DON'T Buy A New Mouse Without Watching This Video! (2026)

[00:00] Have you ever felt like you can't find

[00:02] your perfect gaming mouse or don't even

[00:04] know where to begin? This often results

[00:06] in you buying countless gaming mice

[00:08] expecting to find your end game only to

[00:11] end up with no money and worse, no

[00:13] [ __ ]

[00:15] Well, I've got five things that you

[00:17] should look out for when buying a gaming

[00:19] mouse. By the end of this video, you

[00:21] will have the clarity and understanding

[00:23] needed to find the best gaming mouse for

[00:25] you. If at any point you go pro in any

[00:27] esport as a result of this video, you

[00:28] owe me a 10% cut of all learnings.

[00:31] Most gaming modes that are marketed for

[00:33] competitive games have sensors that are

[00:35] more than good enough. There's going to

[00:37] be technical differences between various

[00:39] sensor generations, but none of these

[00:41] will be noticeable by you in game. If

[00:43] you look at benchmarks and people's

[00:45] wacky graphs with dots on them, then

[00:47] yeah, you're going to see a difference,

[00:49] but these are almost always negligible.

[00:51] Anything that says it has a DPI of over

[00:54] 12,000 is likely going to be suitable

[00:57] for most people. But to make it a bit

[00:59] easier, if it says 3311, 3950, or 3395,

[01:03] which are the most common sensors these

[01:05] days, it will very likely be fine. For

[01:08] things like higher polling rates, there

[01:10] can be a benefit when combined with high

[01:12] refresh rate monitors. But most of this

[01:14] is still largely anecdotal on whether or

[01:17] not the difference is actually

[01:18] significant. For the average gamer,

[01:20] there's far too many variables that play

[01:23] into whether or not you'd experience the

[01:25] difference anyway, as it can be

[01:26] dependent on the game that you play,

[01:27] your PC hardware, monitor, the DPI you

[01:30] use, and so on. Basically, just buy a

[01:33] mouse, plug it in, and pop off. If

[01:35] you're bad on 10,000 hertz, you're still

[01:37] going to be bad on 8,000. The harshest

[01:39] truths always hurt the most.

[01:43] If you are playing a game that requires

[01:45] you to move your mouse around a lot, I

[01:47] feel that it is necessary to get a

[01:49] lightweight mouse. They require less

[01:51] effort to move around the mouse pad. And

[01:53] I feel that combined with the shape,

[01:55] which I'll look at next, lightweight

[01:57] mice have played a key role in making me

[01:59] able to play games well into my 60s

[02:02] without feeling any wrist or arm pain at

[02:04] all. For a game like Counter-Strike

[02:06] that's more horizontal, requires

[02:08] precision, and is a bit slower paced,

[02:10] you can get away without having an ultra

[02:12] lightweight mouse, but I'd still

[02:14] recommend getting something under 65 g.

[02:17] For the games that I play, like Deadlock

[02:19] or TF2, I personally play better with

[02:22] mice that weigh around 35 to 40 g for

[02:25] these kind of games, maybe even lower.

[02:28] There's a teaser on our Patreon if you

[02:29] want to have a little peep. And

[02:30] remember, switching from a heavier mouse

[02:33] to a lightweight model requires an

[02:35] adjustment period, so be patient. With

[02:37] consistent use of at least a couple of

[02:40] weeks, you will adapt to the lighter

[02:42] feel, and I really think you'll be

[02:43] better off as a result. I'd highly

[02:46] recommend getting a mouse that is at

[02:47] least under 55 g if you play shooters.

[02:50] I'll put a link in the description below

[02:52] of some affordable lightweight mice if

[02:54] you wish to dabble without shelling out

[02:56] an insane amount of money.

[03:00] Finding the right shape is the most

[03:02] important part. It will help you aim

[03:04] better and be able to play for longer.

[03:06] So, how do you pick the right one?

[03:08] People will often give me their hand

[03:10] size and be like, "Best mouse for me."

[03:13] Which means nothing. When most measure

[03:15] their hands, they have them flat on the

[03:17] table with their fingers together. I

[03:18] think it's best to measure it when it's

[03:20] in a relaxed and natural position as

[03:22] that's closer to how your hand is going

[03:24] to be when it's on a mouse. My 18x 10 cm

[03:28] hands when flat on a desk are actually

[03:30] 15x 10 cm in a relaxed position. That's

[03:34] similar to how I hold a mouse. And if I

[03:37] go one step further in my own theory,

[03:39] which is by measuring the width based on

[03:41] pinky fingertip to my thumb tip, it's

[03:44] like 15 by

[03:48] Even that doesn't provide much

[03:50] information. What helps is knowing what

[03:53] you're looking for by using what you

[03:55] currently have. Find out what grip type

[03:57] you're using and look at how you hold

[03:59] your mouse in and out of game. What do

[04:01] you like about the shape of your mouse?

[04:02] Is it the support for your ring and

[04:04] pinky? Is it the hump being tight into

[04:06] your palm or out of the way? What do you

[04:08] dislike about it? Do you struggle to

[04:10] reach the side buttons? Do any areas dig

[04:12] into your hand? Then there's the impact

[04:14] on your aim. Do you find that you can't

[04:16] shift the mouse vertically fast enough?

[04:19] Are making micro adjustments a bit too

[04:21] awkward and unstable? Understanding this

[04:23] first will make it easier to find the

[04:26] best shape for you, and it provides

[04:28] whoever you ask for help with more

[04:30] information to work with than just

[04:32] numbers. I often ask the above questions

[04:35] when I write my reviews to help describe

[04:38] the impact the shape will have on your

[04:40] hand or aim. You can use ELO shapes, but

[04:43] be careful with this as it misses a lot

[04:45] of detail as it's just outlines. I

[04:47] believe that Bardles is working on an

[04:49] alternative website that would be far

[04:51] more valuable as it will be 3D scans

[04:53] instead, similar to what Artings had

[04:55] before it all got locked behind a payw

[04:57] wall. By following this, you might be

[04:59] able to find your perfect shape without

[05:01] having to buy 10 mice or realize that

[05:03] what you have now is actually perfect

[05:05] for you already.

[05:09] This is one of the biggest pet peeves I

[05:10] have these days. A lot of companies are

[05:13] experimenting with different materials

[05:14] and then charging a premium price for

[05:17] it, like carbon fiber composites or

[05:19] magnesium. Maybe because there's higher

[05:21] profit margins. Most, if not all, gaming

[05:24] mice I have tried that have been made by

[05:26] using an alternative material have never

[05:28] really made me think, "Wow, this is

[05:30] better than plastic." Some have gotten

[05:32] close, and most of the time it's just so

[05:34] that it can make a cooler looking

[05:35] design. But it's still not worth the

[05:37] premium price that some of these mice

[05:39] have in comparison to standard plastic

[05:41] ones. These are to me just vanity

[05:44] products for people who are rampant

[05:46] consumers of a particular brand or are

[05:49] designed solely to look good for

[05:50] marketing to give out to influencers. Do

[05:52] not be fooled. Carbon fiber just looks

[05:55] and sounds cool because it's used in

[05:57] Formula 1 cars. It's completely

[05:59] redundant for most full shell gaming

[06:01] mice that just sit on your desk.

[06:06] This is the big one and due to recent

[06:08] and completely unavoidable events has

[06:11] become a bit more important.

[06:14] I think the average person shouldn't

[06:16] spend over $130 on a gaming mouse. There

[06:19] are benefits with some mice that cost

[06:21] over this amount. However, those

[06:23] benefits are minor, even if I consider

[06:26] them to be perfect. Despite them being

[06:28] perfect, that does not mean they provide

[06:30] value for money. Nor could they be

[06:32] considered a must buy or a product that

[06:35] will win you games. The gap between the

[06:37] low to midbudgets and premium tier has

[06:40] shrunk massively over the past 2 years

[06:42] in terms of quality, largely influenced

[06:45] by China.

[06:52] For example, we have mice like the ATK

[06:54] VXER R1 Pro, MAD R, MH Chose L7 or A7V2,

[06:59] etc. These are undeniably endgame level

[07:02] mice and have great performance quality

[07:04] and are lightweight. These can cost

[07:06] anywhere between $45 to $65 on Amazon.

[07:09] Bigger brands do have their benefits.

[07:11] They often have an extra year of

[07:13] warranty, higher quality control

[07:14] standards, and provide more reliable

[07:16] firmware and software. learned they are

[07:18] largely responsible for most of the

[07:20] innovation that we see in gaming mice.

[07:22] Those benefits don't always justify the

[07:25] cost of their product and excluding

[07:27] Logitech and Hits, most of the

[07:29] innovation provide marginal gains. On

[07:32] the other hand, it doesn't mean that the

[07:34] cheaper mice are perfect. The quality

[07:37] control for some of the cheaper Chinese

[07:39] clones can be really poor. Often, you

[07:41] might struggle to get a response when

[07:43] filing a warranty claim. And there's

[07:45] other cases where you have to cover the

[07:46] shipping costs to send it back to China.

[07:49] If you are wanting something cheap, the

[07:51] mice I mentioned previously are ones I

[07:53] personally recommend and are considered

[07:55] to be reliable. If you want to mouse

[07:57] from a more trusted brand and don't mind

[07:59] spending a bit more, I'll put my

[08:00] recommended selection in the description

[08:02] below with affiliate links. I suggest

[08:04] you check out my full reviews on these

[08:05] for in-depth analysis. This will help

[08:07] ensure that if you do decide to spend

[08:09] more, you select the mouse that is

[08:11] absolutely right for your needs. If you

[08:13] enjoy this content, please check out my

[08:14] Patreon where I provide free reviews for

[08:16] other products that I don't have time to

[08:18] do a full review for.