You wouldn’t buy a Ferrari and drive it everywhere in first gear, would you? So, if you’ve shelled out some serious cash on a state-of-the-art gaming rig, spectacular monitor, and gaming keyboard, you need a mighty gaming mouse to make the most of your playing experience. But while there are any number of options available on the market, you need to think about what sort of mouse you need.
A high DPI is great if you play twitchy first-person shooters, but it might be a hindrance in games where pinpoint accuracy counts – if you do both, then you’ll need something you can switch up on the fly. And when the goblin horde is about to kick your door down, you don’t want to be fumbling for buffing potions on your keyboard, so the ability to assign actions to programmable buttons could be a lifesaver…
Whether you're looking for the best budget gaming mouse or a premium option, there's one suitable for you. Here are our top picks for a product worthy of ‘the best gaming mouse’ title:
Best Gaming Mouse
1 of 7Steelseries Rival 710 Esports Gaming Mouse
The Rival 710 is a beautifully designed gaming mouse offering some truly impressive specs under its refined shell, including a TrueMove3 sensor holding up to 12,000 CPI of accurate tracking, and swappable modular parts. There's also abundant feedback features, offering you the tactical edge in the heat of battle. The onboard OLED display even lets you peek at in-game stats, health limits, and Discord notifications, and the programmable Tactile Alerts will vibrate the mouse to warn you of in-game events, like low ammo or health. **Features:**Switchable USB cable and sensor; 12,000 CPI; Onboard OLED feedback display; Tactical Alerts; RBG lighting; Supported by SteelSeries Prismsync
2 of 7Logitech G502 Hero Wired Gaming Mouse
If customisation matters to you, then the futuristic G502 Hero from Logitech delivers in spades. The mouse's drag can be adjusted via the five configurable weights. The HERO sensor churns out an incredibly refined 16,000 DPI, offering zero smoothing and precise acceleration, and there are 11 customisable buttons to ensure you don't launch a fireball when you only meant to wave hello. The hyper-speed wheel offers continuous or locked scrolling, onboard DPI switch allows for customisation on the fly, and Lightsync keeps the RGB aesthetic in tune with your wider setup. Available in a wireless model, if preferred.Features: 11 programmable buttons; Five 3.6g adjustable weights; HERO 16K DPI sensor; 1ms report rate; Onboard memory; Supported by Logitech G Hub
£25.99
- Rrp: £79.99
3 of 7Razer Deathadder Elite
Razer has put its formidable gaming knowledge to great use in developing this affordable yet highly accomplished gaming mouse. The Deathadder is an icon of the gaming and esports, amassing over ten-million unit sales – and for good reason. The [5G sensor](https://www.razer.com/gb-en/campaigns/razer-5g-advanced-optical-sensorl-sensor) is capable of 16,000 DPI and 450 IPS. The form factor is extremely comfortable and natural in-hand, the scroll wheel well-griped, and the Chroma software and RGB control is well-rounded.**Features:**16,000 DPI sensor; Seven-button layout; Braided cable; Supported by Razer Chroma
4 of 7Logitech G203 Lightsync Gaming Mouse
Successful design 101: K.I.S.S – keep it simple, stupid. The G203 is the epitome of this principle. This minimalist gaming mouse hits a sweet spot between price and performance, with the archetypal six-button layout and a respectable 8,000 DPI. For the uncomplicated gamer on a budget, this is a tough mouse to beat.**Features:**8,000 DPI gaming sensor; Six-button layout; Onboard memory; Mechanical spring button tensions; Lightsync RGB lighting; Support by Logitech G Hub
£16.99
- Rrp: £39.99
5 of 7Razer Naga Trinity Gaming Mouse
Regularly jumping in MMO and MOBA titles? The Razer Naga Trinity is here for you. The sensor can track up to 16,000 DPI with the [5G optical sensor](https://www.razer.com/gb-en/campaigns/razer-5g-advanced-optical-sensorl-sensor), which has been designed to flawlessly capture speed and acceleration with a resolution accuracy of 99.4%. This is great, but the Naga's real trick is the three interchangeable side plates, which offer a two, seven, and 12 button arrangement to suits your needs. Each plate is fully programmable in the Razer Chroma software.**Features:**16,000 DPI 5G sensor; Three interchangeable side plates; Up to 19 programmable buttons; Chroma RGB lighting; Support by Razer Chroma
£99.99
- Rrp: £119.00
6 of 7Corsair M55 Pro RGB Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse
Affordable, highly accurate, and boasting a symmetrical ambidextrous eight-button layout, the Corsair M55 Pro is a very compelling gaming mouse. Plus, it weighs only 86g, so it perfectly adapted for those light, twitch-style shooters. **Features:**Braided cable; 12,400 DPI sensor; Eight button layout; Ambidextrous; RGB lighting; Support by Corsair iCue
7 of 7HyperX HX-MC002B Pulsefire Surge Gaming Mouse
The HX-MC002B Pulsefire Surge is an accurate and highly responsive gaming mouse. The 16,000 DPI sensor is a precise and speedy, the six-button layout lends a simple and classic experience, and the RGB lighting customisation is extensive. A very good solution from the team at HyperX.Features: 16,000 DPI sensor; Six-button layout; Onboard memory; 360-degree RGB lighting; Supported by HyperX NGenuity
Budding streamer? Check out the best streaming mics around.
Now you've picked out a the ideal gaming mouse, you'll want to check out the best gaming headsets around. They'll not only immerse you in a game's environment, but precise object-orientated surround sound will help you pinpoint potential enemy threats early. If you pick up the same brand as your mouse, you might even be able to sync up all the RGB lighting for that ultimate unified aesthetic.
DPI
Dots per inch (DPI) is a measurement of mouse sensitivity – counts per inch (CPI) is technically the correct term, but it’s not commonly used in the gaming community. The higher a mouse's DPI, the more the on-screen cursor will travel when the mouse is manipulated. The count is directly related to pixels, for example, move a mouse set to 50 DPI/CPI one-inch and it will move the cursor 50 pixels. The higher the DPI, the smaller the movements registered by the mouse.
While having a high number available is great for flexibility, in real terms you’re very unlikely to use 16,000 DPI…well, ever. Around 800 to 2,500 is likely to be the ballpark for most players, depending on how much they like to move during gameplay. What you need to pay attention to is the quality of the sensor, the brand’s software suite, and the mouse’s form factor. These are likely to affect your gameplay much more than a few thousand extra DPI.
FPS
Frames per second (FPS) on a mouse isn’t referring to display settings on your monitor. Rather, mouse FPS refers to the amount of frames a mouse’s sensor captures at it travels, to accurately track the movement.
IPS
Inches per second (IPS) is linked with FPS, but focuses instead on speed tracking information. The higher the number, the faster a mouse can move while successfully tracking movement.
Acceleration
Acceleration is a way of ascertaining sensor quality and reliability. Steelseries has explained it best on its blog:
“Measured in G's (sic), acceleration is the max gravitational force at which your sensor can accurately track movement. Your sudden flicks and swipes need a high acceleration rating (30-50G) to be accurate.”
Software suites
All of the gaming mice we’ve recommended are supported by each brand’s respective software suite. These software packages, which are often optional, allow for detailed control over programmable key bindings, RGB colour profiles, and custom game-specific profiles. These suites will usually serve as the central hub for controlling multiple devices from the same brand, including a gaming mouse, speakers, and gaming headset. Such a facility allows for maximum layout personalisation and gaming experience refinement; Corsair’s iCue interface and Logitech's G Hub are both brilliant and comprehensive examples of this type of software.