mouse dpi vs sensativity?

[argoldst]

This is probaly a dumb question but I am really confused on this.

On my mx518, it had buttons to change the dpi of the mouse. The higher the dpi, the "quicker" the mouse moved. I pretty much understood this concept and used it.

Now I have the copperhead and I am totally confused. It has 2 buttons for dpi changes (like the mx518 did) but it also can have 2 buttons for "on the fly sensativity".

From what I read, on the fly sensativity changes how fast the curser moves.

Is it that dpi is for accuracy and sensativity is for speed? If this is true, it seems obvious that everyone should set the dpi to the highest (2,000) and only change the sensativity. But if that is true, when why even have the option to change dpi? Why not only change sensativity.

Can anyone explain this to me?

 

[ElTorrente]

I would love to know the answer, also. I posted this same question before and noone could answer.

What is the difference in adjusting sensitivity via the Windows Mouse Settings slider, or in-game sensitivity slider, compared to the Mouse sensitivity settings (which change the DPI)? -is there a difference?

Basically, I want to know if I need 2000dpi. I always play with a lower sensitivity so my mouse isn't so twitchy. If I use the mouse adjustment- it changes the actual dpi. If I change it in the Windows utility, or an in-game slider, it doesn't say "DPI", it just says "sensitivity". So the question is: what is the Windows sensitivity slider adjusting if it isn't adjusting the actual dpi- OR is it adjusting the DPI like the mouse buttons do? If they are adjusting the same thing, then I guess I only need an 800dpi mouse.

I used to think that I should keep the mouse on 1600 or 2000dpi, and use the Windows slider to lower the sensitivity- that way I could still benefit from the increased resolution of 2000dpi- but now I feel like there is no difference(?). What is the deal?

Think about it- if the mouse is advertised as 2000dpi, then why would the mouse manufacturer lower the dpi when lowering sensitivity? You would assume that if there was a way to adjust sensitivity other than DPI, they would do that, and keep DPI as high as possible-right?

 

[Zepper]

dpi is for accuracy (could click on individual pixels if you reduce the speed) Unless you're doing art or drafting you probably don't need to set too high a DPI. Setting it too high might also cause some processing lag.
. Sensitivity is for speed, and again you don't want to set it too sensitive or you'll be overshooting your target all the time. You pointer'd be jumping around like a rabbit on meth...

.bh.

 

[ElTorrente]

Originally posted by: Zepper
dpi is for accuracy (could click on individual pixels if you reduce the speed) Unless you're doing art or drafting you probably don't need to set too high a DPI. Setting it too high might also cause some processing lag.
. Sensitivity is for speed, and again you don't want to set it too sensitive or you'll be overshooting your target all the time. You pointer'd be jumping around like a rabbit on meth...

.bh.

What are you basing this info on?

If dpi is for accuracy, then why do modern gaming mice have a "Sensitivity" adjustment that ACTUALLY adjusts DPI? Why mess with DPI at all? Why not keep it as accurate as possible, and adjust sensitivity instead- like the way the Windows slider works... which brings me to my next point: What does the Windows sensitivy slider do differently?

Are you saying that there is a fundamentally different setting that is being adjusted when you adjust the Windows Sensitivity Slider as compared to the Mouse Adjustment? If so- then WHAT is the difference?

WHY does the mouse become less-accurate when you make it less sensitive?

What is the difference?

 

[Zepper]

I'm sorry if you can't understand the diff between resolution and sensitivity (also called speed/ acceleration) - it seems obvious to me. Look up the terms in a dictionary and on wikipedia. Between the two references, the fog might lift but who knows...

.bh.

 

[ElTorrente]

Originally posted by: Zepper
I'm sorry if you can't understand the diff between resolution and sensitivity (also called speed/ acceleration) - it seems obvious to me. Look up the terms in a dictionary and on wikipedia. Between the two references, the fog might lift but who knows...

.bh.

No, I'm asking basically what is the point in lowering DPI from its highest point? On a gaming mouse, there are buttons that make the sensitivity of it lower or higher. When you press these buttons (both on the razer and the 518), the mouse gets more and less sensitive- and there is a visual indication of the DPI changing.

So, the question is: if I like how it feels when it's at 800dpi, do I need 2000dpi? Why is it letting me adjust DPI, if there is another way of adjusting sensitivity? I mean, I want the most accurate mouse possible- just not necessarily the most sensitive. When I press those buttons on the mouse while playing games, it is adjusting the DPI, and hence lowering the resolution- as well as the sensitivity.

Believe me- I know what the difference is.

I am merely asking why this is and if there is a difference from this method and what Windows, or the game slider does. Do those other software sliders use a method other than DPI to adjust sensitivity? Why would the mouse manufacturer allow the user to lower the DPI at all? Why not just use the method that the normal sliders do in software? Is the Windows slider basically adjusting the DPI when you move it?

 

[Zepper]

To get a high resolution from a mouse or trackball, the pulse rate has to be at least equal to the res, IOW, for a true 2000 dpi, the mouse has to be able to deliver at least 2000 pulses per inch of linear travel in both the x and y directons, and the mouse driver has to deal with all of them - if you crank the res back to 1000, then the driver only has to deal with half of the pulses (or perhaps can tell the mouse to only send every other pulse). So for gaming, I'd set the res as low as possible that will still get adequately accurate pointing. Less work for the driver to do -> quicker responses/less lag.

. There, maybe that's the way you needed to hear it.

.bh.

 

[QuantumPion]

dpi=sensitivity, by definition. Dots per inch means the number of pixels the cursor will move per inch of mouse movement. Accuracy is how well the imager in the mouse works. For example, if you move the mouse 1 inch, but the imager only picked up .8 inches, then it is only 80% accurate. Accuracy is inherent of the hardware and is not affected by dpi. If the mouse hardware is capable of 2000 dpi, lowering the sensitivity will not increase accuracy.

 

[Zepper]

"Sensitivity" in the way it has been used in the earlier posts in the thread is actually the multiplier factor (called speed in some mouse drivers). IOW, how much actual desk space you have to traverse for a certain amount of motion on the screen. So a "sensitivity" of 1 would mean that one inch on the desk gives you 1 inch on the screen. A sensitivity of 10 would mean 0.1 inch of desk would give 1" of screen movement. But the sensitivity also depends some on the res you set - IOW, you can't get movement on the screen w/o the driver getting at least one pulse to read so the higher number of pulses you have per inch of movement, the higher the possible sensitivity (multiplier setting) can be.
. My Logitech trackball also has an acceleration feature which changes the multiplier factor based on how fast you move the mouse. It is possible that a setting called sensitivity could be a combination of the rate multiplier and the acceleration feature. My driver has a Report Rate setting which may be analogous to the resolution setting being spoken of.
. With my report rate set to max (twice normal), I have to take my finger off the ball to get it from one side of the screen to another (analogous to "running out of desk" with a mouse so you have to pick it up and move it to get to the edge of the screen}. So it doesn't have enough multiplier factor to boost that so I can move the pointer from edge to edge and top to bottom w/o lifting my finger. This feat is no problem at the normal report rate. But it is also obvious that I can get much more precise pointing with the "report rate" set to max.
. So it looks like you have to "tune" the two settings to get precise enough pointing that you hit your click targets with ease while still being able to get around the screen with alacrity.

.bh.