Introduction
If you’re new to this site then welcome! This blog is all about creating the ultimate gaming, home theater, and man cave set up for whatever personal tastes you may have.
Today I’m writing about gaming pads and gaming mice. I think these two aspects of gaming are commonly overlooked because people don’t understand that there are intricate details that can make all the difference when gaming, especially in a competitive match.
You don’t have to be a great gamer to have an edge by the gaming mouse and pad that you’re using. Everyone can appreciate the fine details of what good products on this side entail.
In this article, I’ll explain the best reasons you should consider getting a high-quality gaming mouse and gaming pad.
I’ll also go over some of the most important qualities in what you should be looking for if you’re on the search for one of these two. If you want to shortcut this whole process, then just scroll down to the section where I talk about all the equipment that pro gamers use and just go off of them.
1. Gaming mice and mouse pads provide better accuracy
Gaming mice need to be accurate, but the question is how much? The first thing that is worth noting is that a gaming mouse will always be more accurate than a controller.
This is because gaming controllers have this thing called dead space. If you were looking left and then all a sudden you need to snap and look to the right, the joystick will eventually cross into its neutral center position, creating a millisecond of zero movement until the stick is tilted towards the right. This literally could make all the difference in a competitive match. Think about how many times a CSGO player will look left then look right, or look up and then all the sudden need to look down. These moments of delay are not ideal.
Gaming mice won’t have these issues because the player can constantly move in the direction they need and they don’t have a neutral center position that the joystick will come back to every time they let go of it.
In terms of mousepads, they allow consistent sensitivity because they provide the player with a neutral surface for which they can use the mouse on. Even a smooth, wooden desk will have inconsistent surfaces throughout. Mousepads also help the player mentally compartmentalize the space in which they are maneuvering the HUD.
2. Gaming mice also have a higher dpi than a normal mouse
DPI refers to how well the mouse reacts to the slightest movement by the player. This isn’t to be confused with the sensitivity of how fast the mouse moves across the screen. DPI is how well the mouse reacts to the slightest movement by the player. The higher this number, the more sensitive to small movements it will be.
3. Gaming mice also come with a small weight to create desired resistance
These weights can be added or removed to create the right type of resistance for the player. Some people prefer to have heavier ones to keep their movements more fluid and less sporadic.
4. They add the right amount of friction for fluid movement
Creating the right amount of friction using a gaming pad and mouse is an essential component to being a good, competitive player.
You want a combination of smooth and rough surface contact between the pad and the mouse. Extra friction mousepads are simply a personal preference. You just want to make sure that the gaming mouse you’re using is not going to double up on the friction provided by the two in combination.
Mouse pads with a little more roughness actually give you smoother control. They will keep you from jostling your aim if you’re a spaz player in COD. Combine that, with the right amount of weight in your gaming mouse, and you’ll feel like you have the cleanest, slickest movement possible.
Important Note: This really comes down to personal preference, even for the pros. Contrary to what all the Reddit forums say, don’t overthink this aspect either. you’ll be able to tell if you’ve gone to overkill on the friction having mouse pad or overweighted gaming mouse. Reviews for these products really speak for themselves and that’s what I go off of when browsing for one of these two.
5. Gaming pads increase the longevity of your desk
A lot of people don’t consider this aspect, but it still just as important and all the more reason to invest in a good pad.
A gaming mouse can actually scratch up the surface of your desk over many years. if you don’t use a mouse pad. You might not think this, but you’ll definitely notice it in the long run. It also adds a nice aesthetic and makes your desk look a little more stylish.
A gaming pad is also good for your mouse. The mouse can likewise get scratched up from the desk surface. Not having a gaming pad is probably going to decrease its effectiveness or ability to respond as accurately as possible. Little things like this make all the difference.
It’s unfortunate, but people spill things on their desk more than everyone wants to admit. If you think about it too, people drink out of the cup using their dominant hand. This also happens to be the exact same side that the gaming mouse in the gaming pad is on.
Hopefully, your gaming mouse is OK if this ever happens, but having a good, big, high-quality gaming pad will also protect your desk from liquids if you spill them because you’re too wrapped up in your CSGO match. I do not wish this to happen to anyone, but this is definitely a reason to get a good gaming pad.
6. Good gaming pads keep your wrists healthy
I’m pretty sure a lot of gamers don’t consider the longevity of their wrists when they choose to be professional gamers. If there’s one health effect that gaming for long hours can noticeably have, it would definitely be the functional mobility of your wrists.
This isn’t something you’re going to notice immediately, but if you actually do intend to make professional gaming, or heavy gaming a major side hobby, then this is definitely worth factoring in as another reason.
It’s a good idea to get a gaming pad with a wrist gel feature. I don’t recommend getting the super firm ones because I researched it and that apparently can restrict blood flow over long periods of play. If you get that fuzzy feeling in your hand after having your wrist on a firm gel pad, you know that it’s too firm.
Make sure you also don’t put all your weight on the wrist gel, instead you want to adjust the height of your chair so that your elbows are the same elevation as the desk. If you don’t plan to get a pad with a wrist gel, then I strongly recommend getting a gaming mouse that completely fits the size of your hand, or is bigger.
You don’t want the super small office mouse that you could literally crush in the palm of your hand. Apparently using these mice without proper wrist support can also lead to carpal hand syndrome.
Just to reiterate: It’s a good idea to get a large mouse that fits the entire size of your hand so it’s easy for your wrist to rest on the desk and the hand on the mouse.
How to Find a Good Gaming Mouse and Mouse Pad
This section includes some useful guidelines you can use when looking at gaming pads and gaming mouse products. I tried to exclude a bias for certain preferences as much as possible and stick with the technicalities
Make sure you turn off mouse acceleration if you’re looking at a mouse that comes with it. You want a mouse that’s programmed to be consistently sensitive no matter how guilty your movements are. Mouse acceleration is a feature that will counteract this smooth response to sensitivity.
Get a gaming pad that covers an area larger than the mouse by at least 1 foot in all directions. A larger surface area will keep the pad from moving around when in use. It also gives you larger freedom of movement if you decide to adjust your sensitivity to a game that requires more dramatic movement from the mouse.
Get a gaming mouse that has weight adjustments in it. This is a great feature because it’s another tool you can utilize to adjust the control you have over your in game character HUD. This also goes along with giving yourself the ability to control the sensitivity of your movements.
You want a gaming mouse with a DPIof at least 6000 and up. A mouse with this rating or higher will be able to react to subtle movements you make with a sniper scope or aim reticle. This is especially useful for first person shooters and competitive play.
The Most Common Gaming Mice Pro Gamers Use
I did some thorough research to find out what the most common gaming pads and mice are by professional gamers. There were a lot of teams to be researched, and there is a significant amount of variety depending on the team and country. But I did highlight the most common and consistent products that I saw teams using.
Team: Astralis and Rogue: BENQ Zowie Series
I didn’t actually know Ben Q makes gaming mice. The zowie series is most commonly utilized by the Astrailis and team Rogue.
They are known for having gaming mice that have a dpi setting of up to 32,000! Their conservative in design and they’re well sized for even the largest hands. Rubber side grips are also a big plus as well as their low profile appearance.
G2 Esports: Logitech G Series (900, 700, 403)
These teams utilize the Logitech G series. It comes with a removable 10 g weight, which is a great customizable feature that gives the player flexibility if they need to adjust the resistance feedback of the actual mouse. It comes with six programmable buttons, and it has five sensitivity levels. It also comes with color customization options like any generic mouse.
Swole Patrol and Mythic Reborn: Razer Death Adder
Swole patrol and Mythic reborn use the razor death adder. It’s highly rated to stay comfortable for over long periods of time. This is great for any professional gamer because they will often find themselves in intense, long battles. Long hours of play are part of any professional gaming career, So it’s obvious this gaming company is helping players gear up for the long nights. This one comes with rubber side grips as well. Watch out for this one because it does come with a built-in mouse acceleration feature, so make sure to turn this off in the windows mouse settings as soon as you get it.
Important Note: It’s also worth noting that all these gaming mice are wired, and not Bluetooth. All the research I did point to 90% of all teams using a wired mouse.
This is because wired mice provide the best feedback response possible. With Bluetooth, the mouse has to use batteries to stay operational, and as the battery slowly drains, so does the mice’s ability to respond instantaneously to player movement.
There are some teams out there that do use Bluetooth mice, but they come with a very high dpi to compensate for this. I would also imagine they charge them every 20 to 30 minutes and swap them out. I’m not a professional gamer so I can’t speak for them but that’s just my guess.
Related Questions
Do gaming chairs matter? No they don’t. They don’t come with any features that will help you win games. They make your back hurt because they don’t have ergonomic features for added comfort. Most of the time they’re just chairs that look like they got ripped out of a race car. They look cool, but I’ve been disappointed with the one I used for a year.
Do gaming mice need programmable buttons? Not necessarily because keyboards can have built in shortcuts or hot keys for the same thing. Not all pros use mice with programmable buttons. This is also one of those things where you make your set up work for you, and that mouse buttons are just another tool.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, comments, or want to point out anything I missed, feel free to reach out in the email I provided in previous articles.
I’m not a professional gamer, but I have done a lot of research on these topics, and even made many purchases on both Bluetooth and wired gaming mice. I’ve also purchased a gaming pad for myself in the last couple of years but I don’t currently use one with my set up even though I know I need to (because I am preparing to move my whole set up again).
As much information there is on the web and even provided by this article, I would like to reiterate that this is not something that you need to spend countless hours researching. It’s just a matter of making sure whatever product you’re looking at checks the essential boxes from what we’ve talked about in the above section. As always, I would like to thank you for reading this article, and I encourage you to check back routinely for new topics that I try to put out as consistently as possible.
