Optical vs. Laser

[Nicolas]

Is there really a noticeable difference between them? If so what is it?

[Rorgash]

yes, precision at lower DPI and precision in general, Optical is best

[Scia]

yes, precision at lower DPI and precision in general, Optical is best

 

This ^.

[Kerplex]

LED vs Laser you mean since all mice with sensors are optical

[Nicolas]

yes, precision at lower DPI and precision in general, Optical is best

Ok. But is it really that different that you would notice immediately?

[Altecice]

Laser mouses tend to have acceleration and prediction built in... not good if you are playing FPS games and you don't aim where you think you are. Down to a laser "guessing" where you want to go the same 1CM movement could aim you to a different place. (not by a lot I might add but enough to bother pros)

 

Stick to optical DPI is just a gimmick, If you play FPS games at over 1500DPI you are doing it wrong!

[Nicolas]

LED vs Laser you mean since all mice with sensors are optical

Sure, that

[Nicolas]

Laser mouses tend to have acceleration and prediction built in... not good if you are playing FPS games and you don't aim where you think you are. Down to a laser "guessing" where you want to go the same 1CM movement could aim you to a different place. (not by a lot I might add but enough to bother pros)

 

Stick to optical DPI is just a gimmick, If you play FPS games at over 1500DPI you are doing it wrong!

I know DPI is just a gimmick I have a mouse with a 8200 dpi sensor or something and I play at 1000 dpi, I'm just wondering because I want to buy a new mouse and I want to know if this is really an important factor, I guess it is

[Norwegiantweaker]

nothing beats a good ball-mouse for FPS

[Niblolkik]

you should raise the DPI and lower sensetivity equally. more mouse control

[smjpl]

Ok. But is it really that different that you would notice immediately?

 

Put it this way, I get very pissed off by monitor input lag (vsync on) but I don't notice a difference with laser mice. If you have a specific mouse in mind but you are unsure solely because it is laser, just get it you will be fine.

[spwath]

I know DPI is just a gimmick I have a mouse with a 8200 dpi sensor or something and I play at 1000 dpi, I'm just wondering because I want to buy a new mouse and I want to know if this is really an important factor, I guess it is

Let me recomend you the logitech g602. I have it and love it. It is optical. It feels great in construction, materials, shape, number of buttons, and button placement.

[Toby]

Is it noticeable? To some. Is there a difference? Absolutely.

 

When we're talking about precision in games like FPS, you might be moving your mouse across half the screen within half a second and so you might not notice the acceleration cause your cursor to overshoot by a few pixels, but it could be the difference between hitting your target and missing.

[ManOfDisguise]

do you want to fight with your mouse and have it do what you didnt intend it to do? go for laser

do you want your mouse to behave exactly as its supposed to and do only what you want it to do? go for optical

[Altecice]

If you want a mouse suggestion then Its hard to say without knowing your grip type.

 

I have small hands but i use a hybrid claw/palm grip so I use the Razer DA 2013, Its built for large hands but due to my grip its perfect

[cae]

I recently switched back to an optical mouse (NAOS 7000) after years of several different lasers. The difference was immediately noticeable because I was having so many issues with the laser mouse (Naga 2014). Anything with moderate bass playing through my desktop speakers would cause vibrations to disrupt the sensor and seemingly shake the cursor. Still getting re-used to the nature of the optical mouse, but it's at least rock solid while music is playing. Perhaps this was a specific issue to my laser mouse, or how it liked (or disliked) my mouse surfaces. Issues aside, it did feel like I'd often be fighting the mouse to get it where I intended as ManOfDisguise mentioned above.

 

Not sure if it's just a lens/reflector technology that could successfully be applied to an optical mouse or not, but Logitech's Darkfield devices are pretty sweet and they're laser. Anywhere Mouse MX works well on my glass desk, or jeans, or skin.. I use it with my laptop, not for gaming.

[theawesomejman]

Laser is much more sensitive, but what I'm interested in that no one has pointed out yet is that the biggest selling point of laser is durability, an optical mouse stops working because something gets in it or it falls etc.

 

It's analog vs digital, optical being analog and laser being digital, sure it's more accurate to aim with in FPS with an optical one, but I personally play great CS:GO with a laser mouse and the difference really is negligible, if you get used to a laser for years then you will learn to move somewhere else to actually be at where you wanted it to be. SImilar to a sniper rifle, you aim at the blank grass, but due to calculating air resistance, etc, you hit the guy in the head.

 

 

tl;dr: Choose a mouse based on looks and comfort, THEN check if it's laser or optical, want extreme precision in FPS? But with risk of it not working due to an accident, get optical.

 

Care little about minimal differences, like sensitivity and higher life expectancy? Get laser.

[Toby]

Laser is much more sensitive, but what I'm interested in that no one has pointed out yet is that the biggest selling point of laser is durability, an optical mouse stops working because something gets in it or it falls etc.

 

That's a new one. You sure you aren't thinking of ball mice?

[Verne]

Laser is much more sensitive, but what I'm interested in that no one has pointed out yet is that the biggest selling point of laser is durability, an optical mouse stops working because something gets in it or it falls etc.

Every laser mouse I've owned have had problems with erratic movement when dust or hair or something gets in the sensor. Never had the same issue with any optical mouse.

[theawesomejman]

Fair point, I guess luck plays a part as well. I'm still right though, in saying of looking at how it looks and how it feels before looking at whether it's optical or laser, as it makes little difference.