DPI stands for ‘Dots Per Inch’ and it basically decides how ‘sensitive’ your mouse is on the hardware side. At a DPI of 800 your mouse will ‘measure’ 800 points of movement per inch that you move your mouse; at 1600 DPI it will measure 1600 points of movement per inch, making the cursor on screen move further with less movement as a result. DPI doesn’t have anything to do with any ingame settings but it can be very handy to know what your DPI is in case you want to calculate youreDPI(effective Dots Per Inch) to compare your effective sensitivity to others.
If you’re not very familiar with all of this you can read an in-depth explanation on sensitivity, eDPI, and DPI inour articlebut if you already know the theory behind all of this and are just having trouble finding out what DPI your mouse is at this guide should be able to help.
How to find and change your DPI
Different manufacturers (and even different models of mice from the same manufacturer) can have different ways to determine and change your DPI, but generally speaking there are two ways to go about this: you can use the software (if available) or use the DPI button (or a combination of buttons) to change it to predetermined DPI increments on the mouse itself.
If your mouse has software drivers (think Logitech, Razer, …) you can just download the software for your mouse and navigate to the appropriate tab to see what DPI your mouse is currently on. Usually this will be under ‘performance’ or something similar. It’s worth noting that some manufacturers can use slightly different names (such as ‘CPI’ for counts per inch) for DPI but usually it’s pretty easy to find the right slider or menu option.
If your mouse is plug and play and doesn’t have software drivers (think Zowie, …) things can become a bit more complicated. Most mice with on board memory have some way to identify what DPI you’re currently on by means of a dedicated DPI LED or what have you so for those it’s just a question of grabbing (or downloading) your manual and finding out what color you’re currently on.
Some mice do not have an indicator or software, making it quite difficult to determine what DPI you’re using at a glance. For those you can use an online DPI analyzer or if the mouse has a bunch of predetermined DPI steps you can just keep changing the DPI until you’re at the lowest step (i.e. the step that makes your mouse move the slowest) and go from there. If your mouse has steps of 400, 800, 1600, and 3200, for example, and you start at the lowest setting (400) and you have to change DPI twice to get to your normal sensitivity then you know your DPI is 1600.
Luckily, gaming mice without any sort of indication or software are few and far between and in most cases (if you’ve got a mouse from a reputable brand) determining or changing your DPI is as simple as downloading the software for your mouse or taking a look at the manual.
The common brands
Logitech
DownloadLogitech’s G Hub software. This will automatically recognize your mouse, allowing you to go into the settings for said mouse. There you can see and adjust your DPI.
Razer
DownloadRazer Synapse. This will recognize the mouse you’re using automatically and from there on out you can go into the settings of the mouse and find or adjust your DPI.
ZOWIE
Zowie mice have a DPI button on the bottom of the mouse along with a DPI indicator. The color of that indicator shows you what DPI the mouse is on.
- Red: 400 DPI
- Pink: 800 DPI
- Blue: 1600 DPI
- Green: 3200 DPI
If your Zowie mouse is more than a couple of years old these colors might be different so make sure to check your manual in that case.
Glorious
Download thesoftware for your particular mouse model. There you can find and change your DPI. You can also use the DPI indicator (on the bottom) to check your current DPI if the default levels haven’t been changed prior.
- Yellow: 400 DPI
- Blue: 800 DPI
- Red: 1600 DPI
- Green: 3200 DPI
Corsair
DownloadCorsair iCUE. Your mouse should be recognized automatically, allowing you to see and change the DPI.
FinalMouse
FinalMouse products don’t have a DPI indicator or official software that allows you to check the DPI but the prefconfigured steps are 400, 800, 1600, and 3200. If you change your DPI until you’re at the lowest sensitivity (400) and work your way up until you’re at your regular sensitivity you can figure out your DPI this way.
Endgame Gear
Download theconfiguration softwarefor your mouse. From there you can see and change your DPI.
Roccat
Download RoccatSWARM. This should automatically recognize your mouse, allowing you to see and change the DPI settings.
Dream Machines
Download theconfiguration softwarefor your particular model. This will allow you to see and change the DPI settings of your mouse.
Xtrfy
You can change the DPI by using the button on the bottom of the mouse (note: the button on top, which is usually used for DPI changes, does not change DPI). The indicator LED will tell you what DPI you’re currently on.
- Red: 400 DPI
- Yellow: 800 DPI
- Orange: 1200 DPI
- Light blue: 1600 DPI
- Purple: 3200 DPI
- Dark blue: 4000 DPI
- Green: 7200 DPI
- White: 16000 DPI
Lars
Reviews, Community, FPS
Former semi-pro gamer turned writer, product reviewer, and community manager.
