The gaming mouse is certainly the most important element of your gaming setup, at least the one that will have the biggest impact on your skill. It's your weapon, and it's thanks to it that you'll land headshots or hit your spells! You therefore need to pay particular attention to choosing it so it lives up to expectations. On Maxesport.gg we've preselected the best gaming mice for you and created this guide to help you choose the one that will bring out the Zywoo inside you. Many criteria come into play when choosing a gaming mouse, so we're going to explain them all, then guide you — based on your expectations, your playstyle and your budget — toward the one that suits you best!
How to choose a gaming mouse?
To choose your gaming mouse, you first need to know its different attributes, but also take into account personal criteria like your playstyle and your budget. To do this, we're going to explain everything there is to know about gaming mice. We'll cover the technical criteria — notably what determines sensor performance — but also the various available options, the appearance and the ergonomics.
How much should you invest in a gaming mouse?
As it's perhaps the element with the biggest impact on your performance and gaming comfort, we advise you to invest in your gaming mouse and above all to avoid cheap low-end noob mice, at the risk of it wearing out fast and you regretting it quickly. A minimum of €30 will get you an entry-level model, and prices then go up to €200 for the most high-performing ones. That said, don't worry — it isn't necessary to allocate such a budget, because excellent gaming mice are available around €50-80. An investment that remains reasonable given the comfort and the performance gain it brings!
What are the best gaming mouse brands?
Since the mouse is an essential, every peripheral brand offers one, with more or less extensive ranges. Leaders like Razer, Logitech, Pulsar or Corsair offer a very wide choice to suit all types of players and all budgets, often with quality products. Lesser-known brands have positioned themselves in specific segments such as ultra-light mice — this is the case for example with Darmoshark or WLMouse. Specialists offer mice with the promise of an unbeatable price/performance ratio, as with VXE or ATK. These new brands bring a definite fresh wind and energize the market.
Ergonomic criteria for a gaming mouse:
Connectivity
There are 2 types of connectivity:
- Wireless gaming mice: These mice have no cable and connect either via Bluetooth or via radio waves, in which case a USB receiver must be connected to the PC. Some models offer both connection modes (Bluetooth and RF 2.4 GHz). A wireless mouse offers more freedom of movement while having the same performance as a wired mouse; they do, however, often remain more expensive to buy.
- Wired mice: These are the classic mice with a cable. In recent years they were still heavily used by esports players because they offered the best responsiveness, no connection worries, and were often lighter. Today, wired mice are no longer the norm at all, due to the new wireless technologies available on the market.
Grip
The grip of your gaming mouse is the first filter for selecting it. First of all, are you right-handed or left-handed? If you're right-handed your choice will be much wider and every mouse will suit you from that point of view. If you're left-handed, however, know that there are mice specifically designed for left-handers as well as ambidextrous mice — it's among these models that you'll need to make your choice.
- Left-handed mice, as the name suggests, have a shape adapted to a left-handed grip.
- Ambidextrous mice are symmetrical mice with buttons on both sides, so the mouse can be used in exactly the same way by a right-hander or a left-hander.
Next, you need to pay attention to the way you hold your mouse (or the way you want to hold it). There are 3 main types of grip:
- Palm Grip: This is the most common and most natural grip. The palm of your hand rests completely on the back of the mouse, and your fingers lie on top. This position is comfortable because the hand is relaxed, and it offers good stability for aiming precisely using the whole arm. Palm grip is often favoured for games requiring great precision and wide movements. On the other hand, movements can be a bit slower than with other grips, and you'll need an appropriately sized mouse (rather a large ergonomic mouse that hugs the palm). If you have big hands, palm grip will feel natural, whereas with small hands it can be trickier on a large mouse.
- Claw Grip: As the name suggests, your hand forms a claw on the mouse. Only the base of the palm touches the back of the mouse, and your fingers are arched, ready to click quickly. Claw grip is a compromise between palm and fingertip: it offers more responsiveness for clicking fast than a full palm grip, while keeping some hand support for stability. Many players adopt it because it provides a good balance between precision and speed. This grip works well with medium-sized mice that have a slightly shorter shape where your fingers can curl up easily. The "claw" suits quite a lot of games (fast-paced FPS, MOBA, etc.), because it gives good wrist control for aiming while allowing quick finger movements.
- Fingertip Grip: Here, only the tips of your fingers touch the mouse — the palm doesn't cover it at all. It's the most agile grip but also the least stable. Fingertip allows very fast movements and small precise adjustments by moving just the fingers. In return, since the hand doesn't rest on the mouse, it's harder to be consistent on long movements and some find this grip tiring over time. It's used by players who love small ultra-light mice, to "frag" at full speed in twitchy games. Note that precision may suffer at very low sensitivities, because moving only the fingers lacks control compared to the whole arm. It's a less widespread grip style, but if you use it naturally, aim for a more compact and light mouse that will respond well to this style.
The shape of the mouse and its size will influence the grip, but today many models are versatile and allow different grips. The size of your hand is still a criterion to take into account — you can also look toward gaming mice for small hands to avoid a sizing problem.
Weight
The weight of your gaming mouse is an important criterion; heavier mice allow better control, whereas a lighter mouse favours speed to chain flickshots! It also plays a big part in your comfort, notably during long gaming sessions where a light mouse will tire your hand and wrist less. One last thing: if you play in Claw Grip or, even more so, Fingertip Grip, favour an ultra-light gaming mouse to avoid tiring quickly.
We consider the following main weight categories:
- Ultra light (70g)
- Light (71g to 90g)
- Normal (+90g)
Beyond the first pointers we've given you, it's up to you to estimate the perfect weight for your gaming mouse — and for that, nothing beats experience to judge. If you have absolutely no idea what the perfect weight is for your mouse, we recommend a standard mouse around 90g. You can also turn to mice with adjustable weights, with small weights to add and distribute under or inside your mouse's shell.
The number of buttons
Gaming mice are often known for having many macros. These small programmable buttons prove very useful to avoid twisting your fingers on your keyboard and to trigger a melee attack or a quick heal! They give you a real responsiveness advantage over your opponents. Try to figure out how many macros you need, which will let you choose your mouse according to your playstyle; some mice offer up to 15 or even 17 buttons (clicks included). Having a mouse with many programmable buttons is very useful for MOBA or MMO games for example, but for an FPS they can potentially get in the way of your grip. In any case, we recommend having at least 5 buttons (2 clicks, 1 wheel and 2 side buttons).
Performance criteria for a gaming mouse:
Sensitivity
Your mouse's sensitivity, or DPI ("Dots Per Inch"), is used to move your on-screen cursor more or less quickly for the same physical mouse movement. The more DPI you have, the less you need to move your mouse to move the cursor on screen.
Most mice will have a minimum DPI and a maximum DPI, with a range between 2,400 and 32,000 DPI. The bigger the range, the more possibilities you'll have, knowing that a mouse with DPI adjustable with a single click (on the fly) remains the best option. You can also read our tutorial on how to adjust your mouse's DPI if you're not sure how to go about it.
The bigger your screen(s) and the higher your resolution, the more DPI you'll need. Most pro players have fairly low sensitivities between 400 and 1600 DPI for precise aiming. Even with a triple 4K screen you'll very rarely go above 6000 or even 8000 DPI maximum, so it isn't necessary to have a mouse that goes above 8000 DPI — it's better to then favour a good polling rate.
There are several add-ons for this characteristic, such as acceleration, which makes your cursor move faster by increasing your sensitivity at a given moment if you move it more abruptly, or angle snapping, which more or less forces your sensor to draw straight lines. These add-ons are generally more useful for office work than for gaming. Although sometimes used, we'd rather advise you to disable these settings to keep full control of your mouse.
Tracking speed
Your mouse's speed is measured in IPS; it's the maximum distance your mouse can travel in 1 second before exceeding the polling rate. The more IPS your mouse has, the more it will resist big movements without spinning out. IPS is generally between 60 and 650 IPS; we recommend a mouse with at least 200 IPS for a competitive player.
Polling Rate
The Polling Rate (in Hertz) defines the frequency at which the mouse sends its position to the PC. A 1000 Hz mouse will therefore send 1000 reports per second of its position, i.e. every 1 millisecond. At 125 Hz (a basic mouse's frequency), it's only 125 times/s, so every 8 ms. The higher the polling rate, the more often the mouse can update the cursor position, which gives a feeling of increased smoothness and responsiveness.
Today, the standard on gaming mice is 1000 Hz (1 ms). Almost all offer this rate, whether in USB or wireless (proprietary wireless technologies also reach 1000 Hz easily). At 1000 Hz, transmission latency is so low that it's imperceptible to humans in most cases.
There are mice that go even higher, for example 2000 Hz, 4000 Hz or even 8000 Hz on some models. A polling rate of 8000 Hz means an update every 0.125 ms. On paper, it's impressive and it further reduces input lag, which may interest a handful of extremely sharp players chasing the smallest reaction-time gain. However, it also puts more strain on the computer's processor to handle these constant reports, and the benefits beyond 1000 Hz are pretty minimal for the average person.
Lift Off Distance (LOD)
The "lift off distance" is a rarely discussed yet important notion; it's the distance at which the mouse cursor stops moving when you lift the mouse off the pad.
The lower the LOD, the more precise and dynamic you'll be in game, but if the surface under the mouse isn't perfectly smooth the mouse may spin out, in which case you'll need to increase the LOD. In general, LOD sits between 0.5mm and 3mm.
LOD = Lift off distance
Switch type
As on a gaming keyboard, the switch is the contactor that registers the click. There are several types of switches, each with their own characteristics. You'll find switch brands like Omron or Huano that equip most mice from various manufacturers.
Some gaming peripheral brands like Razer or SteelSeries have developed their own switches. The most important aspect is knowing how many clicks the switch was designed for, which gives a good idea of its robustness and durability — this ranges from 10 million clicks for the least robust to 70 million clicks for the most robust.
The appearance of a gaming mouse
Your mouse's appearance doesn't directly influence your performance, but it can affect your in-game feeling, notably as with honeycomb-shell or solid-shell mice, which play on your grip. The mouse simply needs to please you and fit well into your setup! White mice are often gorgeous, but when you're under pressure your hands are always sweaty and therefore dirtying, so you'll certainly need to clean it a bit more often.
You can also go for gaming mice with a braided cable, which offers a longer lifespan. If that's not the case, frequently check that the cable isn't tangled or twisted to keep it longer.
Like most peripherals, nowadays the vast majority of gaming mice are RGB. Some software lets you control the LEDs to choose different effects and even sync them with your other peripherals' effects. Some software offers even more customization, such as the ability to adjust your sensitivity level or acceleration, for example.
Accessories for gaming mice
To round out your gear, you can add various accessories such as Teflon mouse skates that will further improve your mouse's glide. You can also use a mouse bungee that will free you from the cable and give you the feel of a wireless mouse. Mouse grips, meanwhile, allow a better hold and prevent the mouse from slipping out of your hands. The mouse pad remains your gaming mouse's best ally, so check out our guide and make the right choice!
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