How to Change Mouse DPI and Improve Mouse Performance

DPI (dots per inch) measures the mouse sensitivity, and it’s essential to have a proper mouse DPI on your computer, especially for game playing or photo editing. So it’s necessary to change mouse DPI or adjust mouse DPI every now and then. This article introduces how to change mouse DPI and improve mouse performance.

Try these tips

Change mouse DPI on-the-fly DPI button
Change mouse DPI in the mouse settings
Bonus Tip: How to improve mouse performance

What is Mouse DPI?

DPI stands for Dots Per Inch. Mouse DPI measures the mouse sensitivity. You can change and instantly adjust the pointer speed by changing the mouse DPI in the mouse settings.

Generally speaking, the higher the mouse DPI is, the faster the pointer speed is. The high DPI helps you detect the small movements in your mouse and respond accurately. With that said, it’s better to have the higher DPI for your mouse, but the higher DPI is not always good for us. You definitely don’t want your mouse cursor to scroll across the whole screen when you accidentally move your mouse.

So a properly mouse DPI is important and you should clearly know how to check mouse DPI in your computer and adjust it to meet your needs.

You can change the mouse DPI normally by the mouse settings in your computer. If you have the mouse with the DPI on-the-fly button, such as Logitech G502 mouse, you can also change the DPI with the on-the-fly DPI button. Check the following methods to change your mouse DPI.

Method 1: Change mouse DPI with the DPI on-the-fly button

If your mouse has the DPI on-the-fly button/switch, you can directly change the mouse DPI with the button that allows to quickly and constantly change your mouse DPI.

1) Locate the on-the-fly DPI button on your mouse. It’s normally on the top, bottom of side of your mouse.

2) Press or slide the button/switch to change your mouse DPI.

3) The LCD will display the new DPI settings, or you’ll see a notification on your monitor to tell you the DPI change.

It’s so much easier, isn’t it?! If you don’t have the DPI switch with your mouse, don’t worry. You can change the mouse DPI in the mouse settings. Go and check Method 2.

Method 2: Change mouse DPI in the mouse setting

You can also change the mouse DPI in the mouse setting, which is a rather common way to do.

Note: the screenshots below come from Windows 10, but the fixes also work on Windows 8 & Windows 7.

1) On your computer, open Control Panel, and select View by Small icons or View by Large icons.

2) Click Mouse to open Mouse Properties.

3) Select the Pointer Options tab.

4) In the Motion section, drag the slide to select a pointer speed for your mouse.

5) Uncheck the box next to Enhance pointer precision.

This is optional. Pointer precision causes the mouse pointer to move different lengths depending on how fast you move your mouse, which is negative for gamers. So we recommend to disable it.

6) Test your mouse movements after selecting a pointer speed to see if it works for you.

7) After selecting a properly pointer speed, click Apply and OK to save the settings.

Now you have successfully change the mouse DPI for your mouse. Enjoy it.

How to improve mouse performance

There’re more we can do to improve the mouse performance.

1. Configure the in-game mouse settings

If you’re a fan of PC games, you must prefer the better mouse performance to improve the game experience. So in addition to adjust mouse DPI in your computer, you can also configure the mouse settings in your games.

You can go to the mouse acceleration settings and sensitivity settings, or something similar in your game and change them to what you want. This varies from game to game, so we won’t cover it here.

2. Update the mouse driver

A missing or outdated mouse driver can cause issue in your mouse, so you should update your mouse driver to maximize its performance.

There are two ways to update drivers: manually and automatically.

Manually – You can manually update the mouse driver by searching on the manufacturer’s website, downloading the latest and correct driver and installing it in your computer. This requires the time and computer skills.

Automatically – If you don’t have time or patience, you can do that automatically with Driver Easy.

Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.

You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 clicks (and you’ll have a 30-day money back guarantee):

1) Download and install Driver Easy.

2) Run Driver Easy and click Scan Now. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.

3) Click the Update button next to the flagged mouse device to automatically download and install the latest driver (you can do this with the FREE version).

Or click Update All to automatically download and install the all the latest correct drivers that is missing or outdated in your system (This requires the Pro version. You will be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All).