7 ways I prime my mouse for the best performance in PC games

1. Turn off mouse acceleration

Mouse acceleration helps increase the speed of your mouse cursor if the mouse is moved quickly. This setting can cause movement inconsistencies in games, so it’s best to turn it off. Here’s how to do it:

Press Windows key + I to open the settings. Go to Bluetooth and devices > Mouse. Now scroll down and choose Additional mouse settings. Go to Pointer Options tongue. Uncheck it Improve pointer precision option, then click Apply.

2. Customize the DPI

DPI settings determine how fast your cursor moves across your screen. Therefore, it is recommended to customize the DPI to determine the cursor movement speed. You can customize your DPI in your gaming mouse’s companion app, or via the DPI up/down buttons on your mouse if it has them. But you also need to customize the DPI in Windows. Here’s what to do:

Go to the Mouse section in Settings. Adjust the slider next to Mouse pointer speed to zero. Now evaluate how the mouse feels as you move it. Carefully move the slider upwards, gradually testing as you go until it reaches a pointer speed that suits you. My happy point was halfway there.

3. Update mouse drivers

Outdated mouse drivers can cause motion inconsistencies, so you’ll want to keep the drivers up to date. You can update your mouse drivers through your mouse’s companion app. Most add-on apps should do this automatically when you open them. So it’s likely that your mouse is already up to date if you run the software simultaneously while using your mouse.

4. Increase voting rate

Polling rate refers to the number of times per second that a mouse returns its cursor position to the computer. A higher polling rate reduces the lag between moving your mouse with your hand and moving the cursor on the screen.

A high polling rate of 1000 Hz or higher is recommended for games like first-person shooters where the action is fast and reaction time is important. So make sure you increase your survey rate to the highest you have. This can be done in your mouse’s companion app.

Pexels: Ron Lach

5. Enable raw input

Your mouse input usually goes through Windows before reaching the game you’re playing. This causes some latency because it takes a little longer for your game to play. But you can bypass Windows with raw input.

This setting allows the game to obtain input directly from the mouse rather than from Windows. To switch to Raw Input, open your game’s settings menu and look for the Raw Input Buffer option (or something similar). You will want to enable it.

6. Enable Auto HDR

Auto HDR is a Windows feature that is usually disabled. But this feature improves the graphics quality of games and videos, so ideally you’ll want it enabled. The higher graphics quality provided by Auto HDR makes it easier for you to follow your mouse cursor in games and helps you improve your aim.

If you have a compatible display, turning it on is simple. You simply access Settings > System > Display. Select the “HDR» option and enable “Auto HDR.”

7. Disable corner snap

Sometimes angle capture is enabled by default in a gaming mouse’s companion app. When this option is enabled, your mouse moves at a constant horizontal angle even if you make small vertical movements. Angle snap can be useful for improving reticle placement, but it can also make aiming difficult. So I recommend you turn it off. You can disable angle capture in your mouse’s companion app.

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