6 Best Wired Gaming Mouse under $30

It is not always easy when it comes to choose a monitor to play, a graphics card, or even a keyboard worthy of the name, this is also the case for gaming mice. Optical or laser sensor, DPI, Polling Rate, our guide lifts the veil on these terms and offers you the best selection of gaming mice of the moment!

The time of “trackball” mice is long gone, and many gamers have not experienced this wonderful era and its games now belonging to the “retro” world! Needless to say, the video game sector has evolved hand in hand with that of computing over the years, innovation as the main lever. It’s no surprise that today we find more and more advanced peripherals and configurations, both for amateurs and other regular “Sunday gamers” as well as esports professionals looking for the best possible performance.

Obviously it would have been unreasonable to approach this selection of peripherals only with restricted criteria. That’s why we wanted to limit this selection into wired gaming mouse.

Finally, for greater clarity, the mice presented in our selection have been classified by price/performance in ascending order. We also gave a score for every mouse.

1- Logitech G203 Wired Gaming Mouse

-40% OFF currently At $26.95 – 9.2/10

The G203 is a gaming mouse that’s comparable in price to the G300, but it’s also a gaming mouse that’s developed a personality of its own. The 6,000 DPI sensor isn’t the best and most modern of sensor qualities, but it’s easy enough to use for all but the most accurate gamers, and its sensitivity is well above average for the price of 30 dollars that is sold on Amazon with best price currently.

Rather than focusing on packing in as many gaming features as possible, Logitech instead paid attention to the quality of the design of this gaming mouse. The weight and response to each click are satisfying, which is unmatched by many more expensive gaming mouse models. The Prodigy series gaming mouse offers some of the best quality performance and response times we’ve seen in a mouse, especially in the budget price range.

Pros

• A design focused on professional gamers
• Works on most operating systems
• Remarkably fast response time
• A great sense of tension for the buttons

Cons

• Does not give a feeling of a gaming mouse.

Specs

• Sensor: Optical
• Sensitivity: 6000DPI
• Connectivity: Cable
• Buttons: 6, programmable
• Weight: 3.04 ounces

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2- SteelSeries Rival 3 Wired Gaming Mouse

-15% OFF currently. At $24.50 – 8.7/10

Good surprise of the year 2020, the SteelSeries Rival 3 remains a safe bet for players on a tighter budget. This model is well built and with a rather compact symmetrical shape. It will therefore be suitable for all grips and is quite light with 77 grams on the scale .

With its reasonable price, do not expect wonders in terms of performance and we are satisfied here with an entry-level optical sensor. It suffers from a slightly too high stall distance, but will be perfect for the vast majority of players.

Pros

• Neat and compact construction
• decent performance
• Full features

Cons

• Not very durable

Specs

• Sensor: SteelSeries TrueMove Core
• Sensor Type: Optical, CPI: 100–8500 in 100 CPI Increments
• IPS: 300 on SteelSeries QcK surfaces
• Acceleration: 35G
• Polling Rate 1000Hz / 1 ms,
• Hardware Acceleration: None
• Weight: 77g (2.7oz) without cable

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3- Corsair Harpoon PRO Wired Gaming Mouse

-7% OFF currently. At $26.72 – 8.2/10

Without frills, the Corsair Harpoon RGB mouse appears with the form of a wired mouse with a minimalist design, but elegant. It must be said, it does not stand out as we saw in our review of the Mat Cartz CAT8+ mouse which offers an adjustable and very original design. 

There is no backlit area other than the logo that displays on the base of the mouse. This logo is illuminated with an RGB LED and can vary in intensity and color depending on the effects offered in the CUE software. The Corsair Harpoon RGB Pro is the most affordable product the manufacturer has been able to build since its inception.

Offered at €29.99, we can say that it is worth the detour. The gaming mice offered at this price do not include software. However, Corsair thought of doing things big by offering a cheap gaming mouse with Cosair Utility Engine configuration software . This is also the prerogative of all the manufacturer’s peripherals. Recently upgraded to version 2, this software aims to be child-friendly. To do this, simply make a device selection above the window, then navigate between various tabs on the left to set button functions and assign macros.

Pros

• Lightweight and compact design
• User-friendly handling
• Good optical sensor

Cons

• For right-handers only

Specs

• Lightweight Design
• 12,000 DPI Optical Sensor
• 85 grams
• 6 fully programmable buttons
• high-performance Omron switches rated for more than 20 million clicks.

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4- UtechSmart Venus RGB Wired Gaming Mouse

Currently At $32.99 – 7.9/10

The UtechSmart Venus Gaming Mouse is a wired laser mouse with a speed of up to 16,400 dpi and a 1,000 Hertz polling rate. The cursor speed is 100 to 150 inches per second and the acceleration is 30 G. According to the manufacturer, this makes the mouse suitable for the special needs of gamers.

With 18 programmable buttons: The mouse is equipped with 18 programmable buttons and also makes it possible to save five player profiles with an individual light color. The LED lighting offers over 16 million colors and can optionally be deactivated.

The UtechSmart gaming mouse has smooth Teflon footpads, which the manufacturer says are very durable. The housing should offer a high level of control when playing. The mouse has an on/off switch and twelve side buttons. It is designed for right-handers and has an ergonomic design with a rubberized grip surface. A six-strand braided fiber optic cable with a gold-plated USB connector is said to offer long-lasting durability. The cable has a length of 1.8 meters.

Specs:

• SENSITIVE DPI MMO MOUSE
• PROGRAMMABLE MOUSE BUTTONS
• PRECISE CONTROL IN YOUR HAND: 12 buttons on the side are angled and can be positioned
• Up to 16400 DPI, 12000 FPS
• 1000 Hz polling rate
• 30G acceleration
• 100-150in/s cursor speed
• High precision Avago sensor.

Pros

• Great Ergonomics
• Incredibly responsive Sensor, even at max DPI
• Braided Cable, and incredibly durable (it has been dropped from cat pushing it off 4ft desk)
• Decently responsive Thumb Grid (however not mechanical – but feels nicer than rubber domes)

Cons

• Bad for small or larger hands
• The LED lighting is not as superb as other higher end mice

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5- Redragon M908 Impact RGB Wired Gaming Mouse

-30% OFF Currently At $30.79 – 7.7/10

The Redragon M908 is a little insider tip in this list. It not only convinces with its low price, but also with the sensor with up to 12,400 dpi, which users have praised, can definitely keep up with alternatives from top companies. Also, the rubberized coating turns out to be pleasant and non-slip, which prevents accidental “slipping”.

What makes the wired M908 particularly interesting, however, is the arrangement of the extra buttons: A total of 12 buttons are located on the left side of the wired mouse, which can be reached more or less easily with the thumb. These buttons can be distinguished simply by the inclination, since the individual rows are tilted differently. This quantity combined with the easy handling of the keys can bring a real advantage in some games.

But not only the extra keys, the design is also unique and futuristic. Like other gaming mice, the M908 offers a thumb rest. In addition, on the right side there is also a shelf for the ring finger and the little finger. As a result, the mouse is not only extremely handy, it also results in an “aggressive design”, as the manufacturer himself calls it, thanks to this width.

This is topped by the many LEDs that are located on the mouse wheel and on the wrist rest as well as on the twelve extra buttons. These can not only be adjusted in color, because in fact there are even pre-programmed modes by Redragon in which the color can change.

Overall, the Redragon M908 is a really “upgraded” mouse that comes with numerous gimmicks. However, some users noticed the rather cheap processing of the mouse, which can only partially keep up with alternatives from brands like Logitech or Razer.

Pros

• Great DPI for gaming.
• Both wireless and wired connection.
• One of the best scroll wheels I have experienced with any mouse.
• Twelve programmable side keys, plenty for gaming.
• Programmable software can be downloaded from the Redragon website to edit binds, sensitivity, lightning, and macros
• Eco mode for when not gaming.

Cons

• Bulky build and slightly too much weight.
• Side keys require a lot of pressure to press.

Specs

• 5 adjustable DPI levels (500/1000/2000 /3000/6200 DPI)
• DPI can be adjusted freely by ±100 from 100 to 12400 via software
• 30G acceleration and high-precision Pixart PAW3327 Sensor
• 18 programmable buttons, 5 memory profiles
• 6ft braided-fiber cable with gold-plated USB connector

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6- Razer DeathAdder v2 Mini Gaming Mouse

-30% OFF Currently At $24.99 – 7.6/10

Pros

• Mouse designed for small hands
• Excellent ergonomics, good quality comfort
• Adjustable and replaceable grips
• Always efficient speedflex cable
• Precise sensor, remarkable switches
• Three profiles stored in memory

Cons

• Only for right-handers
• Less efficient sensor than DeathAdder v2
• Single RGB area
• Non-detachable cable

Specs

• Grip: right-handed
• Sensor: PixArt PMW3359 (optical)
• Switches: Razer (70 million clicks)
• Sensitivity: 200 – 8,500 dots per inch, in 100 dpi increments
• Frequency: 125, 500 or 1000 Hz
• Number of buttons: 6, all programmable, 1 dial
• RGB: yes, Razer Chroma on 1 zone (16.8 million colors)
• Dimensions: 114 x 56 x 38mm
• Weight: 62g
• Connection type: wired, USB (1.8 meter Speedflex cable)
• Software: yes, Razer Synapse 3

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Conclusion

If you are looking for a budget gaming mouse, there are still nicely performing wired gaming mice on the market. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Gaming Mouse

dpi

dpi stands for dots per inch. The value indicates how many points per inch the mouse pointer has covered with the same hand movement. The higher the dpi value of a gaming mouse, the faster the mouse pointer moves. With a high dpi value, the mouse pointer travels a long way on the monitor despite small hand movements. This is useful for gamers using large monitors or multi-screen setups.

latency

The latency of a gaming mouse measures the delay between input and execution of a mouse command. The lower the latency, the faster the mouse responds to inputs. High-quality gaming mice have a latency of one millisecond.

polling rate

The polling rate is the polling rate of a gaming mouse, expressed in Hertz. It indicates how fast the mouse can transfer information to the computer. The specification is in Hertz. The higher the polling rate, the faster commands are transmitted.

macros

Macros are key combinations that make it possible to assign individual keys twice. For example, pressing Shift and a thumb button triggers a different command than pressing the thumb button alone.