Surely, many when buying a computer mouse drew attention to the fact that all peripherals are divided into two categories - gaming and regular. For experienced users, this is not surprising, but for people with less knowledge in this area, a reasonable question immediately arises: what is the difference between a gaming mouse and an ordinary mouse? Indeed, in few places you can find an explanatory explanation of the differences, basically everything is described very crumpled and succinctly. Well, we decided to fix it and tell you what the difference is.
Appearance and materials
The first thing that distinguishes a gaming mouse from a regular one is its appearance. As a rule, ordinary manipulators look quite simple and unremarkable. They also use rich colors to cater to as many customers as possible.
Gaming mice have the opposite. Manufacturers are very careful about what shape the mouse should have, because its ergonomics and grip comfort directly depend on this. As for the colors, most often the game controllers have a very poor color scheme. And this is not at all because developers and gamers prefer black or gray, but because of the materials.
Gaming mice are made of high-quality matte plastic with a soft touch coating to provide a more comfortable and better grip. But simple mice are often “dressed” in standard cheap glossy plastic, which doesn’t matter in the hand, and at the slightest fogging of the palm, it strives to slip out.
Number of buttons
The second thing that distinguishes a gaming mouse from a simple one is the number of buttons. Conventional manipulators in most cases have only two buttons and a mouse wheel, which plays the role of the middle button. This is not enough for gamers, so gaming mice are equipped with at least six buttons or more.
In addition to the standard triple (PKM + LMB + SCM), one special button is added to the device for quick DPI changes, as well as 1-2 or more separate, programmable buttons, to which you can attach any useful actions. For example, the creation of any items, the application of complex spells, a powerful combo attack, and much more.
Sensor
The third thing that distinguishes a gaming mouse from an ordinary mouse is the type of sensor. Simple manipulators very often (but not always) have the most ordinary and cheapest sensor, which is designed for quiet and calm operation. Gamers also make a lot of sharp and fast movements during the game, so they just need mice with a very high-quality sensor, which will be perfect on any surface, be able to keep up with all movements and work correctly at any DPI. In addition, it should allow accurate and quick aiming when it comes to shooters.
Special software
How is a gaming computer mouse different from a regular one? Well, for example, the presence of special software. Simple mice, as a rule, do not have their own software for customization, while for game controllers it is simply necessary. For what? To assign actions to additional buttons, record macros, if the mouse allows it, change the DPI settings, the frequency at which the sensor works, sensor calibrations, etc.
In addition, if the mouse has RGB-backlighting, then using special proprietary software you can choose the colors for the glow, the type of backlight, or even turn it off.
Additional features
And the last thing that distinguishes a gaming mouse from a regular one is the presence of additional features that are no less useful than programmable buttons. For example, take at least the built-in memory in gaming mice. What is it for? Everything is simple. It allows you to create several profiles with different settings and switch between them in just a couple of clicks - one profile for shooters, the second for RPG games, the third just for working in the system, etc.
Or here's another useful thing - replacement parts. Manipulators for professional gamers have many useful interchangeable elements, for example, wheels with a looser or tighter stroke, interchangeable side pads for better grip, legs made of different material for faster sliding on the surface, etc. All this together is literally allows you to rebuild the mouse and adapt it to a specific genre of games.