A–Z Mouse Settings & DPI Glossary

An algorithm in optical mouse sensors that automatically straightens minor diagonal hand movements into perfect horizontal or vertical lines. Recommended OFF for gaming and graphic design.

The physical distance in centimeters required to move your mouse across your mousepad to perform a full 360-degree rotation in a 3D game.

The technically accurate term for mouse sensor resolution, commonly referred to as DPI. Represents coordinate counts registered per linear inch.

The delay (in milliseconds) a mouse microswitch waits before registering another click to prevent accidental double-clicks caused by metal leaf vibration.

A measure of mouse spatial sensitivity indicating how many pixels the cursor moves on screen for every inch of physical mouse movement.

A calculated metric (DPI × In-Game Sensitivity) used to compare the true sensitivity of players using different hardware DPI values in a specific game.

Windows built-in mouse acceleration feature that changes pointer travel distance based on how fast you move your hand rather than pure physical distance.

Static friction is the initial force required to start moving the mouse from a standstill; dynamic friction is the resistance felt while the mouse is continuously moving.

A standard USB protocol specification allowing mice, keyboards, and game controllers to send input packets without custom third-party drivers.

The imperial measurement equivalent of cm/360, measuring how many inches of desk travel rotate the in-game camera 360 degrees.

Software-generated artificial coordinate counts added when a mouse sensor is pushed past its native optical resolution. Can introduce jitter and inconsistency.

The maximum speed a mouse optical sensor can accurately track across a surface without losing tracking or spinning out (e.g. 650 IPS).

Erratic cursor shaking or pixel stutter caused by dust on the sensor lens, an incompatible mousepad surface, or extreme DPI settings exceeding sensor stability thresholds.

The vertical height (usually 1 mm to 2 mm) at which the optical sensor stops tracking movement when the mouse is lifted off the mousepad.

The direct executable shortcut command to open the legacy Windows Control Panel Mouse Properties dialog box.

A PixArt sensor feature that synchronizes sensor coordinate capture events with USB polling intervals, resulting in smoother motion at a slight 0.5ms latency cost.

A non-linear input behavior where cursor distance increases exponentially based on hand velocity rather than physical travel distance.

The smooth pads on the underside of a mouse made from virgin-grade PTFE or glass that minimize friction against the mousepad.

The neutral middle setting on the classic Windows Pointer Speed slider that provides an unscaled 1.00x multiplier with zero pixel skipping.

Internal flash storage inside a mouse microcontroller that saves DPI stages, polling rates, and button bindings directly onto the device.

A visual artifact where the cursor jumps across screen pixels instead of moving smoothly, commonly caused by setting Windows pointer speed above 6/11.

A browser standard that locks the cursor within the viewport and provides raw, boundless mouse delta coordinates (dx, dy) for 3D games.

The frequency in Hertz (times per second) that a mouse reports its position data to the computer CPU (e.g. 1000 Hz = 1 ms interval).

Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), a low-friction fluoropolymer used to manufacture high-performance mouse feet.

A programming API method where games read coordinates directly from mouse hardware, bypassing Windows pointer speed and acceleration curves.

Microcontroller filtering applied at high DPIs to reduce jitter by averaging recent coordinate counts, which adds 2–6 ms of input latency.

A tracking failure where a sensor fails to register an ultra-fast swipe, causing the in-game crosshair to violently snap toward the floor or sky.

The horizontal angular degree multiplier applied by a 3D game engine for every incoming coordinate count (e.g. 0.022° in Source Engine).