How to Choose The Best Mouse Pad Size For Gamers

September 15, 2022 Joshua B.

If you’re looking to upgrade your gaming gear, then you’ve probably been looking around on various sites for a suitable mouse pad. Finding out what is the best mouse pad size for gamers is pretty difficult too.

To tell the truth, there is no direct answer for this question. Here’s why.

What to Consider When Choosing a Mouse Pad

Finding out what is the best size of a mouse pad is difficult, because there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” for mouse pads. A good mouse pad really depends on the surface, quality, your preferences, and of course, the size of your desk!

So of course, it is important to keep these in mind when picking out a new mouse pad. To make things a bit easier, we’ll go through some tips and things to consider below!

As you may know, mouse pad sizes vary depending on brand, but the general sizes are the ones you see above, which are small, medium, large and extra large/extended. With that said, it is very important to ensure the mouse pad will fit your desk space, and to always check the dimensions as many brands use the same names for different sizes.

Small Mouse Pads: Usually 260x215mm in size, and considered a little too restrictive for gaming due to the small size not allowing for proper wrist or arm movement. This can be overcome by increasing DPI at the cost of comfort or accuracy.

Medium Mouse Pads: Medium mouse pads tend to be in the range of 350x270mm to 350x300mm, and are perfect for users with limited desk space. The size of a medium pad makes them great for giving users enough room to move their mouse, while keeping their keyboard off of the mouse pad when on a 1 meter long desk.

Large Mouse Pads: Usually around 450x400mm in size, which provides adequate room for moving the gaming mouse around. Suitable for both low DPI and high DPI gaming. With this size of mouse pad, gamers don’t need to worry about running out of space. Perfect for large desks.

Extra Large (XL)/Extended Mouse Pads: Commonly called “desk mats” due to the huge amount of space they take up. Typically 900x400mm in size, designed to have a keyboard and mouse placed on top of them. Perfect for creating a themed desk setup, but it’s worth mentioning that not all mouse pads of this size are based on performance, as they’re traditionally based more on the design that’s printed on them.

Some other factors to consider when choosing a mouse pad are the DPI that you intend to play onm and the type of pad itself.

A lower DPI would typically require a larger mouse pad due to the larger hand movements associated with it. A higher DPI can be used on mouse pads of any size, at the cost of accuracy depending on the sensor in the gaming mouse.

Lastly, the material of the mouse pad and its purpose are important factors. Many mouse pads have “speed” and “control” variants, and it is important to ensure the mouse pad that you’re buying matches what you want. A speed pad will be incredibly fast with low control, while a control pad will be slower but easily supports fine movements. Mouse pads can also be made out of cloth, hybrid, and hard materials like plastic and glass. Typically cloth pads are slower than hard pads, and cheaper too.

Your Perfect Mouse Pads, Right At Your Fingertips

If you're looking to try a mouse pad made for speed, our Zero-G MPC450 is perfect for this. The Fantech MPC450 gives users unparalleled speed, perfect for games like OSU and more. If you're looking for a control pad that offers some speed as well, check out our Fantech AGILE series of mouse pads.