Top Five Gaming Mice to Buy 2013

Why spend hundreds of dollars on a nice gaming rig only to use some cheap, low accuracy mouse when it is your direct input into mostly every game you play. Accuracy and speed define a gamer whether it's FPS, RTS, MMO, or MOBA. There are several different mice out there. I've owned many of them and have been in position to test the rest.

Some key points to look for:

• Wired. Sure a wireless mouse offers a tiny bit of freedom. But most of the time you will use it right on the mouse pad, wishing you hadn't forgotten to charge it the night before. The top gaming mice are wired for one reason. Lag. You lose extra milliseconds when the mouse has to convert a signal to wireless and then back again.
• Sensitivity. There's nothing quite like being able to click exactly where you want to. DPI or Dots per Inch translates to how many pixels of resolution you travel over per inch. You don't need to get caught up in really high DPI numbers (more of of a marketing gimmick) because you can comfortably traverse your screen with 2000 or so DPI. Higher resolution will take more DPI to achieve the same result though. And if you multimonitor you will want really high DPI if you want to control without moving your pivot wrist.
• Polling. One of the differences between a basic $20 mouse and a gaming mouse is the polling efficiency. A basic MS mouse transfers data 125 times a second. A gaming mouse transfers data 1000 times a second. This results in 8x the accuracy.

If you have the money just buy this mouse. The Kone XTD is made for right handers from the ground up. It is extremely comfortable with a molded chasis to cradle your thumb and pinky. The clickable scroll-wheel can tilt left and right offering two extra functional inputs. The mouse has a comfortable, soft matte. It has 8,200 dpi (2,200 higher than the Kone +) with a dpi mode selector and a braided, tangle-free cord.

"The ergonomics are phenomenal, the materials are like sex in your hand, and the software is outstanding."

The XTD version also sports a 32-Bit Turbo Core V2 Processor over the + for instant response if you load macros or gaming profiles. It's worth the $10 unless there's a better sale for the Kone +.

Logitech makes great mice and mouse software. Their G5 and G9X have been staple products in earlier product cycles. The G600 is the best MMO mouse for the price. Its closest competitor is Razer's Naga Epic at double the price ($129.00). I haven't really been a fan of Razer mouse software (firmware) and price points, but their hardware is okay.

A MMO mouse has a plethora of extra buttons to be able to call a wide arsenal of skills reducing the amount of binds needed to your keyboard. This mouse has 20 MMO ready intuitively placed buttons with a textured plastic shell as opposed to the rubberized mice.

This is another wired, quality mouse with a braided tangle-free cord. The mouse supports up to 8200 DPI.

If MMO-ing is your game, this is your mouse. (The G600 also comes in a white shell).

It wouldn't be much of a list without including Logitech's G9X Laser Mouse. This popular mouse, designed for right handers, has interchangeable grips (wider and thinner) to fit your playstyle, 28 grams of customizable weights, and custom-color LEDs.

The G9X has 5000 dpi which is more than plenty. It's tried and true, one of the best selling mouses of all time.

It comes with a braided cord.

I wanted to include a mouse that isn't designed for right handers. The Razer Taipan is the most popular ambidextrous gaming mouse on the market. It comes with nine programmable buttons, rubberized side grips, a 8200 dpi dual sensor, braided tangle-free cord, 1000Hz polling, and 1ms response time.

This is THE mouse for left handers.

If you are a fan of FPS and sniping in particular you may enjoy this mouse. This mouse features it's own dedicated sniping button that to quickly drop your dip and get off that perfect head shot. This mouse has soft-touch materials and low friction glide pads. It's wired, with a 8200 DPI laser sensor. It comes in three colors (White, Black, and Green). The M60 model drops the DPI laser to 5700 which is just fine as well, but retails at the same cost.

I hope you were able to find any of this information useful, if you are interested in more hubs like this check out:

Top Top Accessories to Enhance your Gaming Experience.

Let me know if I missed a good one in the comments below and vote in the poll!