The DPI (dots per inch) is one of the most important characteristics of your mouse. The higher it is, the faster your marker will move on the screen. Changing this metric to your preference can improve your performance, and in this post, we will show you how to check mouse DPI on Windows PC.
Generally, the DPI mouse is the standard used to measure the mouse sensitivity, expressed as the number of DPIs (dots per linear inch) that a device can detect. By changing the DPI, you can instantly adjust pointer speed for precision tasks, such as in-game targeting or photo editing.
Understanding your DPI is useful, particularly when playing video games or using software where you want to be precise when placing your cursor. It also makes it much easier to use widescreen monitors and multiple displays.
What is the DPI?/Mouse sensitivity
A mouse’s DPI is the standard used to measure the mouse sensitivity, expressed as the number of DPIs (dpi stands for dots per linear inch) that a device can detect.
Mouse DPI is also a measurement used to show how many pixels your mouse can move when you move your mouse cursor one inch. For example, if your mouse has 1800 DPI (low dpi mice), moving it exactly one inch (2.54 cm) will move the cursor to 1800 pixels on your screen.
The higher your DPI (dots per inch), the more sensitive your mouse is. For example, any modern gaming mouse has high dpi standards of up to 20,000 on high dpi mice. This may seem unpleasant. However, many people using large or multiple displays love being able to move the cursor faster or improve cursor speed.
While most people aren’t concerned about DPI count, it’s important for those playing video games. Especially in First Person Shooter (FPS) titles, many theorize about the perfect DPI setting to aim precisely.
How to check Mouse DPI in Windows 11/10
Available options to check mouse DPI are:
Check the Manufacturer’s Website
The best and easiest way to check the maximal and/or minimal number of DPIs that your mouse model supports is by checking the manufacturer’s website.
You can open the product page on the manufacturer’s website and then find the optical tracking DPI information under the technical specifications section or Specs & Details or a similar section of the product page. Other online sources can also provide you with the information.
Additionally, you can also check the product information in the packaging box or a hard copy of product details (user documentation) if available. While this option is indeed helpful, it does not help you calculate the sensor accuracy or mouse DPI. For that, you can check the other options.
Using MS Paint
Using Microsoft Paint is an interesting and useful way to check mouse DPI on Windows 11/10. The output may not be entirely accurate but you will get a pretty good answer or an average value. Here are the steps to check mouse DPI using MS Paint:
- Open MS Paint using the Start menu, Search box, or some other preferred way
- Set the zoom level to 100%
- Select a brush
- Move the mouse cursor to the left section unless you see a zero in the footer (on the bottom left part of MS Paint). You can use the left arrow key to precisely move the cursor or pointer to 0. This number will change when you move the mouse cursor to the right
- Now press and hold the left mouse button and move the mouse cursor to 2 to 3 inches to the right to draw a line. Try to draw it as straight as possible
- Note down the value that appeared in the footer (the first value)
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 two more times
- Now you have 3 values when you moved the mouse cursor from 0 to the result values
- Calculate the average of those three values.
That average value will be your mouse DPI.
DPI Analyzer tool
There is an online tool called DPI Analyzer that is available specifically for checking the mouse DPI. This tool is handy to check the actual DPI with or without knowing the configured DPI. However, it requires a bit of paperwork.
- Open this DPI Analyzer tool from mouse-sensitivity.com
- Use paper and draw inches and cm lines just like you see on a scale/ruler. That paper will work as your mousepad to correctly measure your mouse movement (when you will move your mouse to right or left)
- Now, use the given options of this DPI Analyzer tool. These include:
- Configured DPI: Enter the current mouse DPI value (for accuracy) if you know it. Otherwise, leave this option
- Units: Set it to inches or Cm
- Target distance: How far you will be moving the mouse
- Axis: X+ (for moving to the right side) or X- (for moving to the left side).
Now, press and hold the red crosshair icon present on the tool page on the bottom section and try to move it to the target value. Also, keep a look at the paper (your mousepad) to see how far your mouse is traveled. Release the left mouse button.
This will show you the result. You will be able to check what was the target count and the actual counts. Based on the actual counts, your actual DPI value will be visible in the result.
After this, you can change the mouse DPI or pointer speed and repeat this process until the actual counts and target counts are met as per the expectations, which will ultimately show the actual DPI value you should be using for a particular task.
There are some other similar DPI analyzer tools like Mouse DPI Calculator, Mouse Sensitivity Calculator, etc., to check mouse DPI. Each tool works differently.
Install the correct mouse drivers
Most branded computer mice and any high dpi mouse come with the manufacturer’s own driver software. This allows you to completely customize how the hardware behaves, even if it has extra buttons and features.
Installing the right mouse driver may give you the option to check your DPI.
- Head over to the manufacturer’s website. In our case, we navigated to the official Trust website.
- Use the search engine to find your product.
- Look for a section to download the driver software, then choose your operating system.
- Install the driver and launch the software. You should be able to locate a section dedicated to DPI settings, allowing you to see the DPI of your mouse.
Note: Not every manufacturer and mouse has dedicated driver software except on a gaming mouse. However, it’s worth checking in case you want to make personalized changes.
Once you get the correct mouse DPI for the task you need to cover, you can use a dedicated button present in your mouse model (if available) to adjust the mouse DPI or adjust the pointer speed in other ways (like mouse driver software or tool/game settings).
How to change your Mouse DPI in Windows 10
Many people want to modify their current DPI setting to achieve higher or lower sensitivity. You can gain more comfort and operate your device better. Having perfect sensitivity allows you to get things done better and enjoy your gaming experience even more.
The process of changing your mouse’s DPI (dots per inch) varies based on your type of mouse. Office mice usually have no more than two buttons — the left and right mouse buttons, — whereas a dedicated gaming mouse has somewhere between 4 and 8 buttons.
If your mouse has DPI on-the-fly buttons, press one of the DPI On-the-fly buttons to create new settings for each DPI button. The mouse LCD will briefly display the new DPI setting. On the other hand, if your mouse doesn’t have DPI on-the-fly buttons, start Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center, select the mouse you are using, click basic settings, locate Sensitivity, and make your changes.
Here are some ways to change your mouse DPI:
Change the sensitivity of your mouse in the Settings app
This method mostly applies to mice with no dedicated DPI button. Using the Windows Settings app, you can easily adjust your DPI settings and levels.
- Click on the Windows icon in the bottom-left of your screen to bring up the Start menu, then choose “Settings app.” You can also use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to go to the settings app.
- Click on the “Devices” tile.
- Switch to the “Mouse” tab using the left-side panel.
- Click on the “Additional mouse options” link at the bottom of the page or in the right-side panel.
- Switch to the “Pointer Options” tab using the header menu of the Mouse Properties window.
- Adjust the speed of your mouse with the slider under ‘Motion’ on a high-resolution screen. Moving the slider head to the left will make your mouse slower while moving it to the right will increase its speed.
- We recommend turning off the “Enhance pointer precision” setting, as it’s capable of messing up your DPI.
- Click the OK button. You should immediately see the change in mouse speed when you try to scroll the mouse cursor and see the cursor speed.
Adjust sensitivity in the video game itself
Many video games allow you to adjust your sensitivity in-game and adjust it to a higher dpi or lower it. This allows you to use one general DPI for operating your system normally, then set up different sensitivity settings for different games.
While the setting is located in different menus for each game, you can generally follow these steps to find where you can change your in-game mouse scrolling sensitivity.
- Launch the game you want to change your sensitivity in and wait for it to load entirely.
- Locate the menu that says either “Options” or “Settings,” usually available from the title screen.
- You should be able to locate a menu that says “Controls.” If this menu is missing, chances are that you can’t directly adjust the sensitivity of the mouse from the game you opened.
- Look for the sensitivity slider and adjust it until you feel comfortable with the speed.
Any gaming mouse has a button dedicated to changing your DPI on-the-fly, which you can adjust to a higher dpi or lower. You can adjust your DPI between various presets, which may or may not be customizable depending on your mouse, no matter your application.
The DPI button is usually located below the scrolling wheel. It is relatively small compared to the other buttons and sometimes even has the word “DPI” written on it as well.
You can cycle through the preset DPI settings that gradually get higher and higher by pressing the button once. Some mice may offer two buttons to increase it to a higher dpi or decrease the DPI instead of cycling. Also, some high dpi mice might need lowering when you change from gaming to normal work. Or you can use gaming mice (gaming mice are mice designed for gaming) strictly for gaming.
If you are unsure of which button is responsible for your DPI, you can check for the box your mouse came in, which usually has visual labels for each button on your mouse. You can also hop online and start looking for your model on the manufacturer’s website.
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