What DPI Should You Use for Gaming? eDPI Explained

DPI is the setting that determines how far your cursor moves per inch of physical mouse movement. But it's only half the equation. Your in-game sensitivity multiplies that movement further. Together, they form eDPI, which is what actually controls your aim speed.

The short answer

Pick 800 DPI if you don't have a strong preference. It works well for both desktop and gaming, and it is an easy starting point. Then adjust your in-game sensitivity to reach a comfortable eDPI.

If you're already on 400 or 1600 and comfortable, stay there. Just adjust sensitivity to compensate.

What is eDPI?

eDPI (effective DPI) = DPI × in-game sensitivity

It's the single number that represents how fast your mouse actually moves in-game. Two players with different DPI but identical eDPI have the same aim speed:

All three feel identical in-game. The cursor moves the same distance for the same hand movement.

Why 400 or 800 are common starting points

Two practical reasons:

1. Wider sensitivity range. At 400 DPI, the difference between sensitivity 1.8 and 2.0 feels noticeable. At 1600 DPI, you'd need to go from 0.45 to 0.50 for the same change. Harder to fine-tune in games with limited decimal places.

2. Historical default. The CS 1.6 and early CS:GO era standardized on 400 DPI when mice were less capable. Players trained on those settings kept them, and new players copied their configs.

There's no inherent accuracy advantage to 400 DPI. Modern sensors track perfectly at 800 or 1600. The optimal DPI is whatever gives you a comfortable desktop experience and enough granularity in your game's sensitivity slider.

eDPI comparisons by game

Raw eDPI is only comparable within the same game or input scale. Public community ranges are snapshots, not rank requirements or a complete database of player settings. If you publish a range, attach the source and date; otherwise use the calculator to compare your own settings.

Note: Valorant and Fortnite use different sensitivity scales, so raw eDPI numbers aren't directly comparable across games. Use the sensitivity converter for cross-game comparison.

When to change DPI

Switch DPI when:

• New mouse with different sensor behavior at your old DPI
• New monitor. 4K at 400 DPI makes desktop navigation painful.
• Game doesn't support decimals. Higher DPI lets you fine-tune with whole numbers.
• You want one DPI for desktop and gaming. 800 or 1600 is a reasonable compromise.

When you switch, use the DPI converter to get the matching sensitivity. The formula is simple:

new_sensitivity = old_sensitivity × (old_DPI / new_DPI)

Going from 400 DPI (sensitivity 2.0) to 800 DPI: 2.0 × (400/800) = 1.0. Same eDPI, same feel.

Does polling rate matter?

Polling rate (125Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz, 4000Hz) affects how often your mouse reports its position to the computer. Higher = smoother cursor movement and lower input latency.

But polling rate does not affect sensitivity or eDPI. It won't change your aim speed. It changes how smoothly the cursor gets from point A to point B.

For competitive play, compare polling modes with the same game, frame rate, and system load. Higher polling can increase report frequency and workload, but there is no universal setting that is best for every mouse and PC.

What about pixel skipping?

At very low DPI, the interaction between sensor counts, game input processing, and display resolution can become more noticeable. Modern sensors differ, so treat “pixel skipping” as a hardware-and-software behavior to test rather than a universal cutoff.

If you're using 100 or 200 DPI for some reason, consider moving to 400. Beyond that, the difference is academic.

Use the tools

• DPI converter: Find the right sensitivity when switching DPI
• Sensitivity converter: Convert settings between games