Why Does the Sensitivity Feel Different on a Desktop vs. a Laptop?

[PAINter]

Hi!

I'm feeling that even after making everything the same, the sensitivity feels different when playing on different PCs. What am I doing wrong, or what should I check?

• Desktop: 1 display, 1080p, 360Hz, 25" monitor. Sensitivity: Counter-Strike 0.89, 1000 DPI.

• Laptop: Only display 2 is ON, 1080p, 144Hz, 24" monitor. Same sensitivity settings.

• I entered these specs (including monitor size) into the calculator.

• Windows settings: default speed, no mouse acceleration, 100% display scaling (1080p the 2 PCs), and the same Windows version.

Could this just be placebo?

[DPI Wizard]

In terms of sensitivity (i.e. 360 distance) these are exactly the same.

1" difference in monitor size shouldn't make any significant difference in feel either, but it might be heavily affected by the refresh rate. Especially in a game like CS2 which actually reaches 360 FPS easily.

You could try to lower the refresh rate to 144 Hz on the desktop to see if that makes them feel more similar.

[TheNoobPolice]

There is going to be 4% difference (which isn't very much, borderline detectable IMO) in effective screen space sens if you sit at the exact same distance from both monitors. Usually though you instinctively sit closer to a smaller screen anyway to counter act this. To test this out, just set your sens 4% slower on the larger screen (at the expense of the same game world navigation familiarity).

As an alternative, just create an unscaled custom resolution of 1843 x 1037 (i.e with black bars) on the 25" screen, then you can rule the monitor size out as causing the effect. 

The refresh rate difference is likely to have a more significant effect on feel, and / or a different rig hardware just having an overall higher / lower throughput latency or frame pacing.

So not necessarily placebo as there might be real things affecting the feel, but the sensitivity aspect is unlikely to be the main difference.

Edited December 23, 2024 by TheNoobPolice

[randomguy7]

could it be the dpi of the monitor scaling (not the mouse)?

[PAINter]

Thanks for the reply, @DPI Wizard and @TheNoobPolice  I'm testing more thoroughly here.

I noticed that in CS2, the difference is becoming less noticeable—it's probably just the refresh rate difference. BUT IN Escape from Tarkov, thats a real deal. Feels really much more than 4% difference.

@randomguy7 what specs should I check to compare monitor density/DPI? That could be a factor too.

My 144Hz monitor is an old LG, and my 360Hz is a new Alienware.

When I get back home, I'll also test the same laptop on two different monitors to compare.

I'll do a physical test as well, sliding the mouse across the entire mousepad and comparing results. I'm really curious—I've been switching between desktop and laptop setups for years (when traveling), and even after adjusting everything this year, I still feel a difference.

[PAINter]

btw, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

[PAINter]

Forgot to share my calculator conversion:

 

[PAINter]

FOUND THE PROBLEM, i used to install the old "mouse fix" this is way my sens was a different feeling. just installed in my new laptop and it feels really more close to the reality

mouse fix is a common thing nowadays?

[DPI Wizard]

22 minutes ago, PAINter said:

FOUND THE PROBLEM, i used to install the old "mouse fix" this is way my sens was a different feeling. just installed in my new laptop and it feels really more close to the reality

mouse fix is a common thing nowadays?

Good you found a fix! Are you talking about the MarkC mousefix? If so it does nothing on newer games, there's only a few 20+ years old games it actually fixes anything for (for these old games it is crucial though). Newer games ignores anything mouse related written in the registry, and reads the data directly from the mouse (for the most part).

Other than that, reinstalling Windows can solve a lot of problems built over time that might for some reason impact the sensitivity.

[PAINter]

yep, MarkC mousefix: https://donewmouseaccel.blogspot.com/2010/03/markc-windows-7-mouse-acceleration-fix.html

wow @DPI Wizard, i dont know how its better now, at least for cs2. im in home now, will do some benchmark laptop x desktop