A lot of terminologies come up when gaming peripherals are involved. A lot of people have no idea what these mean and go on believing any explanation the first person they meet gives.

I’ve made a list of those lingos and terminologies that are associated with a gaming mouse. I’ve tried my best to explain it as easily as possible in this article. If i’ve missed some please do tell me and if you need more clarification then just simply post a comment below. Corrections are welcomed as well. 

Acceleration:
By definition acceleration defines the rate of change of velocity of your mouse when you move it from one point to another. Simply saying a mouse with acceleration enabled will give your mouse a boost every time you move it. But you should know that this boost is not constant all the time. More or less each mouse has a specific acceleration rating which is in accordance to it’s sensor. If the mouse is moved at a rate faster than the acceleration rating then the cursor will go haywire on your screen. It’s always good if acceleration is disabled.

Ambidextrous:
An ambidextrous mouse basically means that the mouse is designed to be used by either hand. The design is symmetrical in shape and is supposed to be comfortable for players either left or right handed.

Dots Per Inch (DPI):
When you move a mouse across a screen, the computer reads the mouse movement in terms of “Counts”. For example let’s say you moved your mouse one pixel, then the computer will read it as one count per pixel. These counts are recorded by a mouse’s sensor. Hence, a mouse’s DPI rating is the number of counts it can record over one inch of physical movement of the mouse.
A higher DPI means that the mouse can record more data but a rating of 1800 is more than enough. Let’s take an actual scenario into consideration to understand the concept better. Imagine you have moved your aim in a game from the extreme right side of your screen to your left. Now if your mouse’s DPI rating is low, it will be unable to register much of the mouse movement you just did and your aim will be heretic no matter how accurately you move your mouse. A higher DPI rating will take into consideration each and every pixel that you move making your aim true.

Driver:
A drive is a computer software that acts as a bridge between the computer applications and the mouse itself. They are useful in allowing players to customize certain functions of their mouse, such as sensitivity, macros, dpi rating, polling rates and many other options.

Ergonomic:
An ergonomic mouse has a design focused to be used by a single preferred hand. Unlike ambidextrous designs you cannot use an ergonomic mouse with both of your hands.

Firmware:
Firmware unlike it’s driver is embedded into the mouse itself. It controls the basic functions of the mouse. A firmware can be upgraded to fix minor things or upgrade the hardware itself, for example the sensor.

Frames Per Second:
Optical and laser mice emit a beam of light from below onto the surface. The light is reflected back and the sensor stores the exact position of the mouse at the moment in the form of a frame. The number of frames per second refers to a mouse being able to store and process as many frames per second as it can. The higher the FPS a sensor can process will result in a more precise calculation of the mouse’s location.

Hyperesponse Buttons:
Traditional mice buttons have a sweet spot where you can be sure to get an actual click. Most gaming mice however have hyperesponse buttons which ensures that the buttons will always be clicked no matter where or how quickly they are pressed.

Lift-Off Distance:
An optical or laser mouse sensor uses light to process data about the location of the mouse cursor on the screen. Most gamers are in the habit of lifting their mouse when they go beyond their reach on their mouse pad and placing it back in the center. Such traditional mice stop tracking once the mouse is lifted to a certain height. Almost every gaming mouse now has a good lift-off distance, as it wont stop tracking even if you lift your mouse.

Macros:
A button on a mouse can be programmed to do multiple commands whenever the button is pressed. This is usually done through it’s drivers.

Polling Rate:
A mouse is continuously sending information to the computer, it’s the amount of information that a mouse is able to send which should be seen. A typical mouse will send data 125 times a second. This is the polling rate and is expressed in Hertz. Gaming mice can send data upto a 1000 times a second (1000Hz). The polling rate might take its toll on you if you have an old computer system. It’s best to select an average value for the polling rate.

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