Upgrading any part of your computer setup is always a fun time. Even if you're not a gamer, getting that little bit of extra comfort or quality can go a long way toward making your experience better. It could make it easier to win games, but it could also help you get work done faster, and that's no different with computer mice.

The mouse is a tool everyone is familiar with, and you might even think you're totally fine with the $10 mouse you got at Best Buy. But in reality, there's a lot that can affect your experience with a mouse for better or for worse. Here are a few things to look for if you're thinking about buying a new mouse.

6 DPI, or sensitivity

Bigger is better (on paper)

The sensitivity of a mouse, measured in DPI, is one of the most important aspects of it, especially for gamers. The sensitivity measures the mouse's ability to track movement along the surface where you're moving it, which can be a pretty big deal. If you don't have a mousepad and use a glass table, a mouse with a low DPI might not be able to move at all because it's just not suited for detecting movement on very slick and uniform surfaces. But even aside from that, a higher DPI can mean smoother and faster mouse movements, which can improve your usage, especially if you have a very large high-resolution monitor.

For competitive gaming, DPI is even more important because minute and quick movements are very important to be able to win games. A mouse that detects finer movements is great for pinpoint precision and accuracy, and at the same time, a faster DPI can allow for quicker turning in a pinch.

A higher DPI isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, though. Not everyone needs a sensitivity of 8000DPI. In fact, most people don't. Thankfully, mice also offer DPI toggles to adjust the sensitivity, so if you're not sure what to go for, you can overshoot a little bit and then play with the settings.

5 Polling rate

They go hand in hand

If DPI is an important spec for your mouse, then the polling rate has to be as well. While the DPI defines the sensitivity of the mouse itself to movement, the polling rate defines how frequently the mouse is communicating that movement to your computer. A very high DPI can be very helpful to move your mouse more quickly, but if the polling rate is low, movement can appear jittery, and reaction times are affected.

For office use, this probably doesn't matter much, but if you're playing games competitively, these hiccups can affect your ability to pull the trigger at the right time. Recently, we've seen some gaming mice advertise polling rates up to 8000Hz, and that's technically about as good as it gets, but it's also hardly a necessity, even for most gamers. A polling rate of 1000Hz is probably already enough for you.

4 Weight

Using a mouse can get tiring

It may sound silly, but moving a mouse around on a table can actually get tiring after a while, especially if you do it everyday, and even more so if you're a gamer. As I've already touched on, gaming requires fast, precise movements, and a heavy mouse makes this much more difficult and tiresome. Most gaming mice are made of lightweight materials, often plastic, and often have hollowed parts to reduce the weight as much as possible, making them more suited for longer play sessions where speed is paramount.

A lighter mouse can sometimes come at the expense of other features and build quality, though, so an office user might prefer a heavier mouse if they don't need to move it around as aggressively.

3 Build quality

Comfort and premium feel can make all the difference

Shifting focus away from gaming for a bit, the build quality of a mouse is something you might often overlook, but it plays a very important role. It's not usually something you can just find on product pages, either, so you have to read reviews to see what people are saying about the mouse you're looking to buy.

Of course, a cheap mouse (probably) isn't going to disintegrate in your hands or anything, but it's about comfort and the feeling of having something that feels durable. The best example I have is the Logitech MX Master 3S, which I got as a review unit a couple years back. It showed me how great a mouse can feel, and the build quality is great, with its soft-touch plastic, metal scroll wheel, and super-quiet buttons. It's a heavier mouse, but that also helps it feel more premium.

When you're shopping around for a mouse, be sure to look at the reviews to see what they see about comfort, noise, and other things that might affect the overall experience.

2 Ergonomic design

A mouse can look pretty weird sometimes

If you've never bought a mouse for yourself and you're just happy with what comes in the box, you might think a mouse is nothing more than a flat side, a curved side, and a couple of buttons. But a lot more goes into the design of a good mouse, and this simple design that most cheap mice offer, while totally functional and ambidextrous, often lacks comfort, especially for long-term use. Not to mention every person is different and has different needs for their own comfort.

A good ergonomic mouse will often have an increased height on one of the sides, which allows your hand to rest on it in a position that feels more natural, so that the hand kind of leans towards your pinky finger, while also giving your thumb a dedicated region for grabbing onto the mouse. But some mice can take it even further with almost fully vertical designs, which push even further towards that natural resting position to improve ergonomics that much more. Vertical mice are a bit harder to come by, and if you've never used one, they might seem odd, but those who use them swear by their benefits.

You'll find plenty of ergonomic mice with specific shapes, so sometimes, it might be a matter of trying a few and seeing what's right for your preference. It might be best to check some out in person, or buy somewhere with an easy return policy so you can try out a few until you get it right.

1 Side buttons and other extras

The bare minimum is exactly that

When you only use the mouse that comes with your desktop computer, chances are it's a very low-end model that just has the left, right, and middle buttons with a scroll wheel. That's the basic essence of a mouse, but if you look at even slightly more expensive models, you can quickly realize how much more you can get from a mouse.

A pair of side buttons is a great place to start, and what I'd consider essential for almost anyone. By default, most mice use these as back or forward button in web browsers, and it's frankly a huge time saver. I've gotten so accustomed to using these buttons on my mouse that I really dislike how the macOS Finder doesn't support them like the Windows File Explorer does. Not having to hunt for the specific buttons in the UI makes more of a difference than you might think.

But from there, you can go even further. Some mice, specifically for gaming, have full number pads on the side so you can assign even more quick commands to these buttons and speed things up that much more. That could also be useful if you're using creative software like Photoshop or Premiere Pro. Other mice, like the Logitech MX Master 3S, also have a second scroll wheel on the side for scrolling horizontally, and I also find this incredibly useful for moving along images in Photoshop when I'm pixel-peeping, or some UI elements that are meant to scroll horizontally, like webpages.

You might not know what to look for if you've never tried one of these mice, but if you think you'd get use out of these features, I can say they're totally worth it for productivity.

Choose your next mouse wisely

No matter what kind of mouse you're looking for, it's important to remember these factors when you're planning to spend your hard-earned cash on one. High-end mice can be pretty expensive, but if you think things through, they can be a worthy investment that lasts you many years.

If a traditional mouse isn't doing it for you, there are even more specific products out there for specific users, like touchpads, trackballs, and even some rolling bars that are meant to go under your keyboard, for example. Consider all your options before making a purchase, and you're bound to get something you love.