While no gaming mouse will magically stop you from getting wrecked in Counter-Strike or Call of Duty, the right model can give you a greater feeling of control and make your downtime altogether more comfortable. Which one is “best” for you ultimately comes down to preference: Shape is king, as they say, and everyone’s hands are different. Nevertheless, we’ve tested dozens of well-regarded gaming mice over the past several months and picked out a few options that glided above the rest. After countless hours in CS2, Overwatch 2, Halo Infinite, Final Fantasy XIV and more PC games, these are our picks for the best gaming mice you can buy, plus some general tips to keep in mind during your search.
Best gaming mouse
Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
If money is no object, the best gaming mouse with a symmetrical design that we’ve tested is the Razer Viper V3 Pro. It costs a hefty $160, but it’ll give you little to complain about if you play a ton of competitive PC games and can stomach the price.
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With its lightly grooved sides, noticeable but not aggressive hump and gentle flare-outs toward the back, the Viper V3 Pro’s shape should be comfortable for a wide range of hand sizes and grip types. It’s a bit on the wider side, and it probably works best with a claw or fingertip grip, but it’s not so short or flat that it can’t accommodate palm grippers. The main mouse buttons are contoured in a way that gives your fingers a natural resting place, and there are little ledges on either side to subtly nudge them to the right spot when you’re scrambling in-game. Put another way, this is one of the safer shapes we’ve tested.
The Viper’s build quality is excellent. It’s impressively light at 54 grams, which makes it a breeze to flick around in fast-paced games, yet its matte plastic frame isn’t covered in dust-inviting holes like many other options around the same weight. We’ve seen zero hints of creaking, flexing or rattling after months of testing. The finish picks up some finger smudges but is grippy and delightfully soft to the touch. The main click buttons use durable optical switches but aren’t especially loud. Though they aren’t quite as full or crisp as the absolute best mechanical switches, they’re still snappy to press, neither too firm nor too light. The two programmable side buttons are well-sized and easy to reach. The scroll wheel, meanwhile, is tight and quiet, with clearly defined steps and a textured finish.
Performance, as is the case with many high-end gaming mice these days, is effectively flawless. Razer’s Focus Pro 35K Optical Sensor Gen-2 — say that five times fast — is basically overkill from a technological perspective but makes the mouse exceptionally accurate and consistent all the same. It’s aided by amply-sized, smooth-gliding PTFE feet and a rock-solid connection to an included “HyperPolling” dongle. The latter lets the mouse reach a maximum polling rate of 8,000Hz, but as noted below, few people will actually noticed any benefit from jumping that high. Mostly, it’ll just zap battery life: Razer says the Viper V3 Pro can get up to 95 hours at 1,000Hz, which is fine for this market and roughly consistent with our experience, but that drops to just 17 hours at 8,000Hz.
If the price didn’t make it obvious, the Viper V3 Pro is for gaming enthusiasts. As such, it gives up some of the perks you’d find on more mainstream mice: There’s no RGB lighting or Bluetooth, while the power button/DPI switcher is located on the bottom of the device to make it harder to hit by accident. Since the device uses a special dongle instead of a traditional receiver, it still requires you run a separate USB-C cable from your PC. You can connect over that cable when the battery is low, thankfully, but it’s relatively thick. And while Razer’s Synapse software makes it simple enough to adjust settings, it’s something of a resource hog. It’s also Windows-only. These are all nitpicks, though. The Viper V3 Pro is outstanding, and it should feel right at home in the hands of committed FPS players.
If you want a premium gaming mouse with a more ergonomic shape, get the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro. It packs most of the same strengths as the Viper V3 Pro but has a taller, slightly wider and more dramatically flared design that’s tailored to right-handed users. Most people with medium to large hands should find it to be a natural fit with a palm or claw grip, though it’ll probably be a touch too fat for smaller-handed folks and fingertip grippers. This kind of shape isn’t as easy to whip around as the Viper, but its high, sideways-sloping hump should provide a more relaxing place to rest your hand over the course of the day.
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Razer sells two variants of the DeathAdder V3 Pro: one with a similar soft-touch finish as the Viper V3 Pro, and one with a more textured matte plastic coating. We tested the latter; it’s not as grippy or smooth to the touch, but it’s still good, and it’s much less of a fingerprint magnet.Also, the side buttons are bigger, closer together and a smidge less tight, but they’re still difficult to hit by accident. The design is heavier at 63 grams, too, but still seriously lightweight. The PTFE feet are smaller but still glide reliably. And while the sensor is technically a generation older, performance is effectively flawless.
Otherwise, you’re looking at a similar feature set. The optical main buttons are satisfying and consistent but not overly sensitive. The lightly notched scroll wheel is soft, quiet and resistant enough, if not firm. Battery life is rated at a decent 90 hours, and you can connect a lighter and more flexible USB-C cable in a pinch. Both versions of the mouse also support polling rates up to 8,000Hz, though only the SKU with the “smooth-touch” texture comes with a dongle that enables those higher rates in the box. The textured “classic base” model comes with a smaller USB receiver that “only” goes up to 1,000Hz, but since it’s often available for less at third-party retailers, it’s probably a better value. In general, the biggest knock against the DeathAdder V3 Pro is that it’s expensive, with the 8,000Hz model priced at $160.
The newer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed, which costs $99, is a “1B” pick here. Although it’s positioned below the Pro in Razer’s lineup, it’s more of a “DeathAdder V3 Pro Mini” than a clear downgrade. It doesn’t give up the rechargeable battery, cutout-free shell, optical switches and soft (if smudge-heavy) coating of its bigger sibling, and while its sensor is technically worse, it still performs wonderfully. Its battery life rating is actually 10 hours higher at 1,000Hz, plus it has a built-in storage compartment for its USB receiver. The major difference is that it’s lighter (55g) and more compact, with a lower-profile scroll wheel and a marginally shorter hump. If your hands are on the smaller side, it’s worth grabbing instead.
If you don’t mind connecting over a cable, our favorite wired gaming mouse with a symmetrical design is the Endgame Gear OP1 8K. It weighs just 50 grams and has a simple design with flat sides and a reasonably-sized hump sloping down the back. It’s a bit smaller and more narrow than most mice we’ve tested, so it’ll be comfiest with a claw or fingertip grip, though a palm grip can also work in smaller hands. The whole thing is incredibly sturdy, with no flex or rattle, while the smooth matte plastic coating gives a fair bit of grip. The built-in cable is light, flexible and cleverly titled upwards at the base of the mouse, all of which helps reduce any dragging sensation as you throw your hand around.
The OP1 8K uses mechanical switches, but the mouse is designed in a way that makes them (relatively) easy to swap out in a worst-case scenario. In general, the device’s openness to customization is commendable — there are readily exposed screws on the bottom and a screwdriver, optional side grips and larger PTFE feet in the box.
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By default, the main clicks are on the stiffer side but fast to actuate and noticeably crisp. You can actually set these switches to use a “speed mode” that reduces click latency even further, but either way the buttons are easy to spam. The right mouse button on our unit does sound a little sharper than the left, but the difference isn’t severe and you can pop in quieter switches on the cheap if you want a different noise profile. The notched scroll wheel and two side buttons are well-tensioned, too. The latter feel somewhat hollow, but they’re hard to hit by accident.
Sensor performance is predictably excellent; we saw no accuracy or motion delay issues across a range of games. With its light weight, fast clicks and smooth stock skates, everything about it feels tailor-made for snapping around in esports-style games like Counter-Strike 2 that prioritize quick reactions. The mouse also supports polling rates up to 8,000Hz — that’s still far from essential, but it’s at least easier to turn on when there’s no battery drain to worry about. We also like Endgame Gear’s configuration software, which looks like something out of the Windows 95 era but is simple to grok and takes up next to no resources.
At $75, the OP1 8K certainly isn’t the cheapest wired mouse, but it’s still a good way less than wireless high-performance models. The most pressing issue may be that it can fall out of stock from time to time, as Endgame Gear is a relatively small company out of Germany.
It’s a few years old, but the Razer Basilisk V3 remains our favorite wired gaming mouse with an ergonomic design. This one is more aggressively contoured than “ergo” mice like the DeathAdder V3 Pro, with a large rubberized thumb rest, long main buttons and a rounded, moderately-sized hump running down its middle. It’s fantastically comfy for palm grippers with medium- to large-sized hands, but it’ll also play well with claw grips. Those who prefer a fingertip grip or just have smaller hands will likely find it too chunky, however.
The design as a whole feels robust; there’s some minor flexing on the bottom-right side when you press down hard, but you’d have to go out of your way to notice it. The matte plastic finish is pleasingly textured and sufficiently grippy. The cable is plenty flexible, while the PTFE feet glide smoothly. We also dig the fun-but-not-garish RGB lighting around the mouse’s underside and scroll wheel. There are 11 customizable buttons in total, including two easy-to-reach side buttons and a dedicated “sensitivity clutch” that lets you momentarily drop to a lower DPI for moments where you may need to aim more precisely. The latter will be particularly tough for the smaller-handed to reach comfortably, though.
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The Basilisk V3 uses older optical switches than our other Razer top picks, but we haven’t had any double-clicking issues after well over a year of testing. While main clicks aren’t nearly as fast as those on the Endgame Gear OP1 8K, they strike an agreeable balance between firmness and speed. They aren’t all that loud, either. Similar to the Viper V3 Pro, the buttons are grooved in a way that naturally invites your index and middle fingers.
The scroll wheel might be the weakest element: It has clearly defined steps and an easily identifiable texture, but it’s fairly loud and a bit wobbly. That said, it can tilt side-to-side — which helps explain the wobbliness — and there’s a built-in toggle that lets you swap between a normal ratcheted scroll and a free-spin mode. That can be handy outside of games — say, when you need to scroll through a giant document or Excel sheet.
Razer’s Synapse software is still naggy with updates and Windows-only, but it makes customizing DPI levels, macros and RGB effects simple enough. You can save up to five different profiles to the mouse itself, though your lighting customizations won’t carry over.
We haven’t had any major issues with sensor accuracy, either, but at roughly 100 grams, the Basilisk V3 is obviously heftier than the ultralight mice we highlight above. While you absolutely can go off in Counter-Strike or Valorant with it, the mouse’s weight and wide frame mean it’s not expressly designed for games like those. It also can’t go above a 1,000Hz polling rate. In many ways, this is the exact opposite of the OP1 8K, a device that feels designed from the ground up for competitive fare. Instead, the Basilisk V3 makes sense for righties who want a comfy and reliable mouse they can turn to for more casual gaming across genres. Razer sells it for $70, but since it’s usually available for less than $50 at third-party retailers these days, you can consider it our favorite “value” model as well.
If you want a mouse specifically designed for MMO and MOBA games, get the Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite. It does the most important thing any MMO mouse can do, which is let you access several in-game actions with minimal effort. That’s thanks to its 12 programmable side buttons, all of which deliver a comfortable, firm-but-not-stiff sensation when pressed. Two of the panel’s four button rows are textured, which makes them easier to distinguish without having to look down. Uniquely, you can physically reposition this side panel with an Allen key included in the box, so if you find the buttons difficult to reach by default, you can address that. Either way, having a host of buttons right under your thumb makes it much easier to play MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV or even single-player RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3, which ask you to navigate multiple “hotbars” of commands at any given time.
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Like most MMO mice, the Scimitar RGB Elite is on the larger and heavier (108g) side, but it’s not the bulkiest model we’ve seen. Its shape should be accommodating to palm and claw grips, and most hand sizes. The middle has a rounded, not-overly-aggressive hump, while the bottom is more gently sloped than rivals like Razer’s Naga lineup. The overall construction feels well-built, with a smooth matte finish, a grippy pinky rest and decent PTFE feet. Internally, its optical sensor (the Pixart PMW 3391) isn’t exactly advanced these days, but it’s more than consistent enough for MMOs and MOBAs, which don’t rely on precise, quick-twitch movements. It has no significant issues with latency, either.
However, there are a few downsides. The braided cable feels durable but somewhat stiff. The scroll wheel is grippy and accurate enough, but it’s a touch too recessed between the main buttons, and it could be firmer. Those main buttons never feel mushy, but they use mechanical switches, so they carry more of a long-term durability risk than optical alternatives. (Corsair rates them at 50 million clicks.) And Corsair’s iCue software is, frankly, the worst: You can use it to customize key bindings, assign macros, adjust the (mild) RGB lighting and save profiles to the mouse, but figuring out how is wildly unintuitive.
Nevertheless, the MMO gaming mouse market doesn’t really have one killer option these days. At a price that usually hovers in the $60 to $75 range, the Scimitar RGB Elite offers better value than most. If you hate cables, Corsair sells a wireless version of the device too.
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Pros
Cleverly textured side buttons make MMOs easier to navigate
While our top wireless picks are great, we realize that they aren’t cheap. If you want a performance-focused model with a symmetrical shape that isn’t as pricey, consider the Lamzu Atlantis OG V2 4K. Clunky name aside, it tracks accurately and feels well-built. Its mechanical clicks are crisp and full, while its scroll wheel is quiet and sufficiently tight. The design is lightweight (57g) and soft in the hand, though it’s another one that can pick up smudges fairly easily. It has a wider and lower-profile shape than the Viper V3 Pro, particularly toward the front, with a centered hump that isn’t quite as aggressive. It’ll feel at home with a claw grip for any hand size, but fingertip grippers should find it comfortable too. (Just stick with the Viper if you use a palm grip.) Beyond that, Lamzu’s companion software is ugly but functional, and the included charging cable is suitably flexible.
The main knock against the Atlantis is the set of cutouts strewn about its baseplate, which reduce the weight but leave the mouse’s interior open to dust and debris. It’s better to have these holes on the bottom than the top if they must be there, but the Viper avoids this risk entirely. That said, the Atlantis costs $60 less, so it’s a decent value for a premium mouse.
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Pros
Satisfying clicks and quiet scroll wheel
Comfy for claw or fingertip grips
Decent value
Cons
Holes in baseplate leave interior open to dust and debris
The Pulsar Xlite V3, meanwhile, is an excellent alternative to the DeathAdder V3 Pro if you want a right-handed design. It has a similar contoured shape, so it’s great for palm and claw grips, but it’s a pinch lighter. Notably, Pulsar sells mini, medium and large variants, so you can choose a size that fits your hands best. Each have rigid outer shells and snappy optical buttons, though the smooth plastic coating isn’t as grippy as either of the DeathAdder’s finishes and the side buttons aren’t as crisp.
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Like the Atlantis, the Xlite V3 also has cutouts across the bottom, making it more susceptible to gunk. Still, this is a light, comfortable and highly responsive ergo mouse. For a typical street price of $70, it’s a strong buy.
Pros
Solid value
Well-suited for palm and claw grips
Available in different sizes
Cons
Holes in baseplate leave interior open to dust and debris
The Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2. (Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)
Note: The following is a selection of especially noteworthy mice we’ve tested, not a comprehensive list of every single model we’ve put through its paces.
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Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2
The Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 is a close rival to the Razer Viper V3 Pro for those who want a no-frills, high-end wireless gaming mouse. It has a similar “potato”-style shape, its tracking is similarly tremendous and its optical-mechanical switches have a distinct feel. Unlike the first Superlight, it also charges over USB-C. But the Viper’s main clicks are crisper and more pleasant-sounding, its side buttons aren’t as mushy and its scroll wheel is both firmer and grippier. It’s also slightly lighter.
Razer ViperV3 HyperSpeed
Much like the DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed, Razer’s ViperV3 HyperSpeed is a lower-cost variant of the top-end Viper V3 Pro. (Confusing, we know.) At $70, it’s a solid value. Its symmetrical shape and soft-touch finish are virtually identical to the more premium model, and though it technically has a worse sensor, the drop-off is hardly noticeable. The main trade-off is that it’s heavier (about 82g), as it requires a AA battery for power. That doesn’t make it outright hefty, but you can feel the difference in twitchier games. It uses older mechanical switches and smaller PTFE feet, too, plus it lacks a port for connecting a cable. So it’s not as close to its big sibling as the mid-tier DeathAdder. Some may prefer that its DPI button is located on the top of the mouse, though, and its simpler on-off switch is nice.
Razer Basilisk V3 X HyperSpeed
The Razer Basilisk V3 X HyperSpeed is a more affordable wireless version of the Basilisk V3 with the same comfortable shape and layout, plus a quieter scroll wheel. Because it requires a AA battery for power, though, it weighs around 115g. That’s not great for fast-paced games. The scroll wheel can’t tilt left or right, either, nor can it switch between a ratcheted and free-spin mode. It also uses less durable mechanical switches and only supports one onboard profile. All that said, it’s a decent value at $70.
Left to right: the Logitech G309 Lightspeed, the Razer Viper V3 HyperSpeed and the Pulsar X2 V2. (Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)
Pulsar X2 V2
The Pulsar X2 V2 is a good alternative to the Lamzu Atlantis OG V2 4K if you want a high-performing symmetrical mouse for less than the Viper V3 Pro. It has a broadly similar shape as Lazmu’s mouse but is marginally lighter. Its plastic shell is nice and sturdy, but we find its flatter sides and hump make it a little less inviting to palm and claw grips. It does use optical switches, but its main clicks aren’t as quiet or full-feeling as those of the Atlantis. It, too, has cutouts across the bottom shell. We’ve seen the X2 V2 go for $70 on Amazon in recent months — at that price, it’s still better for FPS players than the Viper V3 HyperSpeed, but we prefer the Atlantis when both are at their normal MSRP of $100.
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Pwnage Stormbreaker
The Pwnage Stormbreaker is a superlight (51g), exceptionally sturdy and premium-feeling wireless mouse that’s largely made from magnesium alloy instead of plastic. It performs about on par with our top picks, which is excellent, while its right-handed, medium-sized shape should suit palm and claw grippers well. (If you know BenQ’s Zowie EC line, the shape is basically that.) However, the extensive cutouts all over the sides and top shell are noticeable in the hand and make the device more susceptible to debris buildup than the DeathAdder V3 Pro. While the buttons and scroll wheel are impressively tight, the main clicks are a bit too stiff and high-pitched for our liking. We also noticed more connection stutters than usual on our test PC, and it’s expensive at $169.
BenQ Zowie U2
Speaking of BenQ, its Zowie U2 is a perfectly decent alternative to the Viper V3 Pro that costs about $30 less. It tracks great, it’s lightweight (60g) and its mechanical clicks feel fine. It also comes with two receivers, one of which doubles as a handy charging dock. It has a symmetrical shape with sides that curve inwards and a decently-sized hump at the back; BenQ says it’s designed for claw grips, and it is indeed good for that, but it should also work for fingertip grippers with larger hands or palm grippers with smaller ones. Alas, the scroll wheel is gratingly loud and the plastic coating picks up smudges and hand oils like it’s its job. There’s also no configuration software, which can make adjusting settings a little cumbersome, though some may prefer not having to install any extra bloat on their PC. This mouse also maxes out at a fairly basic 1,000Hz polling rate — that’s not a huge deal in practice, but it is technically behind many other mice in this price range.
The Pwnage Stormbreaker (left) and BenQ Zowie U2 (right). (Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)
Logitech G309 Lightspeed
There isn’t much wrong with the Logitech G309 Lightspeed in a vacuum. It’s built like a tank, its sensor is accurate and its egg-like shape should feel OK, if not superlative, in most hand sizes and grip types. It uses the same hybrid switches as the G Pro X Superlight 2, so the clicks don’t sound great but are fast. It also has a supercapacitor inside, which gives it effectively infinite battery life if you own Logitech’s (costly) PowerPlay charging mat. That’s neat! Most people, though, will need to pop in a AA battery, which pushes the weight up around 85 grams. As most of that weight is felt toward the back, the mouse can feel relatively clunky to fling around in FPS games. We’re not fans of the ugly recess across the middle of the device, either, as it creates a space for dust to collect. At $80, the G309 is still fine for more casual types who’ll only buy from a name brand. But unless you use PowerPlay, it doesn’t do much to stand out from other options around the same price.
HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2
The HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 is a decent wired model for those who want a flatter ambidextrous shape. It performs well for competitive play, and it’s plenty light (53g) thanks to a clever design with cutouts on the bottom that are covered by the mouse’s label. But the Endgame Gear OP1 8K is better-built and more comfortable, so we think it’s worth the extra cash. The Razer Viper 8KHz was another solid, albeit heavier, option with a similar shape, but it’s no longer available for purchase.
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A few more gaming mice we’ve tested. Left to right: the Glorious Model I 2 Wireless, the Razer Cobra Pro, the Razer Basilisk V3 X HyperSpeed and the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2. (Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)
HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Core Wireless
The HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Core Wireless is a budget-friendly wireless variant of the Haste 2. It may be OK if you must go wireless and only have $50 to spend, as its shell feels sturdy and its low-profile shape is well-suited to claw or fingertip grips. It’s a bit weightier than the wired Haste 2 (about 70g) since it runs on a AAA battery, but that’s nowhere near heavy. That said, its main buttons feel somewhat mushy, and we observed a few sensor hiccups and inconsistencies, particularly when we had HyperX’s Ngenuity software open.
Logitech G502 X
The Logitech G502 X has a generally similar shape as the Razer Basilisk V3, with a lower weight (84g) and more side buttons. However, its main buttons are noisier, it’s a slightly more awkward fit for most hands, its rubber cable isn’t as flexible and it lacks RGB.
Logitech G203 Lightsync
The Logitech G203 Lightsync is our former budget pick. It’s often available in the $30 range these days, and at that price it’s still fine if you want a competent gaming mouse for as little money as possible. You can feel the cost cutting in its rubbery cable and mushy scroll wheel, however, and its shape is a bit too small and flat for larger hands. The Logitech G305 Lightspeed is a wireless model with more or less the same shape, but it requires a AA battery to work and thus weighs just over 100g. It, too, feels somewhat outdated in 2024.
Razer Cobra
The Razer Cobra is another value-oriented wired option with a compact shape. It’s much lighter (58g) than the Logitech G203, with a more flexible cable and optical switches instead of mechanical ones. It’s priced at $40, though, putting it in something of a no man’s land between the G203’s and Basilisk V3’s usual going rates. The Endgame Gear OP1 8K still feels higher-quality across the board, but if you have smaller hands, use a fingertip grip and want a symmetrical mouse on the cheap, go for it.
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The Logitech G203 Lightsync (Jeff Dunn / Engadget)
Glorious Model I 2 Wireless
There’s plenty to like about the Glorious Model I 2 Wireless: an ergonomic shape that’s reminiscent of the Basilisk V3/Logitech G502 X but lighter at 75g, four customizable side buttons, the ability to connect over a USB receiver or Bluetooth, a smooth scroll wheel and tasteful RGB lighting, all for $100. However, its honeycomb-style design and mechanical switches both raise concerns about its long-term durability.
Glorious Model D 2 Wireless
The Glorious Model D 2 Wireless also has holes all over its shell yet doesn’t perform or feel significantly better than other mice around the $100 mark. Reviews from other sites say it has latency issues, too. The ergonomic Model D 2 Pro and symmetrical Model O 2 Pro aren’t loaded with cutouts, but their main buttons are relatively loud and sticky-feeling.
Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition
The Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition isn’t nearly as good of a value as the Scimitar RGB Elite, but it’s one of the few MMO mice that’s actually built for lefties.
Logitech G600
We would continue to recommend our former MMO pick, the old but wonderfully versatile Logitech G600, but sadly it’s been discontinued.
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What to look for in a gaming mouse
Wired vs. wireless
Buying a wireless gaming mouse used to mean sacrificing a certain level of responsiveness, but thankfully, that’s no longer the case. Over the last few years, wireless connectivity has improved to the point where the difference in latency between a good wireless model and a tried-and-true wired gaming mouse is barely perceptible.
Note, however, that we’re strictly talking about mice that use a 2.4GHz connection (over a USB dongle), not Bluetooth. Many of the best wireless gaming mouse models support both connection options, which is great for travel, but Bluetooth’s latency is generally too high to be reliable for gaming.
Going wireless still has other trade-offs, too. Battery life is improving all the time, but with their higher performance demands and RGB lighting, most wireless gaming mice usually don’t last as long as “normal” wireless models. You shouldn’t expect more than a few days of power from a rechargeable gaming mouse you use regularly. Some gaming mice offer wireless charging too, which makes things a bit easier. Good wireless gaming mice usually come at a much higher cost than their wired counterparts as well.
That’s not to say the premium is never worth it: Who wants yet another cable on their desk? You may need a wireless model if you hate the feel of “cable drag” or if your gaming PC is located in an awkward spot. Many wireless gaming mice come with a cable you can hook up in a pinch as well. But if price is your primary concern, a good wired mouse is usually a better value.
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Comfort and grip types
Everyone’s hands are different, so at the end of the day, calling one mouse “more comfortable” than another is mostly subjective. Ensuring your comfort is the most essential step when buying any mouse, though, so we’ve done our best to consider how each device we tested works with smaller, average-sized and larger hands alike.
We also considered how each device accommodates the three grip styles most people use while holding a mouse: palm, fingertip and claw. As a refresher, a palm grip is when your whole hand rests on the mouse, with your fingers resting flat on the main buttons. A fingertip grip is when you steer the mouse solely with the tips of your fingers, with your palm not in contact with the device at all. A claw grip is when your palm only touches the back edge of the mouse, with your fingers arched in a claw-like shape toward the buttons.
In general, most people use a palm grip, which tends to offer the greatest sense of control — though, depending on the size of your hand, you may need your mouse to be a specific length to use it comfortably. A fingertip grip can allow for more rapid movements, while a claw grip is something of a balance between the two. Switch and Click has a good breakdown if you’d like a bit more detail, but we’ve noted above if a mouse isn’t well-suited for a particular grip style. For what it’s worth, yours truly is a claw gripper most of the time.
Build quality and design
A good gaming mouse feels sturdy and won’t flex or creak when used strenuously. We valued mice without any overly sharp angles or grooves that could be awkward for most people to hold. And while most gaming mice have plastic exteriors, not all plastic is created equal, so we looked for finishes that were smooth, not too slick and capable of withstanding the sweaty palms that often come with competitive gaming sessions.
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The gaming mouse market is mostly split between two design styles: ergonomic and ambidextrous. Ergonomic mice are almost always made with right-handed users in mind and often feature dedicated thumb rests. Ambidextrous mice are more symmetrical and designed to be used with either hand (though they may not have extra buttons on both sides). Whether an ergonomic or ambidextrous gaming mouse works best for you is largely a matter of personal preference.
A gaming mouse’s feet, meanwhile, should provide a consistent glide and reduce the friction between your mouse and mouse pad beneath it as much as possible. For the best performance, look for feet made from PTFE (aka Teflon). All feet will eventually wear down, but many mice come with spares, and most manufacturers sell replacements if needed.
As for flashy RGB lighting, it’s a nice bonus, but little more than that. Still, if you’ve already kitted out your setup with RGB, having a mouse with adjustable lighting effects can add to the gaming experience (and more consumer tech could stand to do things for pleasure’s sake). More practically, some mice let you assign custom lighting settings to separate profiles, which can make it easier to see which one you’re currently using.
Weight
Gaming mice have gotten lighter and lighter over the years, with some recent releases weighing less than 40 grams. Your mouse doesn’t need to be that feathery — anything under 80g is still reasonably light, and it’s not like a 100g mouse feels like a total anchor. Regardless, a lightweight mouse makes it easier to pull off fast movements repeatedly, with less inertia. That said, some players still enjoy a little bit of bulk in their gaming mouse (relatively speaking), especially with games that aren’t as reliant on twitchy reactions.
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To reach those lightest weights, some manufacturers have released gaming mice with “honeycomb”-style designs, which feature an array of cutouts in the outer shell. These mice can still perform great, but having a bunch of holes that expose the internal circuit board to possible sweat, dust and detritus isn’t the best for long-term durability.
Switches, buttons and scroll wheel
A growing number of gaming mice use optical switches instead of mechanical ones. Since these involve fewer bits making physical contact, they should generally be more durable and less prone to unwanted “double-clicks” over time. Many gamers still find good mechanical switches more satisfying to press, so it’s not like you should avoid mechanical mice altogether. They just carry a little more long-term risk in a vacuum.
Since most people will use their gaming mouse as their mouse-mouse, you may want main buttons that have a softer feel when pressed, with enough travel to make inadvertent actuations less frequent. But even that is a matter of preference: You may want lighter buttons if you play games that call for constant clicking. We also looked to testing from sites like Rtings to ensure each mouse we recommend has a sufficiently low click latency, meaning your clicks will register with minimal lag.
Beyond the standard click panels, a good gaming mouse should also have programmable buttons for quick macros or shortcuts. For most games, shoot for at least two extra buttons on the thumb-side panel that are easy to reach and difficult to press by accident. Many mice have more buttons, which can be a plus, but not if they force you to contort your fingers to avoid hitting them. For MMO mice, having at least 12 side buttons is preferable in order to access as many hotbar commands as possible.
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As for the scroll wheel, it should have distinct, ratcheted “steps” that aren’t too resistant but make it clear when you’ve actually scrolled. Its texture should be grippy, and it shouldn’t make a distracting amount of noise when used. The wheel should also be clickable, giving you another input to customize for certain games (e.g., to control the zoom on a sniper rifle).
Sensors and performance
Some are more proficient than others, but generally speaking, the optical sensors built into most modern gaming mice are more than fast and accurate enough for most people’s needs.
While shopping for gaming mice, you’ll see a number of terms related to sensor performance. To be clear, a gaming mouse’s responsiveness doesn’t come down to just one spec. But for clarity’s sake, here’s a rundown of the more noteworthy jargon:
DPI, or dots per inch, is a measure of a mouse’s sensitivity. The higher the DPI setting, the more your cursor will move with every inch you move the mouse itself. Many of the best gaming mice advertise extremely high DPIs that top out above 30,000, but that’s largely marketing fluff: Few people play above 3,000, with 800 a common sweet spot. This concept is also referred to as CPI (counts per inch), which is probably the more accurate term, though DPI is used more often.
IPS, or inches per second, refers to the maximum velocity a mouse sensor supports. The higher the IPS, the faster you can move the mouse before it becomes incapable of tracking motions correctly.
Acceleration goes with IPS. In this context, it refers to how many Gs a mouse can withstand before it starts to track inaccurately.
Polling rate is a measure of how often a mouse tells a computer where it is. In general, the more frequently your mouse reports information to your PC, the more predictable its response time should be. Anything at 500Hz or above is fine for gaming. The sweet spot for most is 1,000Hz. Many newer mice can go all the way up to 8,000Hz, but you start to see diminishing returns the higher you go unless own a powerful PC and play on a gaming monitor with a particularly high refresh rate.
Lift-off distance is the height at which a mouse’s sensor stops tracking the surface below it. Many competitive players like this to be as low as possible in order to avoid unintended cursor movements while repositioning their mouse.
Software and onboard memory
It doesn’t take long to find horror stories about bugs and other niggling issues caused by gaming mouse software, so the ideal app is one that doesn’t force you to use it all the time. It should let you adjust as many of the aspects above as possible, ideally to several distinct profiles. Preferably, you can save your settings directly to the mouse itself, letting you pick your customizations back up on another device without having to redownload any software. All this is most important on Windows, but Mac compatibility is always good to have.
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Warranty and customer support
Most major gaming mice brands offer warranties between one and three years. The longer and more extensive a manufacturer’s program is, the better. This is the case with most consumer tech, but we note it here because the gaming mouse market is particularly flush with products from less-than-household names, many of which you may see hyped up on YouTube, Reddit or elsewhere around the web. A bunch of these more obscure mice are genuinely great, but if you ever buy from a more niche brand, it’s worth checking that some level of customer support is in place. We’ve made sure our picks for the best gaming mice aren’t riddled with an abnormal amount of poor user reviews.
Recent updates
September 2024: We’ve completely refreshed this guide for late 2024, adding new main picks based on shape alongside notes on several other gaming mice we’ve tested in recent months. We’re now in the process of testing Logitech’s new G Pro X Superlight 2 DEX, a flagship ergonomic mouse that the company announced right as we were putting the finishing touches on this update.
If you’re thinking “ach, Apple does that with AirPods already” or “don’t those Sonos Ace headphones do that with the Arc?” this is something very different. With Sonos and Apple’s approach, the listening apparatus strapped to your head make up all of the speakers: they’re the entire audio system and there’s no sound coming from the connected ‘bar. But with Bose, your earbuds are only being used as surround sound speakers; the rear channel speakers in a traditional setup. The soundbar still does all the heavy lifting for dialog, low-end thump and all the dynamic stuff. And your earbuds take care of the placement and ambience.
That’s why this feature is only currently available for the Ultra Open buds. Their design means that unlike normal over- or in-ears, they let outside audio in rather than blocking or muffling it. So in theory at least, they shouldn’t interfere with the audio from your soundbar. Instead, they’ll add an extra dimension to it – think bullets flying over your shoulder, grazing your ears.
Bose’s Smart Soundbar surround really is a smart idea
(Image credit: Future)
The proof is in the listening, of course. But we’ve tested the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds so we know they sound fantastic; in fact, we rate them as the best-sounding open-ear buds yet. We haven’t yet tried them with the Smart Soundbar yet, but we have listened to their Immersive Audio, which is what Bose calls Spatial Audio, and we found it very impressive. Crucially, we found that they blended their own audio with the outside world really well: we didn’t feel any disconnect between the audio in our ears and the audio around us.
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I think there are some significant benefits to this system, and one big downside. The big benefit is convenience: I recently moved house and setting up my AV system was a real pain, especially for the rear surround and the Atmos speakers. I spent many hours, ran many metres of cabling and uttered many swears to get my surround speakers in the right place; with the Bose system I could have skipped all that and simply stuck the buds in my ears.
You can adjust the balance of the center channel and your personal rear-channel speakers in the Bose companion app (Image credit: Bose)
The downside? As far as I can see, this is a strictly one-pair deal – so if you want to watch with a partner, friend or family member then this system isn’t going to support that. But for solo viewing it could be a really impressive alternative to traditional surround speakers.
The new Bose Smart Soundbar is a refresh of the existing Bose Smart Soundbar 600, featuring the same small, sleek design and boasting the “size-defying immersive audio of its predecessor while introducing something new: A.I. Dialogue Mode”. This is a feature that arrived in the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar last fall. It uses a machine learning algorithm to adjust tonal balance for clarity in real-time when it detects speech.
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Want to try it all out? Us too – watch this space, although if you’re already sold, the Bose Smart Soundbar will be available for purchase in black for £499.95 from October 10th in the UK, with customers able to pre-order now. We don’t currently see pre-orders available in other regions, but that pricing puts it at roughly $665 or AU$975. Tempting…
The egg-shaped toy housing a virtual pet was one of the biggest crazes of the 1990s.
And several attempts to reignite the brand over the years appears to have now paid off for owner Bandai Namco.
Global sales more than doubled between 2022 and 2023, it tells the BBC, and Tamagotchi has now opened its first shop in the UK – something it didn’t even do when it was 1996’s hottest gadget.
The London shop, based in Camden Market, is a hub of nostalgia with seemingly countless devices for sale
Unsurprisingly, the modern Tamagotchi isn’t the same thing you would have bought in the 1990s.
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It still looks the same – a garishly coloured egg with a small digital screen and buttons – but the actual toy has much more functionality.
“Now you can connect with friends, you can play on Wi-Fi and download different items, and that’s really combating that sense of fatigue that you might have gotten with some earlier models,” Tamagotchi brand manager Priya Jadeja told the BBC.
The virtual pet officially relaunched in the UK in 2019 and has been growing since – with a perhaps surprising mix of players young and old.
“When we relaunched, we thought it would be a very millennial-focused relaunch,” Ms Jadeja says.
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“But it’s being introduced to kids who’ve never had this sort of device before – it’s really exciting to see them embracing it.”
Getty Images
Aki Maita (pictured) and Akihiro Yokoi won the Ig Nobel Prize for Economics in 1997 for their invention
Unlike in 1996, now there are many other virtual pets on the market.
For example Bitzee, made by Hatchimals, uses a flexible display that responds to your touch, and reacts to tilt-based movement.
Meanwhile Punirunes has a popular feature where you can place your finger inside the toy to “stroke” the virtual pet on the screen.
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And there’s also Digimon virtual pets – another 1990s throwback – though these are also owned by Bandai Namco, and were originally designed as Tamagotchi for boys.
Despite those gender-based lines being drawn back in the day, Jadeja says there doesn’t seem to be any real difference in who buys the toys now.
For the Tamagotchi fans we spoke to, nostalgia is playing a big role.
EmmalutionYT
Emmalution often vlogs about her Tamagotchis on her YouTube channel
“I got my first Tamagotchi back in primary school, my best friend had one back then and I have fond memories of playing with them together,” says Emma, known on YouTube as Emmalution. She says she “started craving some of that nostalgia”.
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She didn’t keep her old Tamagotchi and picked up a modern one last year, she says.
“This kickstarted an obsession, absorbing loads of information about all of the releases that had come out after my first ever Tamagotchi,” she said.
“I started a collection, curious to know what I’d been missing out on whilst I was too busy growing up.”
Lost in Translationmon
Koby has been a fan since he was much younger
Koby, known to his fans on YouTube as Lost in Translationmon, agreed.
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“When I’m playing with my Digimon or Tamagotchi virtual pets, I get a small snapshot of what it was like when I first played with my virtual pets as a kid.
“There’s also a fantastic sense of community from sharing photos and stories online with other people.”
And for Emma, there is one other big factor – escapism.
“With how the world is at the moment, and how it has been for the past few years, it’s nice to just look down at your little pixel pet every now and again, forget it all for a moment to feed it a little snack or play a little game, and remember a much simpler time.”
CAPTCHA tests try to sort humans from bots by asking users to identify objects in photos
lilgrapher/Shutterstock
An artificial intelligence can solve the CAPTCHA puzzles used by websites to distinguish whether browsers are humans or bots 100 per cent of the time.
Andreas Plesner at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and his colleagues fine-tuned an AI model nicknamed YOLO (You Only Look Once) to become an expert at solving the image-based challenges used to verify identities on websites. The particular type of CAPTCHA it tackled – reCAPTCHAv2, which was developed by Google – asks users to identify certain types of…
The New York Times has introduced the next title coming to its Games catalog following Wordle’s continued success — and it’s all about math. Digits has players adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. You can play its beta for free online right now. In Digits, players are presented with a target number that they need to match. Players are given six numbers and have the ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide them to get as close to the target as they can. Not every number needs to be used, though, so this game should put your math skills to the test as you combine numbers and try to make the right equations to get as close to the target number as possible.
Players will get a five-star rating if they match the target number exactly, a three-star rating if they get within 10 of the target, and a one-star rating if they can get within 25 of the target number. Currently, players are also able to access five different puzzles with increasingly larger numbers as well. I solved today’s puzzle and found it to be an enjoyable number-based game that should appeal to inquisitive minds that like puzzle games such as Threes or other The New York Times titles like Wordle and Spelling Bee. In an article unveiling Digits and detailing The New York Time Games team’s process to game development, The Times says the team will use this free beta to fix bugs and assess if it’s worth moving into a more active development phase “where the game is coded and the designs are finalized.” So play Digits while you can, as The New York Times may move on from the project if it doesn’t get the response it is hoping for. Digits’ beta is available to play for free now on The New York Times Games’ website
‘I’m not getting in it’ – Former OceanGate employees decry Titan sub safety issues
The US Coast Guard has heard a week’s worth of testimony from people close to the Titan submersible that imploded last June, killing all five aboard.
Investigators are seeking to uncover the details of what led to the tragedy and find recommendations that could prevent future deadly voyages.
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Titan, operated by OceanGate, imploded less than two hours into its descent during a dive to the wreckage of the Titanic.
The accident led to questions over the submersible’s safety and design, and the materials used in its construction.
Here are five takeaways from the first of the two-week set of hearings:
1. Crew’s final words: ‘All good here’
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Investigators with the US Coast Guard revealed one of the crew’s final messages before it lost contact with a ship above water: “All good here.”
The hearing revealed other text messages between Titan and its mother ship as the deep-sea vessel began its trek to the sea floor to see the iconic British ocean liner that sank in 1912.
Support staff aboard the surface ship asked about the submersible’s depth and weight.
Communications were patchy throughout the descent, according to investigators.
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About one hour into the dive, the Titan sent a message at a depth of 3,346m that would be its last. The crew communicated it had dropped two weights.
Then communication was lost.
Supplied via Reuters/AFP
Clockwise from top left: Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet were all onboard the Titan
2. Witness recalls last look at Titan crew: ‘Five people smiling’
Mission specialist Renata Rojas, who helped with the doomed trip as a volunteer, testified before the US Coast Guard on her interaction with the crew before the sub descended.
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At one point, Ms Rojas teared up while remembering “five people smiling” before boarding the Titan and heading below the water.
“They were just happy to go, that’s the memory I have,” she said.
She remembered losing communication and asking colleagues: “We haven’t heard from them, where are they?”
Ms Rojas, who previously visited the Titanic wreckage with OceanGate, admitted that the Titan submersible was not classified or registered.
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“I knew the Titanic dive was risky, but I never felt unsafe,” she said during the hearing.
American Photo Archive
3. Whistleblower: Tragedy was ‘inevitable’
OceanGate’s former operations director David Lochridge testified to US Coast Guard investigators that he warned of potential safety issues before he was fired in 2018.
He claimed he was ignored.
Mr Lochridge said he believed the deadly incident with the Titan was “inevitable” as the company “bypassed” standard rules.
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He was fired and sued by OceanGate for revealing confidential information, and he countersued for wrongful dismissal.
US court documents show Mr Lochridge had significant concerns with the Titan’s design, including that it was made from carbon fibre which he warned would damage further with every dive.
He told US Coast Guard investigators the “whole idea” of OceanGate was “to make money”.
“There was very little in the way of science,” he said.
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4. New footage reveals Titan wreckage
The US Coast Guard released new footage showing the wreckage of the Titan sub on the bottom of the sea floor.
The deep-sea vessel is seen with the “OceanGate” logo on its side as debris is scattered around it.
The vessel’s tail can also be spotted among the wreckage as well as the submersible’s wires, gauges and electronics.
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A remotely operated vehicle obtained the footage.
Reuters
5. Leading submersible manufacturer: Titan was ‘not ready for primetime’
Patrick Lahey, the co-founder and chief executive of leading submersible manufacturer Triton, told investigators he wasn’t impressed by the Titan submersible.
Mr Lahey’s company manufactures submersibles that descend to the deepest points of the ocean.
While not mandatory, he stressed the importance of certifying submersible vessels through a process that involves an extensive safety assessment carried out by independent marine organisations.
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Mr Lahey told the panel there was no reason why the Titan submersible couldn’t have been certified.
He toured the Titan sub that later imploded while on vacation in the Bahamas and said he “wasn’t particularly impressed” by what he saw.
“It looked to me like a lot of the stuff was not quite ready for primetime,” he added, saying he expressed his concerns to OceanGate.
Mr Lahey added that the vessel did not seem “particular well thought out”.
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“It just looked amateur-ish in its execution,” he said.
Google’s latest streaming device has already reached some end-users before its international availability. Quite a few social media users unboxed the new and powerful Google TV streamer and confirmed the contents of its retail box.
Google TV Streamer is already in stores around the world
Google announced its latest Android TV set-top-box called the Google TV Streamer, last month. The power-packed streaming device replaces the old Google Chromecast products.
The pill-shaped Google TV Streamer is similar to an Android TV box, unlike the Chromecast products, which were dongles. The new form factor packs a more powerful processor and offers Google AI integration, smart home functionalities, and the latest Google TV experience.
Google was to release the Android 14 set-top-box internationally on September 24. However, quite a few early adopters managed to buy the Google TV Streamer early, unboxed it, and posted photos online.
Google ships the Android 14 set-top-box without an HDMI cable
As the images reveal, Google has opted for simple yet clever packaging for the Google TV Streamer. The search giant has packed a power adapter, a voice remote, and a long USB-C to USB-A cable (1.8 M) along with the streaming device. According to a user, the streaming device has around 26GB of storage space free from the 32GB claimed capacity.
Google has placed each of the four pieces in a single tray, with two outer ones bending (at a right angle) to fit into the box, reported 9to5Google. According to Google’s plastic-free packaging design guide, this packaging, “allows the entire insert (or tray) to be removed as a unit with little to no risk of products falling out prematurely.”
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It is interesting to note that despite asking about $100 for the new Android 14 set-top-box, Google hasn’t bundled an HDMI cable. This means users would have to repurpose an old one or buy a new HDMI cable.
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