If you're a competitive gamer (or just someone who likes to play a lot of games) then your choice of mouse really matters. Some people prefer lighter mice, some people prefer heavier mice, some want more buttons, and some want fewer buttons. It's a wide, wide world out there when it comes to mice, and these are some of the most important reasons why what you choose matters.

1 Software and controls

Some software is terrible, but you might want more buttons

I used a Logitech G Pro Wireless for years, and while I loved that mouse, I hated Logitech's G Hub. It's a terrible, terrible piece of software. It's laggy, it can sometimes not even pick up that my mouse is plugged in, and it's just ugly as well.

However, the actual buttons on the G Pro Wireless are something that was perfect for me. it has four programmable buttons, with two on each side, and I used these for binding to different pieces of utility in Counter-Strike. If you're an MMO player, you might want a lot of buttons on the side of your mouse, and you'll need a competitive piece of software to program them too.

2 Hand size and mouse shape

If the mouse is too small for your hands, it'll be hard to control

Another aspect of gaming mice that people often overlook is how large or small their hands are. If you have big hands and buy a tiny mouse, you'll struggle to control it properly when playing games. There are countless sites out there that you can use to compare mice shapes and sizes to each other, such as EloShapes.

This is a very important part of the equation for anyone looking to buy a new mouse because it also matters how you hold your mouse. Whether you hold it in a palm, claw, or relaxed grip, different mice may be suited better to you. This is something you may need to do serious research into.

3 Sensor type

Most sensors are good enough these days

Nowadays, sensors are all pretty good in high-end gaming mice, but there are a few things to watch out for. First, DPI realistically does not matter at all for pretty much any gamer. Competitive esports players will often play in the range of 1200 DPI and below, and very few go above that. Even then, games have in-game sensitivity options that essentially act as a multiplier for your DPI, and they're all very accurate.

In that sense, when a mouse advertises a 20,000 DPI, that's largely useless to pretty much everyone. It's unusable in Windows as is, and in games, you'll need to drop the sensitivity so low to make it playable that it ends up being inaccurate anyway. There's no point using a high DPI, so then you need to look at general sensor accuracy instead.

You can often look up the sensor that's in use in mice and compare them to others. For example, Logitech uses its own HERO sensors, and VAXEE uses the PAW3950 from PixArt in the XE-S. You'll also need to research the lift-off distance of the sensor you want to use to see if it fits your needs.

4 Wired or wireless

Wireless is the way to go these days

Nowadays, you should really go for a wireless mouse if you're looking to upgrade. They're just as good as wired mice, without the problems of a trailing cable that can snag on your mousepad or other surfaces. Plus, you don't even need a mouse bungie then!

However, there's one reason you may want to go wired instead, and that's because of interference. While rare, I've seen instances of interference (primarily in gaming cafes) where some wireless mice were unusable and had to be switched to wired. Even then, you can buy a wireless mouse and use it in wired mode if you need, so there's no real reason to not go with the cutting edge of gaming mouse technology at this point.

5 Battery life

For those long gaming sessions

if you like to game for a long time, then you'll care about the battery life of your mouse, assuming that it's a wireless one. Most mice nowadays last quite a long time, can charge quite quickly and can be used while charging, so there's no excuse to not have it charged up when you need it. Still, in a pinch, it's good to know that the battery of your mouse will last, so make sure you do some research on how long it lasts.