Thursday 20 October 2011

Get gaming with performance mice under Rs. 2,500


No PC gaming enthusiast is ever going to be content with a typical Rs. 300 mouse from the local store. He’s looking for something that’ll give him the edge over the rest when it comes to online multiplayer games. When someone decides to spend Rs. 50,000 on a high-end gaming rig, it’d be wrong to skip out on a decent mouse. While mice start from as low as a Rs. 100 and go right up to Rs. 8,000 and more, the sweet spot for a good gaming mouse is between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 2,500. Here are a few such options that should get you on your way.

Gigabyte M6800
Gigabyte M6800 - Packs a bunch for a low price
Gigabyte M6800 - Packs a bunch for a low price


There are few good gaming mice under the Rs. 1,000 bracket. The Logitech MX310 used to be popular while the MX518 was new. But since then, very few manufacturers are able to offer performance if not features and design for that price range. The most unlikeliest of brands has an offering though. Gigabyte introduced a few mice and the M6800 happens to be a solid performer and decent sized mouse for gamers. Priced at around Rs. 700, it’s easily one of the cheapest, performance mice around.

Logitech MX518
Logitech MX518 - An old timer that still plays strong
Logitech MX518 - An old timer that still plays strong


The Logitech MX518 is a legendary mouse. It’s more than four years old now and it’s still got a ton of firepower. There have been some revisions and changes since the first model launched. The recipe hasn’t change a lot and is simple – a 1800 DPI sensor, a fancy looking design with great quality click buttons, DPI switches and a rather ergonomic, solid shape, design and build quality.If you’re looking for a newer model with similar traits, look out for the Logitech G400. It’s almost identical in terms of size and ergonomics, but has an upgraded sensor. Although not officially released in India, you may be able to find it on some online stores or with some retailers. 

Razer DeathAdder 3.5G
Razer DeathAdder - One of the widely used Razer mice
Razer DeathAdder - One of the widely used Razer mice


Razer has been in the gaming mice market for more than a decade now. Their DeathAdder mouse has gained a reputation for being one of the best and popular mice from Razer. The DeathAdder 3.5G like the newer MX518 mice are updated with a new sensor while the rest of the mouse has stayed exactly the same. 

Razer Abyssus 
Razer Abyssus - An affordable option
Razer Abyssus - An affordable option


The Abyssus is at the base of the product pyramid from Razer. It offers a good amount of performance in a simple body and a simple set of buttons. For most gamers, this is more than enough. The price of Rs. 1,475 makes it as affordable and lethal as the MX518. It’s not as solidly build as the MX518 though. 

Cooler Master Spawn
Cooler Master Spawn - Oddly shaped, but surprisingly comfortable
Cooler Master Spawn - Oddly shaped, but surprisingly comfortable


The Cooler Master Spawn is the weirdest looking mouse of the lot, but it’s quite the performer and the comfort level of the mouse is pretty impressive. Priced at just under Rs. 2,000 in the market, it’s a great purchase if you have a large palm and use the palm grip. It uses a 3500DPI sensor, supports 1000Hz refresh rates and supports storing of profiles in the internal memory.

What makes a great gaming mouse?
No gaming mouse is perfect. There are a number of things that make us prefer a mouse. Firstly, there’s the comfort level that depends on the way you hold a mouse. Some people prefer to grip the entire mouse with their palm while some others use two fingers to move it around - usually, the thumb and the little finger. Large, taller mice tend to be more comfortable if you hold the mouse in your palm and thinner, smaller mice are suited to the claw-style of holding the mice.

Look for gaming mice that come with enough buttons for the weapons and controls in game. This way, you won’t have to use the scroll wheel all the time to switch between items or map keys all over the keyboard. Most high-end mice also have the option to switch sensitivity levels of the sensor on-the-go without having to depend to software drivers. 

Older PS2 based mice had low refresh rates of 125Hz. Some of the USB powered optical mice also have had similar refresh rates for a while. These days, look for gaming mice with refresh rates of 500Hz and 1000Hz. A higher refresh rate often means a slightly more responsive mouse. 

Overall quality of the mouse is also important. Mice are used extensively even while you aren’t gaming. With such heavy usage, they tend to wear off. The scroll wheel and the mouse clicks are the first to fail usually. The pads at the bottom of the mouse also take a battering. Look for mice with solid mouse clicks and scroll wheels. Opting for smooth fabric based mousepads over hard pads might be a good investment as well. They help the mouse glide and so wear on the mouse feet is also reduced drastically. There are some other nifty features being added. One of them is the ability to store your mouse settings and profiles in the mouse, so you can move from one PC to another without losing your customised settings. 

Once you do get the mouse you wanted, you're ready to take on the online gaming scene. Just make sure you have the sensitivity for the mouse setup right and you're good to go!

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