Best Gaming Mice 2022: The Best Wired, Wireless & RGB Gaming Mice to Buy Today
Gaming mice are the high-end devices of the mouse world. They are designed to be more accurate, offer a more comfortable experience and are built to last – as gamers are likely to spend more time with their mouse than anyone else.
Top-of-the-range gaming mice also have multiple buttons, highly adjustable dots per inch (DPI) accuracy and a mass of settings that include everything from custom lighting to macros for specific games.
However, finding the right mouse for you can be tricky. People hold them in different ways and have different sized hands that make purchasing a tricky business. A wide mouse with thumb rests and grips might be perfect for someone with large hands, but others might find a small and sleek mouse preferable, both in terms of fit and agility.
We run through a variety of gaming mice to see which are the best around, taking into account all the things gamers love most – RGB, responsiveness, number of buttons and, of course, value for money.
We’ve tested these mice in a variety of ways, including putting in the gaming hours as well as using them for everyday work and productivity tasks. We’ve poked and played around with the settings and made sure to thoroughly test the features too. The following is a breakdown of our favourite mice and those we deem to be the very best you can buy currently.
Our current favourite gaming mouse is the Corsair M65 RGB Ultra Wireless. There are other options worth considering too including the Razer Basilisk Ultimate, the Logitech G Pro X Superlight, the Razer Naga Pro and the Asus ROG Gladius III Wireless.
Our Top Pick: Best Gaming Mouse
Corsair M65 RGB Ultra Wireless
For
- Tilt and gesture-based controls
- Super satisfying button action
- Simple customisable weight system
- Premium finish
- High-end gaming specs
Against
- A tad on the small side
- Only really for claw grip style
Specs
- 50G acceleration, 650 IPS tracking speed, 26,000 max DPI
- 8 programmable buttons plus tilt and lift actions
- Adjustable polling rate up to 2,000Hz
- Sub-1ms wireless with Slipstream wireless or low-latency Bluetooth
- 110g standard weight, six extra weights for up to 128g
The Corsair M65 RGB Ultra Wireless is a solid bit of kit with a well-constructed design and a superb feature set. This mouse not only has some serious specs under the hood but also sports some nifty hidden features too.
It has a six-axis gyro and accelerometer so you can tilt and lift the mouse in various directions to activate actions or macros with ease. Add in eight programmable buttons, a weight customisation system, decent battery life and more and you’ve got a real winner.
The only draw back is it’s a bit on the small side and is really designed for claw grip style, but otherwise it’s a solid favourite.
Other gaming mice to consider
We’ve tried plenty of different gaming mice and obviously, there are reasons why you might like to consider more than one option. If you play FPS competitively then something ultralightweight might be preferable. If MMOs are more your thing then you might prefer more buttons. To help you decide, we’ve included a selection of the other hot contenders we’ve tried below.
Logitech G Pro X Superlight
For
- Superb lightweight design
- Large slick PTFE areas
- Excellent battery life
Against
- Uses micro USB charging
- No RGB
Specs
- 100 – 25,600 DPI, 40G acceleration, 400 IPS
- 1,000Hz Polling rate
- 70-hour battery life
- Logitech Powerplay compatible
- 63g weight
Our choice for the best gaming mouse may be too heavy for some but that’s ok as there are other options. The Logitech G Pro X Superlight is one such choice.
If you’re not fussed about having unnecessary frills and bells and whistles, then cast your eyes in this direction. This is a nifty, lightweight, wireless gaming mouse that has slippy PTFE feet, up to 70 hours of battery life and an understated design.
This is a serious gaming mouse designed for pros, which has the thrills of being lightweight, but without the usual honeycomb shell. It’s remarkably agile and wonderfully accurate too. The only downside is the odd lack of DPI switching button, but you can customise DPI and other button settings in the software.
Razer Basilisk Ultimate
For
- Superb RGB lighting
- Convenient charging dock
- Excellent ergonomics
- Interesting adjustable mouse wheel resistance
Against
- No infinite spin wheel like the G502 Lightspeed
Specs:
- Customisable scroll wheel resistance
- Replaceable Multi-function paddle
- Gaming-grade tactile scroll wheel with customisable resistance
- Textured grips and an ergonomic grip
- 2.4 Ghz HyperSpeed Wireless technology
- Razer Synapse 3 compatible
- 20,000 max DPI adjustable in five different levels
- On-the-fly DPI switching via buttons with sensitivity clutch too
- 11 programmable buttons
The Basilisk Ultimate is a pinnacle of Razer’s design – a wireless mouse with multiple buttons, a nifty charging base, some colourful RGB lighting and interesting features too.
Highlights include a removable multi-function paddle that doubles as an oh-so-satisfying thumb button and a customisable scroll wheel that you can adjust the resistance on.
Textured grips, ergonomic design and thumb rest make it comfortable and capable during gaming sessions too. Great connectivity options and bonkers battery life are also fantastic additions.
Razer Naga Pro
For
- Customisable side-plate design
- More buttons than you could ever need
Against
- Heavier than many others
Specs:
- 20,000 DPI, 650 IPS, 50G acceleration
- 19 customisable buttons
- 2 RGB lighting zones
- 117g weight
- Swappable button sideplates
This mouse seemingly tries to cater to all with an interesting design that not only has everything you’d expect from a gaming mouse, but also has swappable side buttons meaning you can change the thumb button access depending on what you’re playing.
Two side buttons for FPS or 12 for MMO/MOBAs the choice is yours.
The Naga Pro thrills in other areas too. One of those is its ability to connect in wired, Bluetooth or wireless modes. In Bluetooth, with RGB lighting off you can get as much as 150 hours of battery life out of it too.
Throw in five onboard memory profiles, five custom DPI levels, 100% PTFE feet and a Pixart Optical sensor and you’ve got a real gaming powerhouse.
Asus ROG Gladius III Wireless
For
- Swappable switches make it long lasting
- Large and comfortable asymmetrical design
Against
- Might be too large for some
Specs:
- Wired USB-C, wireless 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth connection options
- Six programmable buttons
- Weight: 89g
- Hot-swappable switches with 3-pin and 5-pin options
- 55 hours battery life (2.4Ghz); 85 hours on Bluetooth
- Max speed/max acceleration 400 IPS/50g
- Tuned sensor for up to 26,000dpi
The Asus ROG Gladius III Wireless is a great option if you’re looking for a larger mouse with a comfortable fit. It boasts a large asymmetrical design that’s wonderfully comfortable while also packing some serious specs in a relatively lightweight shell.
Highlights of this mouse include a fast actuating zero-gap button design, multiple buttons and connectivity options and more.
The best part though is the user swappable switches. You can easily change switches on this mouse and it can take both three and five pin micro switches so you won’t need to worry about double-clicking switches ruining your gaming experience here. You can also use optical switches for more accurate click tracking too.
Throw in a high DPI, as much as 85 hours battery life and slick PTFE feet and you’ve got a great package. We thoroughly enjoyed this mouse and found it more than capable all day long.
Other gaming mice we’ve considered
The Pocket-lint editorial team spends hours testing and researching hundreds of products before recommending our best picks for you.
We’ve considered a range of factors when it comes to putting together this list of the best gaming mice to buy. We’ve tried them in different games, during the day working and poked and prodded all the different settings and features to see which mice really shone.
Many of the gaming mice we’ve seen don’t make our final best guides, not because they’re not great necessarily, but because we’re trying to keep this list short and useful for you. There are still other mice we’ve tried and loved that we’d recommend. Those include:
- Logitech G502 Lightspeed
- Glorious PC Gaming Race Model O Wireless
- Razer Viper 8K
- Corsair Sabre RGB Pro
- SteelSeries Aerox 3 Wireless
- Roccat Kain 202 AIMO
How to choose the right gaming mouse for you
Obviously, there’s a lot to consider when buying a gaming mouse. Trying to find the right one for you can be tricky as there are all sorts of mice in all manner of shapes and sizes with different specs and features on offer. It can be hard to know what matters or what you’ll like.
Specs that matter
You’ll find all gaming mice have a number of specs worth paying attention to. These include max acceleration and max speed numbers. Usually the higher these numbers the better. Along with a good sensor, these specs ensure good tracking and accurate representation of your mouse movements and the ability to keep up with your quick flicks.
You’ll also find the best mice often have insanely high DPI levels. Many of Logitech’s mice, for example, boast as much as 25,600 DPI. The company says that its sensors and these DPI levels allow the mouse to “…accurately track movement at the sub-micron level (1 micron = 1 millionth of a meter, or 0.000001m). Without compromising on accuracy.”
Realistically, most gamers will find that 25,000 DPI is far too much for standard use. Indeed even the pro gamers will opt for lower DPI, lightweight mice or set their mice to low DPI levels. Still having a good DPI range offers a lot of flexibility.
Grip type
There are three main grip types – palm grip, claw grip and fingertip grip. Some mice are designed to cater to all types while others are only suitable for one or two. SteelSeries has a nice guide to the different grip types and that’s worth reading if you don’t know how your hold your mouse already.
If you use a palm grip, then you’ll often need a larger mouse or you’ll find the mouse is too small and uncomfortable to use. Smaller mice might only cater to claw grip and won’t be suitable, so this is an important point of consideration before you buy.
How many buttons do you need?
Most modern gaming mice sport somewhere between six and eight buttons. These usually include the left and right buttons, mouse wheel, two side buttons and maybe a couple of DPI level buttons.
This setup might be enough for most gamers – especially if you’re mostly playing FPS games. But if you are more of a MOBA, MMO or RPG gamer then you might like to consider a mouse with more buttons. That’ll make life easier to carry out actions, combine in-game abilities and generally win.
Having more buttons isn’t always better though. We’ve found some mice offer buttons on both sides of the frame, but that can be problematic as you might accidentally activate these buttons when you don’t mean to, which can be a real pain. So think about which buttons you need and whether you actually need more before you commit to a purchase.
Ultra-light?
The latest trend for gaming mice is to shed as much weight as possible and offer up large super slick PTFE areas to help you game. These lightweight mice mean you can run a low DPI but still flick them about quickly and easily. Pro players swear by these mice. They obviously have the added bonus of reducing any aches or fatigue you might otherwise get with heavier mice.
One downside though is the lighter mice often feel cheap, sound hollow and aren’t as feature-rich. If you prefer your mouse to have a bit of heft and a premium solid build quality then there’s nothing wrong with that. Some of the heavier mice also have a lot more to offer, not just RGB but more buttons, wireless connectivity and more.
More about this story
Every product in this list has been tested in real-life situations, just as you would use it in your day-to-day life. We’ve gamed on these mice, we’ve worked with them, we’ve tried all the different settings, we’ve recorded macros and tested out the different actions.
We’ve also spent hours playing and working with different games to make sure they work as they should and don’t let you down. All while poking all the settings to see what works best.
We’ve then selected the best based on all the features and the price to ensure it’s good value for money too.
In all of our buyer’s guides, we tend to skip over the spec comparisons and marketing spiel; we just want to provide an easy to understand review that gives you an idea of what it’s going to be like to use.
Our verdicts are concise, but this is in the interest of brevity – rest assured all the things on this list have been fully tested.
In all our guides, there are also plenty of models we consider that don’t make the cut.
Source: pocket-lint
