Now that wireless gaming mice are just as fast and feature packed as their wired counterparts, going wireless can be a smart move, giving you greater flexibility as a gamer. But before you cut loose and buy one, it’s worth noting they’re not all alike. You’ll still need to consider factors like weight, dots per inch (DPI), and battery life which can be telling factors in how your gaming mouse performs and ultimately how you will perform in games.
Our expert reviewers have put these mice through their paces, testing them across a range of scenarios, and over extended periods of time — you can find out all about our extensive testing process in the article “ .” Below are the results of that effort. While these are the current best wireless gaming mice available, for a no holds barred list, including both wired and wireless models, be sure to check out PCWorld’s all-inclusive selection of the .
We aren’t just tech enthusiasts we’re also keen gamers and we’re always on the lookout for better gaming gear to get an edge in our favorite games. We know that we’re adding our expertise to a large body of PCWorld product news and reviews that goes back 40 years — that’s credibility we’ve built up over four decades. Consequently, we want to tell you exactly what we find in a product — the good, the bad and the in-between.
Razer Cobra Pro – Best wireless gaming mouse overall Pros Cons While some mice have fantastic sensors but fall short in the connectivity department, the Razer Cobra Pro seemingly has it all. It sports both a very high-resolution 30,000 DPI sensor as well as dual wireless connectivity. Not only is its 30K Razer Focus Pro sensor exceptionally smooth and accurate it also allows me to set my preferred lift-off distance from a total of up to 26 granular settings—that’s 23 more than most mice with this functionality.
There’s little to fault about the Cobra Pro’s design either—it’s symmetrical and feels balanced and I also get the benefit of dedicated DPI up/down buttons, which is a rare luxury in pro-grade mice. This allows me to on the fly so I can get the drop on opponents in an instant. To top all that off, the Razer Cobra Pro looks fantastic thanks to 11 programmable RGB lighting zones.
Serious gamers looking for a do-it-all mouse with some of the best specs you can currently get. I’d also strongly recommend this mouse to gamers that tend to lift their mouse and want to have precise control over their mouse’s tracking when they do. If you need a little more ergonomic glide, the kind only a thumb rest will give you, then be sure to check out the .
This mouse has a secret weapon — a side trigger button that lets you fire of commands at lightning speeds. Keychron M3 mini 4K Metal Edition – Best value for money Pros Cons It’s lightweight, weighing just 2.25 ounces (64 grams), yet it’s made of a robust magnesium that’s built to last and also shimmers beautifully under the light.
The mouse’s sensor is extremely well honed for very quick tracking in games — it has a sensitivity of 26,000 DPI and supports up to 4K wireless polling via its 4K receiver. This 4K Metal Edition also won’t break the bank; yes, it costs $99, but compared to rivals with similar specs that’s a whole $50 less. Esports players or serious gamers who want to track opponents at a blisteringly quick 4K in wireless mode should buy this mouse.
One caveat is that its chassis is quite compact, so it’ll best suit players with small-to-medium sized hands. Another great value gaming mouse is the . This mouse has a feature set ideal for FPS games and also costs less than $100.
Razer Naga V2 Pro – Best wireless gaming mouse for MMO / MOBA games Pros Cons The Razer Naga V2 Pro follows in the footsteps of the , featuring magnetic swappable side-button plates that let you customize your button setup to match your gameplay. The side-button plates include a 12-, 6-, and 2-button option. It’s also stacked with upgrades such as a sporty 30,000 DPI pro-grade Optical Sensor, wireless connectivity, and Razer Gen 3 Optical Switches for lighting-fast button responses.
Admittedly, at 4.72 ounces (134 grams) the Razer Naga V2 Pro does weigh a lot even for an MMO mouse. But in my playtesting, I found the weightiness provided a nice authenticity to weapons play that I scarcely ever get from wireless gaming mice.
At its current price of $180 USD, it’s not cheap. But considering how well it performed for me, it’s unlikely you will regret shelling out for such a capable mouse. The Razer Naga V2 Pro is perfect for gamers needing lots of buttons for MOBA and MMO games.
With the mouse’s 12-button plate attached you get a maximum of 22 programable commands, which is just ideal for letting fly spells and other commands in games like . We have two more excellent options to recommend for MMO gamers: First is the . It’s a great all-around MMO mouse with a side grid of 10 buttons.
If you don’t need a grid, however, it’s hard to beat the smooth glide, solid feeling, and accurate performance of the . Corsair M75 Wireless – Best ambidextrous grip Pros Cons A lot of gaming mice claim to be ambidextrous, but most have little more than a symmetrical design to accommodate true ambidextrous play. Not so the Corsair M75 Wireless which, yes, boasts a symmetrical design, but also buttons on both its left and right flanks.
That means it can be just as easily used with a left- or right-handed grip and with full button functionality. Apart from that bonus, the Corsair M75 Wireless is just a great all round gaming mouse with a weight profile ideal for casual play. It sports a powerful 26,000 DPI Optical sensor, 1,000Hz polling rate and buttons featuring Corsair QuickStrike switches that feel soft and quick.
The M75 Wireless also benefits from very quick sub-1 millisecond Wi-Fi connectivity which, suffice to say, proved a real asset in our playtesting. It meant our shots hit home on targets with lightning speed and accuracy. The Corsair M75 Wireless’s ambidextrous buttons make it a great option for southpaws or if you share your gaming mouse with a southpaw.
If that’s you, then look no further – you’ve found your gaming mouse! If you’re a right-hander and like the idea of having that extra versatility at your fingertips, you’ll find the Corsair M75 Wireless handles as well as any other right-handed gaming mouse – so it’s not just for ambidextrous folks. Our playtesting revealed the M75 to be best suited for causal gaming rather than competitive FPS gaming. It’s also a great mouse for gaming in a range of genres.
If you’re more into esports, or fast competitive FPS matches you might want to consider the as an alternative. It’s a lot lighter and also $20 cheaper. Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro – Best pro-grade wireless gaming mouse Pros Cons The Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro has everything you need to perform at your best in quick, competitive matches, including a comfortable ultra-lightweight 2.
22-ounce (63 grams) design that’s perfectly chiseled to the contours of your hand, a flawless 30,000 DPI optical sensor, and very quick Razer Gen 3 Optical Switches in the buttons, which incidentally are some of the quickest I’ve used. Better still, the V3 Pro incorporates a few sweetener technologies that can provide big performance boosts if you’re willing to take the time to apply them. Two of these are, Asymmetric Cut-off distance, and hyper polling.
The former lets you set a very precise landing distance up to 26 granular levels of adjustment — that’s 23 levels more than what you get in some pro-grade gaming mice. The latter, ramps up the V3’s default 1,000Hz polling rate to a lightning-quick 4,000Hz, although you will need to shell out an extra $29.99 for a HyperPolling dongle for the privilege.
And therein lies the biggest drawback with the V3 Pro — its cost. It’s currently wearing a $150 USD price tag which makes it quite an investment. Still, if you’re looking for the very best performance you can get, it’s totally worth it.
When I’m talking the absolute best of the best esports mice that money can buy, there’s only a few mice that come to mind, and the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro is one of them. Yes, it’s expensive but if you’re a pro gamer or just seriously into your competitive FPS games, you won’t regret buying this mouse. Buying a pro grade mouse is like buying a Ferrari, you really want one that looks and feels perfect for you specifically.
So, be sure to read up on these other excellent options that come highly recommended by us: the , , and . Roccat Burst Pro Air – Best RGB lighting Pros Cons While some gaming mice only have limited RGB lighting around their buttons or periphery, the Roccat Burst Pro goes all out with four dedicated programmable RGB lighting zones that light up the whole mouse like a firecracker. Suffice to say, with 16.
8 million color options in Roccat’s Swarm software app to play with, you can get some dazzling lighting effects on this mouse. But while the Pro Air is genuinely stunning to look at, it’s equally as proficient in games, thanks to its comfortable eight-button configuration, powerful 19,000 DPI Owl-Eye optical sensor, and low-latency switches, which have a 100-million-click durability rating. The Pro Air is also an extremely versatile mouse, thanks to its multiple connectivity options, which include a low-latency 2.
4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, and a USB-A to USB-C cable for wired connectivity. This is a great choice for gamers who like to really make a visual impact in their gaming dens.
What you see in my photo is just one example of the dazzling affects you can get with this mouse, the sky’s the limit really! Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Mouse – Most versatile esports mouse Pros Cons Gaming mice manufacturers are gradually releasing their premium-grade esports mice to include 4KHz polling rates, a reporting rate so quick that previously only tethered mice had it. The Alienware Pro Wireless isn’t the first to have this functionality, but it is one of the first to make it a feature right out of the box, without you needing to pay for an additional hyper-polling dongle. That functionality alone means you’re going to get the quickest wireless reporting rate for aiming and tracking players in FPS games that you can in a wireless mouse.
But it’s not the only thing that makes the Pro Wireless such an excellent performer for esports. It also has a very precise 26,000 DPI sensor, very soft buttons with a very quick debounce, and a comfortable symmetrical grip that is perfectly molded to your hand. If you need more speed and precision in your game, one of these speed demons is just what the doctor ordered.
Pro gamers who want the quickest wireless polling rate that you can currently get in a mouse. It’s also a red-hot performance dynamo so if you want to perform at your best, this mouse can get you there. If you’re a fan of Alienware laptops, as I am, you’ll also get a big kick out of having an Alienware mouse; it’s one-of-a-kind among pro gaming mice.
If you’re in the search for an ultralight esports mouse you might also want to consider the . This featherweight mouse feels barely there in your palm, weighing just 1.94 ounces (55 grams).
It also lets you set a debounce rate of 2,4,8 or 12 milliseconds so that you can reduce double clicks or hone your clicks per second. MSI Clutch GM51 Lightweight Wireless – Easiest to recharge Pros Cons The MSI Clutch GM51 is flanked by unique RGB Diamond Lightgrips that bestow a drool-worthy gamer-centric look. These grips also provide your hand with excellent grip and precision control of movement.
For hardware, this mouse boasts quick Omron Switches in its buttons and a 26,000 DPI Pixart PAW-3395 sensor supporting three-pronged connectivity — 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a wired connection. In our playtesting we found the sensor to be very fast and precise.
It was also extremely smooth thanks to an MSI technology called “Motion Sync” that kept our mouse movements precisely in sync with our game. By far one of the best features of the GM51 is its excellent rechargeability. Not only does it come with a convenient charging dock, but it’s also one of the fastest USB charging mice you can buy, with 15 minutes charging time being all that’s needed for 27 hours of wireless play.
Gamers who want a lightning-fast FPS gaming mouse, but also don’t want to compromise on how their gaming mouse looks — you simply don’t see many FPS gaming mice with stunning RGB accents like this one. It also suits gamers who like the convenience of having a charging dock to charge between games. SteelSeries Rival 650 – Best for lifters Pros Cons On the surface, the SteelSeries Rival 650 could be any other wireless gaming mouse, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find it has two big advantages over rivals — its dual-sensor hardware configuration and its fast-charging capability.
To improve your accuracy, the Rival 650 pairs a primary sensor, the PWM3360 TrueMove 3, with a dedicated depth sensor whose job is solely to cease input when your mouse leaves your mousepad. If you mainly keep your mouse flat on your mouse pad or table top, chances are you won’t notice much difference in your gaming accuracy. However, if you lift your mouse a lot, this feature should make aiming a tad easier.
SteelSeries claims 15 minutes fast charging is all the Rival 650 needs to run for 10 hours straight. We put this claim to the test and found it to be mostly true; 15 minutes or sometimes just a few minutes more was enough to power it through more than a day of gaming, which made us very fond of this mouse. If you’re prone to lifting, then this mouse is just the ticket.
It helps eliminate the kind of jumping and jittering that lifting can cause in your mouse’s movement, which ultimately is going to have payoffs to your gaming performance. Read our full Razer Viper V3 Hyperspeed – Best replaceable battery option Pros Cons It may sport modest looks, but the six-button Razer Viper V3 HyperSpeed is a real performance juggernaut. With its extremely quick and accurate 30K Razer Focus Optical Sensor, 1,000Hz polling rate, and a chassis that weighs less than 3 ounces, this mouse is built for speed right out of the box.
But what really made it cook with fire in my playtesting was the mouse’s high sensor positioning, which registered my hand’s movements at its origin point, so a little quicker than I’ve experienced with some other six-button FPS mice. The Razer Viper V3 HyperSpeed is also unique in its class in that it houses a single AA battery instead of a rechargeable one. That means you get a little extra battery life than some FPS mice in Razer’s lineup; Razer says it gives you up to 280 hours with the default 1,000Hz polling rate, or 75 hours at the maximum 4,000Hz HyperPolling rate.
That outdoes the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro by 190 hours at 1,000Hz and by 51 hours at 4,000Hz. A downside is that if you want 4,000Hz HyperPolling functionality, you’ll need to buy an additional part from Razer’s website. This mouse also lacks Bluetooth connectivity.
If you travel a lot for work or take your gaming mouse with you when you’re on the road, then the Razer Viper V3 HyperSpeed is the perfect companion. With an insanely long battery life of 280 hours at 1,000Hz polling mode and 75 hours at 4,000Hz HyperPolling mode, it’s a great fit for players who want a low maintenance mouse with premium specs. How we test wireless gaming mice To make sure our wireless gaming mice picks are the best of the best, the PCWorld team puts them through a legion of tests.
We look at everything from how well they’ve been designed and perform in games, to the suite of software that helps you personalize them. Here’s a list of the main categories our tests fall under: For more details about our evaluation process, see our article on . FAQ If you plan on doing any gaming, it absolutely is better to opt for a gaming mouse over a regular office mouse.
That’s simply because gaming mice boast hardware and design benefits over regular office mice that make them eminently faster, more comfortable, and more accurate. The sensor and the buttons are the two most obvious features that have been enhanced in gaming mice. For example, while the average office mouse is lucky to have just a measly 8,000 DPI resolution sensor, we’re now seeing gaming mice with sensors that have resolutions of more than 26, 000 DPI, which makes them a lot faster and more accurate.
In mice like the the buttons feature 3rd-generation Razer Optical Switches, which actuate in less than 0.2 milliseconds—much less than the typical 1 millisecond average in office mice. What’s more, gaming mice are usually more customizable, allowing you to program specific commands to your buttons so that you can just fire them off at will in games.
Some wireless gaming mice have Bluetooth as well as 2.4GHz wireless connectivity and let you switch between the two. Having Bluetooth is considered a luxury that gives you the versatility of being able to use your mouse with more devices, like your tablet or gaming console.
It also offers you the advantage of a dongle-less connection on the go, which can be very handy for school or work. Still, there are at least two good reasons why you might still opt for a mouse with only Wi-Fi connectivity. Number one is Bluetooth-capable gaming mice tend to be slightly heavier than mice with just Wi-Fi connectivity alone.
Also, a Wi-Fi connection is ultimately a lot faster and more stable, so if you do a lot of competitive gaming, Bluetooth won’t be the best option for that. At one time it would have been unheard of for an esports players to use wireless mice because of the slight millisecond or so lag that they used to have compared to conventional wired options. Nowadays, however, thanks to 2.
4GHz Wi-Fi connectivity, any such latency difference has all but been eradicated. That said, it’s now not uncommon for most professional esports teams to have at least one player using a wireless mouse. One example is team Natus Vincere that includes Ukrainian professional player Oleksandr Kostyliev, aka S1mple, who has achieved spectacular results with his wireless .
While the difference in latency between top-level and wireless mice is almost imperceptible these days, there can still be disadvantages to choosing wireless gaming mice over wired ones. One is that the lightest wireless gaming mice tend to be slightly heavier than the lightest wired gaming mice. This weight difference is usually only a few grams.
Still, for esports professionals even a few grams can make a difference to their overall performance. The other obvious thing worth noting, is you’ll need to ensure you don’t lose the mouse’s wireless dongle. Wireless dongles can be small and easy to misplace.
Losing your dongle could render your gaming mouse essentially useless—something that you needn’t worry about in wired gaming mice. A gaming mouse’s sensor is the number one hardware component that determines how well a mouse performs in games. The sensor decides the mouse’s tracking speed and accuracy, two factors we scrutinize in our tests.
The main spec to look for in any sensor is dpi (dots per inch), which tells you how well the mouse’s sensor reports movement per inch of physical movement. The newest wireless gaming mice have dpi ranging from 12,000 to 30,000, with higher numbers indicating mice with greater sensitivity. While a lot of fuss is made about dpi in manufacturer brochures, there’s really no perfect dpi for gaming, it being largely a personal choice.
While it can’t hurt to have the best, unless you’re a professional esports gamer you probably won’t need a 30,000 dpi sensor. In reality, even 12,000 dpi provides decent performance in games. Are you left or right-handed, or ambidextrous? For practicality’s sake the answer to this question should inform your choice when buying a wireless gaming mouse.
That way you’ll get a better fit for your hand shape and the buttons will be within reach of your fingers. While most of our wireless gaming mice reviews are of right-handed mice, simply because that’s what most people use, we’ll endeavor to bring you left-handed and ambidextrous mice reviews when possible. How you grip your mouse is not something you’ve probably given much thought to—just like you don’t give much thought to how you hold your fork when you eat.
Still, it can be important since you’ll want to get a mouse that fits your specific grip type. The three main grip types are: This is the most common type of mouse grip among gamers. It’s also the most comfortable for long gaming sessions since it puts more of your hand in contact with your mouse and prevents tension in your wrist.
For palm grippers, long, flat mice tend to be a better fit and more comfortable. If you use a claw grip, you’re arching your palm over the mouse to make a claw shape. This grip is popular in the e-sports community, especially among FPS players, since it allows you to make quick wrist movements—useful for sweeping attacks on targets.
It does however clench the wrist and cause some tension there. Narrower and smaller mice suit a claw grip. This grip provides you the least amount of control but the most dexterity for aiming.
Gamers who use this grip mainly use just their fingertips on the left and right clicks, putting a lot of strain on their wrists. Because of the added strain, lighter mice are often preferred by fingertip grippers. A mouse’s weight can have a big impact on how accurately you can target and position its curser or crosshairs.
Gamers these days tend to go for the lightest mice available since they require less effort to move and are also naturally faster. Lighter mice also lend themselves to longer gaming sessions, since gamer hands (and arms) aren’t as easily fatigued by them. Wireless gaming mice are among the lightest available because they are unencumbered by wires.
One thing to note about a mouse’s weight is that whether it’s considered light is relative to how many buttons it has. For example, the 18-button SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless might seem like a heavyweight at 89 grams compared to the six-button / 61-gram HyperX Pulsefire Haste, yet for an 18-button mouse it’s considered exceptionally lightweight. The type of games you play should help you decide how many buttons you need.
If you’re mainly into FPS (first-person shooters) a wireless gaming mouse with six buttons—which tends to be the minimum number we see in wireless gaming mice these days—should be more than enough. On the other hand, if you play games where you need to quickly deploy lots of commands—like MOBA and MMO games—a mouse with between 6 and 18 buttons will provide you with more versatility. If your mouse is your weapon in games, then the mouse’s support software is its armory.
The best software apps for wireless gaming mice allow you to change and customize settings like your mouse’s sensitivity and acceleration and deceleration. They also let you set commands and macros and save your preferences in profiles that you can easily switch to when you want to play specific games. Based in Australia, Dominic Bayley is a hardcore tech enthusiast.
His PCWorld focus is on PC gaming hardware: laptops, mice, headsets and keyboards..
