Gaming Mouse?

[Strawberry]

My mate keeps telling me to get a proper gaming mouse instead of my $20 Microsoft Wireless.

Is there any actual benefit from so-termed gaming mice? What's the difference?
It has a battery lifespan of well over a year (only remember them actually going out once so far), works fine on my tabletop and I can stack headshots using it in UT2004, what's there to justify the $150 pricetags of gamer mice?

My current mouse:

 

[Strawberry]

What's the difference between a regular optical mouse and a good laser mouse? Also, what's good about having more DPI?

From what I understand, more DPI means the mouse is more sensitive to movements, but when I'm in the middle of a game and aiming, I can't make precise adjustments either way, because I move the mouse too fast.

I guess I'd like to try it out sometime but I don't really have the money to throw away. Trying to justify a purchase.

 

[Strawberry]

Oh alright, so pretty much it's just fancy peripherals.

Well, looks like I'm keeping this mouse for another good few years.

 

[Strawberry]

Gamepad seems a bit silly / excessive, my logitech wave keyboard is absolutely perfect for FPS gaming. WSAD / QEF<C / 1234 are the only buttons I use and they're in the right places.

If you're an FPS gamer, a gaming mouse is like the most important thing you'll ever need, and a mousemat too.

I don't really get it. Is a mouse supposed to magically make me a better FPS gamer? I tried out my mate's mouse (on his desk where he uses it every day) and every 5 seconds or so the laser hit a "deadspot" on his desk where it just started making my mouse cursor jump around like insane, drift, move even when the mouse was stationary etc.

That pretty much convinced me to keep on using this mouse. I've been playing the same game using the same mouse for over 5 years and I manage to hit the top 1-3 on scoreboard, so meh.

What so great about those side buttons though? I don't really see what they're good for other than accidentally pressing. The mouse I had before this had side buttons but they weren't working, so I just kept randomly clicking them all the time to entertain myself throughout loading screens etc.

 

[Strawberry]

Oh yeah, I had that mouse too once but I really do prefer wireless. It's still lying around somewhere though, works fine.