There are two main sensor types, laser and optical.<\/p>\n
Both optical and laser mice actually use an optical sensor<\/a><\/strong>, a laser mouse simply uses a laser for illumination.<\/p>\n There are some key differences between the two types of sensors however, as they are optimised for different surfaces.<\/p>\n While optical sensors track with a slightly lower margin of error, this can vary according to the surface you use.<\/p>\n If you plan to use your mouse on a variety of surfaces, a laser mouse is probably your best bet, but if you value tracking accuracy on specific surfaces, an optical mouse will provide a small increase in accuracy over a laser sensor.<\/p>\n Sensor DPI<\/strong><\/p>\n DPI simply means “dots-per-inch” and is a good general indicator of maximum sensitivity.<\/p>\n This specification is not an indicator of accuracy and only refers to sensitivity or resolution, although a mouse with a high DPI specification may track better at relatively high sensitivities than a mouse with a DPI specification barely above the set sensitivity.<\/p>\n Unless you require extremely high sensitivity (this could be applicable to high-APM strategy gamers, but first-person-shooters favour lower sensitivity settings), a mouse with over 1,000 DPI should be more than enough.<\/p>\n Polling Rate<\/strong><\/p>\n Polling Rate refers to the amount of times a mouse sensor reads its position every second.<\/p>\n This is a good indicator of the mouse’s latency and responsiveness, although these differences are barely noticeable after a point.<\/p>\n Generally, a higher polling rate requires more system resources but is better for gamers who prioritise responsiveness and lower latency.<\/p>\n The most important part of choosing a gaming mouse is choosing a style that is both comfortable and suitable for your playstyle.<\/p>\n FPS<\/strong><\/p>\n First-person shooter gamers simply require a good-quality gaming mouse that is comfortable and has a good sensor.<\/p>\n Adjustable weights and one or two side buttons are a nice option to have, but are generally not the first priority for FPS gamers.<\/p>\n MOBA\/Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n Games like Dota 2 and StarCraft require both mouse accuracy and efficient input options.<\/p>\n Many MOBA gamers opt for mice with additional input options, ranging from a simple pair of side buttons to a customisable array of buttons on both sides of their mouse.<\/p>\n MMORPG<\/strong><\/p>\n MMORPGs are enjoyed by both casual and hardcore gamers alike, and there are mice catered specifically to hardcore MMO players.<\/p>\n Mice with a large amount of extra buttons allow MMO players to bind important skills to their mouse buttons and free up more buttons on their keyboard for extra skills.<\/p>\n Extra mouse buttons can also be useful when wound to Push To Talk, minimizing interference with keyboard commands.<\/p>\n There are a number of accessories available which could improve the feel of your gaming mouse.<\/p>\n Mousepad<\/strong><\/p>\n A good mousepad can make a big difference, as your sensor may be more suited to a certain material than others.<\/p>\n Mousepads also come in a variety of forms, including smooth “speed” surfaces and coarser “control” surfaces with more friction.<\/p>\n Cable Management<\/strong><\/p>\n Tired of your mouse cable dragging and catching on the edge of your mousepad or other items? A mouse bungee could be the answer to your problems.<\/p>\n There are a number of mouse bungees available in South Africa which are relatively inexpensive, and some also act as USB hubs.<\/p>\n Here’s everything you need to know about your next gaming mouse purchase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232,"featured_media":107715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_enabled":true,"_sma_x_custom_text":"","_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8585],"tags":[22987,2664,19337,11438,23137,23135,14560],"class_list":["post-109825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gadgets","tag-buying","tag-gaming","tag-laser","tag-mouse","tag-optical","tag-sensor","tag-specifications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/232"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"ROG](\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/ROG-Spatha.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nButton Layout<\/h3>\n
![\"razer](\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/razer-naga-chroma.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nAccessories<\/h3>\n
![\"Roccat](\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Roccat-Bungee.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNow read: How to get better at first-person shooters \u2013 tips from a pro Counter-Strike player<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"