Does DPI matter in gaming mice? One mouse-maker says no

We've been talking about gaming mice a little bit in the past few weeks, and one of the ways gamers judge the quality of their mice is by the DPI: dots per inch. You see a high number, and you think you have a good mouse. Does that number mean anything in terms of actual performance?

"The industry has been highly successful in establishing this number as something highly important, when in reality it doesn't really mean all that much," Kim Rom, the CMO of SteelSeries told Ars. SteelSeries makes some of the more respected mice and headsets used by pro gamers; this is a company that knows how to make a performance product.

DPI is a measure of sensitivity, or how little you have to move your mouse to move whatever virtual object you're controlling on the screen, such as your gun in a first-person shooter or your cursor in a real-time strategy game.

"Technology has progressed to a level where you can move your mouse, say, one inch on your desk, and your cursor will move 2 or 3 times your screen length. That sounds impressive for sure, but where is the real value in that?" Rom asked. "That doesn't make you more precise or accurate; I would argue that it does exactly the opposite. A higher DPI in a mouse doesn't offer a lot of value, and it is not a benchmark for how precise or awesome the mouse is. It's simply a measure of sensitivity."

Rom's argument is a simple one: go to a tournament where professional players are in the running for serious money. These are people with something real at stake, who know how to choose their equipment and settings for maximum performance. "Ninety percent of the expert gamers there will be using a DPI value between 800 to 1,600," he said. If you paid some serious money for your gaming mouse, check out its stats: it's likely it can do some multiple of 1,600 at maximum sensitivity.

"And just to round off my DPI rant... DPI is short for Dots Per Inch," Rom said. "Think about that for a second, then tell me where on your computer you have dots? I see pixels on my screen. They look square to me. Not only has the industry succeeded in establishing the sensitivity of a mouse as the most important feature of the product, it has done so by using a term that is technically incorrect. Isn't that amazing?"

We asked Rom where competitor's products go wrong, and we couldn't get a solid answer. "I would really hate to say that other companies go wrong. I think there are a lot of great products on the market; obviously someone made those. The way we think [about] and approach our products is a little different compared to other companies... We are hardware purists—we believe in function first, technology second." We'll be putting some SteelSeries gear to the test very soon, but it was refreshing to hear another take on gaming mice, one that isn't driven by having a larger number on the box.

Source: ars technica

Tags: mice

Comments
Add comment

Your name:
Sign in with:
or
Your comment:


Enter code:

E-mail (not required)
E-mail will not be disclosed to the third party


Last news

 
Galaxy Note10 really is built around a 6.7-inch display
 
You may still be able to download your content
 
Facebook, Messenger and Instagram are all going away
 
Minimize apps to a floating, always-on-top bubble
 
Japan Display has been providing LCDs for the iPhone XR, the only LCD model in Apple’s 2018 line-up
 
The 2001 operating system has reached its lowest share level
 
The entire TSMC 5nm design infrastructure is available now from TSMC
 
The smartphone uses a Snapdragon 660 processor running Android 9 Pie
The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) Review
The evolution of the successful smartphone, now with a waterproof body and USB Type-C
February 7, 2017 / 2
Samsung Galaxy TabPro S - a tablet with the Windows-keyboard
The first Windows-tablet with the 12-inch display Super AMOLED
June 7, 2016 /
Keyboards for iOS
Ten iOS keyboards review
July 18, 2015 /
Samsung E1200 Mobile Phone Review
A cheap phone with a good screen
March 8, 2015 / 4
Creative Sound Blaster Z sound card review
Good sound for those who are not satisfied with the onboard solution
September 25, 2014 / 2
Samsung Galaxy Gear: Smartwatch at High Price
The first smartwatch from Samsung - almost a smartphone with a small body
December 19, 2013 /
 
 

News Archive

 
 
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
   1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  




Poll

Do you use microSD card with your phone?
or leave your own version in comments (16)