The 7 Best Mouse Options For Sim Racing Setups

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A mouse may be the most overlooked part of a sim racing rig, but it can be extremely useful when used alongside a good racing wheel and pedals and can even be your new button box depending on the type of mouse you decide to buy. So, it helps to know what the best mice are for sim racing setups.

The 7 best mouse options for sim racing are:

  1. Razer Naga Pro Wireless
  2. Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite
  3. Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro Wireless
  4. Razer Orochi V2
  5. Logitech G Pro Wireless
  6. Glorious Model O
  7. SteelSeries Rival 5

While you won’t use these mice for the actual racing, they offer versatility and multifunctionality that will help you a great deal when on the track. Read on below for a more in-depth look at each mouse and some more important information to consider before you make a purchase.

The Best Choice
The Most Buttons
Budget Friendly Option
The Best Choice
  • • Excellent battery life
  • • Multiple variants
  • • Wireless option
The Most Buttons
  • • 17 programmable buttons
  • • Ergonomic design
  • • Durable braided cable
Budget Friendly Option
  • • 5 functional buttons
  • • Reasonably priced
  • • Great ergonomic design

Why You Need A Mouse For Your Sim Racing Rig

Improved Navigation

The first way you’ll make gains with a good sim racing mouse is in the navigation department. A mouse is excellent for menu navigation and will make your overall experience navigating the sim racing game a lot easier and a lot quicker.

Use It As A Makeshift Button Box

A sim racing mouse with some form of multifunctionality, usually in the form of buttons on the side of the mouse, can be used as an alternative button box too. A good mouse with a number of side buttons can make for easy menu navigation and quick strategy changes if commands are assigned to the side buttons.

Note: We strongly advise against using a keyboard and mouse for sim racing, as it offers no immersion and will likely not be as fast as using a wheel or even a controller

Racing With A Keyboard And Mouse

While we don’t recommend it, if you plan on sim racing using a keyboard and mouse, a good mouse with some form of multifunctionality will be ideal. The side buttons can be assigned to the gears, meaning your left hand can focus on steering inputs and your right hand can focus on gear changes, but you can set up your mouse any way you want.

Can You Sim Race With A Mouse?

It’s certainly possible to sim race with a good mouse and keyboard, but you will be at a severe disadvantage compared to others on controllers or racing wheels with pedals. Immersion will be nearly impossible to achieve when using a keyboard and mouse, so we don’t recommend it.

Assigning the changing of gears or DRS to one of your side mouse buttons will free up your left hand so it can focus on steering, allowing for a bit more control of the vehicle while also making it a much more relaxed experience.

However, while sim racing using a mouse and keyboard, your keyboard should take priority, as your steering inputs, accelerating, and braking will all be through the keyboard and not the mouse, so make sure you budget accordingly. However, we once again stress that you should instead invest in a wheel and pedals if you can, or a good sim racing controller at the very least.

KEY POINTS

• A good mouse is a useful addition to your sim racing setup

• It can help with menu navigation or even be used as a makeshift button box

• We do not recommend sim racing with a mouse and keyboard as the main inputs

How To Choose A Mouse For Sim Racing

Wired Or Wireless?

A wireless mouse is going to be the best choice for most people as you want to keep extra clutter to a minimum while avoiding any extra wires crossing over your racing equipment. A wireless mouse also enables you to sit further back from where your PC is located, meaning there isn’t any need for finicky cable management or moving your sim racing rig closer to your TV or monitor.

Wired mice will usually have lower input latency, but most modern wireless mice made today are much better equipped to bridge that gap than those of 5-10 years ago anyway. Wired mice will often be cheaper than most wireless mice, and so if you are on a tight budget, they may be worth looking at.

Extra Functionality

A good number of side buttons on your mouse will make it more versatile within your sim racing rig. Assigning certain strategy changes to a mouse button or specific functions and macros to the side buttons on your mouse can make menu navigation and strategy changes mid-race far easier.

The 7 Best Mouse Options For Sim Racing Setups

1. Razer Naga Pro Wireless

The Razer Naga Pro Wireless is a high-end wireless gaming mouse from Razer, featuring a unique and incredibly useful interchangeable side plate system. The Interchangeable side plates come in 3 variants.

The Best Choice
Razer Naga Pro Wireless

This gaming mouse offers sim racers a long battery life and various different configurations to choose from, providing up to 12 buttons that you can use as a makeshift button box.

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The 2-button variant is designed more for FPS gaming, while the side plate with 6 individual buttons is ideal for sim racing. Finally, the 12-button variant is designed primarily for battle arena style games, but it can be useful in sim racing games as a button box as well.

The mouse itself can act as a button box alongside a racing wheel and pedals, with no keyboard necessary, leaving a lot more space available around your sim racing rig for other accessories. The mouse can be used wired or wirelessly for up to 100 hours using its 2.4 GHz receiver, or 150 hours when connected via Bluetooth.

PROS:

  • Multiple configurations to choose from
  • Wireless
  • Long-lasting battery of up to 150 hours

CONS:

  • Quite expensive

2. Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite

The Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite is another mouse that features a very useful side plate that can add a lot of functionality to your sim racing setup.In total, the mouse features 17 fully programmable buttons. Each row of buttons is distinguishable using textured surfaces on every other row, making it very easy to always hit the right button.

The Most Buttons
Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite

This mouse features 17 programmable buttons, making it a versatile choice for sim racers that need some extra button customization at their fingertips.

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The side panel itself can be slid forwards or backwards, allowing you to make it as ergonomic as you need it to be. There is also RGB featured on the mouse around the scroll wheel, the front of the mouse, and just in front of the side panel as well as the buttons themselves.

Sadly, this mouse is not wireless, but instead features a braided cable that will last through wear and tear. This mouse is a high-end option from Corsair which unfortunately means it comes with a hefty price tag, but it’s still a suitable option for sim racers with the budget for it.

PROS:

  • 17 fully programmable buttons
  • Ergonomic and adjustable design
  • Braided cable

CONS:

  • Very expensive
  • No wireless functionality

3. Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro Wireless

The DeathAdder V2 Pro is one of Razer’s most popular gaming mice thanks to its exceptional ergonomics and negligible input latency in a tight, wireless form factor. The mouse itself is minimalistic in appearance with not much RGB to be found. The battery life is excellent, lasting for up to 120 hours on one charge, and it can be used as a wired mouse while charging as well.

Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro Wireless

This mouse offers a decent battery life along with excellent ergonomics to make it a comfortable addition to any sim racing rig.

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If you don’t plan on using a mouse for additional functionality but want a great-performing all-rounder, the DeathAdder V2 Pro is a great choice. It features 2 side buttons that are fairly large and easy to press. The sides of the mouse are textured ensuring great grip and the curves of the mouse allow it to snugly fit in your palm.

The lack of any extra functionality beyond the 2 side buttons leaves a lot to be desired at such a large price tag. But if you play a variety of games and want an all-rounder mouse, this is an excellent option, and its wireless connectivity means it will fit seamlessly into your sim racing rig.

PROS:

  • Long battery life
  • Excellent ergonomics
  • Wireless

CONS:

  • No extra functionality

4. Razer Orochi V2

The Razer Orochi V2 is a tiny wireless mouse that won’t take up much space at all and is very minimalistic in design. The battery life is very impressive, at up to 450 hours using their USB receiver and up to 950 hours over Bluetooth. The mouse can take AA or AAA batteries, making it very convenient when you eventually do need to change its batteries.

Razer Orochi V2

This mouse offers an incredibly long battery life, along with a simplistic, lightweight design.

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The ergonomics have been designed so that the mouse is firmly planted into your hand when in use. The 2 side buttons aren’t anything special, and for use as a button box, 2 side buttons may not be enough. Its wireless performance, impressive portability, and weight of only 60 grams (2.1 oz) make it an enticing addition to any sim racing rig.

A common theme with Razer hardware is sadly the fairly expensive price point. If this is in your budget and you’re looking for a very portable wireless mouse that can be accommodated by almost any sim racing rig, this is a great option.

PROS:

  • Very impressive battery life
  • Wireless
  • Can take AA or AAA batteries

CONS:

  • No added functionality beyond 2 side buttons

5. Logitech G Pro Wireless

While the DeathAdder may be the most well-known Razer mouse, the G Pro Wireless is one of the most well-known Logitech mice. The mouse is very minimalistic in design, with only a little RGB lighting. The sensor within the G Pro Wireless, the Hero 25K sensor, is still to this day one of the best optical sensors on the mouse market.

Logitech G Pro Wireless

This is an ideal mouse for those that play many different types of games, and it offers ultra-low latency.

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Its wireless connectivity is very impressive, with just a 1-millisecond report rate connection. Input latency is often a worry when it comes to wireless mice, but this is completely negated with Logitech Lightspeed Wireless technology. For multifunctionality, you get 4 side buttons, and as an all-rounder, this may be enough for you in racing games and will work well in other titles too.

The battery life suffers as a result of the impressive sensors in use, and it will only last 48 hours or 60 hours when the small amount of RGB lighting is completely disabled. The expensive price and poor battery life are a hard pill to swallow, but the sheer performance of the mouse itself is very enticing if it’s within your budget and you need more precision for other types of games.

PROS:

  • Very impressive sensor
  • 1 ms wireless report rate
  • Low weight of 90 g

CONS:

  • Pretty expensive
  • Poor battery life

6. Glorious Model O

The Model O from Glorious is a comparatively cheap mouse, and it’s extremely lightweight at only 67 grams (2.4 oz). The exterior of the mouse features a honeycomb design, aimed at reducing weight while retaining durability. The mouse features RGB lighting, but unlike many other mice in this price range, it isn’t too distracting.

Glorious Model O

This is a budget friendly mouse that offers everything a sim racer could need, all packaged in a lightweight design.

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There is no wireless functionality featured here unfortunately, but the cable that is included is braided and designed to last a long time. While there are 6 buttons that allow for macro functionality, 4 of those buttons include the left and right buttons, the scroll wheel, and the button used to switch between different DPI settings on the fly.

So, the only useful and truly multifunctional buttons are the 2 featured on the side of the mouse. Due to the limited amount of multifunctionality, it may not be great when used as your sole input device for sim racing, but it can still be an excellent all-rounder mouse that will work well within your sim racing setup for a fairly cheap price.

PROS:

  • Fairly cheap
  • Ultra-lightweight design
  • Durable braided cable

CONS:

  • No wireless functionality
  • No added functionality beyond 2 side buttons

7. SteelSeries Rival 5

The SteelSeries Rival 5 is an excellent mid-range priced mouse with impressive functionality and excellent ergonomics. Its 5 side buttons are ergonomically placed for the quickest access possible, and while this is a wired mouse, the cable is braided with a microfiber mesh for excellent durability.

Budget Friendly Option
SteelSeries Rival 5

This is a fairly cheap gaming mouse that offers 5 functional buttons, making it possible to use it as a makeshift button box.

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The RGB lighting can synchronize with other SteelSeries products, so it’s a good choice for anyone already in the SteelSeries ecosystem. The mouse is not heavy by any means, but it’s heavier than many other gaming-focused mice, weighing in at 85 grams.

The impressive side panel and ergonomic design at this price point are fantastic, and if you don’t mind the wired connection, this may be a good budget option for those wanting a bit of extra multifunctionality from their mouse.

PROS:

  • 5 functional buttons on the side panel
  • Microfiber braided cable
  • Reasonably budget friendly

CONS:

  • No wireless functionality
  • Weighs more than most gaming mice

Final Thoughts

The Razer Naga Pro Wireless offers the best multifunctionality and performance for sim racing on the market, but it comes at a high price point. The SteelSeries Rival 5 is a fairly cheap wired mouse that features some excellent added functionality not commonly found at its price point.