To test how accurate a mouse pad is at tracking the movements of the mouse used on it, we have developed a simple test to record this.

It’s a fairly simple test that involves drawing the test mice down along a straight edge while the mouse is on the selected mouse pad. The mouse is drawn down once, back up then down again at both high and low speeds. By doing the two speeds, you can see if the pattern confuses the mouse when it’s moving at a faster pace. The most representative line is chosen as the result.

The line that the mouse takes is recorded using Paint and the Pencil tool; nothing high-tech here. The results are then placed on a perfectly straight line so that you can see how much the mouse varies from ‘normal’ – the perfectly straight line.

If the line isn’t 100% straight, then you know that the mouse pad doesn’t track that well and you’ll soon get frustrated with the pad.

Ratpadz GS with optical mouse

Steelpad Qck heavy with Razer Deathadder

Please note: the above pictures are examples only and not intended for comparison - the mice are different