In case you’re nonetheless on the fence like I used to be, make the leap and take a look at a light-weight wi-fi gaming mouse as a result of they’re severely unbelievable

I’ve been fairly completely utilizing light-weight wi-fi gaming mice for the previous few years, so I’m all the time shocked by how many individuals are nonetheless sceptical. Over the years, I’ve seen the scepticism from feedback on my articles and opinions, numerous on-line dialogue boards, and even mates and colleagues. So I’m right here to defend what’s, in my maybe not-so-humble opinion, probably the greatest upgrades you may make in the event you’re into shooters, which is utilizing a light-weight wi-fi gaming mouse.

I do know lots of avid gamers will learn this and assume duh, however this is not for them; it is for individuals who are nonetheless clinging on to the acquainted, like I used to be for thus lengthy. And such folks do exist: I’ve seen them. Plenty of individuals will not give a light-weight mouse an actual go, and a few nonetheless will not check out wi-fi.

Switching to a light-weight wi-fi gaming mouse has in all probability given me the most important improve to my gaming expertise I’ve had since I jumped from a 60 Hz to a 144 Hz monitor again within the day. It took me a very long time to return round to it, as I have a tendency to stay with what I’m used to, however I’m very glad I did.

I’ve gotten into many alternative genres and video games over time—the 2 largest ones apart from FPS video games being in all probability Starcraft 2 and World of Warcraft—but for the most part, I’ve been into online shooters. I bashed CS: GO (now CS2) a ridiculous amount over my teenage years and into young adulthood, and I’d probably consider Counter-Strike my home base.

The two main gaming mice I used over the years were the original Razer DeathAdder and then the Zowie FK2-B, neither of which are easily available anymore. Both of these mice are, of course, wired, and they also aren’t particularly light, with the DeathAdder weighing about 105 g and the FK2-B about 86 g.

I never used to think mouse weight was a big deal, nor the cable. In fact, I was a staunch defender of the now practically unheard of mouse bungee, which raises your mouse cable to prevent friction. But that’s a pale imitation of the real thing, which is cutting the cord entirely.

I first cut the cord when I got the original Logitech G Pro X Superlight, a mouse I still love dearly. That was also the first time I tried an ultralight gaming mouse. Prior to that, as I said, I hadn’t really cared much about the weight of my mouse. In fact, I remember enjoying my time using the now-ancient Logitech G9, which had adjustable weighting, and I’d usually crank that weight up nicely above 100 g by slotting further little weight pucks contained in the mouse drawer.

So, the Superlight was my first time utilizing a wi-fi and really light-weight mouse, and it left an indelible impression on me. I now do not assume I may return to utilizing a wired or a heavier mouse long run, in the identical approach I can not return to a refresh price decrease than 100 Hz.

Once I’d switched, I seen that my FPS gameplay nearly instantly improved. I’m conscious this could possibly be the placebo impact, however frankly, I do not care. I felt my goal get higher in Counter-Strike, and I seen this mirrored, if solely a bit of, in my pre-game warm-ups and coaching. The gentle 63 g weight and the dearth of cable friction made these PTFE skates glide over my mouse pad with ease.

The purpose I hadn’t taken the plunge and purchased an ultralight gaming mouse till the Superlight was that there wasn’t a mouse that had achieved such standing with out being poked filled with holes. The authentic Glorious Model O was the go-to for a light-weight mouse, however that is a honeycombed mouse, and I’m not a trypophobe, however I nonetheless choose my mouse shell to be stable.

The Superlight achieved this, so I converted. And so I additionally switched to a wi-fi mouse for the primary time. Because I used to be primarily into aggressive gaming—or not less than wished the choice of returning to aggressive gaming at any level—I’d stayed away, pondering having a wi-fi connection was in all probability finest as a result of that will remove latency. Plus I would not must cost my mouse, which I believed could be a ache.

Thankfully, battery life on most gaming mice tends to be fairly good, and charging speeds are nice lately over USB. And in the case of connectivity, nicely, that may be fairly nice, too. It’s not going to be good in each case, however one of the best gaming mice have flawless connectivity and latency, to the extent that even one of the best gamers will not discover the distinction.

Most trendy wi-fi gaming mice include wi-fi dongles that may be positioned near your mouse, which helps minimise interference and preserve latency low. And as I’ve discovered utilizing Mouse Tester for, nicely, testing, many trendy mice, a 2.4 GHz wi-fi connection does not must trigger any issues with monitoring consistency and so forth.

This is not true of all mice, nevertheless. Compare and distinction the Glorious Model O3 Wireless and the Corsair Sabre V2 Pro, as an illustration. The former is a good mouse, however over wi-fi connection the sensor’s monitoring is much less constant. The Corsair mouse, alternatively, has flawless monitoring whether or not wired or wi-fi.

The latter mouse—the Sabre V2 Pro—is an ideal instance of what I feel anybody not utilizing a light-weight wi-fi gaming mouse is lacking out on, too. This mouse has by some means managed to chop its weight all the way down to a diminutive 36 g, and but it has zero holes in its shell, and really feels fairly stable. And simply as once I used the Superlight for the primary time, once I began utilizing this Corsair mouse, I seen my goal improved nearly straight away, or not less than it felt prefer it.

The solely actual criticisms I’ve seen of light-weight mice are that they’ll really feel low cost, purely in advantage of being so gentle. But I feel this can be a little unfair. When I began utilizing the Sabre V2 Pro, I felt a bit of like this, however it did not take lengthy for me to alter my thoughts on that: simply a few days.

Lightweight issues do not really really feel low cost in themselves, I feel we’re simply used to pondering of them like that, so it takes some time for our brains to regulate. You get some very sturdy and premium-feeling light-weight wi-fi mice lately. The whole Logitech Superlight line-up is like that, as are the vary of Pulsar’s CrazyLight mice, which I’ve not too long ago began testing. The latter have holes within the underside, however not less than that is hidden.

When I am going again to heavier mice now, as I typically must for work, I can barely stand it. That’s a disgrace, as a result of I’m certain these heavier mice are nice if you have not already seen the sunshine in the case of light-weight mice. Ditto going from wi-fi to wired. And none of that is to advocate any specific light-weight wi-fi mouse, both; it is simply to recommend making an attempt one out in the event you’ve been sitting on the fence as I used to be for the longest time.

Do your due diligence wanting into particular mice and the way they really feel and carry out, after all, however do not let the mere truth that they are wi-fi and light-weight put you off—it is a profit, not a disadvantage.