Gaming Mice are as much important for a gamer and a PC enthusiast as the GPU or the processor. It is also the subject people care about the least. Lags when playing Counter Strike is measurable.
When you are playing a demanding game or running a benchmark you can clearly see the FPS or the score to come to a conclusion about your laptop of your PC. For gaming alone, the results can be usually very conclusive.
The thing we tend to miss out on is the actual gaming experience. Do you miss your enemy, even when you thought he was directly at your crosshairs? Do you tend to play games on “Easy” setting because you just can’t handle the game’s difficulty? There are many reasons why this can happen. High pings, display latency, human error but more often than not the reason is sitting right under your nose – Your mouse.
When it comes to most of the classic MMORPG or the classic fast paced FPS games like DOOM, Quake or Overwatch your mouse is as important as a good display or a good PC and a lot of engineering and design goes into making a mouse that can improve your gaming experience.
First and foremost is the DPI, or Dots per Inch, the higher the DPI the more rapid your cursor would move even at the slightest nudge to the mouse. Really important when playing fast paced shooter or when you have a high resolution monitor. Using a regular mouse on a 4K display would be absolute nightmare, your hands would have to move about a lot to make the cursor go from one end of the screen to another. Having a higher DPI would solve that issue easily.
However, having higher DPI would result in lower accuracy. When trying to aim precisely, say using a Sniper rifle, the high DPI would make your mouse move about a lot, resulting in poor accuracy. It is for this reason gaming mouse come with adjustable DPI settings. You can change the DPI from as low as 200 to 8000 even during the game, by using special keys on the mouse itself.
Another important parameter is the polling rate which is the rate at which the mouse sensor looks for changes or motion. A greater polling rate would mean smooth motion and less jagged but also less advantage in terms of predictive motion so it would again seem sluggish.
Apart from these features there’s also the ergonomic design, quality of grip, left-handedness and durability which you would want to know about. So let’s look carefully at some of our hand-picked favorites that we think are ideal for gamers.
1. Razer DeathAdder Elite
Razer DeathAdder is not just a good gaming mouse, it is in fact the symbol of gaming mouse in the entire PC gaming community. With upto 16000 DPI and 99.4% resolution accuracy it sets the standard for what a gaming mouse should be like. It is also priced accordingly at $67.
The design is simple and ergonomic with 7 independently programable mechanical switches which can be customized thanks to Razer Synapse. The extremely high DPI provides a staggering 450 Inches per second of travel and can be adjusted with DPI buttons right below the scroll wheel. Accuracy is uncompromising at all settings of DPI thanks to the optical sensors with 1000 Hz of polling rate. If you want to customize this so that the mouse predicts most of the motion, you can reduce the polling rate to your liking as well.
Speaking of which the scroll wheel itself is well-designed with tactile feedback and firm grip. You are never to miss your mark with this scroll, be it a long web page or a large map of your MMORPG. The ergonomics are mostly for right-handed users with two customizable buttons positions for your right thumb. There is a different model for left-handed mouse users specifically.
Durability is not something they have looked over, either. The mechanical mouse can withstand up to 50 million clicks and the 7 feet long cable is braided as an extra bonus on the robustness scale.
Overall grip is snug and comfortable, and would work for common sizes of hands thanks to the rubber side-grip. Then of course there’s the RGB lighting which can illuminate both the scroll-wheel and the logo with 16.8 million customizable color options. Even with all the bells and whistles, this mouse weighs 96g or 0.27lbs only and will prove itself to be steady and stable and at the same time not too bulky.
2. HAVIT MMO gaming mouse
Priced much lower at only $33, the Havit gaming mouse is specifically targeted at MMO players who take their DOTA2 or LoL performance seriously. It has sensitivity up to 12000 DPI and polling rate of up to 1000 Hz making it a good entry to mid-level gaming mice.
It has 19 programmable buttons 12 of which are plainly labeled S1 through S12 and the rest are essential buttons such as the primary and secondary switches, the scroll-wheel and the DPI rocker.
The DPI settings are from 500DPI for accurate aims and precise kills to 12000DPI for lightning fast maneuvers. The settings are – 500/1000/1500/2000/4000/8000/12000 DPI. Similarly, the polling rate can be set at 250/500/1000 Hz. The DPI setting can of course be changed even when you are in game.
The optical sensor is Pixart PWM 3360 which provides up to 50G of acceleration and high speed motion detection of up to 250 Inches per second. The design is custom made for right-handed people so if you prefer using your left-hand for mouse control, you’d have to look for a different product.
The RGB settings are again customizable to the umpteenth degree. You can give different sets of Macro keys different colors depending on their functionalities. Also you can have different color settings for different DPI levels. This would allow you to focus on the game instead of fiddling endlessly with the mouse.
The design will appear a little awkward and first time users will have time adjusting to it and the vast number of functionalities that it offers. However, if you don’t have tiny hands it would fit your grip perfectly thanks to the rubber painted surface that is designed for a firm grip. The cable is 1.8m of braided cable with USB connector. It is advisable to use it with the newer laptops and/or the rear ports of your desktop as it needs 5V of power supply and older laptops might sometimes struggle with that.
With this mouse you will barely need your keyboard for any function for their entirety of your match or even tournament.
3. Logitech G-602 Lag Free Wireless Gaming Mouse
While the above to mice are actually quite a good competition against each other, neither of them are for people who hate wires and cable management. Both had over a meter of braided cable that would easily clutter your desk if left unchecked.
The G-602 from Logitech is a middle of the road option with relatively low DPI of only 2500 which is definitely not something you would want for high resolution monitors, for anything about 2K resolution you will need at least 8000DPI. For $35 it might seem unreasonable unless you look into other features that the mouse offers.
This mouse is aimed at gamers using low resolution 1080p or 1440p monitors or ultra-wide monitors with comparable pixel density. Of course, DPI is not all that matters when in combat, you need to have combo moves and attacks all ready at hand. In this matter, G-602 has got you covered.
The lower most DPI setting is 250 which would provide really accurate and precise control over the cursor as opposed to 500 that we had seen with Havit. This greatly improves the accuracy of your aim and is perfect for sniping. Next we have 20 G2 of acceleration with 80 Inches per second speed.
There are 11 programmable buttons for decent customizability and most of them are on the left-side of the mouse, where your right thumb would normally sit. Obviously, this model is for right-handed people. The wireless connection is established at 2.GHz using a USB nano receiver which provides as smooth a performance as a wired mouse with only 2 ms of report rate. This mouse is never going to lag behind its wired competitors in all the real world scenarios.
The primary mechanical switches are rated at 20 million clicks and the overall durability is quite prominent. Logitech is known for its durability and this mouse is no exception. The battery-life is reported to be up to 250 hours in performance mode and up to 1440 hours in endurance mode so there’s little to complain about in that regard.
If your needs consist mostly of low resolution FPS gaming, this is a perfect fit for you.
4. UtechSmart Venus MMO Gaming Mouse
What UtechSmart doesn’t have in terms of brand recognition, it makes that up with a feature. With maximum DPI up to 16400 and a high precision laser sensor this is the dream mouse for any DOTA2 or World of Warcraft addict. With 18 buttons, 5 light in 5 color modes 12 of which are available as side switches for marco key customization.
The DPI setting can vary from as low as 50 DPI to a staggering 16400 of maximum, on the fly, of course. One moment you can be turning swiftly in close-range combat, killing your enemies and the next instance will have you sniping at enemies, miles away from you.
That’s not all, the polling rate is also at 1000Hz making your maneuvers that much smoother and life-like. With 30G acceleration and 100-150 inches per second of cursor speed, this mouse offers way more features for the price tag of $39.
With 6ft or roughly 2m of braided cable and Omron micro switches it is certainly a robust product and it does come with 18 months of manufacturer’s warranty to show their confidence in the product.
The feet are TEFLON coated for smooth gliding of the mouse over any surface. It also comes with 8 extra weights each of 2.4g which you can add or remove to make it suitable to your liking. The entire palm grip is rubber painted for a snug and comfortable feel and there’s also extra space for you to rest your ring finger and thumb. This is designed for right-handed users, of course.
Once you get all the customization right, this mouse will become almost an extension of your hand, allowing you to game for hours and hours with minimum exhaustion and frustration.
5. KEY IDEA Wired Optical Gaming Mouse
For the budget conscious people or someone who doesn’t want to customize their mouse with 10 or more keys. If all that is too much for you, but you still want to taste the gaming mouse experience KEY IDEA might be the product for you, priced at only $17 this provides enough functionality and feature to make your life better and still not come in your way.
With up to 4000DPI with 4 adjustable DPI levels of 250-2000-3000-4000 this would work alright for most high resolution monitors. We would recommend adjusting the polling rate accordingly for best results. Polling rate itself can be adjusted at 125-500-1000Hz
It tries not to overwhelm the user with many macro keys. It has the primary and secondary clicks with the scroll wheel, obviously. Then there’s a DPI+ and a DPI- below the scroll wheel to adjust DPI settings on the fly. There are also a couple of buttons on the right hand side for forward and back buttons, especially useful in browsers. The polling rate can be adjusted via switch located underneath the mouse.
The Omron switches are rated for up to 20 million clicks and the 1.8m braided cable comes with anti-interference rings for maximum durability and performance. There’s of course RGB LED options to customize this mouse to your liking. The black matte finish would be ideal for use most people regardless of the size of their hands.
Overall this is a good starting point if you are intimidated by too many customizable buttons and yet want something that not only works well for productivity but also improves your gaming performance, significantly.
So which one’s for you?
Gaming mouse are usually a small investment, but an important one. The hardware doesn’t age, there is never a new generation of gaming mice to wait for. The right idea is to get something that feels right to you and improves your performance.
If you want all the macro keys and customization, all power to you. Get the UtechSmart or the Logitech or the Havit mouse. If you want something simple and yet powerful go for the Razer Elite. Most important factor here is your preference, and not the raw specs of the mouse. Trying different mice from your friends can also be a good start to see what the benefits of a gaming mice are.
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