I was excited to play the beta of the new game "Overwatch" a few weeks ago. It had been a while since I played a PC shooter, so I pulled out my ancient Logitech MX Revolution wireless mouse from the drawer to play. And... it was dead. Maybe it was the USB receiver, maybe it was the mouse, but it was beyond help. I needed a new mouse for gaming.
To my surprise, the options for gaming mice were so plentiful that I was able to get a perfectly great upgrade for all of $16 online. Sure, the mouse arrived in a tiny, generic box and included the tiniest of manuals, but it worked perfectly, had a compartment to store the wireless receiver when not in use, and instantly increased my potential in my favorite shooter, "Team Fortress 2." It was the best $16 I've spent on tech hardware in a long time.
Gaming mice usually track movement at much higher rates than standard mice and even wireless models have come a long way to reduce lag and jumpiness. The silent "ShiRui" model I bought moves smoothly and has a button to switch between three different sensitivity settings at any time.
Sure, if I were an aspiring pro gamer, I could have spent more than $100 for something more high end with LED lights and a thousand buttons, but if you're only an occasional player of action games, and especially if you're on a Mac and using a Magic Mouse (which is absolute junk for any game requiring a scroll wheel and more than one button), it's worth looking into a new purchase. You may be surprised at how many options are out there, even if you're only willing to spend under $25.
In this space every week, we'll define a tech term, offer a timely tip or answer questions about technology from readers. Email ogallaga@statesman.com.
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