The Best Mouse – TechSpot

For the past few editions we’ve awarded the crown for best gaming and enthusiast mouse to Razer’s DeathAdder Elite, however we feel strong enough about a second option that we’ve been using for quite some time as well. Thus there are two top notch contenders for hardcore PC users: the DeathAdder Elite and Logitech’s G502.

Despite similar price tags — both typically cost around $50 — these two mice offer different, but equally-appealing feature sets and benefits. Pro tip: the Deathadder is $30 at the moment, possibly for a short holiday sale.

Starting with the DeathAdder Elite, you’re getting a 5-inch long, 1.7-inch high device that can suit just about any grip style. It has comfortable, rubberized side grips, an extremely-accurate 16,000 DPI “5G optical sensor” (easily adjustable through two conveniently-placed DPI switches), and seven fully-programmable buttons in total.

Whereas older DeathAdder models had a somewhat spotty track record for longevity and durability, the Elite successfully solves those problems with its high-grade Omron mechanical switches, rated for up to 50 million clicks. While the mouse might look somewhat imposing, it’s not going to prove cumbersome thanks to its weight of 100 grams. It feels sturdy but still moves across most surfaces with ease.

For all of its virtues, the DeathAdder Elite is a bit on the simpler side from a feature perspective. This is something many enthusiasts (several of us included) actively look for. Still, if you want a slightly more meaty package, the Logitech G502 is a very compelling alternative.

First, let’s talk customization: the G502 has 11 programmable buttons versus the Elite’s seven, and its bulk can be adjusted via five removable 3.6-gram mini-weights (easily installed within G502’s magnetically-sealed bottom plate). Like the DeathAdder, the G502 also has rubberized side grips, but it shakes things up with a comfortable left-facing thumb rest (which has its own built-in, low-DPI “sniper button”). The G502 can suit most grip styles well enough, but it was clearly made with palm grip users in mind.

The G502’s metal-plated scroll wheel deserves some special recognition. Not only does the wheel feel nice to use, but by pressing the button directly below it, the wheel can be unlocked, allowing it to spin freely. This little feature is ideal for anyone who spends a lot of time sifting through long documents or web pages, but it’s equally useful for quickly zooming the camera in or out during an intense League of Legends match. The scroll wheel can also be tilted left or right to access two more programmable “buttons,” which are used for left-and-right page panning by default.

The G502 rivals the DeathAdder with its 16,000 DPI “Hero 16K Sensor,” which Logitech says is its “most accurate sensor yet.” In our own experiences, the mouse has mostly lived up to those claims, and the sensor has remained accurate despite years of active use. We should note that both the DeathAdder and the G502’s RGB lighting can be tweaked via software, and your options will be about the same no matter which you choose.

A Noteworthy Alternative

If neither of the above sound like your cup of tea, you have another worthy contender in the SteelSeries Sensei Ten: an upgraded, modernized version of the legendary eSports gaming mouse. The Ten is sleek, lightweight at just 130 grams, durable (it replaces its predecessor’s metal plating with “high-grade” polymer), and it houses SteelSeries’ own TrueMove Pro 18,000 DPI optical sensor, which boasts “true 1-to-1” tracking.

The mouse is also ambidextrous, which is surprisingly uncommon among top-tier enthusiast-grade mice.

The Sensei Ten’s mechanical switches are rated for up to 60 million clicks, and it has eight programmable buttons in total. Of course, like just about every high-end mouse on the market, it also includes customizable RGB lighting. Coming in at $70, it is more expensive than the Razer and Logitech, but for many it will be worth the price premium.

Our two favorite enthusiast mice could easily suit your productivity needs, but the $99 Logitech MX Master 3 was designed with that use case in mind from the get-go. It’s wireless and has a precise 4,000 DPI sensor that Logitech claims will work on “any surface.”

The device is a direct upgrade version from the MX Master 2S, which was our previous pick in this category. The MX Master 3 brings several notable improvements, including a more intelligently-designed thumb scroll wheel — which can be used for horizontal scrolling, swapping between applications, and more — and less cramped back-and-forward buttons.

The MX Master 3 retains the dual-mode scroll wheel. In Hyper Scroll mode you get free-scrolling for lengthy articles or documents, and the second, “Ratchet Mode,” grants users a more standard, click-to-click scrolling experience.

Logitech’s Flow software lets you quickly and seamlessly control up to three computers by simply dragging your cursor to their respective screens — you can even transfer files between the systems using this tool. Flow won’t necessarily appeal to everyone, but for those who work with multiple machines at the same time (perhaps one work desktop and one personal laptop), it can be invaluable.

The MX Master 3 also impresses with its comfortable, ergonomic shape. In addition to its spacious left-facing thumb rest, the MX Master also has a slightly tilted design, which aims to keep your wrist and palm in a more natural position, ideally reducing hand strain. To be clear, the tilt is not nearly as extreme (or difficult to get used to) as other ergonomic mice, but it’s still a nice touch.

The mouse connects via Logitech’s Unifying Dongle (over a 2.4Ghz connection), or Bluetooth; whichever you prefer. Its wireless nature does mean the device will eventually run out of juice, but hopefully, that’ll take a while — Logitech promises up to 70 days of use on a single charge. When that time is up, you can plug the Master 3 into your PC through the included USB-C charging cable and keep using it while it charges.

All in all, the MX Master 3 is a fairly straightforward upgrade over the excellent MX Master 2S and is the best you can get in this category. Instead of discarding the features that made its predecessor great, Logitech has wisely left well enough alone and improved upon several aspects of the device where possible.

The older 2S is still a fantastic mouse if you want to save some money, it can be had for $70.

If you thought the G502 and DeathAdder Elite were fine mice, but you still have plenty of extra room in your budget, Logitech’s G604 Lightspeed might be the product for you. In some respects, the $95 G604 is an upgraded version of the G502. The overall shape and design of both are similar (as are the locations of most of the programmable buttons), but the G604 one-ups the G502 with wireless functionality, more buttons, and a less flashy aesthetic.

The gadget’s wireless tech comes in two toggleable flavors: traditional Bluetooth and Logitech’s “ultra-fast” 1ms Lightspeed technology, accessible using the included wireless receiver. Over Bluetooth, the G604 can operate for up to 5.5 months, which is simply fantastic for a wireless mouse. That number drops to 240 hours during Lightspeed usage, which equates to about 10 days of non-stop gaming.

To maximize battery life, we’d recommend hybrid use: Lightspeed for lag-free competitive gaming, and Bluetooth for work, browsing the web, or less-intense titles like Civilization VI. Before moving on, the G604 does have one major drawback that we should point out: unlike the MX Master 3 and many other high-grade wireless mice, the G604 cannot be recharged via a cable — you’ll have to replace its single AA battery from time to time.

Like many of Logitech’s modern gaming mice, the G604 Lightspeed houses a 16,000 DPI sensor, so it’s ideal for any title that demands lightning-fast reflexes. The sensor also offers smooth, consistent tracking across a wide variety of surfaces.

Since this is a high-end gaming mouse, there’s the usual array of programmable buttons for you to take advantage of: 15 in total, and they’ve all been placed appropriately — the six thumb buttons feel solid, and are spaced far enough apart that you won’t accidentally press them during a heated match of Overwatch.

The G604 borrows from the G502 with its metal-plated scroll wheel, which once again offers dual scrolling modes: “hyperfast” mode for free spinning, and traditional ratcheted scrolling. The scroll wheel can be tilted left or right to access two more programmable functions.

While we do consider the G604 Lightspeed to be the full package for anyone who wants a little more out of their gaming mouse, our previous pick in this category, the Logitech G903 Lightspeed, is still a good option ($80). It’s wireless, of course, with up to 32 hours of battery life on a single charge (featuring both Lightspeed and Bluetooth connectivity options).

It boasts an ambidextrous design, which is great for left-handed gamers, and its aggressive yet streamlined shape allows it to contour well to most hands, whether you use a palm, claw, or fingertip grip. Its buttons feel tactile, and its sensor is on par with the G604’s.

In the end, you won’t go wrong with either the G903 or the G604, but we gave the edge to the latter due to its superior battery life, extra buttons, and more comfortable overall shape (for right-handed users, anyway).

The aforementioned gaming-oriented mice from Razer, Logitech and SteelSeries we’ve covered in this list are perfectly suitable for the vast majority of titles on the market. However, MMOs and MOBAs are different beasts entirely, and the needs of their players differ quite a bit from the rest of the gaming community. In both of these genres, having a wide array of buttons — ideally, all located in one convenient spot — can mean the difference between (virtual) life and death. That’s where the Corsair Scimitar Pro and the Razer Naga Trinity come in.

Both mice were designed from the ground up with MOBA and MMO gamers in mind, and that focus shows in their respective feature sets.

The $73 Razer Naga Trinity, while a bit smaller and slightly lighter than the Scimitar Pro, can be configured with up to 19 programmable buttons — that’s enough to bind most of your character’s spells in World of Warcraft with room to spare.

If you’re wondering how the Trinity reaches that impressive button count, the answer lies in its three interchangeable side plates and left/right scroll wheel tilt functions. These plates come in 2, 6, and 12 button flavors, and they slot neatly into the Trinity’s left side. Each plate was seemingly designed for a different task: the six-button one is best for MOBAs, where you’ll only ever have a handful of abilities to manage, and the 12-button configuration is excellent for full MMOs.

The two-button variant is what you’ll likely be using for normal, day-to-day PC operations, or perhaps first-person shooters where reaction times matter more than having loads of extra buttons.

Though the Trinity does win out for us overall, the cheaper $50 Scimitar Pro has several unique benefits that make it a worthy contender. First, its entire left-facing keypad can be slid back and forth (up to 8mm of movement) and then locked into place. This may not seem like too big of a deal at first, but it means you won’t be straining your thumb just to hit those far-away buttons.

The 12 side buttons were designed for consistent tactile feedback, and they’re nicely textured, making it easier for you to find the switch you’re looking for with minimal guesswork during a heated team fight in Dota 2 or League of Legends.

In terms of similarities between the two products, both mice have right-facing finger rests (of sorts — they’re not particularly roomy), full RGB lighting customization, and 16,000 DPI sensors.

If you’re always on the move, the last thing you want to do is cart around a full-sized corded mouse. They can be inconvenient to set up with limited space, and their cables can be a mess in your backpack.

Fortunately, the Logitech MX Anywhere 2S exists, and it strikes the right balance between portability and usability. It’s not too small to use for extended periods, but it’s also not too big to stow easily in small spaces (such as your laptop bag’s small front pockets).

Aside from its overall size benefits, the Anywhere 2S’ offers two other notable features: 1) it can track on nearly any surface including glass, and 2) it inherits Logitech’s latest Flow software features that lets you seamlessly navigate up to three computers (Windows and Mac combined if needed), as you would if you were moving the cursor from one monitor to the other in a dual/triple display setup. The software even lets you transfer files between systems, or copy and paste text with minimal setup.

This portable yet fully-featured mouse uses Logitech’s speed-adaptive scroll wheel like the larger MX Master 3 while using the same 4,000 DPI sensor. Further, it can last just as long as the MX Master — up to 70 days on a single charge. When the battery does die, plugging it in and using it while it juices back up is always an option.

If you rely on your portable mouse daily, then you should have no problem justifying the Anywhere 2S’ $50 price tag. However, if you rarely use a mouse on the go, then there are cheaper options to consider. Within that group, we like the Logitech M705 Marathon, which can be had for a mere $25, and the $35 M720 Triathlon.

For just $21, the Logitech G203 Prodigy is an amazing mouse for the price. You get six programmable buttons, an excellent 6,000 DPI sensor with consistent tracking, and a straightforward, comfortable design that suits a variety of grip styles. It doesn’t have many other fancy features of note, but if you want something simple, cheap, and effective, you’ll be hard-pressed to find something significantly better than the G203.

With that said, Logitech’s G402 Hyperion Fury is available for $22 as of writing, which makes it a very worthwhile (if temporary) contender in this category. It likely won’t remain at that price point for long — its MSRP is $60, and we usually see it priced at around $40 — but if you do have the cash to spare while it’s still on sale, snag it without a second thought.

Its only real sacrifice lies in its sensor: the tracking is solid, but the maximum DPI it can reach is 4,000, which is a bit underwhelming for a gaming mouse. However, you’ll find that most other aspects of the G402 are a direct upgrade over the G203 (not a surprise — the G402 is effectively a stripped-down G502). This mouse has eight programmable buttons, on-the-fly DPI switching, and a comfortable, if slightly downgraded (compared to the G502) thumb rest extending from the left side.

A new category in our best mouse buying guide. We’ve realized that while many users want the best performance they can get out of all their peripherals, some are more concerned with the health implications that might come from using traditional, usually not-so-ergonomic devices for hours each day.

To that end, we bring you our first-ever pick in this area: the Logitech MX Vertical. Vertical mice, for the unaware, ship with the promise of improved hand and wrist health; accomplished by forcing buyers to operate the mice at a (roughly) 90-degree angle. This places your hand and arm in a more natural, handshake-like position, which theoretically reduces wrist tension and long-term strain or damage.

There is a notable tradeoff: by boosting ergonomics and hand health, you sacrifice fine motor control and accuracy if you were to play high-intensity games like Overwatch or Call of Duty. When you tilt your hand to the side, it tends to feel more like you’re controlling a joystick than a mouse, which can make it harder to aim. Some of these issues can be overcome with time and practice, but at the end of the day, you’ll almost always be better off with a traditional gaming mouse if precision is your top priority.

For traditional desktop work, we’re giving our recommendation to the MX Vertical due to its wireless nature, outstanding ergonomics, precise 4,000 DPI sensor, Logitech Flow integration, and long battery life (up to four months in total).

The device also includes three extra customizable buttons (in addition to the standard middle, left, and right-click switches) for miscellaneous productivity or gaming tasks. Much like the other wireless Logitech mice on this list, you can connect the MX Vertical to your machine using either Bluetooth or Logitech’s Unifying receiver. The mouse also regains power quickly via its included USB-C cable. While the device is plugged in, you can store up to three hours of use on a quick one-minute charge.