The 10 Best Gaming Mice
Special Honors
Pwnage Ultra Custom Technically, this company only offers two mice - one wired and one wireless version. But, each of those models are meant to be customized to suit your specific gaming needs. One of these will be a great choice if you're a competitive streamer, or if you're just picky about all your gear matching and looking nice. pwnage.com
Editor's Notes
March 25, 2021:
One important thing to be aware of when selecting a gaming mouse is that they can have wildly varying build qualities, even among units offered by the same company. What that means is, while there's a massive number of mice to choose from, a surprising amount - even from reputable manufacturers - have reliability issues. So, we dug deep to find those with the most refinements and fewest issues over time. In that same vein, we decided to merge our rankings of wired and wireless mice, so we could focus on only the very best of each.
For example, the Glorious Model O was made for gamers by gamers, and is about as light and durable as they come. The Corsair Harpoon PRO is similarly sleek, but a bit heavier, and still pretty simple. For dedicated 3D gamers on a budget, it's tough to beat the PicTek PC257A due to its price and reliability, and MMO gamers will love the Redragon M908 Impact.
In terms of wireless mice, the Logitech G PRO X Superlight is hard to top for just about any use, even aside from gaming. If you're going for something a little more flashy, the Razer Viper Ultimate and Razer DeathAdder v2 Pro are both excellent high-end choices.
March 11, 2020:
There are tons of gaming mice available these days, and unlike everyday mice, there isn't any one brand that dominates the field. In fact, even the big names have their good and not-so-good models; for example, the Razer Viper Ultimate and Razer Basilisk v2 certainly appear to be more durable in the long run than some of Razer's older models. And while Logitech isn't quite the heavy-hitter in the gaming sector as it is with more common wireless mice, the updated Logitech G903 Lightspeed is still a very good high-end choice, and the Logitech G Pro one of the top lightweight wired options. Some other familiar manufacturers also continue to produce high-quality pointing devices; the Corsair Nightsword is one such model with plenty of programmable buttons and an excellent PixelArt sensor. The SteelSeries Rival 3 is another great showing from a familiar brand, this time with a low price, simple design, and light weight.
We also found some fantastic options that you might not recognize. The Cooler Master MM710 is among these, and it aims to increase your own stamina and decrease your reaction time with its incredibly scant weight. The Anker High Precision is considerably heavier, but given its low price, it's hard to beat in terms of cost-effectiveness. If you're an MMO player, you'll appreciate the bevy of buttons on the Redragon M990 Legend. We looked high and low for a reliable MMO mouse with 12 or more left-panel shortcuts, but a lot of the big-name models seem to be plagued with durability issues and poor switch quality these days.
Finally, when it comes to gaming mice, there are few like the Swiftpoint Z. It uses pressure-sensitive sensors to add an incredibly uncommon amount of control to a large number of games and it even functions as a sort of joystick with the attached feet. Its internal gyroscope and accelerometer make it a good choice for games that usually pretty hard to control with a mouse.
Benefits Of Gaming Mouse
One of the greatest, and most useful, features of a gaming mouse is the abundance of buttons.
Gaming mice are designed specifically with the needs of gamers in mind. They are known for offering a range of benefits from better performance to improved ergonomics. Most gaming mice are made with higher quality materials than a standard computer mouse, making them more durable. This can be a godsend to serious gamers who are hard on their mice during intense gaming sessions.
Many gaming mice have been designed by gamers, so they have put a lot of thought into ergonomics. They are designed to feel more comfortable in the hand, making it easier to use them for marathon gaming sessions. They also tend to cause less sweat build up between the hand and the mouse surface.
In addition to focusing on hand comfort, some even come with removable weights. This also allows one to make their mouse heavier for precision aiming games, like first person shooters and sniper games, and then reduce the weight when frantic movements are preferred, like in real-time strategy games.
Gaming mice are also known for being more precise than their traditional counterparts. This is because they have a higher DPI, sometimes referred to as CPI. DPI, which stands for dots per inch, refers to how often the mouse reads its relative position. The higher the DPI, the more reads per second, which equates to more sensitivity. In essence you will need to move your mouse less in the real world to move the cursor across the screen.
Standard computer mice generally have either 800 or 1600 DPI, whereas gaming mice can have as high as 12000 DPI. Some higher end models also offer an adjustable DPI, so you can customize it to your gaming style, or allow you to change the DPI on the fly at the press of a button. This is great if you are playing a game that has a variety of different game play styles, each of which calls for a different ideal DPI.
One of the greatest, and most useful, features of a gaming mouse is the abundance of buttons. Unlike traditional mice, which often have just two or three buttons, a gaming mouse usually has somewhere between 6 and 15 buttons. This allows the user to set hot keys for specific game functions.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Gaming Mouse
Getting the best performance out of your mouse isn't just about buying a great gaming mouse. One must also take full advantage of the features it offers and supply it with the necessary auxiliary devices.
One thing most gamers overlook after purchasing their mouse, is their USB port's ability to accept mouse processes.
Creating specific DPI settings for particular games can greatly enhance your gaming performance. As mentioned previously, the DPI affects how far your cursor will move across the screen each inch you move your physical mouse. Customizing your DPI settings for particular games based on the needs of that game, will allow you to perform better. This can mean anything from shooting more accurately to positioning your game avatar more quickly.
One should also take the time to set a gaming mouse's macro keys for specific in game functions that are performed often, or that need to be performed quickly. When playing a game where fractions of a second matter, a macro key can be the difference between winning and losing.
One thing most gamers overlook after purchasing their mouse, is their USB port's ability to accept mouse processes. Purchasing a gaming device port and installing it into a computer will increase the pooling rate and reduce mouse and keyboard response time from an average of 8ms to 1 or 2ms. A gaming mouse pad is also a good idea to provide clean and consistent tracking for a gaming mouse.
Using A Gaming Mouse To Increase Work Efficiency
Many people assume a gaming mouse is only useful for playing games, but many of the features that make them ideal for gaming also make them ideal for increasing work efficiency. Marathon gaming sessions might last five or six hours, but for those who use a computer all day at work, every day is like a marathon gaming sessions. Because gaming mice are so ergonomically friendly, they can be a welcome relief to somebody who uses a mouse eight hours a day, five days a week.
This means they won't fall asleep like standard computer mice, and there is no lag time when you start using it again after a few minutes of inactivity.
All of the additional buttons available for macro programming on a gaming mouse can make getting work done extremely efficient. They allow one to set dedicated buttons for commonly repeated actions. Most keyboards allow for users to set shortcuts for commonly repeated actions, but it can sometimes be difficult to find a shortcut that isn't already being used by another program. They also generally require the use of two hands for multiple button presses.
The addition of anywhere from 6 to 15 new buttons on a gaming mouse gives users a lot of additional slots to set shortcuts. Opening a new word document, backing out of a browser screen, opening a new tab, copying items, and sending documents to the recycle bin are just a few examples of actions that can be accomplished with a gaming mouse by pushing a single button.
It is not uncommon for people to use monitors from 20 to 30 inches at work, especially those who do any kind of design work or need to keep multiple windows open and in view at the same time. The higher DPI of gaming mice allows users to move their cursor across the screen quicker and with shorter mouse movements.
Unlike traditional mice, gaming mice do not have a power saving feature. This means they won't fall asleep like standard computer mice, and there is no lag time when you start using it again after a few minutes of inactivity.