After spending weeks testing more than 30 different mice, the Logitech Pro X2 Superstrike stands out as the best gaming mouse because of its unique haptic clicks, impeccable build quality, and comfortable shape.
But players with especially small hands or a modest budget should avoid my top pick. Here’s why.
TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming Mice
I started playing PC games and using gaming mice roughly 20 years ago, before I became a professional journalist. I have been writing about PC games for a decade and reviewing gaming mice for the past seven years, first at PC Gamer and more recently at IGN.
Since June 2025 I have been IGN’s lead mice reviewer, and over the past year I have used dozens of devices, from expensive flagships to cheap wired ones and everything in-between.
I’m familiar with mice from the big-name brands like Razer and Logitech alongside lesser-known Chinese manufacturers such as MChose – which appears in this list – and ATK. My desk seems to be permanently stacked with mice, and even when I’m not reviewing them, I’m switching between them, comparing them, and playing with them in competitive shooters and slower strategy games.
Selection Criteria
To compile this guide I first created a long list of potential competitors, whittled that down to a shortlist, conducted extensive testing, and then picked the winners recommended below.
For my longlist, I wanted to include anything I thought had even a remote potential of winning.
Bluetooth has inherent latency that causes delays between your inputs and the action, so to be eligible for this list a mouse either must have a wire or a low-latency 2.4GHz wireless connection.
They also needed to have at least a 1,000Hz polling rate, which means the mouse reports its position to your PC 1,000 times a second (high-end mice go as high as 8,000Hz), ensuring smooth and responsive tracking. Below that, mice can feel jumpy and rough, especially in competitive scenarios. I’ve written a whole section about polling rate at the bottom of this list: what it is, why it matters, and whether it actually makes a difference.
Many of the other features you’ll find on certain gaming mice – such as a dedicated button to switch DPI (dots per inch, a measure of sensitivity) setting or RGB lighting – are ones I consider entirely optional, and so I didn’t mandate them. I’d rather get a mouse in my hand and test it in-game than rely on a list of features, so I cast the net fairly wide.
I also didn’t set a requirement for a mouse’s maximum DPI. You’ll see DPIs in the tens of thousands on marketing material, but most people stick with a DPI of between 400 and 3200.
Mice that I had already reviewed and enjoyed went straight on the longlist – to find others, I spent days researching, picking the mice that were most frequently recommended by other people. More specifically, I read reviews and lists from other critics, both on IGN and elsewhere. I watched videos from YouTubers I trust, such as mel0nFPS, and dug into user-compiled lists and reviews in video comments, article comments and gaming subreddits. I often visit the MouseReview subreddit for work, so I had a sense of that community’s recommended mice, but I also spent hours reading posts and comments.
My longlist was roughly 50 mice. I wanted to cut it in half for my shortlist.
For this, I jettisoned mice that were no longer widely available to buy: for instance, I love the Roccat Burst Core, which was a remarkable mouse for $20 when I reviewed it, but it’s hard to find nowadays. I also eliminated mice when I found a reviewer I trusted clearly laying out an argument for why the mouse wasn’t among the best (TechPowerUp’s review of Corsair’s M75 Air, for example, which I’d seen recommended elsewhere).
At this stage, I also created sub-categories of mice that I wanted to pick a winner in, because I knew this would help me trim my longlist. I knew, for example, that I didn’t want to simply recommend all the flashiest flagship mice with the highest specs, because they tend to be the most expensive at $150 or more. I needed budget options: both a mid-range budget pick, roughly $60 or less, and an ultra-budget option, around $30 or less.
I also knew I needed a list that catered to everyone, regardless of preferences or hand size. I wanted, therefore, to include a specific category for people with small hands and a category to represent the best wired mice for those that prefer a lead (some people never want to charge their mouse).
Lastly, I wanted to include a specific category of ultra-lightweight mice of 40g or less, because I know some people want the lightest possible mouse.
With those categories in mind, I eliminated mice I knew had no chance of winning their respective category: for example, the Keychron M3 Mini is a very good mouse (I gave it an 8/10), but I knew that its tinny clicks would stop it winning.
With my shortlist finalized, I began testing.
How I Test Gaming Mice
A good gaming mouse is well-built, satisfying to use, and performs flawlessly in games of every genre, from point-and-click adventures to competitive multiplayer shooters.
But before I even jumped into any games, I tested the build quality, click feel and shape of each mouse in a systematic way.
I grabbed each mouse and squeezed various parts of the shell, hard, listening for creaking or displacement. I shook each one, checking for any rattles, which could indicate poor build quality.
Then, for every mouse, I tested each button one by one. The feel of mouse clicks is vital, especially for the main left and right buttons, because you’re going to be pressing them hundreds of times over any given gaming session. I was assessing how it felt and sounded – was it satisfying to click? Was it too stiff or too light? Was the sound crisp, or flat, or hollow? I checked the integrity of each button, making sure none of them were loose or wobbly, and looked for any alarming amount of pre-travel (the distance the button moves before it clicks) or post-travel.
Next, I tested each mouse in three grip types: palm grip, fingertip grip, and claw grip. Whether a mouse fits your hand will depend on your hand shape, and I could only really assess if it was comfortable to me – my hands, for reference, are about 20cm long by 10cm wide, slightly larger than average for a man. But I used the website Eloshapes to see how the mouse compared to existing shapes that lots of people love (such as Logitech’s G Pro series). I wanted a mouse that was comfortable in a variety of grip types and hand positions – and I knew I would further test them when I began playing.
With a mouse powered off, I moved it around my mousemat for a couple of minutes. I combined quick flicks with slower tracking and wide arcs. I closed my eyes and asked myself how it felt to use: was the glide smooth? Were the mouse feet particularly slow, or fast? Again, different people have different tastes, but the most important thing here is whether the mouse is consistent. Does it snag when moving it in a particular direction, indicating sub-optimal feet? Did it scratch my mousepad, suggesting those feet weren’t properly mounted? I tested each mouse on three different mousemats from three different manufacturers (Steelseries, HyperX, and Corsair), which all have slightly different textures.
If after this initial testing I still liked the mouse, then I took it forward into three games: Counter Strike 2 for frequent intense firefights and rapid flicks, Marathon for a more movement-focused shooter, and the citybuilder Whiskerwood, a more casual game with slower mouse movement but lots and lots of clicking. For each mouse I spent roughly half an hour in each game – less if I could quickly tell it wasn’t going to make the cut, more if I thought it might.
I used this process to build on my initial assessment of the mouse’s shape, buttons, and movement, ensuring my judgments held up in game situations and for extended periods. But I was also testing performance. Could I detect any latency (delay) between my input and what happened on screen? Was my tracking responsive, smooth, and jitter-free? Essentially: did the mouse do what I wanted it to do, when I wanted it?
I tested mice at 1,000Hz polling rate by default, but if higher polling rates were supported I tested them in CS2 at 2,000Hz, 4,000Hz, and 8,000Hz, checking for any changes in performance. I stuck to the same DPI of 1,600 throughout.
Finally, I assessed the device’s battery life against a manufacturer’s claims. Modern gaming mice have battery lives of 50 hours or more, with many over 100 hours, so fully depleting the battery wasn’t viable. I therefore searched online for both critic and user tests to ensure those manufacturer claims stacked up. I also timed my own use of the mouse, noting the battery life before and after, to make sure the drain rate was in line with what it should be.
Best Gaming Mouse
Logitech Pro X2 SuperStrike
Logitech Pro X2 SuperStrike
4
A solid Logitech shape and sensor, but the new Haptic Inductive Trigger System – HITS for short – makes it special. By replacing traditional mouse switches with analog sensors, Logitech delivers clicks that feel fantastic and adjust to your preferences.
Connectivity
2.4GHz Wireless up to 8K polling rate (Lightspeed), USB wired
Sensor / DPI
Logitech Hero 2 (up to 44,000 DPI)
Battery life
Up to 90 hours
Customizable haptic clicks are revolutionary
Comfortable, safe shape for most hands
Responsive sensor
Expensive
Drains battery faster than most flagships
Its haptic tech is the biggest innovation for a decade. The Pro X2 Superstrike’s Haptic Inductive Trigger System (HITS) is genuinely transformative. It swaps on/off mouse switches on the main left and right clicks for an analog system that detects the position of each button from the moment you apply pressure. It tracks my movements through the entirety of a click: if I press halfway down, come up a fraction, press three-quarters of the way down, then back to halfway, then let go, it knows the button position at every step. That has big implications for click latency, click speed, feel, and customization.
Its rumbles feel fantastic, and are fully customizable. Haptic feedback replaces the usual ping of a click. It only took me about 30 minutes to get used to it: now, I absolutely love the gentle rumble of its button presses. The best thing about it is that, unlike regular mice, you can pick the exact strength of the feedback from five levels. I’ve settled on 1, the weakest, a lovely gentle buzz with every click – but if you prefer something more forceful, you can turn it up to five to give your fingers a firm prod. I’ve loved fiddling with the settings, and it feels like the most personal of the mice on my desk.
Clicks register faster than any other mouse. Because HITS tracks my clicks from the moment you start pressing, they register instantly. In CS2, it feels like my finger is practically connected to my on-screen weapon. As with everything in HITS it’s fully customizable: you can move the “actuation point” so that clicks register when the button is 20% pressed, 60% pressed, or whatever level feels comfortable. I’ve kept it on the lowest setting because I love its immediacy.
You can spam clicks rapidly thanks to “rapid trigger”. This is the third element of HITS, after haptics and actuation point. Basically, I don’t need to fully let go of the mouse button before I click again, and as long as I’m moving up and down it’ll register, so I can basically just waggle my fingertip for fast presses. I get about one extra click per second compared to other mice I’m testing, which is substantial and makes a difference in shooters with semi-automatic weapons: I can fire my Marathon pistol faster than ever before.
Its shape is tried and tested, and fits most hands. Logitech recycles this shape across its Pro lineup because it’s a safe, simple design that users love. It felt completely natural in whatever grip I used. My preferred grip is palm, and its gentle curve filled my hand perfectly – but I’ve also spent days using it in both claw or fingertip grips, and finding a comfortable position was simple. Users with smaller hands will enjoy the shape, too, judging by other reviews I’ve read – although if your hands are much smaller than average you may need to look elsewhere.
It’s gorgeous. The white body, black keys and sparse decals create a unique, futuristic aesthetic. On multiple occasions people who saw it on my desk immediately asked about it, and wanted to pick it up, which almost never happens with a gaming mouse.
Its sensor is blazing-fast. The reliable Logitech Hero 2, used in several Logitech flagships, is one of the best around on paper – up to 44,000 DPI, 888 inches per second of tracking, and 88G of max acceleration – and it feels surgical in my hand. I hit accurate flick-shots in CS2, and in Whiskerwood my pointer always ended up where I wanted. I’ve used this mouse for months without a single issue: no stutters or hitches, just flawless tracking.
Also Great
Lamzu Maya X
Lamzu Maya X
0
This mouse from the Chinese brand Lamzu has top-end performance at a lower price than most flagships. It feels balanced in my hand and the main left and right clicks are wonderful.
Connectivity
2.4GHz Wireless up to 8K polling rate, USB wired
Sensor / DPI
PixArt PAW3950 (up to 30,000 DPI)
Battery life
Up to 60-80 hours
Main buttons sound and feel amazing
A shape to fit all grip types
Smooth glide
Some users report quality issues
Relatively short battery life
Its left and right clicks are beautiful. If I had to pick the main buttons on any mouse to use forever, then it’d be between the Superstrike X2’s haptics and the Maya X’s left and right clicks. They’re light and responsive, easy to click but spring instantly back into place, and I absolutely love how they sound: a sharp, springy ‘plink plink’ that just makes me want to keep clicking. Whiskerwood was great for it – free of any multiplayer pressure I could just click away, building my city, enjoying the sound of presses as much as the game’s music. The buttons were reliable in testing, and I never missed a click or accidentally double-pressed.
Its high-end specs match those of more expensive prices. For click latency, sensor performance, polling rate and the quality of its components – including side buttons and scroll wheel – it feels as good as flagship mice from Razer and Logitech while coming in a tier cheaper, at $120. To me, that represents good value.
Its featherweight shell makes it feel responsive. At 47g, it doesn’t quite fit into what you might call the “ultra-light” category, but it still feels virtually weightless in my hand. That’s partly down to the open-bottom design: I worried that dust and debris would get inside but it was never a problem and a quick blast of compressed air, from a safe distance, every few weeks will help keep it clear.
Lamzu Maya X – Hands-on Photos
It runs smoothly on multiple mouse pads. I actually didn’t like the initial set of skates on the mouse, which felt like they dragged while moving it up and to the right. But when I swapped them to the other included set, the Lamzu X felt brilliant, swishing and sliding across all the mousepads I tested without a single hitch. Wide sweeping movements felt slick, and smaller adjustments, such as to land headshots in Marathon, felt precise.
Its safe, symmetrical shape is a smidge smaller than the Superstrike X2. Its profile is remarkably similar to Logitech’s Pro shape, but its hump is ever-so-slightly smaller and its sides curve inwards more. To me, that makes it feel slightly more ergonomic, more like my hand is properly enclosing. All three grip types felt comfortable, but I ended up favoring a relaxed claw grip.
You can select your own colour. Five colour options are more than most mice offer. I absolutely love the blue Aimlabs edition I’m using here, although that’s currently sold out, but the standard purple edition is equally pretty.
Battery life and quality control are the two minor caveats. Lamzu says the Maya X will last 80 hours on 1,000Hz polling, but my research found that most people report closer to 60 hours, which is worse than high-end competitors. Mine dropped by 10% every seven hours or so, which would put total life around 70 hours, although turning on “competitive mode” burned through more battery. You’ll have to charge it weekly, or every few days for high polling rates – not ideal, but that’s still fine for me. And while I had no issues with its solid components, I’ve seen multiple users online report problems with the sensor and button clicks, at a higher rate than with Logitech, Razer, or other manufacturers. That’s the main reason it’s not my top pick on this list.
Best Budget Gaming Mouse
Mchose A7 V2 Ultra
Mchose A7 V2 Ultra
0
A mouse that “clones” a well-loved Logitech shape and packs high-end specs – and a giant battery – at a low price.
Connectivity
2.4GHz Wireless up to 8K polling rate, Bluetooth, USB wired
Sensor / DPI
PixArt PAW3950 TI (up to 42,000 DPI)
Battery life
Up to 130 hours
Unbeatable specs for the price
Tried and tested shape
Long battery life
Shell flexes a bit
Texture is slightly slippy
The Mchose A7 V2 Ultra is a cheaper “clone” of a brilliant mouse shape. One of the big trends in gaming mice over the past five years is manufacturers, particularly in China, building mice with very similar shapes to high-end devices and selling them much, much cheaper. Mchose is one of the most reputable of the brands, and its mice are so good that calling them “clones” no longer seems fair. The A7 V2 Ultra mimics the shape of Logitech’s most-recent mice (including the Superstrike X2), and it feels just as good as the original. It fills my hand comfortably in both palm grip and fingertip grip – but its relatively slippy coating meant claw grip didn’t work quite as well because the base of my palm slid towards the bottom of the mouse.
Its specs are absurdly good for the price. For around $60 you’re getting a polling rate of up to 8,000Hz, a top-end Pixart sensor, low click latency and a long-lasting battery in a mouse that weighs just 59g. On paper, it might be the best price-for-performance mouse you can buy.
Its sensor is smooth and responsive. Specs are one thing, real-world performance another. I’ve tested this thing for tens of hours from 1,000Hz polling rate to 8,000Hz, and it’s never once failed. Flickshots in CS2 feel immediate, and quick sweeps for movement abilities in Marathon feel fluid.
Don’t be put off by its mechanical switches. Most high-end mice have optical rather than mechanical switches. Optical switches use a beam of light to detect when you press, whereas a mechanical switch relies on physical contact between two metal contacts to register a click. Theoretically, optical switches have lower latency, but the difference is so marginal that you won’t feel it: things like your monitor’s refresh rate are much more important – also, some people prefer the feel of mechanical. I’m indifferent, but what I know for sure is that the A7 V2 Ultra’s click feel pretty good. They’re on the firmer side but they’re snappy and responsive, and they sound crisp. Mechanical switches can occasionally double click, but that never happened to me with this mouse.
Mchose A7 V2 Ultra – Hands-on Photos
Battery life is remarkable. You’ll get somewhere between 100 hours and 130 hours at 1,000Hz polling: that’s better than most high-end mice. I was able to use it for two weeks without worrying about charging. Higher polling rates and picking “extreme” performance mode will naturally cut your battery life, but it’s still mighty impressive.
You get the option of Bluetooth. Gaming mice have moved away from offering Bluetooth because of its high latency, but I still like having the option for when I’m not gaming, both for battery life and convenience. I brought the A7 V2 Ultra to my local cafe to work without even thinking about where the dongle was – although, as it happens, the dongle slots neatly into a compartment on the base.
Its rich customization software has web and app-based versions. Not every manufacturer has browser-based software but Mchose does, so I can avoid another mouse program cluttering my PC. But if your internet connection is patchy you can download the app too. Both versions are crammed with options that go beyond what most mice offer: for example, you can adjust the angle of your sensor axis to account for a skewiff grip (mine tilts a few degrees left) and you can toggle three different performance modes to balance power and battery life.
Build quality is solid, with one exception. All of Mchose’s components feel sturdy, with very little wiggle on the mouse buttons and scroll wheel, and no noticeable gaps between panels. When I really squeezed the sides, however, they flexed a little bit. It’s a small movement, not enough to be alarming, and I haven’t seen any reports of long-term issues.
Best Ultra-Budget Gaming Mouse
Glorious Model O Eternal
Glorious Model O Eternal
0
A lightweight wired mouse with RGB that both looks and feels more premium than its $30 price.
Super lightweight
Impeccable scroll wheel
Surprisingly sturdy honeycomb design
Too-small side buttons make palm grip tricky
Cable feels pretty cheap
It’s a well-built budget mouse that is genuinely lightweight. Budget mice sometimes struggle to get under 60g but the Model O Eternal, which you’ll usually find for $30, manages it. In my testing I loved whipping it around my mousemat to land shots in Marathon and CS2: it was effortless, and the mouse felt like an extension of my hand. I don’t like the look of its honeycomb holes on the top and bottom of the mouse – particularly how they warp and elongate as the mouse curves downwards – but the design keeps the weight down and it never irritated my palm. It feels solid, and its side panels didn’t flex when I squeezed them.
The buttons feel crisp, with mechanical switches beneath its main left and right clicks that are responsive, easy to spam, and sound clean. That said, the side buttons are disappointing: clicking them feels fine but they’re too small and too close together. I was often fumbling to reach them so I could throw a grenade in Marathon, or clicking the wrong one entirely, which got me killed when I healed myself at a bad moment.
The scroll wheel feels luxurious and far better than wheels on many more expensive mice. I normally prefer stiffer wheels but I loved how soft and light this one felt, with enough tension to prevent accidental scrolls and a clear bump between each increment. The large ridges on the wheel give you precise control over its movement.
Its curves are comfortable in fingertip and claw grips – but not palm. It’s a larger mouse, which is usually ideal for palm gripping but the size and placement of the side buttons make it awkward. I couldn’t really reach the back button with my thumb. Thankfully, both fingertip and claw grip worked well for me. I like the central dips in the main clicks and the gentle curves on the side, squeezing the mouse inward, which guided my fingers and thumb into a natural, comfortable position.
The sensor is pretty basic, but perfectly fine for the price. Raw numbers are low for maximum DPI (12,000), max tracking speed (300 inches per second), and max acceleration (35G). But for the vast majority of players, those are perfectly sufficient, and the mouse felt consistent and accurate in every game I tried, with no errors or stutters. You won’t find professionals using it, but for a low-level player like me, or for casual games, it’s fine.
Its RGB is bright and customizable. I don’t really care about RGB – but still, it’s nice to have the option and lends the mouse some personality. The two lighting side strips are bright, and the open design of the mouse bathes the whole thing in colour. Glorious Core, the mouse’s software, lacks some basics like adjusting the lift-off distance of the mouse, but tweaking the RGB is simple and you get plenty of options.
Its stiff cable sometimes gets in the way. Every budget mouse comes with sacrifices: with the Glorious Model O Eternal that’s the side buttons and the cable. The cable is rubber rather than braided, which is usually lighter but I found it annoyingly rigid. Every so often it would kink and fold on my mousepad. It didn’t cause much extra friction but, once or twice, I felt my hand bump into the cable when I swept the mouse sideways. It’s not terrible and didn’t ruin the mouse for me: just get a mouse bungee to keep the wire in place.
Best For Small Hands
HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini
HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini
5
Beyond just being the shrunken counterpart, the Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini is a solid all-rounder and fully featured gaming mouse.
Fully featured despite its smaller size and low price
Fast, accurate sensor keeps it competitive
Superb build quality
Barebones mouse software
Its shape is comfy for smaller hands – or even larger ones. I first used the Haste 2 Mini, a shrunken version of the excellent Haste 2, back in 2025 and I still haven’t found a smaller mouse shape I like better. The concave right and left buttons keep your fingers in the right spot, the cut-in side curves to fit your thumb, and the right side is spacious enough for your ring and index finger to sit. Despite its size it felt brilliant in my hands in both claw and fingertip grip, and I even found a palm grip that worked for me.
Build quality is impeccable. At 59g, it’s actually on the heavier side for such a small mouse, but that works in its favor: it feels sturdy and reassuring in your hand while being light enough to fling around your mousepad. Every part of it feels premium, from the shell – which I couldn’t bend or creak – to the mouse buttons, which don’t waggle in place.
Its clicks are reassuringly sharp. Some users feel the main mouse buttons are too heavy, but I disagree. I never had a problem pressing them when I wanted to, or spamming them when I needed in CS2 pistol fights. Like the rest of the mouse, they feel solid and reliable. They sound sharp, too, and I enjoyed hearing their constant pinging while playing whiskerwood.
The textured coating resists grime. The finish on the shell is noticeably textured, almost bumpy, but it never chafed against my skin. It’s grippy, sticking to my fingers and palm, but manages to resist sweat, dust and grime better than any other mouse I’ve tried.
Its sensor is quick and reliable. HyperX’s 26K Sensor isn’t the best on the market but it’s responsive and accurate. It has never once let me down, and I’ve used this mouse at various points for more than a year, including in multiple multiplayer shooters. The polling rate is capped at 1,000Hz, so it might not work for esports pros who need every millisecond to count – but for the vast majority of people, it’s enough.
You can pick between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless. Smaller mice are naturally more portable, and I like that HyperX includes a Bluetooth option. That means you don’t need to plug a dongle in: when I took this mouse to a hot-desk office, for example, I used Bluetooth rather than the dongle, because then I didn’t need to worry about accidentally leaving the dongle behind, plugged into a PC that wasn’t mine.
It’s often on sale, bringing it down into budget territory. It’s good value at $80, but you can often find it much cheaper. Over the past three months I’ve seen it on sale as low as $30 – a downright steal. If you see it at full price, consider buying it directly from HyperX and use the 20% off introductory offer, bringing it closer to $60.
Best Battery Life
Razer Viper V4 Pro
Razer Viper V4 Pro
0
A near-flawless flagship mouse with unbeatable specs, a comfortable shape, and a battery that lasts for nearly 200 hours.
180-hour battery
Crispy left and right clicks
Immaculate sensor
Impeccable build quality
Razer Synapse is improved but still annoying
Bulky dongle
Its battery lasts weeks and weeks. Razer claims the Viper V4 Pro will last 180 hours at 1,000Hz polling, blowing away everything else on this list. Even if you use it all day, every day, you’ll go weeks between having to charge it – for most people, it’ll last a month or more. I didn’t fully deplete the battery in my testing but at the rate it drained, it was on track to hit Razer’s claimed number. That’s staggeringly good. Battery life falls under 50 hours at 8,000Hz polling, but that’s still better than other flagships.
Its sensor is the best around. The Viper V4 Pro’s sensor has the competition beaten on paper, with a max DPI of 50,000 and a max tracking speed of 930 inches per second. In reality, those numbers are overkill and you’ll never reach this sensor’s limit – but I like the reassurance of knowing that I’ve got cutting-edge tech under my palm and a sensor that will never limit my in-game performance.
Build quality is impeccable. I felt the same way when I tried DeathAdder V4 Pro: Razer knows how to make mice that feel near-indestructible. Despite weighing just 50g, it feels tough. Nothing wiggles or waggles where it shouldn’t, and it’s the kind of mouse I could drop on the floor without worrying about damage.
Razer Viper V4 Pro – Hands-On Photos
Left and right clicks feel snappy. They feel wonderfully light, crisp, and spammable. I’ve never misclicked this mouse. Clicks do sound a bit sound unusual – quite loud and almost melodic – but I’ve grown to love that noise. The scroll-wheel is perfectly tuned, and the side buttons, while not as satisfying as the main clicks, are reliable.
Its symmetrical shape is comfy. It’s slightly larger than average – similar to the Superstrike X2 – but its natural side indents and swooping left and right clicks will keep most people’s hands in the right place. I used it in palm, fingertip and claw grips for long sessions and never once needed to take a break.
Razer’s software is packed with features – and now there’s a web version. Synapse is shouty and has way too many tabs, but it’s undeniably generous. I like that you can customize your own sensitivity curve (I always stick to the default, but some people have said it’s helped them) and that Razer has a proper tool for you to test and adjust your sensor angle to account for any natural rotation in your grip. Recently, Razer added a web version of the software so you can keep Synapse’s bloat off your PC if you want.
Its weighty dongle tells you everything you need to know. The Viper’s orb-like dongle can show you, at once, your DPI level, polling rate, and battery level, and you can swap in other functions to its three LEDs if you want. The dongle is satisfyingly heavy and doesn’t budge from my desk. It does, unfortunately, make the mouse less portable. I’d love a smaller version of the dongle that you can slot into the mouse itself, like with the Superstrike X2.
Best Ultra-Light Gaming Mouse
Hitscan Hyperlight
Hitscan Hyperlight
0
It’s not the lightest mouse you can buy but at 39g it’s close. The Hyperlight zips across my mouse pad and the plink-plink of the main clicks are an utter joy.
Glides effortlessly
Main clicks are incredibly responsive
Needs a separate dongle for 8K polling
It’s one of the lightest gaming mice. Lighter doesn’t mean better, and an ultra-lightweight mouse won’t suit everyone, but holding something to fill your palm while weighing less than two standard AA batteries is always fun. At 39g the Hitscan Hyperlight is joyfully toy-like, and the first time I picked it up I spent a few minutes just holding it, enjoying the feeling of passing it hand to hand. When I was gaming I could almost forget I was holding anything at all.
But it doesn’t sacrifice build quality. Some sub-40g mice feel flimsy in places – looking at you, Corsair Sabre V2! – but the Hitscan Hyperlight didn’t flex, depress or creak when I prodded and squeezed its main shell. All the buttons sit snug in place and even the mesh covering its open bottom feels rigid enough to withstand some force.
Its feet dance around your mouse pad. A lighter mouse should fly across your desk with no resistance to your movements – the Hitscan Hyperlight obliges thanks to its smooth, flawless feet. I didn’t feel like I was pushing or dragging the mouse, more that it just followed exactly where I wanted to move my hand on all three mousepads I tried.
Hitscan Hyperlight – Hands-on Photos
And its left and right clicks are glorious. They’re lighter than most mice, which made them feel extra-responsive, but not so light that I ever accidentally clicked them. I love the gentle thud of each click and their quiet but springy ‘plink’ sound is similar to that in the brilliant Lamzu Maya X.
A wonderful shape that fits most hand sizes and grip types. This is ultralight but not ultra-small. It’s relatively short and narrow, which works for people with smaller hands, but its main hump is taller than you’d expect and meant that I, as someone with slightly bigger-than-average hands for a man, could use palm grip without any of my fingers hanging off the main surface. I like the slight inward curve on its sides and the dips in its main mouse buttons. I reckon that 95% of people could find a grip style that works for this mouse.
It supports up to 8,000Hz polling, but you’ll need a separate dongle. The Hyperlight is $90, and only supports 1,000Hz polling. You can definitely find 8,000Hz mice for cheaper so if you’re specifically looking for that, this isn’t the mouse for you. You can, however, buy an 8K dongle for an extra $25 that enables 8,000Hz polling for the Hyperlight. I like the idea of keeping the main mouse cheaper and then, if you decide you really want it, adding on 8K polling once you’re used to it.
Best Wired Gaming Mouse
Endgame OP1 8k v2
Endgame OP1 8k v2
0
Ultra-low latency
Wonderful sensor
Flexible cable
Software is janky
Not suited for very large hands
Connectivity
USB wired (up to 8K polling rate)
Sensor / DPI
PAW3950 U+1F95A (up to 26000 CPI)
Its click latency is unbeatable. You won’t find a mouse that feels more responsive than the Endgame OP1 8k v2. Its Kailh GX mechanical switches are sharp and snappy, and in “speed mode” – which actuates the click as soon as the button is depressed – your click will register before you even hear it. Landing headshots in CS2 felt as responsive to me as the Superstrike X2, but, because it’s wired, it’s much cheaper at $90.
It has crispy main clicks and a satisfying scroll wheel. As well as low latency, those main left and right buttons sound clean. Their weight is an ideal balance between solid and spammable: I could rapidly click them whenever I wanted with no resistance, but each press feels purposeful. Side buttons are equally snappy, although their unusual shape takes some getting used to. And as somebody who enjoys a firmer scrollwheel, rolling this one around is bliss, with lovely bumps at each increment.
Its sensor is flawless. The modified PAW3950 is as good a sensor as you’ll find: it’s fast, perfectly accurate, and reliable. I loved using it in all three games I tried, and really felt able to lock in during hectic, panicked firefights. Combine it with a stable polling rate up to 8,000Hz and you have a mouse that will never, ever limit your performance in game.
Endgame OP1 8k v2 – Hands-on Photos
Brilliant for claw grippers: This is a smaller mouse specifically designed for one grip type: claw grip. It’s my least-used grip so I was skeptical at first, but the placement of its hump makes forming a claw feel natural, and more comfortable than on most mice. It also means that anyone with medium-to-large hands will get on with it despite its smaller on-paper dimensions.
Its flexible cable never gets in the way. One tiny detail I love with this mouse is that the wire immediately bends upwards as it leaves the mouse, moving it out of the way of your mousepad. The braided cable is soft, durable, and flexible, and never bunched up. It almost felt like using a wireless mouse.
You can quickly swap its main buttons out. Usually, changing a mouse’s clickers requires soldering, but not here. They’re “hot swappable”, which means you can easily pop them out and replace them with any of the separate switch packs that Endgame sells. I think the main switches are brilliant but if you don’t like them, you’ll be able to find ones to your taste.
Endgame’s software is effective but old-school. It looks like a settings box from Windows 98 and it’s a little buggy – it doesn’t recognise if you change DPI in real time – but it has all the options you’ll need, including seven lift-off distances.
Other Gaming Mice I Tested
Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro: A brilliant gaming mouse, especially if you have larger hands, and its tactile left and right clicks feel fantastic. Its price, however, means it’s competing with the Superstrike X2, and I simply prefer Logitech’s flagship.
Logitech G305 X Superlight: I’m underwhelmed by this long-awaited successor to the beloved budget G305. At $80 it’s not a true budget mouse – but it still feels like one. The scroll wheel is too creaky, the side buttons too sharp and protruding, and the translucent plastic atop the RGB feels cheap.
Logitech Pro X Superlight 2: A top-quality mouse with no real flaws, and the same comfy shape as my top choice the Superstrike X2. It doesn’t make the list because it’s less exciting than the Superstrike and because it’s the same price as the Razer Viper V4 Pro, which has better specs and nearly double the battery life.
Logitech G502 X Lightspeed: A comfortable, ergonomic mouse with an extra side button and a battery that lasts up to 150 hours. But its main clicks felt cheap, in palm grip it’s impossible to reach all its side buttons, and all its buttons wiggle more than they should when I tried.
Logitech G PRO X Superlight 2 Dex: A comfortable mouse built for bigger hands. Its height and severe sideways tilt never quite sat right with me, and won’t work for anyone with small-to-average hands. It’s still a solid mouse, but its feet sounded particularly loud and scratchy.
Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2c: A smaller flagship that performs well but feels more plastic-y than it should for its high price, and both the scroll wheel and right click were loud and grating.
Logitech G Pro 2 Lightspeed: A lovely shape – the same as the Superstrike X2 – but at 80g it feels slow in my hand, especially after using Logitech’s other mice. Plus, the side buttons on mine were rattly and made a high-pitch noise after pressing.
Logitech G305 Lightspeed: A classic budget mouse with a beloved “egg” shape that’s supremely comfortable. But its 100g weight out of the box makes it feel sluggish. I’m excited to test the new G305 X Superlight, and will update this list if it makes the cut.
Logitech G309: A unique, bulbous shape that I enjoyed using, and I like its firm clicks. But for the price – $90 – you’ll find lighter mice with better sensors.
Corsair Sabre V2 Pro: Alarmingly light at 36g, and fun to use, but the Hyperlight has a better battery, sturdier shell, and more satisfying clicks.
Orbital Pathfinder: A fantastic build-your-own-mouse kit. The core clicks and sensor are brilliant and the potential configurations run into the thousands, but at $145 for the base kit – plus $30 for additional pieces – it’s competing with the Superstrike X2.
Endgame Gear OP1w 4K v2: An undeniably brilliant mouse for anyone with smaller hands, with fantastic buttons and sensor, but because of its price and janky software I didn’t put it in a top slot.
Pulsar Xlite, X2 Crazylight, X3 Crazylight, and X2H Crazylight: I class these four together because they’re all excellent if pricey mice from Pulsar. But none make my list: their individual configurations and shapes are so specific to a particular grip type and size that it’s confusing to know which is best for you.
Lamzu Atlantis Mini: I’d have loved to find a spot on the list for this wonderful little mouse, but the fact it keeps going out of stock, combined with its short battery life, make the HyperX Haste 2 Mini my preferred pick.
SteelSeries Rival 3 Gen 2 Wired: It nearly made the list as a budget option, but I prefer the clicks, sensor and weight of the Glorious Model O Eternal.
Asus ROG Harpe II Ace: An excellent Asus mouse that I loved using and would heartily recommend, but at $170 it’s up against the Superstrike X2.
Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini: Asus is two for two for recommendations, but at its usual retail price – $130 – it’s simply too pricy, especially considering you need to buy a separate dongle for 8K gaming. Worth it on sale, though.
Rawm Leviathan V4: A Reddit favorite, with a similar shape to Razer’s Viper. It’ll match Razer on pure performance, but its software is buggy and side buttons mushy.
Pwnage Trinity CF and Stormbreaker: I wanted to love both of these mice for their blistering specs, adjustable sensor position, and sub-50g weight. But while they perform brilliantly, I found them uncomfortable to use because of their hard, cutaway shells (one magnesium, one carbon fibre). I could feel the edges of each gap digging into my palms and thumb.
Rapoo VT2 Max: I enjoyed this Chinese mouse almost as much as my Mchose budget pick, but it’s only available in the US, whereas Mchose ships worldwide.
Gaming Mouse FAQ
How do I know whether a mouse will fit my hand?
Without a mouse in your hand it’s very difficult to know exactly whether it’ll suit you, but these three steps should help.
First, measure your hand: work out if you have a small, medium or large hand. Measure from the tip of your middle finger to the crease in your wrist for length, and the width of the widest point of your palm. Compare that to average figures (you can find plenty online, such as here).
Then, read reviews of the mouse you’re interested in from critics and users. Find out their hand size – it’ll often say in a review – and see how it fitted them. Googling the name of the mouse plus “small hand” or “large hand” will often surface a Reddit thread of somebody else posing the same question.
Finally, visit Eloshapes.com, a site that compares mouse shapes. Pull up the mouse you’re interested in to find out if it’s small, medium or large. Even better, plug in a second mouse, one you’re familiar with – perhaps a mouse you’ve used in the past that fits you well – to see an overlay comparison of the two shapes. From that, you should know if the mice in question will work for you.
What’s the difference between fingertip, claw, and palm grip?
In palm grip, your entire palm touches the body of the mouse.
Palm Grip
In fingertip grip, your palm is off the mouse and only the tips of your fingers and thumb control it.
Fingertip Grip
Claw grip is somewhere in between: the base of your palm touches the body of the mouse, and then your fingers arc – like a claw – with the tips resting on the mouse buttons. This arc can be more severe or more relaxed (you’ll hear people talk about a “relaxed claw” grip).
Claw Grip
Generally, larger mice are better for palm gripping, while smaller mice favor fingertip and claw grips, although that entirely depends on your hand size. Theoretically, palm grip is more comfortable and stable, but less precise because you’re using your arm and wrist to track, rather than your fingers. Fingertip and claw tend to be better for small movements and micro adjustments. But my advice is simply to test them all and pick the most comfortable position: if you’re uncomfortable, you won’t play as well.
Wireless or wired?
Wired mice used to perform far better, but wireless tech has closed the gap to the point where they’re essentially the same.
Your decision, then, is about battery life and convenience.
You’ll never have to charge a wired mouse, which is handy, and you’ll never have to worry about losing a dongle.
But a wireless mouse has the advantage of being more portable, and you don’t need to thread a cable behind your desk – although keep in mind most wireless mice require a plugged-in dongle.
What is polling rate and does it make a difference?
Polling rate is the frequency that your mouse reports its position to your PC. It’s measured in Hertz (Hz) and 1,000Hz is standard, which means your mouse updates your PC with movements and inputs 1,000 times per second, or every millisecond.
High-end mice reach polling rates of 2,000Hz, 4,000Hz and 8,000Hz.
Higher is, technically, better: the more information your PC receives, the more often it can locate the mouse in real time and therefore the smoother your tracking.
Whether you actually feel a difference depends on both you and your PC.
Often your PC specs, rather than your mouse, are the limiting factor, and for higher polling rates to make a difference you’ll need a high refresh rate monitor. What’s the point in your mouse updating 1,000 times a second if your monitor only refreshes 60 times per second? North of 1,000Hz only feels different if you have a higher refresh rate monitor – at least 144 Hz, but ideally 240Hz or more.
You’ll also need to play at high frame rates to notice a difference (again, if you’re only getting 60 frames per second, an 8,000Hz polling rate is pointless). That means you’ll need a relatively high-end rig – and keep in mind that higher polling rates can, in some games, tax your CPU, reducing frame rates further.
Even with the perfect setup, you may not notice a difference.
Ask 100 people about polling rates and you’ll get many different answers. Some people don’t feel any difference above 1,000Hz, others swear they can sense the jumps from 2,000Hz to 4,000Hz, and 4,000Hz to 8,000Hz.
I, personally, can feel a difference up to 4,000Hz, although it’s slight. Going up to 8,000Hz is basically overkill and drains battery faster, so I usually play between 1,000Hz and 4,000Hz.
Does DPI matter?
DPI stands for dots per inch. It’s a measure of sensitivity and indicates how many pixels your mouse cursor moves for every inch your mouse moves physically. 800 DPI = 800 pixels for every inch of movement.
It’s different to in-game sensitivity, which is a function of both your DPI and the game’s settings. For example, if you have a DPI of 800 and an in-game sensitivity of 1, your cursor will move twice as far, per inch, as somebody with a DPI of 800 and an in-game sensitivity of 0.5.
On paper, a higher DPI and lower in-game sensitivity is best for latency and precision, but you probably won’t feel a difference above 1,600 DPI. Many pro CS2 players play at 800 DPI or less.
Manufacturers will use the max DPI as a marketing line for their mice – 25,000 DPI! 40,000 DPI! – but ultimately you’re never going to set your DPI that high.
Samuel Horti is a freelance reporter and editor specializing in longform journalism and hardware reviews. You can read his work at his website.