I guess I just don't follow your line of thinking. I don't mean it in a rude way, I just don't.
In order to control each pixel, I set the pencil tool to 1.00, while zoomed in to at least 800%, usually more. You can quickly zoom in and out by holding control and using a scroll wheel if you have one.
I'm sorry if I'm telling you obvious things, it's hard to know your precise knowledge base.