Tips for your first gaming mouse
10.12.2021
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Gaming mice are as personal as gloves: some fit, some don't. Which is why I won’t just run down an exhaustive list in this guide, but instead tell you what to look for.
A good gaming mouse can accompany you on your virtual adventures for up to five years. In tech years, almost an eternity. To help you make the right choice, here are some tips.
Pay for what you play
The most important thing upfront: just because a gaming mouse has a lot of buttons or can be modified with additional weights doesn’t necessarily make it better than other models. Ask yourself: will you really need that many buttons? Do you really need your little rodent to be able to spontaneously change its weight? What kind of games do you mainly play?
A mouse plastered with buttons is especially suitable for so-called massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft. As a rule of thumb, a mouse for this or similar genres should have at least nine programmable buttons. For other games, a mouse like this typically isn't helpful?
In terms of weight, it all comes down to personal preference. If you like heavy mice, then weights will make sense for you. Depending on the game type, a heavy mouse can be beneficial for precision. Personally, I like light mice, which is why I never use a mouse with weights myself.
Today, most gaming mice are customisable. You can even create profiles for individual games. Therefore, your standard buttons – both main buttons, a scroll wheel and the two side buttons – will be enough for most gamers.
Grip type
Another important factor when buying a mouse is the type of grip, and with it the shape as well as, once again, the weight. Basically, a distinction is made between three types of grips:
- Palm grip
- Claw grip
- Fingertip grip
With a palm grip, the fingers and heel of your hand rest completely on the mouse. A claw grip on the other hand, only has the fingertips and part of your palm touching your peripheral – like an eagle grabbing its prey. Finally, only your fingertips rest on the keys when using a fingertip grip.
Of course, these are only rough distinctions. People use what works best for them. But how you hold the mouse determines whether you’ll need a big or small, light or heavy mouse.
Large, ergonomic mice are suitable for a palm grip. Using this grip, your hand tires less quickly than with other techniques. On the other hand, your movements are slower and less precise.
A fingertip grip allows fast and precise movements. Small and light mice are more suitable for this grip. One flaw: your fingers and hands will tire quickly.
A claw grip is somewhere between the palm and fingertip grip. It allows you to aim more accurately and faster than with a palm grip. However, your hands will also tire more quickly. And in terms of precision and speed, this type of grip doesn't quite come close to a fingertip grip.
Sensor
As a rule, all gaming mice have an optical sensor. These days, there isn’t much difference in quality between well-known manufacturers. Anyways, most mice use a sensor from manufacturer PixArt – even ones that don't feature the brand in its name. Razer's Focus+ sensor, for example, is a modified PixArt PMW 3399. If you buy a mouse from a major manufacturer that has been on the market for less than two years, it’s hard to mess up the sensor.
Manufacturers advertise the installed sensors using CPI. The term stands for counts per inch, referring to how many pixels the cursor covers on your screen when you move the mouse by one inch. In simple terms, CPI determines how fast you can move your cursor or character across the screen. Today’s sensors usually have around 20,000 CPI. But that’s pure marketing. High CPI doesn’t give you any advantage over others. Few gamers use more than 3200 CPI.
A second important point for your sensor is the sampling or polling rate. This specifies the distance at which a mouse sends information to your PC. The more frequent, the faster it processes keystrokes and movements. At a polling rate of 1,000 Hz, update times are around one millisecond. Or said in another way: a mouse sends information to your PC thousands of times per second. 1,000 Hz are standard today. Some mice can already reach 8,000 Hz. However, the difference will be insignificant for most. But 1,000 Hz are sufficient for amateur gamers.
Cabled or wireless?
Then there’s the cable question. First of all, make sure that radio transmission works via a 2.4 GHz dongle. In this case, you can safely do without the cable if you buy the mouse from a reputable manufacturer. Bluetooth, on the other hand, is unsuitable for gaming. It takes too long for a signal to be sent from and to your computer.
If you still want to rely on a cable connection, I recommend a so-called mouse bungee. This device lifts your cable so that it no longer touches your desk. This way, even a wired mouse feels like a wireless one.
Lighting and software.
Lastly, you should consider whether or not you need RGB LEDs. Lightweight mice usually have only one LED or none at all. Larger and heavier mice, on the other hand, can put on a real light show on your desk.
Software is also important to many. It allows you to configure and personalise your mouse. By far the most important feature for users who play a variety of games: creating profiles and then using them for the corresponding title.
I hope these tips have made your search for a suitable mouse a bit easier.
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
