how much difference does a good mouse make?

[Unxetas]

So.. for the last 15 years or so (since "upgrading" from the old school mice with a ball inside) I've only ever used the standard Dell/Microsoft optical mice. I've gone through maybe 3 of those in 15 years haha. I use a tablet for work, most of my gaming is sim racing (with a wheel) so it never really occurred to me to spend more than $10 on a mouse.

I started playing a couple of games lately (Deus Ex, Thief) and it *feels* like I can see stepping when panning across at reasonable speeds. The framerates are high enough that the limitation is either the 60Hz monitor, or the mouse.

Realistically, how much of a difference does a good mouse do in smoothness? What exactly is the advantage of a (relatively) expensive gaming mouse vs a cheap optical thing?

Cheers!

 

[Vittra]

Your explanation leads me to suspect your monitor is the culprit. Typically once you notice begin to LCD smearing or blur, it becomes impossible to ignore. If you're not running vsync and you're maxing the frames on your 60hz monitor, then you have to deal with the annoyance of tearing as well.

Regardless, the #1 factor to consider for a mouse is comfort. It doesn't matter how good a mouse is if it doesn't feel right in your hand and causes discomfort. Unfortunately this is highly subjective due to hand size and how you prefer to grip a mouse (Claw/Palm/Finger).

Beyond this, you can consider factors such as acceleration, prediction, and the sensor type (both with respect to laser/optical, and how that SPECIFIC sensor preforms and at certain CPIs).

It's up to you how far you want to delve into it. I, personally, have never liked laser mice. Even those with highly acclaimed sensors have always felt off to me, likely due to their inherent positive acceleration. I also game at low CPI - I don't like anything more than 800 unless I am manning a turret in a battlefield game or some such. Fortunately for me the market has swung back to bringing optical mice into favour, so the options are plentiful.

Despite this I still just have a variation of my older mice (MX518), the G400.

 

[JD]

The sensor and DPI offered are the main differences between a "gaming" mouse and a regular one. It tracks movements far more accurately to say the least.

I personally cannot use standard mice at all anymore, I find them too slow. I actually took an old DeathAdder to work to use too. Whenever people use my PC they always go "OMG your mouse is so fast!" :haha:

 

[Unxetas]

Haha yeah I can see this is another one of those rabbit holes I've been trying so hard not to fall into. I do like a pretty fast mouse as I try not to have to lift the mouse much. That's what led me to think I could do with a bit higher DPI mouse - I have the mouse sensitivity cranked up decently high, which would in theory make every little step of the sensor a bigger jump on the screen. Theoretically, higher DPI would mean more, but smaller steps and smoother motion. In practice, I'm not convinced it'll pan out that way.

Only one way to find out, I guess.. To the craigslist!

 

[Dzzope]

IMO, get a reasonably priced but decent optical mouse, stay away from laser sensors.

 

[Unxetas]

Ah, too late! Went out and picked up a spiffy fancy gaming mouse chock full of lights and buttons. It's a strange world out there, folks..

It's a Genius GX Gila, a few weeks old and bought for a reasonable price. Haven't gotten around to trying it yet, definitely curious to give it a go and see what all the fuss is about. I wouldn't normally have spent $40 on a freaking mouse, but this is more of a science experiment, so it's all good. Besides, there's a very good chance I'll end up putting it back on craigslist!

 

[Bond007]

Haven't heard anything about that mouse. Hopefully it gives you decent grounds to base your mouse future on.

 

[YukonTrooper]

The difference between 125Hz and 500Hz polling rate on a 144Hz G-Sync monitor is very noticeable.

 

[AFG34]

I think it all depends on your experience....I'd suggest you try some sub $30 mice. The more you try the more you will discover what shape and what type of mouse you prefer.

I went through many different mice when I was neck deep into twitch FPS games, trying to find that perfect mouse, and stopped buying mice once I got this Logitech G9 I am using. It is perfect for how I hold it and I've gotten so used to it that I can't imagine changing to something drastically different. This one lasted me over 5 years now and all the paint and coatings have worn off. The rubber on the scroll is completely torn up....but it feels like a second skin on my hand and it still works.

 

[Unxetas]

(typed up a long post and then for no good reason, thought I'd click one of the new buttons - aaah, the back button.. great)

Yeah, I bet it's easy to get caught up in the mouse race - b'dum pshhh... - hopefully I'll keep in mind that I really rarely play any games with a mouse, really. Anyway, just spent a few minutes playing with the new mouse. At the highest dpi settings, it's pretty ridiculous lol. Makes for an interesting desktop experience for sure hah.

It could very well be my imagination or the power of suggestion, basically my subconscious trying to justify spending $40 on this thing. But I fired up Deus Ex, set the in-game sensitivity to the lowest setting and cranked up the mouse's DPI setting to.. I dunno, whatever setting 4 out of 6 is. Again, it's possible I'm imagining things but it kinda felt smoother when looking around.. Thinking about it though, my eyes were feeling tired and a bit messed up yesterday, it could just be that I'm more rested today. I dunno.. But the doubt is enough to keep the mouse for now. If anything, I'm sure I'll find a use for all the buttons at some point!