The best gaming mouse in 2021

The very best gaming mouse isn’t just for critical PC players, anybody who spends most of their day on a pc may benefit from one among these neat little rodents. Nothing beats the consolation and velocity of a superb gaming mouse that looks like an extension of your personal arm. 

Within the nice debate over gamepad vs. keyboard and mouse, the dynamic duo nearly all the time takes the crown. The velocity and accuracy are unmatched, particularly in first-person shooters. 

The very best mouse for MOBA gamers will likely be completely different from the best lightweight mouse {that a} CSGO participant would possibly use. Whether or not you're searching for wired or wi-fi, mild or heavy, or with a dozen programmable buttons, there's a mouse designed only for you. You simply need to know the place to look. 

We've examined dozens of gaming mice all year long and made an inventory of these we really feel are value your time. The excellent news is that the very best gaming mouse doesn't must value you a whole lot of {dollars}; we've discovered some nice funds choices as low-cost as $50.  

After all, when you're purchasing for a brand new gaming mouse, you would possibly as properly match it with the best gaming keyboard.

Finest gaming mouse

The Razer DeathAdder has an total improbable form for all kinds of grips and hand sizes, and I've spent a whole lot of hours enjoying video games, utilizing Photoshop, and searching the Web with it. Regardless of years of iterations, Razer by no means messes with the DeathAdder's form. There's no motive to.

The DeathAdder V2 makes use of a 20,000 DPI Razer Focus+ optical sensor, and whereas huge numbers don't essentially equate to high quality, right here they do. Razer's latest tech delivers flawless monitoring, even when you transfer the mouse as quick as humanly attainable.

For almost all of video games and players, the DeathAdder V2 is a improbable mouse. Its design is easy, with two completely positioned, generously sized thumb buttons. It additionally has a wonderful optical mouse sensor that can work on each arduous and material pads, and it has the final word physique form for a claw or hybrid claw/palm grip. 

And if you wish to ditch the tail, the DeathAdder V2 Professional takes the identical form, the identical sensor, and makes it a fantastic wireless gaming mouse.

Learn our full Razer DeathAdder V2 review.

There are many reasonably priced gaming mice value your cash at this time, however few you possibly can have full confidence in fairly just like the Logitech G203 Lightsync. It's an all-around performer, delivering steady and constant efficiency in a glossy bundle, and is the very best low-cost gaming mouse round at this time. The Logitech sensor inside is rated as much as 8,000 DPI when you're , and it's acquired responsive switches all through to make sure clean operation.

The one important distinction between this and the G203 Prodigy that used to take a seat right here is the inclusion of three-zone RGB lighting on the Lightsync as a substitute of the single-zone lighting on the Prodigy. It's not an enormous change, however one that appears a deal with and doesn't value further, in concept. In the event you can snag a discount deal on the G203 Prodigy, we extremely advocate that you simply transfer on it whereas shares final.

Learn our full Logitech G203 Lightsync review.

The shape and performance of Razer's Naga mouse have each come a great distance over time, but it surely has lengthy been the very best MMO mouse for our cash. And this revision of the Razer Naga Professional is the very best but: a tiny, comfy mouse with a high-quality sensor and three interchangeable thumb grips, with button arrays perfect for MOBAs, MMOs, or normal use. 

The MOBA array is the very best; it has six buttons specified by two rows in order that there are sufficient buttons to map a number of talents, however not so many who they change into an awesome samey blob. 

This yr's Naga affords an improved battery life and works with the Razer Mouse Dock (not included, sadly). The Razer Naga Professional is barely on the small aspect for bigger fingers, with a extra squat form than some gaming mice. It's comfy within the relaxed grip suited to MMOs however will nonetheless do the job when you play MOBAs, shooters, or different lively video games.

It's additionally value noting that, whereas the Naga is a completely right-handed rodent, Razer has created a southpaw model that options our best left-handed mouse information. Nevertheless, the leftie model does solely include a single set of aspect buttons.

Learn our full Razer Naga Pro review.

The Prime Wi-fi is a no-frills, high-performance machine designed to meld along with your palm and make you the FPS god you all the time dreamed of being. The $139 mouse is a part of Steelseries' Prime lineup of esports-focused peripherals and sits between the cheaper wired Prime and the OLED packing Prime+.

The Prime Wi-fi instantly felt prefer it was designed only for my explicit hand. SteelSeries says it labored with a number of esports execs to develop the correct form and weight that looks like an extension of your arm. For as soon as, the product lives as much as the hype. The Prime Wi-fi is designed for right-handers, notably claw and fingertip grippers. The entire mouse appears to softly slope in the direction of the correct in order that it cradles in your palm for a cushty grip.

As a wi-fi mouse, it has a built-in rechargeable battery rated for 100 hours per cost, which is over per week of common use. Nevertheless, I ought to level out these numbers are solely achievable when the mouse is working in Excessive-efficiency mode, which tones down some settings just like the RGB to save lots of energy. For gaming, you'll need to maintain it in efficiency mode, which is able to chew by means of the battery in considerably much less time—round 40 hours in testing. 

I by no means anticipated to love the Steelseries Prime Wi-fi, but it surely's simply so rattling comfy to make use of for work and gaming. Enter lag is not any concern, and truthfully, wi-fi as of late are just about indistinguishable from their wired counterparts. The battery life is great, and that fast cost is one thing each wi-fi peripheral ought to have. At $139, the Prime Wi-fi is on the pricier aspect, but it surely's a high quality mouse that can serve you properly.

Learn the total SteelSeries Prime Wireless review.

Best gaming keyboard | Best CPU for gaming | Best graphics cards
Best VR headset | Best wireless gaming mouse | Best wireless gaming keyboard 

The brand new Razer Basilisk V3 is, because the identify suggests, the third iteration of the long-lasting wired rodent. Initially launched approach again within the lovely yr 2018 B.C. (Earlier than Covid), the Basilisk shortly earned its identify as one of many best gaming mice. We beloved the follow-up Basilisk V2 and the numerous enhancements it introduced. On to this model, three mice, and the enhancements aren't as instantly obvious. 

The Basilisk V3 seems and feels virtually equivalent to the V2, which admittedly isn't a nasty factor in any respect. Designed for right-handers, the $70 Basilisk V3 retains the equivalent flared and textured thumb relaxation, iconic thumb paddle, and cut up mouse button design of the V2. 

The Basilisk V3 is a stable iteration on an already nice mouse, bettering parts with out detracting from others. These enhancements are welcome, too, and I truthfully can't recover from how good the added Chroma lighting seems. The HyperScroll Tilt Wheel is enjoyable, although finally not as priceless for gaming as productiveness work. Nonetheless, total I like this new Basilisk, and it definitely leaves me excited for a wi-fi Basilisk V3 Final. Now that's going to be some mouse.

Learn our full Razer Basilisk V3 review.

The up to date model of this Steelseries mainstay, the Sensei 310, subtly reinvented a traditional mouse. It wanted it. Nearly every little thing is new besides the Sensei's ambidextrous form, and that's exactly the way it must be. Because of a brand new plastic shell, the Sensei is grippier and may shrug off a sweaty palm. Steelseries makes use of its customized model of among the finest gaming sensors round, making certain the Sensei 310 received't undergo any monitoring points.

The Sensei 310 suits in your hand similar to the outdated Sensei and is a superb form for both left- or right-handed players searching for a midsized ambidextrous mouse. Meaning it has a pair of equivalent thumb buttons on the left and the correct, a standard concern for ambidextrous mice—it may be far too simple to by chance click on the incorrect aspect's buttons as you grip along with your pinky. In my hours of testing the Sensei 310, that hasn't occurred as soon as. 

The dimensions and form of the thumb buttons have been tweaked, making it simple to rock your thumb upwards to press them however maintaining them out of the best way of unintentional pinky clicks. Anybody searching for a small, mild, or ambidextrous mouse: this must be your first cease.

The G Professional Wi-fi is peerless in terms of cord-free pointers, packing Logitech's glorious 16,000 DPI HERO sensor and the type of latency-free expertise you'd anticipate from a wired mouse. It's extremely mild, sitting simply over the 80g weight mark, but it surely doesn't really feel low-cost or disposable, not like some lighter mice. As a substitute, it's crafted of high-quality supplies and reveals efficiency to match. 

Logitech designed each element within the G Professional Wi-fi to be as mild and sturdy as attainable, together with shaving down the thickness of the chassis' aspect partitions with out sacrificing composition or density. Judging from the a number of arduous tumbles, the G Professional has survived from my desk; it's a really sturdy piece of package. 

It additionally boasts a wholesome 40 hours of battery life and is customizable, with buttons on the aspect panels that may be eliminated and traded out for clean inserts, if that's your choice. You could possibly additionally pair the G Professional with Logitech's Powerplay charging mat and by no means fear about working out of juice once more. The one actual draw back is the worth tag: at round $120, the G Professional isn't low-cost, however it could possibly totally justify that value with high quality.

Gaming mouse FAQ

Gaming mouse jargon buster

Grip refers to the way you maintain the mouse. The commonest grips are palm, claw, and fingertip. Here's a good example of how each grip works.

CPI stands for counts per inch, or what number of instances the mouse sensor will learn its monitoring floor, aka your mousepad, for each inch it’s moved. That is generally known as DPI, however CPI is a extra correct time period. The decrease the CPI, the additional it’s a must to transfer the mouse to maneuver the cursor on the display screen.

Jitter refers to an inaccuracy in a mouse sensor studying the floor it’s monitoring. Jitter typically happens at increased mouse motion speeds or increased CPIs. Jitter could make your cursor soar erratically, and even slight jitter may wreck a shot in an FPS or make you misclick on a unit in an RTS.

Angle snapping, additionally referred to as prediction, takes information from a mouse sensor and modifies the output to create smoother actions. For instance, when you attempt to attract a horizontal line along with your mouse, it received’t be excellent—you’ll make some refined curves within the line, particularly at increased sensitivities. Angle snapping smooths out these curves and provides you a straight line as a substitute. That is usually dangerous as a result of it means your cursor actions received’t match your hand’s actions 1:1, and angle snapping is not going to be helpful in most video games. Fortunately, nearly all gaming mice have angle snapping disabled by default.

Acceleration might be probably the most reviled, most scrutinized concern with gaming mouse sensors. When a mouse sensor reveals acceleration, your cursor will transfer sooner the sooner you progress the mouse; that is typically thought of dangerous as a result of shifting the mouse slowly six inches throughout a mousepad will transfer the cursor in a different way than shifting the mouse quickly identical distance. This introduces variability that may be arduous to foretell.

Good management velocity, or malfunction price, refers back to the velocity at which the mouse will be moved whereas nonetheless monitoring precisely. Most gaming mice will monitor extraordinarily precisely when moved at gradual speeds, however low CPI gamers will typically transfer their mice giant distances throughout the mousepads at very excessive speeds. At excessive speeds, particularly at excessive CPIs, not all mouse sensors can retain their monitoring accuracy. The purpose at which the sensors cease monitoring precisely will differ between CPI ranges.

IPS measures inches per second and the efficient most monitoring velocity of any given sensor is rated too. To not be confused with the gaming monitor panel type by the same name, the upper the IPS of any given mouse, the higher it could possibly sustain with high-speed motion and keep accuracy.

Raise-off distance continues to be a preferred metric in mouse fanatic circles, although it doesn’t have an effect on most players. LOD refers back to the peak a mouse must be raised earlier than the sensor stops monitoring its floor. Some players favor a mouse with a really low lift-off distance as a result of they play at very low sensitivity and infrequently need to elevate their mouse off the pad to “reset” it able the place they’ll proceed swiping. With a low LOD, the cursor is not going to be moved erratically when the mouse is lifted.