1, or if you want magnesium the stormbreaker

there's a lot more factors into it if you're just looking at the peripherals. These could include mousepad, mouse weight, size, grip etc. Personally I've used a lot of mice playing tac fps. These includes a Logitech G402, EC2, 2 crappy GPWs, RVU, a very bad copy of the GPX, DAV3P, and now I'm on my Lamzu Maya X and EGG XM2W 4K Looking back I think I made the most progress with my game with the RVU, then again I also upgraded to a Hien mousepad from a very old QcK. You could also say that my own personal growth as a player could've contributed to it as well. Although looking at it objectively it's actually quite funny since I felt that playing the AWP/OP I was more consistent when using an ergo mouse and when rifling I feel more consistent with an ambi mouse. I think even today when I'm playing Rivals, l4d2, BF, or Squad with the boys I still feel the same way.

Logitech G400. I used an MX518 afterwards, same shape and all that. I now use a Zowie EC2.

kind of yeah, especially for anyone with bigger hands outside of the EC1 and the Large Xlites theres nothing The Deathadder has gone to a flatter shape that tries to suit both palm and claw but isn't perfect for either Vaxee who are from what I understand the brains behind the original Zowie designs seem hesitant to do anything bigger than the EC2 Logitechs successors to the MX518 shape, the G502 and the G502X are much more of a claw design Steelseries is as good as dead, Roccat is literally dead The Chinese brands have barely done any big mice which is understandable considering their buyer market The G703 clones seem to be not as popular as some people thought they were despite the good reviews for the Terra

No company ever bothered to clone the EC1. DAv3 and Xlite V3 size 3 are less long and 2mm taller, they are vastly different. EC2 however has been cloned they shit out of...

if you want an ergo more like the model d, i recommend the razer deathadder v3 (if you don't like that you could look at the pulsar xlite series or at zowie ec2)

I've had my best aim era with g203 never felt that feeling again. +23 mice on my own. Ec2 feels like a glove coming fron g203. Superlighit feels comfy but the clicks arent crazy. Good luck.

Personal but I love Ec2 it’s so fucking relaxing. Was a claw gripper before but switched to palming an ergo and after some adjustment my aim didn’t suffer from it, besides that my wrist is now healthy again and I don’t have pain.

Zowie ec2 is a deathadder clone with much much much better build quality

EC2 is the best shape I've used, E1 had the best clicks. I'll give honorable mentions to the Kone Pure Ultra and Origin One X.

LOOOONG time cs player here Get a Zowie. EC1 or EC2 is posible

Zowie mice are super well made and long lasting and they have buttons underneath to change DPI and polling, no software. The wireless mice aren't cheap though, you'll need to look at a wired version.

non pro viper wireless, razer deathadder, i'd argue g305 lightspeed, xtrfy m42, wired zowie, superlight 1, glorious wired, some lgg mice, some vaxee mice, endgame gear op1k. All these are like 25-80€ if my quick currency version is right. Some of these are wireless too. Especially if you snipe a sale you can get a really good deal. in "top tier mice" I mean the ones that are basically the same shape as the "standards", superlight 2, viper v3 pro, deathadder v3 pro, etc. Obviously the tech is a bit worse, but we were hitting insane shots on mice 15+ years ago, even the worse mice are 100% good enough. 4k/8k polling doesnt change that much, and thats the major sell of the more expensive mice. I've managed to pick up qck+ for like 10€ on average the last few years, always on sale somewhere. Otherwise a sale on a lgg saturn (standard), zowie gsr (any version you prefer). Qck might not be the longest lasting, but it's usually on a good sale so you never really have to fork out more than AT MOST 40€ a year on it if you're really picky with pad and swap it 4x a year, but most ppl usually keep it for 6-24 months atleast.

I wouldnt say that, its just made for palm grip for medium-small hands. I have medium hands, my friend has small, I use this and he uses the ec2-cw, completely fine

looks like pincer claw try zowie ec mice

I got my first Deathadder in 2009. I had two of the original model, one 3.5 and one 4G. In 2015, I bought a Zowie EC that I've been using near daily for the past decade.

I got my first Deathadder in 2009. I had two of the original model, one 3.5 and one 4G. In 2015, I bought a Zowie EC that I've been using near daily for the past decade.

I got my first Deathadder in 2009. I had two of the original model, one 3.5 and one 4G. In 2015, I bought a Zowie EC that I've been using near daily for the past decade.

Those have programmable buttons excluding the zowie EC as it doesn't have software

Depends EC for ergonomic, fk for claw/fingertip, s/za/u for claw grip

Something ergo from zowie/ deathadder V3 pro / deathadder V3 hyperspeed / Vaxee

Basically any ergo mouse, ie. Deathadder v3 or v4. ZOWIE EC. There’s hundreds of good ergo mice out there.

not sure what you mean by 3 mode. but ergo mice like the EC series by zowie, death adder series, FK2-DW(ambi), Maya X(ambi), GPX Dex, but it entirely depends on your hand size and preferences

Zowie wireless ones go for triple the price of these . I used to have a zowie ec mouse back in 2014 to 2020 the right doesn't work anymore otherwise a brilliant mouse

No Zowie on the FPS list is kinda crazy to me. Zowie is BenQs mouse brand, it’s a no frills very high quality mouse. No software no firmware updates, 4 DPI presets. They are consistently the best FPS mice I’ve owned. On the flip side, Logi G600 is hands down the best MMO mouse, it actually promotes me to be so lazy with keybinds I find myself using it in games other than MMOs. Protip: the older Logi Gaming Software works way better than the newer LGS for the G600.

More like user issue to me. Some people out there are just bad and doesn’t take care of things. If you take care of something, It’ll take care of you. Stay away from Logitech and Steelseries. My glorious O is 5 years old now. I had my Benq Zowie for more than a decade and I still use it. Still have my Deathadder, Mamba, Spectre and Naga throughout the years. Zowie is always been my mouse and I bought one from 2022. I use my 10+ year old on my laptop.

BenQ Zowie has been great for me.