The Best Gaming Mice To Give You A Competitive Edge

Connection: Wireless | Sensor: Optical | Polling rate: 4,000Hz | Weight: 63 grams | Battery life: Up to 90 hours

Best for: High speed competitive gaming

The Razer Deathadder features an enduring design with iconic ergonomics, and fans all over the world love this iteration. With upgraded internal components and a new lightweight shell, it’s equipped with a powerful Razer Hyperspeed wireless transmitter. While input lag is enhanced by the super-fast 4,000 Hz polling rate, that does impact battery life—dropping it to just 24 hours when using the Hyperspeed wireless dongle (sold separately). In standard Bluetooth mode, you can get up to 90 hours from this high-end gaming mouse. In either case, it charges fast using the included USB Type-C cable.

The Razer Focus Pro optical sensor has an admittedly unnecessary 30,000 DPI option for those who need maximum sensitivity in certain niche game settings. With the ability to step the sensitivity in tiny increments, you can customize the sensitivity to your liking, and then save it in one of the onboard profiles for easy switching. The speedy optical switches are rated to last over 90 million clicks, and the overall design is incredibly lightweight, coming down to just 63 grams.

Pros:

• Impressively lightweight
• Fast and responsive wireless connection
• Long battery life when using Bluetooth

Cons:

• Battery life more limited when using Hyperspeed wireless
• Expensive

Connection: Wired | Sensor: Optical | Polling rate: 1,000Hz | Weight: 59 grams | Battery life: N/A 

Best for: Playing your favorite games with one of the lightest gaming mice ever

Steelseries trimmed so much fat from the Aerox 3 that its weight came down to a mere 59 grams, making it one of the lightest gaming mice on the market. This helps you move faster and react quicker to what’s happening in a game, potentially giving you an edge over your adversaries.

Don’t worry about exposed electronics and accidental spills. The Aerox 3 features an “Aquabarrier” protection. This helps the mouse earn an IP54 water resistance rating—but while it can withstand accidental spills, we don’t recommend dunking this mouse in your fish tank. The Steelseries Truemore Core sensor has a sensitivity of between 200 and 8,500 DPI that’s adjustable in 100 DPI increments. We feel it’s best used on a hard surface, though a dust-free cloth mousepad is fine. If you want to ditch the wire and don’t mind paying a premium for the privilege, there’s also the wireless Aerox 3 ($75 at Amazon).

Pros:

• The lightest gaming mouse
• IP54 water resistance
• Affordable price

Cons:

• Limited buttons compared to competition

Connection: Wireless | Sensor: Optical | Polling rate: 2,000Hz | Weight: 60 grams | Battery life: 95 hours

Best for: Incredibly quick gaming without the inconvenience of a corded connection

In the not-so-distant past, cutting a gaming mouse’s cord typically meant adding some significant weight to its body. Of course, the tech’s rapid advancement has seen some peripherals—notably Razer’s 58-gram Viper V2 Pro—successfully lose the wire while remaining extra-lean. Coming in at a feather-like 60 grams, Logitech’s Pro X Superlight 2 is one of the latest gaming mice to pull off this impressive feat.

But while it is indeed 3 grams lighter than the original Superlight—and just a single gram heavier than our top wired lightweight pick, Steelseries’ Aerox 3—the Superlight 2’s appeal extends far beyond its lack of heft. Building on its solid predecessor’s design and specs, it packs a better sensor, increased DPI, up to 95 hours of battery life and double the polling rate.

While it’s ramped up the tech, it’s also retained the original’s simple, straightforward and—crucially—comfortable form. Couple its impressive slate of improvements and reliable design with its minimal mass, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better lightweight wireless option.

Pros:

• Incredibly light
• Simple, comfortable form
• Great balance of features and performance

Cons:

• Lightweight comes at cost of extra features/buttons
• Ultra-lightweight tech leads to higher price

Connection: Wireless | Sensor: Optical | Polling rate: 1,000Hz | Weight: 82 grams | Battery life: Up to 280 hours

Best for: All-around, pro-level performance with impressive battery life

Razer’s ever-growing line of PC gaming peripherals gets plenty of attention for its abundance of flashy RGB lighting features. But while these fireworks-show-rivaling effects are indeed impressive, they can also overshadow the equally impressive tech powering the products.

This isn’t an issue with Razer’s Viper V3 Hyperspeed, pro-level esports gaming mouse that ditches the flashy distractions. Lightweight, fast and packing the sort of precise performance that can make a big difference on the virtual battlefield, the Viper V3 Hyperspeed checks all the right boxes. It can serve you well right out of the box, but serious competitors can also upgrade it with Razer’s performance-pushing Hyperpolling dongle (sold separately.)

The more conservative design is both easy on the eyes and ergonomic in hand—whether you’re jumping into a quick match or marathon session. Where the otherwise unassuming peripheral does draw attention to itself is with its whopping battery life. Running on a single AA battery, the Hyperspeed’s up-to-280 hours could teach the Energizer Bunny a thing or two. If you’re looking for premium performance in a lightweight, wireless mouse—and don’t care about a RGB light show—the Hyperspeed fits the bill and then some.

Pros:

• Great mix of speed, performance and weight
• No cost-increasing, superfluous features
• Incredible battery life

Cons:

• No RGB lighting
• A bit heavier than some other wireless options

Connection: Wired | Sensor: Optical | Polling rate: 1,000Hz | Weight: 66 grams | Battery life: N/A

Best for: Wired mouse loyalists looking for a full-featured, lightweight, versatile option

Gaming mice manufacturers invest tons of research and resources into perfecting wireless peripherals that suffer from as little lag as possible. Steelseries is no different, producing a number of quality, cordless mice that kick latency to the curb. But the brand also appreciates the value of a solid wired mouse, a lag-free option that’s still favored by many an esports pro.

The company’s Aerox 5, for example, happily forgoes the untethered tech, doubling-down on the “old school” connection to deliver one of the industry’s best wired mice. It sports most of the same features—from its Truemove Air sensor to its water- and dust-resistant Aquabarrier tech—as its pricier, wireless iteration. The two also share the same 18,000 CPI range, 9-button layout, and trio of RGB zones.

Unsurprisingly, though, the wired Aerox 5 wins out in regard to weight, coming in at 66 grams, 8 grams less than its cordless counterpart. Its ultra-lightweight design is also incredibly comfortable, offering fantastic ergonomics for game fans of all stripes. That aforementioned abundance of inputs further supports this versatility, offering customization options tailored to first-person shooters, third-person Battle Royale games, MOBA titles and more. If wired is your game, the Aerox 5 is the way to go.

Pros:

• Lightweight and comfortable
• Multiple programmable buttons
• Supports a variety of game genres

Cons:

• A bit pricier than other wired options

Connection: Wired | Sensor: Optical | Polling rate: 1,000Hz | Weight: 77 grams | Battery life: N/A

Best for: Gaming with an affordable, high quality mouse

The Steelseries Rival 3 has heaps of awesome gaming potential for a smaller price tag. This mouse features the same Truemove Core sensor that’s found in the Aerox 3 along with highly durably mechanical switches for the left and right mous