Close up of a competitive gamer using a gaming mouse pad

5 Things to Look For When Choosing a Gaming Mouse Pad

Computer peripherals have become extremely good over the years and today, competitive gamers desire the best one to improve their gaming performance. Gaming peripherals and accessories, like gaming mouse, headsets, keyboards, and mouse pads, are designed to improve your gaming performance.

If you are a gamer looking for the ideal gaming mouse pad, you are in the right place to learn how to choose one.

Let's discuss a few key things to look for when choosing a gaming mouse pad.

5 Things to Look For When Choosing a Gaming Mouse Pad

Here are the 5 most important things to look for when choosing a gaming mouse pad for yourself. They will help you choose the right one to improve your gaming performance and offer comfort and convenience.

Surface Texture

The surface texture refers to the flat surface of the gaming mouse pad where you place and use your mouse. This is the first and most important thing to consider when choosing a gaming mouse pad. There are two main types, hard plastic, and soft fabric.

Hard Plastic

These mouse pads are typically made from a smooth and solid plastic. However, they may also be made from wood or lightweight aluminum. They are designed for fast-paced gaming where gamers prefer speed over accuracy.

They are mostly suited for RTS and MOBA games where gamers use lower mouse sensitivity or DPI to move around with smaller movements quickly. Lower mouse sensitivity allows smooth ad fast movements, but it compromises the accuracy factor needed for gaming.

Soft Fabric

Soft fabric gaming mouse pads like the Thasis are designed to offer accuracy over speed. They are typically made from a fabric mix, which is soft to the touch. They are highly beneficial for FPS games, where gamers typically use lower DPIs to allow for more accurate aiming.

The lower DPI also means that soft fabric mouse pads need to be larger to allow for wider movements of the mouse.

Size

The size of a gaming mouse pad is another important thing to look for. Four main sizes range from small, medium, large, and extended (extra large). Your choice of size will depend on how much space you have on your table and the type of DPI you use for gaming.

If you play FPS games, you are likely looking for accuracy that comes with soft fabric mousepads and lower DPI settings. You will need a large or extended gaming mouse pad to accommodate the larger mouse movements.

If you play RTS or MOBA games, you need a hard plastic gaming mouse pad and higher DPI settings, which means you can make good use of small or medium sizes. This is because your mouse movements will not be excessively wide.

Edges

While it may not seem like much, the edges of a gaming mouse pad can make a huge difference to your gaming. Rough or abrasive edges mean that your mouse cord may experience more wear as you move the mouse, and it will also restrict your mouse movements as the edges resist the cord's movements.

To tackle this issue, hard plastic gaming mouse pads often come with edgeless designs. On the other hand, soft fabric gaming mouse pads offer high-quality, smooth, stitched edges like those in the Thasis gaming mouse pad.

Always consider the quality of the edges if you want to improve gaming performance and prevent your mouse cord from getting damaged.

Thickness/Base

The rubber base of a soft fabric gaming mouse pad determines its thickness, which can be another important factor. However, this factor is not as important as the surface texture, size, or edges. Thicker variants ensure that you always get a smooth surface that does not change the contours of your desk surface.

They also offer more comfort for your hand but compromise on portability as thicker variants are heavy and less flexible. On the other hand, hard plastic mousepads are usually not that thick because their hard surface does not require a thick base for support or flatness of the surface.

Extra Features

The last thing to look for when choosing a gaming mouse pad is the extra features it offers. Things like RGB, a USB pass-through, and wireless charging are becoming increasingly common extra features offered in gaming mouse pads.

While these features are not going to improve your gaming performance in any way, they are good for convenience but often come at a premium price.

Conclusion

These were 5 things to look for when choosing a gaming mouse pad, and you should now have a good understanding of how to select the ideal gaming mouse pad for your gaming needs.

Nowadays, computer peripherals are essential for competitive gaming, and a high-quality gaming mouse pad like the Thasis can really help improve your gaming performance, so make sure you opt for a good one.

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