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When building or buying a PC, so much thought, time, and money go into selecting the perfect parts to build your ultimate gaming machine that often the smaller components are overlooked. Mouse pads, for example, are an affordable afterthought, but selecting the right one can make a serious difference in the feel and performance of your gaming, ultimately affecting the way you play.
What Are the Best Gaming Mouse Pads?
The best gaming mouse pads provide a comfortable and consistent surface for your mouse, and some can even enhance or improve your gaming as well. Here’s what to look for in the best gaming mouse pads.
Material: Cloth, graphite, glass, aluminum, and plastic are generally what you’ll be choosing from. These materials make up most of the mouse pads out there, and all offer different feels, but come with their disadvantages as well. For example, cloth pads provide a smooth glide of your mouse over the surface, but are a pain to clean, and often wear out faster – starting with that one annoying corner that always peels back.
Cleaning: Going for a non-slip material that’s easy to keep tidy is highly recommended. Keeping your mouse pad clean (and removing old snack stains and crumbs) should be routine maintenance, as it prolongs the life of the pad and also keeps your gameplay sharp and smooth.
Edge: With any of the cheaper models, it’s almost inevitable that the pad is going to start coming apart after periods of heavy usage. That’s why spending a bit more in the short term can help keep your pad intact for the long haul. Lots of pads now specifically have anti-fray stitching to hold it together for longer, no matter how rough you are on it.
Base: The base is the material on the underside of the pad, and even though it’s out of sight, it still plays a major role in the feel of your gameplay. A thin or slim base is usually considered to be about 2mm, a mid-level about 3mm, and 5mm is thick for those players who like more cushioning on their wrist and a gliding feel on their mouse movements. Make sure your underside has a great grip on the material of the desk you’re using too in order to prevent sliding and flopping around.
DPI: Another important aspect is DPI, or Dots Per Inch, and it’sa way of measuring how sensitive a mouse is. A high DPI means the mouse moves farther and faster with smaller hand movements, but a lower and slower DPI is often used by gamers for more accuracy and precision. Depending on your DPI preference, the pad you select should fit your most comfortable way of moving and playing.
Size: Size matters too. If you’re playing with low-sensitivity, you’ll need more room to move around and to make sure you’re not caught in a corner of the pad. And if you really want to go big, there are also entire desktop coverings that act as a pad, so you’ll have full reign over your entire table-top.
Looking for a good gaming mouse pad? We’ve selected our four fave options here, which should be big enough for most gamers’ battle-stations.
