UKTerrorist
The fUnc pad is well known amongst gamers for being a mat that offers both resilience and choice due to the double sided material which allows the user to flip from a rough, to a smooth surface at will. The fUnc pad, manufactured by Everglide has been around for some time now, and weighs in at a hefty £34.99 including VAT and postage. This price seems extremely high and is often the reason gamers fail to invest in this excellent piece of kit. However Alienware, sponsors of our very own 4-Kings, have appeared, offering us the same product at just £7. But what of VAT and Shipping I hear you cry, fear not, even with our horrendously high taxes in the UK your order will total just £15.28 . That's including shipping. Duplicity! Surely the product must differ, must be inferior? I thought that it would be best if we found out.
So, basics first. What of the dimensions. Well the Alienware fUnc mat measures thus:
Now compare this to, say, the DKT pad and there is a noticeable difference.
The DKT pad is, of course one of the largest pads in gaming, so for easier use I took a snapshot of an Everglide Giganta Optical mat, laid over the top of the fUnc for easier comparison.
One of the things you do get for your extra £15 from Everglide, is a tin for transporting the fUnc in. I was a little concerned that the fUnc used for this review, would arrive bent, or with creases due to its lack of tin. The order was received from DHL who have a nifty little packing system allowing the item to remain completely flat so the fUnc was in mint condition when it arrived.
As I slid the fUnc out of its packing, a leaflet of assembly instructions fell out and a small moan of despair escaped from my lips. I don't DO building, I have a mutual agreement; I don't build stuff, and it doesn't break. So, let's do Naming Of Parts:
| Base | Clip | Rough side | Smooth side |
With a bit of luck and no hammer, you end up with a lovely assembled fUnc mat.
Now, so far the only difference we've found between the two is the shiney tin (oooo shiney), but how important is that? Not really, you wont be using it much except to make all your friends go "oooo shiney" , and that's not going to get you anywhere. First up, I tried the rough side, as that's how I like it.
The gear was tested using a Microsoft Intellieye Optical 3.0, using the latest mouse drivers and software (version 5.0) , available from Microsoft.com. Sensitivity in Windows 2000 was set to 4 notches on the control panel, and my in-game setup was at 1.25 when i began the trial. The surface friction appeared to be sufficient, considering this was the rougher of the two sides the mouse moved freely but without unnecessary slipping or loss of control. I found that reaction shots became a lot smoother, flicking of the mouse appeared easier to control and the shots I previously missed, were hitting with greater regularity. I did find myself over compensating, having been stuck on a rather worn and somewhat rustic Everglide mat before this, my previous instinct of chucking my mouse with extreme force lead me to wildly miss several easy shots. So down went my sensitivity in-game to 1.15 and this solved the problem nicely.
End of the map, I popped the surface free from its housing and turned the product onto the smooth side careful not to eradicate my previously excellent building work. The smooth side really didn't benefit me too much with CS, the lack of friction made me fiddle with the sensitivity for about the same amount of time I spent playing the game itself. The mat was slick and the mouse moved almost too quickly despite my best efforts to tame it. Beaten, but not broken, I loaded UT2004 and found the surface instantly better. To make sure I wasn't imagining it, I changed to the rough side and found my performance drop and frustration grow. So, rough for slower games, smooth for faster games. A little something for everyone.
Issues of price aside, the fUnc mat is an excellent piece of gear. With its dual sides, and resilient exterior the mat is versatile and easy to transport without worry of it getting warped, creased, dented or snapped. The materials are of the highest quality and if , like me, you play a variety of FPS online games this mat is definitely for you. Too many of us settle for the choice of one surface when for the same price we can have two. The addition of the clip is a much wanted accessory, it certainly saves on purchasing a mouse bungee and despite my initial uncertainty is actually useful.
So, despite my best intentions the only difference I can find between the Alienware version and the stock Everglide version are two things:
You can purchase your very own Alienware fUnc mat here. I heartily recommend it, both for your gaming and for your wallet.
