DPI vs Sensitivity

Sunbed · 13 Dec 2010 at 13:15

Hi

I've just treated myself to a Roccat Kone+, as an upgrade from my trusty MX518 (which I still love don't worry). I noticed that this mouse is capable of 6000 DPI, which I know many of you will say is not needed.

My question is:

Is it always best to use the highest DPI possible, and lower the in-game sensitivity to compensate?

Just to give you a bit of background, I'm a fairly low-mid sensitivity player. I use about 50cm to spin a full 360 degrees in FPSs, and I'll stick to this for most games. I also want to consider the "lifetime" of the mouse too... don't want to burn it out unnecessarily.

melipone1 · 13 Dec 2010 at 16:20

Some mice have sweet spots where they perform best, but generally you only need enough DPI so that the crosshair doesn't skip pixels. High DPI can create things like negative accel in some games unless they use direct input. You can also get mouse skipping or malfunctioning. They tend to perform better or more consistently with low DPI. Usually its recommended to use just enough dpi for how far you move your mouse to move the crosshair ingame and for how high your monitor resolution is

Theres some formula to work it out. So for 1280 resolution width its

(1280 x 4)/(inches for 360 rotation)

So for 50 cm or 20 inches you need 240 DPI to not skip pixels

You can try this converter: http://www.mikofoto.net/ae/calculator2.php

You can read a bit more about it here: http://www.esreality.com/index.php?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=2

Its not a huge deal though just use what works for you.

Deific · 13 Dec 2010 at 18:00

So you use almost 1 rulers length just to turn 180 in fps games? :S You must get shot in the back lots

-|ScottFree|- · 13 Dec 2010 at 18:02

There is no such thing as upgrading from an mx518... It's a lesson that I learned a log time ago!!!

james.miller · 13 Dec 2010 at 18:02

1:1 mapping is always best imo.

http://donewmouseaccel.blogspot.com/2010/03/markc-windows-7-mouse-acceleration-fix.html

do that first, choose your sensitivity afterwards. I normally set a sensitivity im comfortable with in windows, then adjust in-game to match it. that works with most games.

xiphrex · 13 Dec 2010 at 18:11

You can try both ways and see which one feels more comfortable. I prefer low dpi.

I too have heard that we should all be using the maximum dpi and turning down sens in the game, but practically it doesnt work out that way.

just Scott · 13 Dec 2010 at 18:11

james.miller said:
1:1 mapping is always best imo.

http://donewmouseaccel.blogspot.com/2010/03/markc-windows-7-mouse-acceleration-fix.html

do that first, choose your sensitivity afterwards. I normally set a sensitivity im comfortable with in windows, then adjust in-game to match it. that works with most games.

Quick question, do you need the mouse accel fix if you're using raw input? (steam games let you use raw input now)

dmxdex2020 · 13 Dec 2010 at 18:24

H2F Scott said:
Quick question, do you need the mouse accel fix if you're using raw input? (steam games let you use raw input now)

People on the forums make me laugh. I complained a while ago that BFBC2 feels like a heavy mess compare to source and cod games. I just wish dice had sorted it all out in a patch. That game did not get proper mouse support in my opinion.

just Scott · 13 Dec 2010 at 18:49

dmxdex2020 said:
People on the forums make me laugh. I complained a while ago that BFBC2 feels like a heavy mess compare to source and cod games. I just wish dice had sorted it all out in a patch. That game did not get proper mouse support in my opinion.

Huh? Did you quote the wrong person?

james.miller · 13 Dec 2010 at 18:54

H2F Scott said:
Quick question, do you need the mouse accel fix if you're using raw input? (steam games let you use raw input now)

i've no idea. I tried raw and it didnt make any difference, but than i already use the fix.

QlimaxUK · 13 Dec 2010 at 20:29

i don't bother with sensitivity, it causes too much OCD for me

i only change it if its impossible to control on defaults

Sunbed · 13 Dec 2010 at 21:36

Thanks for all replies guys. Especially the accel fix and dpi info links. Cheers

powelly · 13 Dec 2010 at 21:51

this thread helped me a lot

dmxdex2020 · 13 Dec 2010 at 22:16

H2F Scott said:
Huh? Did you quote the wrong person?

lol yea sorry mate.

HangTime · 13 Dec 2010 at 22:38

Sundance said:
Is it always best to use the highest DPI possible, and lower the in-game sensitivity to compensate?

Just to give you a bit of background, I'm a fairly low-mid sensitivity player. I use about 50cm to spin a full 360 degrees in FPSs

In my opinion, yes, although at those kind of levels it probably doesn't make a lot of difference. One downside is that in some games you can't set the sensitivity low enough if you have DPI maxed and have to start faffing about in .ini files etc (e.g. Medal of Honor).

Also if you ask me 50cm for a 360 is an extremely low sens not low-mid. I use around 5.5cm (which most people would class as high, but even so, anything over about 30cm I would definitely call low sens).

Viper² · 13 Dec 2010 at 22:41

50cm to 360 degrees sounds completely incorrect.

melipone1 · 13 Dec 2010 at 22:58

Depends how you hold the mouse. If you use your whole arm it doesn't feel so bad because you move it faster. Think mines around 40cm atm

Sunbed · 14 Dec 2010 at 11:09

Deific said:
So you use almost 1 rulers length just to turn 180 in fps games? :S You must get shot in the back lots

I used to - just got to shoot first

HangTime said:
In my opinion, yes, although at those kind of levels it probably doesn't make a lot of difference. One downside is that in some games you can't set the sensitivity low enough if you have DPI maxed and have to start faffing about in .ini files etc (e.g. Medal of Honor).

Also if you ask me 50cm for a 360 is an extremely low sens not low-mid. I use around 5.5cm (which most people would class as high, but even so, anything over about 30cm I would definitely call low sens).

OK re setting the sensitivity low enough: good point - think I'll go for one of "middle" DPI settings, in 1600 to 3200 range. See how that goes.

Yeh suppose it is fairly low. I just remembered that some guys I used to know played with over 70cm per 360 degrees.

Viper² said:
50cm to 360 degrees sounds completely incorrect.

It's correct

Well, I don't play with this sensitivity in all games. Just FPSs where I have ideas about where people are going to be i.e. CSS, Cod4 etc.

Deific · 14 Dec 2010 at 12:03

^

70cm for 360?...

You know cm means centimeter, and you know how big a centimeter is?

Seeing as my arm outstretched from the stitching at the top of my sleeve to my finger tip is 74cm, I am positive you are highly confused about the length of a centimeter.

70mm perhaps, but 70cm no.

Sunbed · 14 Dec 2010 at 12:48

Deific said:
70cm for 360?...

You know cm means centimeter, and you know how big a centimeter is?

Seeing as my arm outstretched from the stitching at the top of my sleeve to my finger tip is 74cm, I am positive you are highly confused about the length of a centimeter.

70mm perhaps, but 70cm no.

There is a reason Overclockers sell these:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-000-BB

Also watch this video:

http://www.esreality.com/files/movies/2006/mew_playing_06.avi

Trust me, I know what a centimeter is. I did a degree in Civil Engineering