Difference between higher mouse DPI and adjusting mouse sensitivity?

[Citizen Snips]

I have an MX518 mouse that offers 3 different DPI settings. Although I can see the value of being able to adjust the DPI in the middle of a game, I don't understand why mouse manufacturers are creating mice with extremely high DPI settings. What is the benefit of this when I can adjust the mouse sensitivity within the game and/or Windows?

Right now, my MX518 is set to its middle DPI value, and I have the windows and in-game sensitivities set at about the 50% point. If I were to use the MX518's highest DPI setting, the mouse would become uncontrollable for me. I can't even imagine what it would be like to use one of those 4000+ DPI mice.

So what is the point of these extremely high DPI mice? Are there people out there who are already using a 1600 DPI mouse with the windows sensitivity and the in-game sensitivity set to the maximum value, and still find the cursor movement too slow? That seems almost unbelievable to me, even though sensitivity is a very individual setting.

Also, how much of a difference does having a high USB poll rate matter when it comes to mice and gaming?

 

[DeadSkull]

High USB poll rate ~ mouse reports data faster, thus at a 1000Hz response time is 1ms.

You never should set windows sensitivity to its maximum, its pointless and counter productive because the x/y calibration will shift and whenever you move your mouse in xy direction the cursor on screen will move slightly more in the x direction then it should. Its best to just keep windows sensitivity at default 6.

Using higher DPI is supposedly more accurate b/c you mouse will take more snapshots of the surface as it moves and compare them all in the fly...ie simply more data ~ more accurate and precise prediction of the distance moved and current position. The way higher dpi works for games is if you turn up the DPI you should love your in game sens using the ratio of dpi old/dpi new increase. Your ingame sens will stay the same but "theoretically" using higher dpi mouse movements will translate into more accurate and precise cursor movements on screen.

I experimented inbetween 1600dpi and 3200 dpi on my g9 for cs:s. Did not notice any difference at all...I guess 1600 dpi is already more then enough.

 

[vicaphit]

I went from a Razer Diamondback (it stopped working, don't get me started) to a Logitech Revolution. I really noticed the DPI change because now I cannot quite get the crosshairs on someone really far away in CS. It is almost like moving the crosshairs just enough to see the movement makes it skip some pixels. EX: my crosshairs could be on the right side of the guys head from a long distance, then if I move it to the left, it skips over and is now on the right side of the head. No in-between.

 

[Blackstone]

My understanding of it is that the high DPI setting allows you to pan faster with smaller movements. So if you are using a rocket launcher with splash damage effect and you don't need to nail your target you can turn it up so you can spin around easier. Drop it back a notch or two for a weapon that requires more accuracy. Or say in BF2 if you hop in a tank or AA gun turn it up real high so you can move that turret faster. It is pretty intuitive.

Now, as for whether high DPI is better than high in game sensitivity, the answer I think is no. In other words i don't think you get better results turning DPI up all the way and then turning in-game sensitivity way down. The end result is pretty much the same. The most important feature of a gaming mouse is to have a sensor that is always on, and one that tracks well and is reliable. When the sensor deactivates when the mouse is idle, and then you move it, the time it takes to kick back in creates the skipping effect mentioned above. The actual DPI level is not that important--although as a practical matter it translates into having a greater range of sensitivity on the fly.

Is a 2000DPI mouse better than the 1600 MX518? Not necessarily because you'll almost never use the 2000 DPI. Actually if you do some research you will see the 518 out performs most higher dpi laser mice.

 

[Derangel]

The benefits of high DPI depends on the person. I like turning my sensitivity up to max in games and still use the top DPI setting on my Sidewinder. I prefer the speed that comes from high sensitivity combined with high DPI. On some games I do jump between the top and middle DPI settings on the mouse though, depending on the game and what I'm doing.

 

[GoldenTiger]

My understanding of it is that the high DPI setting allows you to pan faster with smaller movements. So if you are using a rocket launcher with splash damage effect and you don't need to nail your target you can turn it up so you can spin around easier. Drop it back a notch or two for a weapon that requires more accuracy. Or say in BF2 if you hop in a tank or AA gun turn it up real high so you can move that turret faster. It is pretty intuitive.

Nope, the point is to have a better tracking of precise movements by means of higher DPI resolution for movements... it is more accurate and picks up tiny movements far better than lower DPI/poor mice. I adjust sensitivity to keep the actual "speed" roughly the same.

 

[timme]

higher mouse DPI is a marketing term
adjusting mouse sensitivity is an interface customization