Concept_’s extensive mouse guide

Recently, I’ve heard a lot of stupid things about mice over these forums. Things like which mouse is better than another and why X mouse sucks. The reason why I made this guide is because the mouse is the most important peripheral you have when PC gaming is concerned. Picking a good mouse can make all the difference. Of course, the mouse doesn’t make the player, but it is definitely part of the player. I’ve had extensive experience with mice before and I’m here to help you choose your next mouse or just educate you about some simple things. Do not expect to see results immediately, like any mouse, you will need time to get used to it and adapt. You’ll eventually see the benefits of a better mouse!

First of all, I’d like to name all the mice I have used before to game on. Some are laser, some optical, some ambidextrous and some ergonomical. Ok, so here we go:

• Microsoft intellimouse explorer 3.0
• Microsoft wheel mouse optical 1.1a
• Logitech MX500
• Logitech mx518
• Logitech g5
• Razer Deathadder
• Razer Imperator
• Razer Lachesis
• Steelseries Xai(what I currently use)
• Steelseries Ikari optical

Ok, before you guys get any crazy thoughts, I have not bought all these mice, but I have had an extensive experience with all of them. I have actually owned hardly half of these, I borrow mice from my friends and use Best buy’s 30day guarantee: P.
Before you can pick your mouse, there are a few things you need to know about mouse hardware and technology. So let’s begin

Optical VS Laser

Most, pro gamers you see will have an optical mouse, simply because these are more reliable and have fewer tendencies to skip around. You need to achieve much higher speeds for optical mice to malfunction: 1+ M/second. Laser on the hand, have much higher resolutions, meaning that there sensors have a higher max CPI/DPI.

Mouse hertz

Mouse hertz, to put it simply, is basically the time your computer takes to recognize a signal sent from your mouse. So if you have it set to 125 Hz, it’ll be 8ms, 500 Hz: 2ms, 1000 Hz: 1ms. Most “gaming” mice can reach 500 Hz default if not 1000. You’ll generally want it set to a higher number such as 500 or 1000, but some people, like me, find 1000 Hz too responsive. Play with your mouse settings and find what you like. If you’re using an older mouse like a Microsoft IME 3.0, you’ll have to overclock your USB. Search it up on Google if you don’t know how.

CPI/DPI

Before we talk about this, I just want to clarify that the real term is CPI and not DPI, which is used, I believe, in the printing industry. So companies that say their mouse has X DPI, it’s basically CPI. CPI is basically the hardware sensitivity of a mouse. It’s how many “counts” the mouse can make in 1 inch, hence “counts per inch” (CPI, duh!). So the advantages of a high CPI mouse are that you can set your mouse sensitivity based entirely on the hardware side. So for example, you put 0 sens ingame in CS, and you just change your CPI to compensate. This way, the game isn’t making any changes to your movements. However, most mice, if not all, come with preset CPI values, which are usually 400/800/1600… and so on. Some can move by increments of 50 or so. This means that you can’t get exactly the same sens you had before. The only mouse that can adjust its CPI by increments of 1 is the SS XAI. I hope I explained that correctly, it’s sort of hard to put down the right words…

Angle snapping/path correction

Many mice like the Logitech G5 have angle snapping which means that the mouse predicts where you want to go. So for example your move your mouse to the right, but at an angle that’s not entirely horizontal, say 4 degrees off, the mouse will think that you’re trying to move your mouse right and will adjust the path. This is bad for most gamers, because we tend to do very precise movements and we can’t have our mouse telling us where to point. Fortunately, the path correction in Logitech’s mx500/g mice have very little angle snapping and will hardly affect your game.

Mouse smoothing/jitter control

This is basically the mouse smoothing out your lines. So for example, you move your mouse right, but you just drank coffee so your hands are shaking, the mouse will make a straight line for you. To check this, simply go into paint and draw lines, If they are all perfectly straight, then you have mouse smoothing. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about this so I can’t say much else. I’m pretty sure all the mice I’ve named up there don’t have this.

Mouse acceleration

Mouse acceleration is basically your cursor moving not only based on how much or where you move your mouse, but also how fast. For example, you move your mouse X distance in 3 seconds. Then you do it again, you move your mouse X distance but this time in 1 second, you’ll realize that your cursor went further than the previous time due to an acceleration curve. This is extremely bad for gamers since we need to move a certain distance to hit someone and we can’t let the speed at which we move affect our final position. To remove mouse acceleration, simply download a mouse fix that’ll remove all acceleration from windows. I’m really lazy, so you’ll have to Google it or can someone post some links?

Windows pointer speed

Your windows pointer speed should always be set at 6/11 so windows doesn’t interpolate your mouse sensitivity, this way your mouse will stay more consistent.
Ok so that’s pretty much all you need to know about mice sensors in general, now we need to know more about the physical aspect of a mouse. I give my opinions when it comes to the physical aspect of mice, but in the end it’s all personal and you can pretty much grow into any mouse.

Weight

Weight is an important factor when choosing a mouse, or more importantly center of gravity and weight distribution. When you’re a high sensitivity player, you can generally do with any weight and center of gravity. If you’re a low sensitivity player, you may want a lighter mouse but it’s all personal. What’s more important is that you’ll need a much more spread out weight distribution and a more central center of gravity so you know how your mouse will react in certain situations. Actually, it’s always preferable that you have a nice center of gravity. Most mice are light and have central center of gravity. However, some mice have a weight distribution system such as the g5/g500. This offers you the flexibility of changing your weight but the weight then becomes “unbalanced”

Shape

There are 2 main shapes to mice: Ergonomic and ambidextrous
Ergonomic: This is great for general use and is usually much more comfortable than ambidextrous mice. However, due to the shape of the mouse, it often forces your fingers in a certain way. Say the Razer Deathadder for example, the way the mouse is shaped forces you to “palm grip” the mouse, meaning you have to lay your hand flat on the mouse using it as a bed. A good way to describe this is that your hand fits good “in” the mouse and not it fits good in your hand.
Ambidextrous: With these mice, you get the advantage of using any handgrip you like. Also, these mice usually have greater center of gravity and weight distribution. You also have the added advantage that left is really left and right is really right since the X and Y axis are all similar. It’s hard to explain :S

Sensor position

The sensor of the mouse should always be placed in the center of the mouse because it’s more natural to predict movements. However, I’ve heard that high sens mice have tendency to have their sensors a bit higher up the mouse (g5/g500). I don’t know if this helps since I’m a low sens player.

Others

Certain mice use cheap materials and break easier over time. My deathadder side button broke after I clicked it too hard, however this shouldn’t be a concern since I did click with quite the amount of force since I was raging. Also some mice have more buttons than others so this can be a deciding factor for some…
Ok now that we’ve covered everything there is to know about mice. All you need to do know is pick a mouse. But wait, you still have to figure out what kind of mouse user you are!

Sensitivity

Ok, this is probably the most important factor when buying a new mouse, what sensitivity player are you? I personally class people as high and low, no medium. To see what kind of sensitivity player… just ask yourself this, do I use my arm to move the mouse, or my wrist? If the latter, you are a high sens player. There’s not much else you need to know.

Handgrip

There are basically 2 main grips: the claw and the palm, there are others such as fingertip grip but those are stupid so I won’t get into them. Palm grip is basically when you lie your entire hand on the mouse squeezing it in with as much surface area from your fingers as possible. A claw grip is when you pull your fingers back abit so that they are sort of bent and you click using the tip of your fingers and not your entire finger. If you do not understand, you can go on Razer’s website; they have good explanations about these things.

I think that about covers everything you need to know about mice. Now comes the real hard part, choosing. There are so many good mice to choose from out there. Here, I recommend a few of the most popular ones.

Microsoft intellimouse explorer 3.0
-Ergonomic/ for palm grippers
-Optical
-cheap
-low DPI/low sens players
-Great tracking from the optical sensor
-old mouse
-Looks bad?
-very popular mouse among CS players
-legendary mouse

Microsoft wheel mouse optical 1.1a
-Same sensor as in the intellimouse
-Ambidextrous/ Claw grip
-very popular in CS
-light
-cheap
-looks bad?
-bad materials used?
-legendary mouse
Logitech MX500
-Ergonomic
-Optical
-Great tracking
-cheap
-low DPI
-looks not as fancy as the mx518
-great for Low sens and High sens

Logitech mx518
-same shape as mx500
-Legendary mouse
-Optical
-1600cpi
-For high and low sensitivity players
-Great tracking
-can go 1000 Hz
-Angle snapping

Logitech G5

-same shape as mx500
-Laser sensor/2000cpi
-definitely for high sens gamers
-Weight system
-1000 Hz
-non central weight and sensor placement
-Sensor tracking is mediocre
-Go for mx518 if you can pass by the 400cpi difference and weight system

Razer Deathadder

-One of my all time Favs
-One of the greatest sensors of all time
-Ergonomic shape based on the Microsoft intellimouse
-1800DPI and 3500CPI optical sensors
-Geared more towards low sensitivity gaming but is great for high sens too
-can go 1000 Hz
- looks cool? LED lights and rubber surface if you like that.
-Plastic on side looks cheap?

Razer Imperator

-Ergonomic shape similar to Deathadder but smaller
-cool razer look?
-thumb grip
-Phillips twin eye(PTE) sensor
-5600CPI
-1000 Hz
-Movable thumb buttons
-geared towards high sensitivity players
-Flawed sensor
-Many tracking issues
-PTE sensor has been known to have these problems
-Tracking feels inconsistent
- This mouse would be great if it weren’t for its sensor. If it had the Deathadder sensor it would be perfect.
-expensive

Razer Lachesis

-Ambidextrous design
-Laser sensor
-4000dpi/5600cpi
-High sens players
-Central weight
-1000 Hz
-Razer look?
- New one uses PTE sensor and is flawed just like the Imperator
-Old sensor isn’t that good frankly but better that the PTE when it comes to tracking
-expensive

Steelseries XAI (what I currently use)

-Ambidextrous shape similar to Wheel mouse optical 1.1
-Laser sensor (A9500)/ same sensor as in the Logitech g500 and g9x
-5001CPI
-Great for low and high sens players
-Great tracking for laser sensor/almost on par with DA, IME 3.0 and MX518
-Central gravity
-1000 Hz
-CPI, Hertz changeable by increments of 1!
-Led screen underneath
-Materials used are of good quality
-Super expensive for what you get
-looks bad?
-Hardware based acceleration that can’t be fixed/estimated 5% acceleration curve
-sensor is extremely sensitive to dust/dirt

Steelseries Ikari optical

-Ambidextrous design
-Optical sensor
-Low sensitivity players
-3200DPI
-Friggin comfortable
-1000 Hz
-great mix between everyday use mouse and gaming
-negative acceleration at high speeds
-not much really
-looks bad?

It’s getting really late and this guide took more time then I intended lol. So I hope this makes it easier for you when picking your next mouse. If I am wrong somewhere, feel free to correct me. If you think this is stupid, it actually isn’t, many players don’t realize the advantages a right mouse can have. I hope to see you on the top of your game one day and tell me that you read my guide.:D
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Comments

  • I demand this thread trustworthy.

    Sticky request.
  • I like my Microsoft Arc Mouse :)
    Works as fine as my old Deathadder. I "gave" my Deathadder to my other computer.
  • No Kinzu ?

    i never tried it but its basically the same form factor as the xai(7%smaller) but with a optical 3200CPI sensor, same one in the Ikari optical. It also has that negative acceleration at high speeds and i don't think it has any side-buttons... good enough. Overall, if it's light, I think it would be a great choice for a low or high sens player but like i said, i never used it...
  • and thanks for all the sticky requests, yes it would be nice if this could be stickied :D
  • Great guide. About the kinzu, i bought it and its REALLY small (atleast for my hand). Felt like a mouse you would buy for a laptop.

    On the other hand, currently i have a Logitech G500, i use a mix between a palm and claw grip (my palm is rested on the back but my fingers are in a sort of claw form, hence not resting on the mouse buttons completely). I consider my self a low sensitivity gamer and i feel the G500 is a little too heavy at times.

    The only mice i would consider changing to right now is the Xai, so do you think that would be a good switch for me since you have used both the G5(similar to g500) and are now using the Xai.
  • Nice guide man. Sticky please? Oh man it got sticked! Good Guide!
  • c0ntroLL wrote: »
    Great guide. About the kinzu, i bought it and its REALLY small (atleast for my hand). Felt like a mouse you would buy for a laptop.

    On the other hand, currently i have a Logitech G500, i use a mix between a palm and claw grip (my palm is rested on the back but my fingers are in a sort of claw form, hence not resting on the mouse buttons completely). I consider my self a low sensitivity gamer and i feel the G500 is a little too heavy at times.

    The only mice i would consider changing to right now is the Xai, so do you think that would be a good switch for me since you have used both the G5(similar to g500) and are now using the Xai.

    Yea definately go for xai if you re a low sens player. The funny thing is, the xai uses the same sensor as in the g500! Avago 9500. Its a great sensor tracking wise. the one in the g is interpolated to 5700cpi. And youll probably find the xai better for your claw grip cause you can rest your palm on it unlike the kinzu. Also, it should be easy for you to adapt to the mouse since the shape is so generic, say a week or two to adapt.

    K now the bad, peoole have had alot of difficulties with the xai software wise: like crashing bootup, drivers not working. So if you could buy the mouse somewhere and be able to return, that would b great! Also, the sensor is plagued with a constant hardware accel: about 5% curve. But you should be used to this since you had the g500 which had the same sensor. Its not a huge acceleration and shouldnt influence your buy so much.

    I hope that sounded right, i did it on my phone lol..


    Oh and also the sensor is xtremely sensitive to dust and stuff eo keep your mouse surface nice and clean and try cleaning the sensor with a qtip every now and then...
  • Razer Death adder is beast ._. i have one but it does not work and i need to send it to get repaired ;\
  • and add the roccat kone its winner of a lot test!!
  • Questions?

    If anyone has anyone question concerning mice, feel free to ask me, I might soon do a detailed review of each mouse i named, but the thing is, half of them, people don't even consider...
  • IzConcept wrote: »
    Yea definately go for xai if you re a low sens player. The funny thing is, the xai uses the same sensor as in the g500! Avago 9500. Its a great sensor tracking wise. the one in the g is interpolated to 5700cpi. And youll probably find the xai better for your claw grip cause you can rest your palm on it unlike the kinzu. Also, it should be easy for you to adapt to the mouse since the shape is so generic, say a week or two to adapt.

    K now the bad, peoole have had alot of difficulties with the xai software wise: like crashing bootup, drivers not working. So if you could buy the mouse somewhere and be able to return, that would b great! Also, the sensor is plagued with a constant hardware accel: about 5% curve. But you should be used to this since you had the g500 which had the same sensor. Its not a huge acceleration and shouldnt influence your buy so much.

    I hope that sounded right, i did it on my phone lol..


    Oh and also the sensor is extremely sensitive to dust and stuff eo keep your mouse surface nice and clean and try cleaning the sensor with a qtip every now and then...

    Alright, sounds good bro. Thanks a lot for your input and yeah the place i wanna buy from has a 14 day return policy so if i use it and don't like it i can just take it back, but i think it will be a solid based on what I've heard and now what you've told me.
  • Be careful suggesting the IntelliMouse 3.0/WMO 1.1/IntelliMouse 1.1a to low sens players. The optical sensor used in these only tracks to 40 in/s (1.0 m/s) before clipping/negative accel becomes an issue @ the default usb polling rate of 125hz.
  • doop51 wrote: »
    Be careful suggesting the IntelliMouse 3.0/WMO 1.1/IntelliMouse 1.1a to low sens players. The optical sensor used in these only tracks to 40 in/s (1.0 m/s) before clipping/negative accel becomes an issue @ the default usb polling rate of 125hz.

    Yea I knew this was an issue but 1m/s?! really!? thats comparable to 3rd gen lasers. But i ddnt have any problems with an overclocked polling of 500hz :P. But i guess if you have a rlly ****.ty motherboard, you wouldnt even be able to do 500lol.

    And also, most low sens players i encounter are very experienced since they usually start off high sens then go low. I don't think anyone picks up a mouse the first time and goes low. So these people should know about most if not all of what i posted.
  • I really wish I could mod my XAI to use the deathadder 3G sensor. Friggin best sensor of all time in my opinion :D
  • IzConcept wrote: »
    Yea I knew this was an issue but 1m/s?! really!? thats comparable to 3rd gen lasers. But i ddnt have any problems with an overclocked polling of 500hz :P. But i guess if you have a rlly ****.ty motherboard, you wouldnt even be able to do 500lol.

    And also, most low sens players i encounter are very experienced since they usually start off high sens then go low. I don't think anyone picks up a mouse the first time and goes low. So these people should know about most if not all of what i posted.

    Overclocking the polling rate to 500hz is not an option for many players in cf because high polling rate exhibits weird jittering motions in-game for some. I have a nice 1.1SS that I can't really use with low sens because the malfunction speed is indeed really low @ 125hz and 250hz.
  • IzConcept wrote: »
    I really wish I could mod my XAI to use the deathadder 3G sensor. Friggin best sensor of all time in my opinion :D

    Using a deathadder 3g right now but it totally jams into place if I move too fast at 125hz-250hz and even at 500hz. So I'm a sad cat that doesn't know what mouse to use. Add the recent mouse+keyboard freezing issue and my RAGE/death ratio has gone up considerably!
  • sLaNtkums wrote: »
    Using a deathadder 3g right now but it totally jams into place if I move too fast at 125hz-250hz and even at 500hz. So I'm a sad cat that doesn't know what mouse to use. Add the recent mouse+keyboard freezing issue and my RAGE/death ratio has gone up considerably!

    Im running the same mouse at 1000hz and its fine for me...
  • Rofl,i didn't know there was such compliacated stuff about mice 0.o
    I havent used a mouse for 5 years when i actually had a computer,but now im stuck with a laptop & no mouse. Obviously the mouse speeds up reactions and aim by a huge amout. Any idea what to advise that I get? The price is not so much a problem,as long as it isn't huge. But I want a consistent mouse that won't break for sure,and i honestly don't know what else i'm looking for in a mouse besides that. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
  • 2 questions.
    Ok, so I have this unknown mice, IDK where it's made from, where can i find info about the mouse?
    It has no logo written in it. It's USB btw :)

    And, my mouse. well, it's hard to control. It's not very smooth either.
    Sometimes it doesn't land where you want it to land, how can i fix it?

    Like if you wanna land on a specific spot, sometimes it'll be a complicated thing to do, because it either moves a little but higher above the location, lower, right or left.
    It's laser mouse

    =/
  • RuSTalt wrote: »
    Rofl,i didn't know there was such compliacated stuff about mice 0.o
    I havent used a mouse for 5 years when i actually had a computer,but now im stuck with a laptop & no mouse. Obviously the mouse speeds up reactions and aim by a huge amout. Any idea what to advise that I get? The price is not so much a problem,as long as it isn't huge. But I want a consistent mouse that won't break for sure,and i honestly don't know what else i'm looking for in a mouse besides that. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

    Ok, well any mouse should be a considerable upgrade. I would recommend to just get any cheap OPTICAL mouse and get used to the advantages of just having a mouse!

    Then, when you finally feel you need the extra edge of gaming mice, make the jump. So right now any dell/hp mouse should do but i recommend the wheelmouseopticale 1.1 since its cheap and reliable and great for gaming
    MwakMunzta wrote: »
    2 questions.
    Ok, so I have this unknown mice, IDK where it's made from, where can i find info about the mouse?
    It has no logo written in it. It's USB btw :)

    And, my mouse. well, it's hard to control. It's not very smooth either.
    Sometimes it doesn't land where you want it to land, how can i fix it?

    Like if you wanna land on a specific spot, sometimes it'll be a complicated thing to do, because it either moves a little but higher above the location, lower, right or left.
    It's laser mouse

    =/

    try finding any number/name/logo on the mouse and google it. That's how i find products that i own and dont know the name.

    Also, it's extremely hard to figure out your problem without actually seeing and feeling it. So i can't really help here.
    If I were to help though, I'd just buy a new mouse, from the looks of, ur mouse is really old/cheap and buying any optical mouse should fix the problem...
  • sLaNtkums wrote: »
    Using a deathadder 3g right now but it totally jams into place if I move too fast at 125hz-250hz and even at 500hz. So I'm a sad cat that doesn't know what mouse to use. Add the recent mouse+keyboard freezing issue and my RAGE/death ratio has gone up considerably!

    It's most probably your hardwares fault. Unless you're computer is infected with viruses and worms, i doubt you could do much. Time to upgrade?

    And it's a pity really, because the sensor in the deathadder 3G is an absolute gift from god! Best mouse sensor(tracking wise) ON THE PLANET! FRIGGIN AWESOME! I would put one of those ensors in every one of my mice.
  • Isn't there a way to figure what kind, model you have without googling it?

    Ex. Go to the Device Manager? Find the mouse, click "Properties" then "Details" or something? (BTW, I can't find the mouse). It ain't on USB section.
  • MwakMunzta wrote: »
    Isn't there a way to figure what kind, model you have without googling it?

    Ex. Go to the Device Manager? Find the mouse, click "Properties" then "Details" or something? (BTW, I can't find the mouse). It ain't on USB section.

    Unfortunately, windows dosnt give any other information about the mice other than very generic stuff.
    It's quite logical when you think about it, because mice are really simple things that you just pick up and use. Software engineers to OS don't expect you to search up the name of your mouse and stuff. It'll just show HID compliancy stuff. unfortunately
  • If anybody wants me to find a mouse based on your specific budget and taste/play style and that wasn't on my list, feel free to PM me or post on this thread, I'll try to find a mouse that could fit your taste.:)