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I've recently acquired a Steelseries Sensei. Despite being a great mouse, I'm having some trouble finding settings that I can get used to...

  • The mouse engine allows me to set a CPI from 0 to 5700.
  • It also allows me to set it even higher, calling it "DCPI" (Double CPI), from 5701 to 11400.

  • On Window's Control Panel, there's a "Pointer Speed" slider and a "Enhance Pointer Precision" checkbox (wording may be different as I use a non-english version).

  • The majority of games allow me to set an in-game "Mouse Sensitivity".

  • Some games let me use a "Raw mouse input".

I'm already familiar with the basics of CPI/DPI - "higher CPI means less hand movement", but what are the differences between all those options? Is there a "better" or "worst" setting?

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up vote 2 down vote accepted

Raw mouse input disables Windows' "Enhance Pointer Precision". It is nice because you gain more control over the pointer movement. Since enhancing is actually predicting, it can reduce your pointer control in games. However in any other situation, enhancing pointer precision is ok for most setups, since it smooths the mouse movement you observe.

Software based sensitivity settings are to adjust your pointer step. (Think like an actual step while walking). So high software sensitivity is good if you want move your mouse less on your mousepad, yet it looses precision for any non trivial mouse movement pattern.

Hardware sensitivity settings are to adjust your laser for understanding the surface changes. When mouse moves, laser senses the movement by observing the surface changes. High DPI means it is more sensitive to changes, so you can get pointer moving with less effort.

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This answer may need to cite some sources..... –  Pacerier Sep 17 at 11:29

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