Three numbers determine how your mouse maps to the FPS camera: DPI, in-game sensitivity, and the per-game yaw constant. Together they produce a single comparable quantity — cm/360 — that pros, coaches, and aim trainers all use. This guide gives you the math, the per-game constants, the pro distributions, and the common pitfalls.
DPI (dots per inch) is how many position counts the mouse sensor produces per inch of physical movement. A 1600 DPI mouse moved 1 inch produces 1600 counts. That's it. The mouse itself does not know how those counts map to camera rotation — that mapping happens in the game.
Mouse sensors run at fixed internal sampling rates. Above ~3200 DPI, optical sensors of the 2024-2025 generation produce essentially identical accuracy to lower DPI; the "higher is better" claim from manufacturers is a marketing artefact. Pros overwhelmingly use 400, 800, or 1600 DPI. ProSettings.net (prosettings.net) public distributions confirm this for CS2, Valorant, Apex, and Overwatch 2.
Each FPS engine assigns a base "yaw per count" constant. The in-game slider multiplies that constant. The result is the number of degrees the camera rotates per mouse count.
For most Source-engine derivatives (CS:GO, CS2, Apex Legends), the yaw constant is approximately 0.022 degrees per count at sensitivity 1.0. So a 800 DPI mouse moved 1 inch at CS2 sensitivity 1.0 rotates the camera by 800 * 0.022 = 17.6 degrees per inch.
For Valorant, the formula uses a different scaling. At Valorant sensitivity 1.0, each mouse count rotates approximately 0.07 degrees if you pair it with the 800 DPI default — the published Riot tools and well-known sensitivity converter sites (Mouse-Sensitivity.com, Aiming.pro) implement this constant. Many pros use Valorant sensitivities between 0.3 and 0.5, paired with 800 DPI.
| Engine / Game | Yaw constant approximation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CS:GO / CS2 | 0.022 deg / count at sens 1.0 | Source/Source 2; verified by sensitivity converter sites and the public CS2 source on the m_yaw cvar |
| Apex Legends | 0.022 deg / count at sens 1.0 | Source-engine derivative |
| Valorant | 0.07 deg / count at sens 1.0 | Riot proprietary; widely used 0.07 ratio |
| Overwatch 2 | ~0.0066 deg / count at 1.0 multiplier | Different multiplier scale; conversion via percent-based UI |
| Fortnite | ~0.005555 deg / count at sens 1.0 | Note Fortnite uses two slider sub-values (X and Y) |
| Call of Duty (MW3 / Warzone) | ~0.0066 deg / count at sens 1.0 | Multiplier scale; ADS multiplier is separate |
Constants verified against the Mouse-Sensitivity.com converter, the Aiming.pro converter, and engine source where public. We use these in our local sensitivity converter calculator.
The number you actually want is centimetres of mouse motion to rotate the camera 360 degrees.
cm/360 = (360 / (DPI * yaw_constant * in_game_sensitivity)) * 2.54
The 2.54 converts inches to centimetres because DPI is dots per inch.
cm/360 = (360 / (800 * 0.022 * 1.0)) * 2.54 ~= 51.95 cm
So a CS2 pro on 800 DPI, sens 1.0 needs about 52 cm of mouse motion for a full 360. That is on the high (slow) side of pro distribution.
cm/360 = (360 / (800 * 0.07 * 0.4)) * 2.54 ~= 40.83 cm
About 41 cm/360 — close to the Valorant pro median.
cm/360 = (360 / (800 * 0.022 * 1.5)) * 2.54 ~= 34.63 cm
The numbers below are aggregated from public ProSettings.net listings of Tier 1 competitive players in 2024. They are typical, not prescriptive. Genetics, hand size, desk size, and personal preference all matter.
| Game | cm/360 25th percentile | cm/360 median | cm/360 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS2 | 32 cm | 40 cm | 56 cm |
| Valorant | 33 cm | 41 cm | 50 cm |
| Apex Legends | 30 cm | 40 cm | 60 cm |
| Overwatch 2 (hitscan) | 22 cm | 30 cm | 40 cm |
| Fortnite | 28 cm | 40 cm | 50 cm |
| Call of Duty | 30 cm | 45 cm | 60 cm |
Trends: tactical FPS (CS2, Valorant) cluster narrower; tracking-heavy games like Apex have a wider spread because some players prefer arm-aim (slow cm/360) and others prefer wrist-aim (fast).
Use our sensitivity converter calculator to do the algebra automatically.
Changing sensitivity weekly. The motor system needs a stable input mapping for consolidation. Constant changes erase prior gains.
Treating DPI as sensitivity. A higher DPI does not mean a more sensitive setup if you compensate with lower in-game sensitivity. They cancel.
Copying a pro's full setup. A pro's cm/360 might suit a different desk, hand, and pad. Copy the cm/360, not the slider value.
Using mouse acceleration. Acceleration breaks the constant cm/360 mapping and is generally avoided by pros (Windows pointer enhancement off, in-game acceleration off).
Different in-game ADS sensitivity multipliers. If your hipfire is 40 cm/360 but your scoped ADS uses a 1.5 multiplier inadvertently, your scoped flick has a different motor mapping. Consider using the "match in cm/360" ADS option (in CS2, the "Use the same multiplier" setting; in Valorant, scoped sensitivity multipliers).
Two Windows settings matter:
Verify with a tool like MouseTester. The published goal is "raw input" — every count translates to one increment of game rotation, no acceleration, no scaling.
Polling rate is how many times per second the mouse reports counts to the OS. Common values: 125, 500, 1000, 4000, 8000 Hz. Returns diminish past 1000 Hz for clicking tasks; 4000 to 8000 is perceptible mainly for very smooth tracking. CPU load increases noticeably at 8000 Hz.
End-to-end latency is the total delay from mouse motion to pixel update. The components are: mouse polling (~1 ms at 1000 Hz), OS input stack (~1 to 3 ms), game render queue (~1 to 16 ms depending on FPS), and display response (~1 to 8 ms depending on monitor). Total typically falls between 8 and 40 ms on tuned setups; 50 ms or more on stock setups.
For deeper latency analysis, see refresh rate research.
If you target 40 cm/360 on a Razer DeathAdder V2, the desk needs at least 40 cm of usable pad width to allow a full smooth 360 motion without lift-off. Most pros lift the mouse mid-flick and reset, so 30 to 35 cm is enough in practice — but a wide pad reduces forced lift-offs. Suggested gaming peripherals (Amazon Associates, no extra cost):
Do change cm/360 if: your hand size or grip changed; you switched from wrist-only to arm aim; the cm/360 was demonstrably wrong (you cannot complete 180 in one swipe at all). Do not change cm/360 if: you are tilted from a single bad session; a streamer changed; or your benchmark dipped 5%. Sensitivity stability is one of the highest-leverage decisions in FPS aim.