Best Mouse DPI for CS2 (CSGO)

Are you looking to get good at CS2 (CSGO)? If the answer is yes, then it’s important to realize that the most important concept in CS2 (CSGO) is arguably your aim. To be good at aiming, players would need to move their mouse both quickly and accurately, so it is important that every player finds the most comfortable mouse sensitivity to help them play better.

Difference between Mouse Sensitivity and DPI

Though the purpose of these two terms sound very similar, there is a definite difference between the two. Simply put, mouse sensitivity is determined by the software aspect (the game, CS2 (CSGO)), while mouse DPI is determined by the hardware aspect (the gaming mouse itself).

What is DPI?

DPI stands for “dots per inch.” DPI basically shows the measurement of speed at which the mouse moves on your screen, while relating to the physical distance that the player is moving the mouse.

This obviously means that the lower your DPI, the slower your mouse will move in the game, as the computer will register less “dots per inch.” And on the opposite end, the higher your DPI, the faster your mouse will move in the game, as the computer will register more “dots per inch.” The DPI will still be dependent on the mouse sensitivity, as both of them will be combined together which will be discussed later in the article.

What’s considered as a low DPI value would be 400, and a high DPI value would be 1600. To change your DPI, you will need to check your gaming mouse and see if it has a DPI changer button. If not, you may have to download the software and change it there.

What is Mouse Sensitivity?

Mouse sensitivity is simply the speed of your mouse pointer, and how fast it will move on the screen. Higher sensitivity would mean that your mouse would move faster, and lower sensitivity would mean that your mouse moves slower.

Similarly to DPI, having a very low sensitivity can be unplayable as your in-game character will turn very slowly, which won’t allow you to hit any flicks on enemies unless you are able to move your mouse 20 inches in real distance. Though a high sensitivity sounds appealing to be able to hit fast flicks, it will be almost impossible to aim normally.

What’s considered as a low mouse sensitivity value would be 1, and a high mouse sensitivity value would be 3. The mouse sensitivity can be changed directly in the CS2 (CSGO) client, and will be seen in the form of a slider which is easy to adjust.

What is an Effective DPI

The way you combine mouse sensitivity and mouse DPI together, is by multiplying the DPI to the mouse sensitivity. The result of that would tell us the Effective DPI (also known as Real DPI'). Effective DPI would be considered as the final product, as this would tell us the end result on how fast the crosshair would move in the game. For example, a mouse DPI of 800 and a mouse sensitivity of 1.5 would give us an effective DPI of 1200 (taken from 800*1.5).

Finding the Best Effective DPI CS2 (CSGO)

Now that we have understood the correlation between mouse sensitivity and mouse DPI and how important they are, let’s try to find out what the best effective DPI for CS2 (CSGO) is:

PLAYER NAME	DPI	MOUSE SENSITIVITY	EFFECTIVE DPI (DPI*MOUSE SENSITIVITY)
ZywOo	400	2.00	800
Stewie2K	450	2.00	900
huNter	400	2.17	868
device	400	2.00	800
shox	400	3.00	900
ropz	400	1.77	708

Professional CS2 (CSGO) players are people who we would ideally use as reference when choosing the most effective DPI, as they are the people who have mastered the aspects of aiming. Below will include the different DPI settings that the current best players in the CS2 (CSGO) professional scene uses.

Medium Effective DPI

A Medium Effective DPI used by professional CS2 (CSGO) players would range from 700 to 1000. This is the most common range of effective DPI used by professional players, as a medium amount would be the most ideal. This would allow the players to have a balance of being able to aim accurately and be able to land flick shots at the same time. 

The average effective DPI of professional players is around 850-900, which fits into the given range for medium ranged effective DPI.

PLAYER NAME	DPI	MOUSE SENSITIVITY	EFFECTIVE DPI (DPI*MOUSE SENSITIVITY)
s1mple	400	3.09	1236
woxic	1600	1.5	2400
syrsoN	1600	0.92	1472
HEN1	400	3.80	1520
arT	800	1.80	1440
allu	400	3.00	1200

A very long list of players using a medium effective DPI could be provided, but some of the most notable players include:

High Effective DPI

A High Effective DPI can make aiming less accurate due to the very fast movement. However, there are still many players using an effective DPI above 1000. This range of DPI is most popular for AWPers. 

Using the AWP will require players to make very fast flicks, which is why a higher DPI can help them hit very fast shots easily. Players such as s1mple, syrsoN and woxic are very well known for their super fast flicks, so it is no surprise that we see them in this group of players who play with a high effective DPI.

PLAYER NAME	DPI	MOUSE SENSITIVITY	EFFECTIVE DPI (DPI*MOUSE SENSITIVITY)
s1mple	400	3.09	1236
woxic	1600	1.5	2400
syrsoN	1600	0.92	1472
HEN1	400	3.80	1520
arT	800	1.80	1440
allu	400	3.00	1200

Low Effective DPI

A Low Effective DPI would make mouse movements slower, so players would have to move their hand a lot while playing. Having to move their hands can be very tiring, but there are a handful of players who play on an effective DPI below 700. This range of DPI is most popular for riflers. 

Riflers use the AK-47, M4A4, or M4A1-S, which will ideally require them to aim exactly at the enemy’s head to get headshots for an immediate kill. This would require extremely high precision, so using a low effective DPI can make mouse movements much more accurate. Players who are known for hitting crazy high headshot percentages such as NiKo, b1t and Twistzz would fit this list. This makes sense as they depend on low effective DPI to always be able to shoot accurately on the enemy’s head.

PLAYER NAME	DPI	MOUSE SENSITIVITY	EFFECTIVE DPI (DPI*MOUSE SENSITIVITY)
NiKo	400	1.51	604
b1t	400	1.42	568
Twistzz	400	1.40	560
rain	400	1.65	660
JACKZ	400	1.66	664
blameF	400	1.37	548

After having a look at the three different ranges of DPI, some things can be concluded. Majority of professional players use 400 DPI, a low DPI, but it is often made faster by having a higher sensitivity that will increase the Effective DPI.

Players with high effective DPIs are mostly AWPers, and players with low effective DPIs are mostly riflers known for their godlike headshot percentage, meaning that the player’s role has influence over the chosen effective DPI. 

However, most players still prefer a medium DPI, as ZywOo and device, who are known to be in the Top 5 list for best AWPers, still make use of medium DPI to be able to balance out their AWPing and rifling skills at the same time.

There is no clear answer for what the best Effective DPI is, so it might take some time to find the perfect personal fit for you. Just remember that getting used to a new DPI will take time as well, but people will get used to it eventually, where the long term result may be better than you expected!