WEBVTT

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like other computer parts there's a huge spread in terms of how much you can

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spend on a mouse basic models can be had for under 10 bucks but you can also

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splurge and spend more on a mouse than you would on a Michelin star meal so

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what features do these fancy mice have that more basic models don't to answer

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that we need to start with the sensor on the bottom of your mouse nicer mice

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almost always use a high CPI Optical

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sensor but what does that mean well mice work by taking pictures of the surface

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beneath them many times per second then comparing those images to determine when

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and where they're moving higher CPI or

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counts per inch mean your mouse can see

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at higher resolutions CPI is often used interchangeably with DPI or dots per

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inch to describe sensitivity but CPI is

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the more accurate term so in the old days high sensitivity was

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considered important for users of high resolution displays since it allows the

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cursor or your Crosshair to travel farther across the screen with a small

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amount of movement but most modern mice are sensitive enough that any further

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development is more to provide better accuracy for fine movements some mice

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include the ability to switch sensitivity on the Fly depending on what

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you're doing including turning it down to improve accuracy while sniping in

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games a related but separate specification is polling rate given in

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hertz this is how many times per second a mouse will report its position to your

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PC basic mice tend to have polling rates

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of around 125 or 250 Herz but nicer mice

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can offer polling rates of 500 Herz 1,000 Herz or even higher giving an

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increased sense of responsiveness and control I can feel I can see everything

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users of high refresh rate monitors will get the most benefit from a mouse with a

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higher polling rate but beyond 1,000 HZ you probably won't notice the improved

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latency unless you're a robot not every

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premium sensor is built for the highest sensitivity though while laser mice

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haven't been fashionable for quite some time as they had a reputation for

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undesired acceleration compared to their infrared Brethren they do still pop up

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from time to time Logitech in particular uses a component they call a darkfield

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laser that allows their Mouse to see clear glass as dark with imperfections

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and particles showing up bright coming back to acceleration though certain

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sensors have inherent acceleration meaning the cursor moves a greater

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distance on the screen if you move the mouse more quickly on your desk for

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General desktop use this can be convenient and intuitive in fact Windows

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has its own acceleration enabled by default but for competitive Gamers any

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inconsistency in movement can be the difference between Victory and defeat

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the good news is that you don't need to spend a fortune anymore to get a mouse

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without inherent acceleration but you won't get that from a Bargain

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Basement unit either now there is another kind of acceleration that you

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want lots of and we'll tell you all about it right after we thank the

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save some money this back to school season the other kind of acceleration

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described in G's has to do with how quickly you can change the mouse's speed

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and direction without the sensor losing track of where it is again for General

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desktop use it doesn't matter much but if you hope to land any flick shots

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especially at low sensitivity you'll want a mouse that can keep up a related

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characteristic is IPS or in per second

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this is used to describe the maximum speed a mouse can move before the sensor

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loses tracking generally anything above about 20g and 200 IPS is considered good

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enough and can be had for about 30 bucks so why do some mice cost

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$300 well the most accurate low latency

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mouse in the world won't do you much good if it's not enjoyable to use so now

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we've got to consider features for example there are lots of Cheaper mice

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out there that are Wireless but not all Wireless mice are created equal one big

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thing to look for is what kind of wireless connection the mouse uses

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Bluetooth mice don't require a dongle which can be convenient but dongle mice

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which typically use some other often proprietary protocol in the 2.4 GHz band

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tend to give you a connection that's a little more reliable as well as lower

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latency for gamers it's a pretty big deal I'm also partial to myice that

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feature a built in spot to hold the dongle when you're not using it as

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they're notoriously easy to lose and it's also very satisfying on the subject

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of gaming there's a gaming oriented Mouse category that's actually very

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useful for non- gamers I'm talking about MMO or MOBA mice these tend to have lots

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of buttons on the side that allow Gamers to bind keys or programmable macros to

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every button for titles like World of Warcraft or League of Legends where

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having a dozen or more functions at your fingertips can be a huge competitive

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advant AG but even if you don't play games at all they can be very useful for

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productivity for example if you often run macros in office suites or editing

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programs in fact you could make the argument that MMO mice are a better fit

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for the office than your gaming rig since the use of macros is frowned upon

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in many popular titles even if you don't need a ton of buttons some premium mice

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can be customized in other ways to improve their functionality or help them

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last longer this can mean everything from replacing the switches under the

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buttons If if you don't like how the default ones feel to changing out the

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side grips to suit your grip style to replacing parts of the chassis with

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lighter weight shells this last thing has also become a popular option as mice

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with a lattice style top shell are lighter making quick movements easier

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speaking of doing things quickly even the simple scroll wheel can be a selling

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point for some mice some feature a horizontal scroll wheel often on the

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side of the mouse which can be very useful if you often find yourself

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working with large spreadsheets or you might want a mouse with an unlockable

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infinite scroll wheel that allows you to rapidly navigate very large documents or

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repeat a key action with unhuman speed in your favorite game and there are many

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other quality of life considerations USBC as opposed to micro USB connectors

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can be more convenient and durable as can wireless charging and a built-in

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rechargeable battery so you're not having to swap out ablea batteries all

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the time a mouse's software and firmware can be another big difference maker and

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I'm not just talking about fancy RGB effects many manufacturers offer the

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ability to tune and even improve a mouse's performance through software for

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example some models allow characteristics like liftoff distance to

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be configured and saved to onboard memory so it doesn't need to be reset

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every time you delete the software and occasionally manufacturers will find new

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ways to improve tracking performance that they make available to previous

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buyers of their products a final key differentiator is material

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and this is where things can be very costly better Plastics or rubber grips

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shouldn't cost you too much but if you want a mouse made of something more

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exotic like magnesium alloy you can

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expect to pay a pretty penny of course if you think that's silly you're right

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because no one can tell you what's important to you we went through a lot

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of considerations in this video but it's unlikely all of them will apply to you

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so spend your money wisely and if you don't need need tons of bells and

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whistles you don't have to spend a fortune to get a well-built mouse that

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will last you a long time I just steer clear of the off-brand ones at the

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hardware store checkout counter thanks for watching this video and if you'd

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like to learn more about the history of mice before they had more options than a

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new car go watch this video next