DPI settings on a mouse?
QMy new mouse has a button that, according to the instructions, adjusts the DPI level. However, they don’t explain why I might want to do this. Pressing this button seems to change the speed of the mouse pointer from slow to fast, so I suppose that’s its purpose. But I can also speed up the pointer through the Mouse panel in Windows, so I feel I must be missing something. Is there a reason for changing the DPI level? What difference does it make? Kevin Allen
AThere are actually two things to consider here. The first is the mouse’s DPI setting, and the second is what Windows does with the information it receives from your mouse.
Let’s start with DPI. In case you’re not aware, this stands for ‘dots per inch’. Many modern mice offer a choice of DPI settings. For example, the pictured Tecknet model (www.snipca. com/40928), offers six DPI levels, ranging from 800 to 4800.
This means that for every inch you move the mouse, it reports its position to the computer between 800 and 4800 times. So, all else being equal, a mouse set to 4800 DPI will be more sensitive than one at 800 DPI. In other words, a smaller mouse movement shifts the on-screen pointer further.
All else is not necessarily equal, however, which is where the Windows Mouse panel comes in. In Windows 10 and 11, the mouse-speed slider has 20 positions. At position 10, the ratio of DPI to mouse-pointer movement is 1:1. So, with your mouse set to 800 DPI, say, the on-screen pointer will move 800 pixels for every inch the mouse moves. If you adjust the Windows Mouse slider beyond 10, the pointer will travel more than 800 pixels per inch (PPI); lower it, and it’ll move fewer than 800 PPI.
So the speed of your mouse depends on your mouse’s DPI setting, the position of the slider in the Windows Mouse panel and how much you move your hand. Gamers in particular obsess about this stuff, but most users don’t need to worry about it, beyond playing with the settings until they feel right.
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