While barely mentioned in the promotion of office or casual variants, DPI is usually plastered all over gaming mice. This feature comes with a lot of wiggle room, with some mice supporting a range starting from 100 to over 10,000 DPI. What is the best DPI for gaming? Is a high or low DPI better?
What Is DPI?
Before progressing further, a brief explanation of DPI is necessary. “Dots Per Inch” determines the number of pixels a cursor will travel on the screen for every inch the mouse is dragged on the pad. Basically, a mouse with 1300 DPI will move 1300 pixels per inch.
The higher the DPI, the more monitor real estate the cursor will cover. Therefore, a high DPI translates to faster on-screen movement or a more sensitive mouse. On paper, this might seem like nothing but a good thing, but this can result in lower accuracy.
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Office mice typically come with a DPI of somewhere between 800-1600; however, gaming mice are different. While exceptions exist, most gaming mice promote flexibility, allowing players to choose from a range of DPI.
For instance, the SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless has a DPI range (or CPI, which can be treated as the same thing in these cases) between 100 – 18000, split into increments of 100. Players can use the mouse’s app to set their preferred DPI.
A wide DPI range is not an exclusive feature of high-end gaming mice either, as budget-friendly options like the Razer DeathAdder Essential have a respectable max sensitivity of 6400.
Selecting A DPI For Gaming
Ultimately, DPI comes down to personal preference, and users are recommended to try out a mouse’s full range to see which one works best for them. A large selection of gaming mice include a DPI button that cycles through different levels (typically starting from the lowest and ending on the highest), and some even allow this input to be customized through an app. Do not hesitate to experiment to find the perfect setting.
DPI Depends On The Monitor’s Resolution
A 4K monitor has 4x the pixel count of a 1080p screen; therefore, a mouse with a DPI of 1600 will seem much slower on the former than the latter. Like any other component of a gaming PC, compatibility between the monitor and mouse should be the deciding factor when selecting a DPI.
Even though some mice have a DPI that can reach 20000+, those numbers will be impractical for most people unless they happen to be using an 8K monitor. In fact, users with 1080p and 1440p do not need a mouse that supports more than 1600 DPI, and even that can be overkill.
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Benefits Of High DPI (>1000)
As high DPI equals more rapid cursor movement, these levels are generally considered to be a good fit for twitch shooters and games that require quick reflexes. However, as previously mentioned, high DPI results in less accuracy, which can be a death sentence in precision-based first-person shooters. That said, a high DPI can complement stuff like RPGs or MMOs where players wish to move their camera quickly.
Benefits Of Low DPI (<1000)
Low DPI means every pixel counts, giving players full control over the cursor at the cost of speed. MOBA and strategy titles demand precise actions, and a high DPI would be a detriment to these genres.
In-Game Mouse Sensitivity & EDPI
The majority of PC games permit players to change the sensitivity of their mice. By increasing or decreasing this setting, the mouse’s DPI will change, creating what is called eDPI (“Effective Dots Per Inch”).
If a game’s sensitivity is set to 2x, a mouse with a DPI of 1200 will have an eDPI of 2400. Conversely, if the sensitivity is set to 0.5x, the mouse’s eDPI will be 600.
It is also possible to change a mouse’s sensitivity through Windows.
What Is The Best DPI For Gaming?
800 is the best starting DPI for a 1080p or a 1440p system. While it might seem low, this level is suitable for most gameplay styles. Rather than constantly changing a mouse’s DPI, players should set an eDPI for each game. Once the ideal sensitivity for that title is discovered and saved, that setting will be always ready to go. There isn’t one DPI that fits every experience out there, so rather than jumping back and forth between the mouse’s levels, pick a foundation that can support as many configurations as possible.
If a game does not have a standard mouse sensitivity option, then 800 might be too low for a number of genres. In such cases, start with 800 and go up exponentially after that, jumping up 400 DPI at a time.
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