Before buying a new mouse, it is critical to compare CPI and DPI. If you ask a computer expert about the best mouse on the market, we are sure you’ll come across these words. The DPI of a mouse is the first thing a gamer looks for when purchasing a mouse.

Some businesses, however, provide a CPI switch rather than a DPI switch. For a gamer searching for the best gaming mouse for their money, this poses a lot of questions. In this post, we’ll offer you a step-by-step guide on what to look for when purchasing a gaming mouse, while also clarifying the CPI vs. DPI argument.

What is CPI vs DPI?

On a mouse, CPI denotes the number of clicks per inch. CPI is for Counts Per Inch, and it refers to the number of steps registered by the mouse as it travels one inch.

In layman’s words, Counts Per Inch relates to the mouse’s sensitivity, which is used to measure how quickly the mouse travels on the screen when a user moves the mouse physically.

On a mouse, DPI refers to the number of dots per inch. Dots Per Inch (DPI) is an abbreviation for Dots Per Inch, which is a measurement of spatial printing or video dot density.

Dots Per Inch is the number of individual dots that may be put in a line within the span of one inch. Dots Per Inch may be used to calculate the number of dots per inch in a digital print or the printing resolution of a hard copy print dot gain.

To put things in context, DPI is more often connected with printing, while CPI is more commonly linked with a gaming mouse.

So, what’s the difference between CPI and DPI?

If you look at your mouse’s switch, you may question why it reads DPI instead of CPI. The correct terminology is CPI, although your mouse is labeled with DPI.

Another example is graphic designers, who use the word DPI to refer to the depth and quality of their pictures while they are referring to their images’ Pixels Per Inch (PPI).

Tech firms attempt to utilize words that are readily understood by the general population by printing DPI on a mouse. However, people now use the word DPI to refer to virtually anything that has even a passing similarity to the real definition. The debate over CPI vs. DPI in a gaming mouse is a famous example of this ambiguity.

CPI vs. DPI?

When it comes to computer mice, the difference between CPI and DPI may be perplexing; nevertheless, to summarize, both words relate to the same characteristic. That being said, if you ever get into an argument with a computer geek about mouse sensitivity, always use the word CPI, since DPI has nothing to do with the mouse world; it’s simply a technical feature of a particular printer.

It doesn’t matter whose manufacturer made your mouse or if it says CPI or DPI on it. The sensitivity of your mouse is what you’ll be changing.