The best mouse for CS2

What is the best mouse for CS2? Valve’s hotly anticipated tactical FPS has finally arrived, and hordes of players are descending on CS2 servers around the world to see what’s new. If you want to win your games in Counter-Strike 2 — and let’s face it, who doesn’t? — that will mean hitting your shots, headshots preferably. To start popping heads, you’ll need good aim, and what helps with aiming? That’s right, a great gaming mouse.

With a huge range of gaming mice on offer, it can be difficult to identify what the best one for CS2 will be. Are you looking for a wired or wireless mouse? Do you have big hands or small hands? Do you use a palm grip or a claw grip? All these questions will need answering to determine what sort of mouse you’re looking for.

We’ve put together this guide with a selection of mice depending on your preference and budget. On the whole, these mice are light — or ultralight in some cases — and responsive. These are the non-negotiables.

Dedicated CS2 players aren’t looking for the best gaming mouse, generally speaking, or one with a large feature set. You just need something high-performing that won’t break the bank. With that in mind, here are four gaming mice that will have your teammates screaming ‘NICE’.

Here are the best mice for Counter-Strike 2:

• Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 – best overall mouse for Counter-Strike 2
• NZXT Lift – best cheap mouse for Counter-Strike 2
• Razer Viper 8KHz – best wired mouse for Counter-Strike 2
• Zowie EC2-CW – best pro mouse for Counter-Strike 2

Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2

The best gaming mouse for CS2 is the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2.
Expect to pay around $130 (£130).

Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 specs:

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Responsive

Cons:

• Pricey
• Not many customizable buttons

This mouse is a worthy successor to the Logitech G Pro X Superlight, itself an excellent palm pal for FPS games. The Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 packs great performance into an ultralight 60g frame, making it perfect for extended CS2 gaming sessions.

The Hero 2 sensor brings everything you need to the table, with 500-inches-per-second tracking and up to 32,000DPI. Its hybrid optical-mechanical switches are super responsive, too, and perfectly reliable in our experience.

But there are some downsides. If you’re looking for a budget mouse: this ain’t it. The dainty 60g weight of the mouse comes at the expense of extra buttons, with five being at the lower end of what you can expect from a gaming mouse.

Read our Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 review.

NZXT Lift

The best cheap gaming mouse for CS2 is the NZXT Lift.
Expect to pay around $50 (£40).

NZXT Lift specs:

Pros:

• Great performance for the price
• Comfortable shape
• Intuitive button layout

Cons:

• Fixed cable
• Minimal button selection

You won’t find much better value for money than the NZXT Lift. Its MSRP is $59.99 — but you can find it a good $20 cheaper in a sale — which is a fraction of what high tier gaming mice cost.

And despite its impressively low price, the NZXT Lift can compete on performance with many of its pricier mouse brethren. Its 16,000DPI should offer high enough sensitivity for nearly all CS2 players, and the sensor’s 400-inch-per-second tracking competes with all but the most premium clickers.

Of course, you don’t get everything at this price. It’s a wired mouse with a fixed cable that can’t be removed, and the button selection isn’t particularly extensive. But you can hardly complain considering the cost, and these factors don’t impinge on the overall viability of this mouse for CS2.

Check out Custom PC’s NZXT Lift review.

Razer Viper 8KHz

The best wired mouse for CS2 is the Razer Viper 8KHz.
Expect to pay around $70 (£65).

Razer Viper 8KHz specs:

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Ambidextrous
• Great shape

Cons:

• 8kHz is pointless
• Basic feature set

Okay, let’s confront the elephant in the room first: 8kHz polling is pretty much pointless. Most games don’t even support it. For those that do, the difference is basically imperceptible.

Don’t let that distract you from what’s otherwise an excellent wired gaming mouse. Its simple black design looks the part, has a comfortable, contoured shape, and packs plenty of power under the bonnet.

With up to 20,000DPI and a whopping 650ips tracking speed, the Razer Focus+ optical sensor will fulfill your every need for CS2. And the extra buttons will be great for binding abilities to, such as using your flashbang, smoke, or melee attack.

Check out Custom PC’s Razer Viper 8KHz review.

BenQ Zowie EC2-CW

The best mouse for CS2 pros is the BenQ Zowie EC2-CW.
Expect to pay around $150 (£160).

BenQ Zowie EC2-CW specs:

Pros:

• Comfy asymmetrical design
• Used by pros

Cons:

• Low max DPI
• Limited polling

If you’re looking to go pro in CS2 — or just want to emulate the best — you can do a lot worse than copying the equipment that current pros use. With that in mind, our final recommendation is the BenQ Zowie EC2-CW.

According to Pro Settings, three of the top 20 best CS:GO players in last year’s HLTV rankings used the BenQ Zowie EC2-CW. If the pros are using it, it must be pretty good, right? Professional play demands the best equipment in esports just as it does in football or basketball.

While the BenQ Zowie EC2-CW doesn’t have a particularly high polling rate or max DPI, it’s a supremely comfortable mouse with a super reliable sensor.

Now that we’ve helped you find the mouse that you need, let us show you how to tailor your CS2 crosshair to ensure you’re using the best settings possible.