What's DPI and how to configure it?

[Myth[Alex]]

Hello. I'm planning to get a gaming mouse, but I don't know how much DPI I need and what is it about and HOW to configure it. And after setting DPI, what about the in-game mouse sensibility - how much do I have to modify it? Can anyone explain me all of those things?

Thank you in advance.


Oh, and don't suggest me high-end gaming mouses (= super-expensive; these prices are stupid). I'll get a mid-end one.

[Astraea Kisaragi]

DPI improves the accuracy and senstivity of the mouse. However very high DPI requires a lot of skill to handle, so most players leave it somewhere in the middle area.

1600-2000dpi shold be enough even for hardcore players. Of course it also depends on the sensor, laser is always better as optical. And almost all mouses which are a little big better as generic 3 button office ones, have a dpi button right on the mouse - which enables for you to change sensibility whenever you want.

I'm a graphic designer so we need accurate mouses like pro players. I myself use a Razer Imperator with 6400 dpi dual laser sensor. I wanted the Razer Deathadder, but you know, female hands are smaller and that thing was quite big.

So get something from Logitech, Razer, Tesoro, Gamdias, SteelSeries, whatever fits in your budget and you like the design. Lately gamers also praise Coolermaster and MSI mouses.

[Air]

Configuring DPI depends on the mouse. If you want to adjust the DPI, 800-1300 is a generally accepted range, the exact value depends on your own preference.

[76561198146916803]

The DPI determines how fast the mouse moves around the screen when you move it. If you set it to something crazy like 5700 then the cursor would instantly jump all over the screen out of control and setting it really low like 200 would make the cursor barely move. Lower DPI will give you more accuracy, but can mess with your ability to quickly react in a game. Higher DPI is good for higher resolutions. I play at 1080p and find around 800 DPI being the best or 650 if you want even more accuracy without it being too slow. I change my mouse settings using Logitech Gaming Software. It also has the ability to record macros or change what each button does and make different profiles for games.

There is also polling rate which is how often the CPU reads input data. It's smoother at 1000, but some people prefer lower like 500 or 250.

I don't bother with in-game mouse settings unless there is a raw input or disable mouse smoothing/acceleration option. Different games treat mouse control differently. It's universal for all games just changing the mouse's DPI/polling. It's a good idea to disable Enhance Pointer Precision in Windows Control Panel and use the MarkC Windows 8.1 + 8 + 7 Mouse Acceleration Fix.

[Myth[Alex]]

Originally posted by Astraea:

DPI improves the accuracy and senstivity of the mouse. However very high DPI requires a lot of skill to handle, so most players leave it somewhere in the middle area.

1600-2000dpi shold be enough even for hardcore players. Of course it also depends on the sensor, laser is always better as optical. And almost all mouses which are a little big better as generic 3 button office ones, have a dpi button right on the mouse - which enables for you to change sensibility whenever you want.

I'm a graphic designer so we need accurate mouses like pro players. I myself use a Razer Imperator with 6400 dpi dual laser sensor. I wanted the Razer Deathadder, but you know, female hands are smaller and that thing was quite big.

So get something from Logitech, Razer, Tesoro, Gamdias, SteelSeries, whatever fits in your budget and you like the design. Lately gamers also praise Coolermaster and MSI mouses.

I see. So laser is better than optical.

Sorry, but Razer and Logitech are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ expensive O_O I don't think high-end brands are the only ones worth. As I said, I'll get a mid-range mouse. I found Natec Genesis at a good range of prices (and it has the same features as Razer, Logitech, so on --- ergonomic, more keys, macros, profiles, so on).

Thank you.

Originally posted by green:

The DPI determines how fast the mouse moves around the screen when you move it. If you set it to something crazy like 5700 then the cursor would instantly jump all over the screen out of control and setting it really low like 200 would make the cursor barely move. Lower DPI will give you more accuracy, but can mess with your ability to quickly react in a game. Higher DPI is good for higher resolutions. I play at 1080p and find around 800 DPI being the best or 650 if you want even more accuracy without it being too slow. I change my mouse settings using Logitech Gaming Software. It also has the ability to record macros or change what each button does and make different profiles for games.

There is also polling rate which is how often the CPU reads input data. It's smoother at 1000, but some people prefer lower like 500 or 250.

I don't bother with in-game mouse settings unless there is a raw input or disable mouse smoothing/acceleration option. Different games treat mouse control differently. It's universal for all games just changing the mouse's DPI/polling. It's a good idea to disable Enhance Pointer Precision in Windows Control Panel and use the MarkC Windows 8.1 + 8 + 7 Mouse Acceleration Fix.

I see. So the best setting is ~800 DPI for 1080p.

I don't see any disadvantage in games when having "Enhance Pointer Precision" activated.

Thank you.

[Astraea Kisaragi]

Gamdias has some very affordable, yet valuable mices, if cost is your concern.