My recommended gaming mice from Scan Computers
The most efficient way to narrow down your choice of professional grade gaming mouse is to simply look at the sensor running inside. Whilst there are certain people who still swear by the ongoing use of laser sensors, I tend to avoid them where possible given the varying levels of mouse acceleration that are typically inherent within them. That's not to say that a mouse featuring a laser sensor should be avoided at all costs, for many people the issues inherent within them go unoticed, perhaps they could even be considered irrelevent, but it is important you understand both sides of the equation before you open up that wallet during checkout.
To be the best, it can be said that you have to perform consistently well over a period of time. Mouse acceleration is something that can be controlled and at times be useful for low sensitivity users, but should instead be a given choice on a driver and/or in-game level, not forced upon the user at the hardware level. This is especially so when the acceleration curve is inconsistent, moving from both positive to negative levels of acceleration. This is something that is often true for several gaming mice that utilize laser sensors, it just can't be disabled, not because the company developing the mouse doesn't want too, but because it probably wasn't added in through their development firmware in the first place. Imagine you want 20 centimeters of real life mouse movement to equate to a 180 degrees turn in Team Fortress 2, a sensor that has varying levels of acceleration might never hit your target when moving the mouse to the same point more than once. In this situation you are relying entirely on what is happening on screen, with little fall back on blind faith through muscle memory. It’s this muscle memory that can be developed over time with or without acceleration, but only where the cursor movement is consistent and can truely be controlled.
I also do not believe that a mouse should be described as better than another because it has more DPI, or that it has 100,000 more mouse clicks before it is supposedly allowed to fail. Instead, the perfect mouse is one that simply fits the players hand, is consistent in its cursor movement, and does not have any side effects that could harm the player’s performance whilst using it, such as skipping or latency. It’s for this reason that I continue to use a specific set of optical sensors when recommending gaming mice for friends to buy, they're often a safe bet. That said, the performance of any mouse, regardless of the sensor, will depend on the hardware and components behind it too. This is just my way of narrowing down the large amount of choice available on the market.
Don’t get me wrong though, the best player in the world can still win with what could be described as an inferior product, it’s happened before and it will happen again. It’s just when given the choice, why not go for the safer product, something that you know won’t let you down when you need it most. If your opponent is considered to be on the same level as you, it’s likely that the winner is the one who inevitably makes the least mistakes. In all, I see the definition of a good gaming mouse as one that will not necessarily make you a better player, but instead one that will not potentially make you a worse one.
I have put together a list of what I consider to be the top 3 gaming mice for both ergonomic and ambidextrous users, mice that use specific optical sensors that are considered safe bets for any budding pro gamer.
My Top 3 Ergonomic Mice from Scan Computers
1. Razer DeathAdder 3.5g (3500dpi)
2. Roccat Kone Pure Optical (4000dpi)
My Top 3 Ambidextrous Mice from Scan Computers
1. Razer Abyssus 3.5g (3500dpi)
Ultimately, these six mice may not necessarily be for you. Away from the sensor, everything else is preference. Factors such as build quality, button clicks and switches, sensor lift-off distance and dpi levels are all attributes that change from gamer to gamer. The preference of one mouse over another can only be determined through personal experience, so if you happen to find yourself in Bolton as we draw nearer to Christmas I’d suggest you visit the Scan store and try them in person on the show floor.
James ‘MrDogbert’ Given