This document compares optical and laser computer mice. Optical mice have lower dots per inch (DPI), polling rates, and accuracy compared to laser mice, but are cheaper. Laser mice have higher DPI and polling rates, resulting in better accuracy, though they are more expensive. For most average home users, the differences may not be noticeable, but laser mice can be preferable for tasks requiring precise movement like gaming or graphic design work.

1. By Areeb Ahmed Khan

2.  LED
 Low Dpi
 Low Polling Rate
 Bad Accuracy
 Cheap
 Laser
 High Dpi
 High Polling Rate
 Good Accuracy
 Expensive

3.  When you move your mouse it reads
dots(pixels) every inch on the surface.
 So, the more dots per inch (dpi) a mouse can
track more sensitive and more accurate .
 A typical optical mice tracks between
400–800 dpi while laser mice track more than
5000 dpi.

4.  While tracking, a mouse sends its X and Y
movement calculations to a computer which
is known as a polling rate and is expressed in
Hertz.
 So if a mouse has a polling rate of 125 Hertz,
this means that the device is reporting
information 125 times in one second (meaning
once every 8ms).
 However, when playing a game and directing
actions in a FPS, or virtually any other genre
of game, an eight millisecond delay can cause
slightly delayed reactions.

5.  Optical mouse have a very low polling rate of
25-60 Hz while Laser have a polling rate of
125–1000Hz.
 Thus,the more times a device reports to the
computer, the faster the computer will
process this information for use in
applications or games.

6. The table below represents combinations of Hz values and their corresponding
delay time:
Hz ms
1000 1
500 2
250 4
125 8
100 10

7.  Optical Mice sometime lags and a bit jerky
on screen when you track really fast. This is
because of low dpi ,low polling rate and old
LED technology.
 Laser's are more accurate. This will be very
useful for anyone who does precise work,
such as with art or photographs, architecture
etc. It is easier to move your mouse to the
exact pixel with a laser.

8.  The average home user may not notice or
need the difference.
 It all depends on your needs and
preferences. Unless you're a gamer or a
graphic artist with a need for precise
movement.