What Is Mouse Smoothing? Is It Good For Gaming?
Every gamer knows how vital the component of the mouse is when it comes to gaming. All it takes is a minor slip-up to get you off the roaster. Every gaming setup is incomplete unless there is a sturdy and reliable mouse to go along with it. This is why knowing all about the basics of how a mouse function is critical before buying. The more time you spend learning about these things, the better choice you’ll make when purchasing a gaming mouse.
All the modern mice come with adjustable settings such as changing mouse polling rate, adjustable DPI, adjusting lift-off distance, on-the-fly buttons, etc. However, we often overlook mouse smoothing and how it is essential to set up your PC. We may have come across this option while playing games such as Valorant, Overlord, Call of Duty, and so on. But what exactly is mouse smoothing?
Therefore, in our article, we have mentioned everything you need to know about mouse smoothing. Similarly, we have mentioned the differences between mouse smoothing and mouse acceleration.
What is Mouse Smoothing?
Mouse smoothing takes place when your system’s hardware tries to predict where you want the mouse. The hardware does this by algorithmically adding virtual target points and ultimately smoothen your mouse movements. In simpler words, smoothing is an ease-in ease-out interpolation operation that applies on a slight delay to look more like a cinematic camera.
Over the years, manufacturers have come up with different technologies to enhance a gamer’s gaming experience, such as angle snapping, mouse smoothing, etc. In earlier mouses, the movements were rough at the edges and often ended up being damaged. This was when manufacturers came up with mouse smoothing in which the computer determines your next mouse movement based on your current movement.
1. Is It Different Than Mouse Acceleration?
Yes, mouse smoothing is entirely different from mouse acceleration. The computer predicts your mouse’s next movement in mouse smoothing based on its current movement and smoothens the overall movement. However, mouse acceleration makes the distance of the cursor on your screen reliant on the velocity of your physical mouse movement instead of just covering the distance that you move your mouse.
This means making one mouse movement at the same distance but at two different speeds will cause two different relative cursor movements. In simple words, the cursor distances increase if you move your mouse too quickly. In contrast, mouse smoothing interpolates the raw input data from your mouse to give you a smooth, jerk-free mouse movement.
2. Is Mouse Smoothing Good For Gaming?
No, mouse smoothing is not good for gaming. This is because mouse smoothing tends to interfere with your mouse’s proper position, which means it isn’t great for getting the right aim. If you are trying to achieve a high FPS, mouse smoothing will tamper your gaming experience altogether.
In simple words, any hardware that attempts to alter your onscreen movements ultimately leads to negative gaming performance. Not just angle smoothing, but this is the same if your mouse has angle snapping. Mouse smoothing disrupts the coordination between your mouse and the cursor, which means your cursor won’t be doing exactly what you are doing with your mouse. While angle smoothing may work out well in casual single-player gaming, we strongly recommend turning it off when it comes to online gaming.
When it comes to competitive gaming, you need the aim to be precise and your mouse to be responsive. In such cases, enabling mouse smoothing will add a layer of interpretation between your movements and the game.
3. How To Check If Your Mouse Has Mouse Smoothing?
The majority of the latest gaming mice do not have mouse smoothing. To check whether your mouse has angle smoothing, you can check your product manufacturer’s page online to check the same.
If you are unable to find it online, then open MS-Paint and try to draw a circle. If you can draw a perfect circle with fewer or no irregularities, then it means your mouse has mouse smoothing.
The Bottom Line
We hope our article was able to cover everything related to mouse smoothing. Similarly, we hope you have understood the difference between mouse smoothing and mouse acceleration. Remember that with mouse smoothing, the movement is not raw, it is altered, and that’s not recommended if you want to get a better aim and improve yourself.
