Before You Buy a Mouse

Mice seem ubiquitous, but they are often aimed at specific tasks. If you surf the web often, a mouse like the Logitech MX1000 with is built in web navigation features is life changing. Gamers have other concerns when it comes to a mouse, namely precision and tracking ability.

Most mice you find these days are optical or laser mice with a few ball mice hold outs. Optical and laser mice are much more precise and track better allowing you more accuracy in use. Optical and laser mice are measured in dpi and megapixels a second, similar to digital cameras. The higher the resolution and megapixels the more accurate the mouse will be. Ball mice are hold outs and my recommendation is to avoid them.

The most important thing to look for in a gaming mouse is how many megapixels per second it can process. The higher the number the more likely you are to get precise control in game. Games that move fast and require frequent mouse input can cause problems for some mice. If the mouse you choose is not up to gaming instead of tracking correctly when you move fast you end up with the view on screen bouncing around as the mouse can't keep up with you.

Wireless and corded mice are still very common. Cordless mice get a bad rap with gamers due to lag. Lag occurs when the signal traveling from the mouse to the receiver takes too long to translate your movement into actual movement on screen making for erratic response. Many newer cordless mice do not have this problem. Cordless mice also have to use batteries, where corded mice get power from your computer.