What makes a good Gaming Mouse?

Sometime in mid-to-late January 2026,

I stopped by my local BEST BUY in DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER and bought this beauty right here:

The RAZER BASILISK V3 PRO Wireless Gaming Mouse, 

This is my current mouse that I use with my MAVERICK FALCON 7900RT 

Ryzen 9 9950X3D Custom build.

One of the reasons I switched back to RAZER from my previous LOGITECH is not because I like RAZER's products more but rather I wanted to go back to using a Wireless Mouse as I've started to use my DELL RYZEN 7 Laptop connected to my HISENSE TV as well as my ASUS ULTRAWIDE Monitor but the problem with using my other mice is due to their USB Cables and my Cat MISO has taken a liking to biting said cables.

"IT WASN'T ME!!! I SWEAR!!"

I was considering switching to a CORSAIR variant of my LOGITECH HERO because I like the ICUE LINK software but for some reason, I decided to switch back to RAZER.

Now I don't claim to be a designer but If it were up to me to design a mouse for a Company should they hire me, 

Here's what I want in a MOUSE:

CONFORTABILITY:

Like a lot of you people who use computers, 

I've got big hands.

I've used some small mice in the past and they don't fill my hand very well so I want that comfort of holding a mouse that I can rest my palm on.

And what I want is that convex curvature to allow your palm to rest on. 

I've dealt with some demo units that are just flat slabs with rounded edges but I wouldn't be caught dead using such a form factor.

NAVIGATABILITY:

One thing I liked about my previous RAZER DEATHADDER Mouse I've used with the MSI Laptop, my original MAVERICK WARHAWK RTX 5900x build, and the first few months of the FALCON 7900RT's existence is the two buttons on the side which I actually use for navigating pages whenever I'm on WINDOWS EXPLORER or BROWSING the web via GOOGLE CHROME.

Not many Mice come with those side buttons and I definitely like that. 

It's so much better than moving your Mouse to the arrow buttons and it certainly beats having to use ALT-(Arrow Keys) when I'm navigating.

One style of mouse I just can't seem to grasp however are those that use a KEYPAD on the side

I've tried some Demo Units at my BEST BUYs before like this CORSAIR MOUSE on a Demo Kiosk at the CAMBIE St. BEST BUY. 

and while the movement of the mouse is decent and I like the Ergonomics,

some games I can barely play due to how small and close in proximity these keys are on the mouse.

And they make File/Web Exploration more difficult for me without those navigation buttons.

This ain't the days of the ATARI JAQUAR version of DOOM from ID Software.

LOCKABLE SCROLL WHEEL:

One thing I liked in my LOGITECH HERO MOUSE was the ability to unlock the scroll wheel so I can freely scroll through pages without hearing that tactile click on my mouse and if I want to switch back to that, I can just lock the wheel back.

Not many Mice have that ability, not even the Corsair Mice I was browsing have that.

I was glad I went with my RAZER BASILISK due to it's ability to Lock the scroll wheel though it's system of doing that requires it to be powered on either via USB or through it's battery.

ADDED WEIGHT:

What's with this trend of making MICE lightweight? I just can't understand that. I started to notice this when I used my DEATHADDER ELITE mouse and I noticed how lightweight it felt to hold when compared to another LOGITECH I've used which granted it was because of the swappable AA Battery I used in that thing.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of Gaming Mice that are advertised as ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT because to me, it feels weird that way because How am I susposed to take it's HIGH PRICES seriously if they weigh about as much as a CHEAPO Mouse?

And god forbid the cheapo Regular Mice that pretty much weigh like nothing.

There is a set of Keyboard and Mouse that one of the translators for my Church use and that particular mouse is SO LIGHTWEIGHT, that I suspect the whole mouse is made of the same material as a DVD Case.

SWITCHABLE CONNECTIVITY:

One reason I chose my RAZER BASILISK is due to it's 3-IN-1 feature where it can be used either connected to the computer, wireless via the dongle, or wireless via Bluetooth.

I can choose to use the mouse in any mode thanks to it's little switch on the bottom where it's labelled 2.4GZ, BLUETOOTH, or WIRED.

For my MAVERICK FALCON 7900RT, I just use it's Dongle.

For others like my DELL LAPTOP, I use Bluetooth.

ADJUSTABLE DPI:

Regular/Office Mice have no way for you to change the DPI unless you go to system settings on your Windows, Mac, or Linux machine but even then, I find that mentally cumbersome. 

One thing I like about gaming Mice is the ability to change the DPI on the fly.

There are Two Styles of DPI Buttons

The first is DPI UP/DOWN Buttons where the mouse will let you set your DPI either upward or downward to suit your needs on your desk.

The Second is the DPI CYCLE Button where it's just one button but you can cycle through your different DPI settings.

My DEATHADDER ELITE Mouse is one of those that use the DPI UP/DOWN Buttons,

while my BASILISK has one of these CYCLE Buttons built into it.

Though my LOGITECH does have both built in

G7 & G8 are the UP/DOWN Buttons while G9 is the Cycle Button

I don't know what my Current DPI for my BASILISK is set to.....

Last I checked on the RAZER SYNAPSE app, My Basilisk is set to 1600 DPI.

Clearly, the late DOUGLAS ENGELBART didn't realize that his invention of the MOUSE would be used in VIDEO GAMES

which required manufacturers to reconfigure the philosophy of how a Mouse should be built. 

But we should all thank ENGERLBART and his friend BILL ENGLISH for the most important tool that we use in computers today.