Choosing the Best Mouse

Now, let’s talk about something even more important – your mouse. I see people doing professional work that requires precise mouse movements… and they’re using a cheap mouse – usually the free mouse that came with their computer. A good mouse makes a huge difference especially if you’re working on a high-res display.

Wireless or Wired

The first and most obvious feature you should decide on is whether or not you need a wireless mouse. On my home workstation, a wired mouse is fine and I like how I never have to swap the batteries or charge the mouse. However, on my laptop, I prefer a wireless mouse like this G700s which is my favorite mouse. More on that later. Cheap wireless mouse may have some latency issues but I find that once you get to gaming-grade mouse, the latency is minimal… I don’t notice any difference. So wired or wireless is really your personal preference.

Sensor Position

Have you ever switched to a new mouse and found that you’re not used to it? You can tweak the DPI setting all you want but it never feels like your old mouse. It’s probably because of the sensor position.

On this G700s mouse, the sensor is located near the front of the mouse while on this Corsair Scimitar RGB mouse, it’s located at the center. Look at the bottom of your mouse and notice where the sensor is positioned. I realized that the sensor position changes the way I hold a mouse. On the G700s, my palm would be resting on the mouse which makes it very comfortable to use. But on my Corsair mouse, I tend to hold it like a claw because I’m used to holding a mouse so that my fingers are positioned near the sensor.

If you want something that feels like your old mouse, try to find a mouse where the sensor is in roughly the same position.

DPI

The main reason for getting a gaming mouse is the adjustable DPI setting and improved polling rate. DPI stands for dots per inch and it’s basically a measurement for how sensitive your mouse is. A higher DPI setting will move your cursors more pixels per inch. The quick gist is that all gaming mouse will have more DPI than you need even on a 4K display. Normal non-gaming mouse will typically have a fixed DPI  between 800 and 1200 which is sufficient for low-res displays. If you have a 4k display, you should get a gaming mouse with at least 2000 DPI… anything over 6000 DPI is excessive. There’s no harm getting a mouse with a very high DPI setting, but just make sure that you’re not specifically spending extra money for that feature.

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10 responses to “The Best Keyboard and Mouse for Photoshop”

  1. RONNIE DAZZ Avatar
    RONNIE DAZZ

    Anker vertical grip mouse if you don’t want carpel tunnel

  2. Sony Rawat Avatar
    Sony Rawat

    I’ve been using the apple Magic Mouse for years and I regret not switching from it earlier. It is truly horrible compared to gaming mouse.

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      haha the magic mouse… had to be flipped upside-down to charge.

      Designers used to swear by it because it’s pretty

  3. Brad Johnson Avatar
    Brad Johnson

    I never thought that I would use a keyboard like this the first time I saw one online. Then I used one that a friend had and I could not believe the difference. Just in productivity alone the keyboard saved a ton of time. In the design world, that is well worth whatever price they are charging.

  4. Willaim Neville Avatar
    Willaim Neville

    I purchased the G700s and it is not getting the battery life it is advertised to have. I get maybe 5 hours, and that is not constant use, I guess i could turn it on and off every time I go away, but that really is a pain. I tried using regular alkaline battery (which all of the electrical blogs say is fine) It sucked that dry in 5 days. I guess maybe because it is laser, I don’t know. It does have a very heavy duty cord, which is normal good, but not on a mouse, too stiff. Is this battery life normal for a laser mouse?

    1. Photoshop Tutorials Staff Avatar
      Photoshop Tutorials Staff

      5 hours doesn’t sound normal… mine last for a week or more. Try using a lower reporting rate to see if it makes a difference. But I would contact Logitech and see if it needs to be RMAed

  5. Leila Steward Avatar
    Leila Steward

    Comfortable to use. especially the Steelseries Apex series keyboard. im not sure if that keyboard is fully mechanical or just mechanical effect. but anyways that is a good keyboard. i owned one.

  6. Andy Nguyen Avatar
    Andy Nguyen

    One that you are most comfortable and capable at using.

  7. Rhiain Morris Avatar
    Rhiain Morris

    I love my Steelseries 350.

    1. Photoshop Tutorials Staff Avatar
      Photoshop Tutorials Staff

      Tried the keyboard in-person… it’s one of the best looking keyboards out there

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