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Question about resolution & DPI settings SC2

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
mercurioneo
Profile Joined September 2025
1 Post
September 22 2025 10:16 GMT
#1
Hi everyone,

I’m just getting started with StarCraft II and I’d like to avoid building bad habits early on. I wanted to ask what resolution and mouse DPI most professional players use in competitive play.

At the moment I’m playing on a 4K monitor with 800 DPI, but I’ve read that many pros use 1080p and sometimes lower DPI values like 400–450.

What resolution is standard in tournaments (1080p, 1440p, 4K)?

Is it viable to keep playing at 4K with 800 DPI, or would that put me at a disadvantage compared to the common competitive setups?

For someone starting out, what would you recommend to avoid mistakes that could hurt my performance later?

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Master of DalK
Profile Blog Joined June 2012
Canada1803 Posts
September 22 2025 15:38 GMT
#2
DPI is entirely a personal decision, so try to find what's comfortable for you. The internet hivemind will generally say lower DPIs are better for games like FPS, where as games where you cursor needs to go all over the screen higher DPIs are better for. I personally use 1600 DPI. I know some folks with ~2400, and some folks with ~600.

In tournaments for SC2 at least generally 24 or 27" 1080p is still standard I believe. Honestly didn't even know SC2 could run at 4K res, lol.
@MasterDalK | Maelstrom Entertainment | Streaming Every Esport Under the Sun
funkyemy
Profile Joined May 2025
Germany14 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-09-22 16:37:37
September 22 2025 16:35 GMT
#3
I also use 1600 DPI but I am far from a pro player. Still, this feels very natural and definitely gives me enough precision and maneuverability at the same time.

Regarding the display size and resolution, I would imagine that it is even more up to your personal liking, only that a screen too big (say >27 inch) could be disadvantageous.
The reason would simply be, that you may be unable to see everything that is happening on screen.

Otherwise, StarCraft should in most cases give you the exact same fps in 1080p to 4K as it is so so heavily CPU bound. Especially if you use competitive low settings your GPU will be chilling anyways. You could make a case that 4k is clearer and you can see units better, but I don't think that actually makes a difference in real world play.

Compared to shooters, refresh rate is also less important I'd say, but in the big 2025 would probably make sense to go for at least 180 hz or 240, since it looks so much better on the eye and is widely available at very reasonable prices. But since you are already on an existing monitor, I would just keep it as is.

When I made masters in school I did it on the worst 1080p 60hz monitor known to man, on a 5€ keyboard and 30€ mouse - all good equipment does is give you even less excuses
"I could have gone pro, if not for [x]!"
Balnazza
Profile Joined January 2018
Germany1293 Posts
September 22 2025 18:27 GMT
#4
Pretty sure there are no correct answers for either of those. Just play on what you prefer and what works for you.

Or in other words: If the only thing in your way to win the next EWC is the wrong Resolution, I will dub you the most impressive gamer of all time
"Wenn die Zauberin runter geht, dann macht sie die Beine breit" - Khaldor, trying to cast WC3 German-only
Cyro
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom20332 Posts
September 23 2025 23:06 GMT
#5
Do you have windows mouse accel enabled? It's called "Enhanced Pointer Precision" and is on by default, yet awful.

Likewise do you have windows sensitivity set to 100%? (middle setting).

Do you have windows scaling set to 100%? That multiplies your sensitivity too (e.g. 150% scaling acts as 1.5x sens).

800dpi is otherwise very slow on 2160p.

Without getting screwed with, a sensitivity of around 1 inch to cross the vertical height of your screen (so 2160dpi for 2160p) is quite normal. Some room to go up or down.
"oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88
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