The combination of keyboard and mouse is one of the defining characteristics of the PC, with both peripherals playing a key role in gaming. Like keyboards, over the years the mouse has evolved from a humble control device to a precise tool resplendent in buttons and features. Here’s our guide to what to look out for when choosing a gaming mouse.
The most important, and incidentally the hardest thing to get right when choosing a new gaming mouse is finding one that is the most comfortable. The best way to solve this conundrum is to think about how you grip your current mouse. Despite us all having different shape and size hands, most people hold a mouse in one of three grips, and so different mice are designed for these three grip styles.
Red areas highlight where your hand and fingers are in actual contact with the mouse
The palm grip is the most popular way to hold a mouse and as the name suggests you rest your palm and fingers on the top and sides of the mouse. Mice designed for the palm grip tend to be wider, longer and have a steeper top arch to provide your hand with more support. Palm mice provide accurate control but are less suitable for repeated rapid movements.
The claw grip is a lighter version of the palm grip, but with your palm and fingers lifted off the mouse, leaving just your fingertips and wrist in contact with the mouse. Mice designed for the claw grip tend to be shorter than palm mice with a shallower top arch. Claw mice enable faster movement than palm mice.
As its name suggest the fingertip grip means holding onto the mouse with just your fingertips. Mice designed for the fingertip grip are normally very light and very short with the flattest arch of the three mouse shapes. Due to the limited contact between the hand and mouse, fingertip mice are the quickest to move around but are less suited to precise and delicate movements.
Now that you’ve decided which shape of mouse you want the rest of this guide will walk you through what else to consider when choosing a new gaming mouse.
While most gamers favour mice around 100g in weight, everybody has different strength hands and wrists, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for a mouse that you can adjust the weight of. More advanced mice are bundled with removable weights, enabling you to increase or decrease the weight to whatever you find the most comfortable.
For example, the highly configurable Corsair Nightsword gaming mouse has two sets of weights and six mounting locations for a possible 120 different combinations of weight and balance.
Finally, its worth pointing out that whatever gaming mouse you decide on you should also should invest in a mouse mat, sometimes also referred to as a mouse pad, and never use a mouse directly on a desk or table. This is because such surfaces will not be smooth enough to give accurate control and will also wear damage the underside of the mouse.
Mouse mats are available in a wide variety of shapes, from traditional rectangular designs to massive widescreen format mats, what’s right for you depends on the space you have available.
You can also choose between soft fabric mats and hard plastic mouse mats, choosing one over the other is purely down to personal preference – there is no clear advantage of one over the other. Finally, some mouse mats also include RGB lighting and Qi wireless charging when wired up to your PC over USB.
Browse our range of gaming mice.
Alternatively, if you have any further questions you’d like answering about gaming mice, don’t hesitate to call one of our friendly advisors on 01204 474747.
