Having the ideal gaming setup is incredibly important for every gamer, including picking from the best gaming mice.
A gaming mouse can make or break your gaming performance, and choosing from the sea of mice, all of which have numerous equally important features, can be a stressful decision.
Now, you don’t just have to choose from button placement, brand, ergonomics, RGB, price, etc., but also consider the right DPI.
So, what is DPI, and does DPI matter for gaming?
What is DPI?
When we talk about gaming mice, DPI, which stands for ‘dots per linear inch’, is used to measure mouse sensitivity.
In simpler terms, it measures how many pixels the cursor moves with every inch the mouse moves.
Suppose you have a mouse set to 1000DPI for gaming; the cursor will move 1000 screen pixels for every inch of wrist movement.
The more DPI your mouse offers, the quicker the cursor movements will become.
Minimum DPI for a Gaming Mouse
Judging from this, you would assume the higher the DPI, the better your gaming experience would be, but that’s not the case.
Initially, most mice offered only 1,200DPI, but with growing technology, we now have mice that can reach 16,000DPI.
If you apply that to real life, for each inch that you move your mouse, the pointer will move 16,000 pixels.
Applying that to a 1080p monitor would result in over eight screens’ worth of movements. Talk about crazy speed!
While most mice with high DPIs are marketed as better if you think logically about it, no one needs a 16,000 DPI mouse; it would be nearly impossible to get used to, and it would get annoying fast for most games.
Unless you have a triple 4k monitor setup, a higher DPI would be recommended.
The purpose of a DPI is to measure how much you need to move your hand for the pointer to reach a certain part of the screen.
With a low DPI, you’ll need to exert more effort, while with a very high DPI, you’ll need to move your mouse much more carefully.
Ultimately, it all boils down to preference: what you need to use the mouse for, the kind of games you play, and how much money you want to invest in the mouse.
Recommended DPI for Gaming
While the ideal DPI varies from person to person, there are certain guidelines you can follow to reach your perfect mouse sensitivity.
Firstly, consider your monitor’s resolution. Most gaming ones are either 1080p or 1440p, so a mouse with a 5000DPI or above would be too sensitive and drain the fun out of any game.
But, the silver lining is that most mice have one benefit. While they have dizzying DPI specs, you can adjust them based on your needs.
You can easily do this by changing the different sensitivity settings. For certain games, such as FPS, you need low sensitivity, while for real-time strategy games, a high-sensitivity setting is better.
Kinds of Games and their recommended DPI
- For FPS, it’s best to stay between 400-1000 DPI. This may seem low compared to 2000 or 5000 DPI sensitivity. But when it comes to first-person shooters like CS:GO, Far Cry, Battlefield, etc., you’re looking for accuracy and precision, which would be difficult to achieve when playing with a high DPI mouse. This range is also perfect for playing MOBA games like League of Legends and DOTA. Most pro gamers also stay within this DPI range.
- For RPGs and MMOs, a higher DPI than 1000 is usually preferred, as you need speed more than precision or accurate tracking. For these, most gamers typically go with 1000-2000 DPI.
