[SOLVED] How to make sure motherboard is working properly?

Jun 6, 2021
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I have been experiencing input lag only when moving my mouse (I have already tried swapping mice) so I am trying to make sure each individual component is working properly. Are there any programs or tests that I can run to make sure my motherboard is working properly? I have the MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC.
 
Solution
Are there any programs or tests that I can run to make sure my motherboard is working properly?
Short answer: NO!


Long answer:

Motherboard is a very complicated PCB circuit board with lot of components and a huge amount of small conductive traces. Any one of those can potentially have cracks and be non-conductive in certain circumstances (temperature and mechanical load) and thereby the whole system become unstable.

Same kind of issues with onboard chips and countless solder spots.

If any of those issues exist for a mainboard, there is no software in the world that can detect it.

Could there exist a motherboard that would self-check itself? Sure, but it would become several orders of magnitudes more expensive.
Are there any programs or tests that I can run to make sure my motherboard is working properly?
Short answer: NO!


Long answer:

Motherboard is a very complicated PCB circuit board with lot of components and a huge amount of small conductive traces. Any one of those can potentially have cracks and be non-conductive in certain circumstances (temperature and mechanical load) and thereby the whole system become unstable.

Same kind of issues with onboard chips and countless solder spots.

If any of those issues exist for a mainboard, there is no software in the world that can detect it.

Could there exist a motherboard that would self-check itself? Sure, but it would become several orders of magnitudes more expensive.
 
Solution
Jun 6, 2021
17
0
10
Short answer: NO!


Long answer:

Motherboard is a very complicated PCB circuit board with lot of components and a huge amount of small conductive traces. Any one of those can potentially have cracks and be non-conductive in certain circumstances (temperature and mechanical load) and thereby the whole system become unstable.

Same kind of issues with onboard chips and countless solder spots.

If any of those issues exist for a mainboard, there is no software in the world that can detect it.

Could there exist a motherboard that would self-check itself? Sure, but it would become several orders of magnitudes more expensive.
Thank you for the response! Would it make sense that the cause of my input lag would be the motherboard? It gets worse as time goes on and I only feel it when I move my mouse (Cursor and crosshair in game). I don't notice it on my keyboard or when I press any of my mouse buttons.
 

punkncat

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Actually, POST is a self check of the motherboard and it's main components as the system boots. Variously you could have a speaker (if you installed it) or even LED lights or screen that will show POST codes if it detects a problem.

If this is a wireless mouse, make the distance to the receiver shorter. If you happen to have a storage device on the same bus that can cause issues with mouse response. Took me a while to figure that last part out.
Also, make sure your mouse (I assume optical) likes the surface it is on. Try placing a piece of paper under it, etc.

You may also want to consider background process. If your CPU and memory are being (fully) utilized it can cause quite a bit of input lag as the CPU "comes around" to it's cue of things to do.
 
Jun 6, 2021
17
0
10
Actually, POST is a self check of the motherboard and it's main components as the system boots. Variously you could have a speaker (if you installed it) or even LED lights or screen that will show POST codes if it detects a problem.

If this is a wireless mouse, make the distance to the receiver shorter. If you happen to have a storage device on the same bus that can cause issues with mouse response. Took me a while to figure that last part out.
Also, make sure your mouse (I assume optical) likes the surface it is on. Try placing a piece of paper under it, etc.

You may also want to consider background process. If your CPU and memory are being (fully) utilized it can cause quite a bit of input lag as the CPU "comes around" to it's cue of things to do.

Thank you for letting me know about POST! However my pc boots up and everything seems to be working fine. The only issue is the mouse lag. Is it still worth running POST? It is a wired mouse, and I have tried to turn off all processes and background programs. However, what exactly does it mean to have a storage device on the same bus?
 

punkncat

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Ambassador
Thank you for letting me know about POST! However my pc boots up and everything seems to be working fine. The only issue is the mouse lag. It is a wired mouse, and I have tried to turn off all processes and background programs. However, what exactly does it mean to have a storage device on the same bus?

For instance, the front header on my case has two USB that connect to the same header on the motherboard. If I plug my receiver and an external SSD up to them, the mouse acts wonky while I access the drive. Bit harder to tell for the backplane...and I rather assume you would have tried other USB slots, I think you said you did.


Please run a Userbenchmark and post the share results link here?
 
Jun 6, 2021
17
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For instance, the front header on my case has two USB that connect to the same header on the motherboard. If I plug my receiver and an external SSD up to them, the mouse acts wonky while I access the drive. Bit harder to tell for the backplane...and I rather assume you would have tried other USB slots, I think you said you did.


Please run a Userbenchmark and post the share results link here?
Yea I don't have external drives and I have tried different usbs.

Here is the userbenchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/44745812
 
The main issue with such problems is that it's a pretty wide scope of possible errors. First I think it is a good idea to try to figure if this is a windows related error or not. Is this your personal computer? If yes, we can proceed:

You can go and grab whatever Linux distro that can run in live desktop mode (testing without installing), eg. Linux Mint <link>. Run that for a while and see if the mouse lag is still a problem. Just go with the Cinnamon version since you have relatively modern hardware.
 
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punkncat

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Is POST something the motherboard does every time it boots? Do I need to do anything to see the codes?

As above, generally going to be a speaker/piezo beeping, lights, or a small screen.

Yes, every time. When you power the system on it goes through a process to make sure everything it needs and expects to see are there and operating properly. This is mostly in relation to CPU, RAM, drives and such. I cannot honestly say if systems will still throw an error for not having a mouse or keyboard detected. I haven't run across that in a while, as in haven't tried to see.
 

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
Is POST something the motherboard does every time it boots? Do I need to do anything to see the codes?

Honestly, I think this is a dead end. I would be shocked to see something related to mouse input lag. What is the history of this system? Did this ever work? Knowing all the events would be a gigantic help; without actually providing information, I have no idea if this was a PC that was working fine for a year, one you just upgraded the motherboard and didn't reinstall the OS, or your house was hit by lightning the other day.
 
Jun 6, 2021
17
0
10
The main issue with such problems is that it's a pretty wide scope of possible errors. First I think it is a good idea to try to figure if this is a windows related error or not. Is this your personal computer? If yes, we can proceed:

You can go and grab whatever Linux distro that can run in live desktop mode (testing without installing), eg. Linux Mint <link>. Run that for a while and see if the mouse lag is still a problem. Just go with the Cinnamon version since you have relatively modern hardware.

Do you know of any good tutorials to walk me through the process?
 
Jun 6, 2021
17
0
10
Honestly, I think this is a dead end. I would be shocked to see something related to mouse input lag. What is the history of this system? Did this ever work? Knowing all the events would be a gigantic help; without actually providing information, I have no idea if this was a PC that was working fine for a year, one you just upgraded the motherboard and didn't reinstall the OS, or your house was hit by lightning the other day.
I have been dealing with input lag for the past few months. It starts of fine then gets worse as time goes on. Ive done everything I could think of. Ive talked to intel support they had me run some tests and my cpu is fine. I replaced my mouse, replaced monitor panel, switched video cables. Swapped keyboards, checked the load of cpu and gpu, reinstalled drivers, checked load and temperature of cpu and gpu they don’t go above 70C. I think it could either be my psu or motherboard. I don’t notice anything when I click my mouse buttons or when I type something, only when I move my mouse. The cursor feels delayed and when I play games it feels heavy when I move my head side to side. I have replaced my glorious model D with a Logitech G403 and still have the same issue. Reinstalling motherboard drivers helped the issue a little bit until I restarted my pc then it just came back. The same happened when I switched my hdmi cable to a displayport cable.
 

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
Are you having any odd performance issues with other USB devices?

There's a first time for everything, but while I've had motherboards with failing USB controllers in the past -- it's one of the reasons I upgrade the 3770K PC to an 8700K in 2018 -- I've never seen one fail in quite this way. Generally, they stop working intermittently or don't work at all.

I would be highly surprised if this had anything to do with the PSU.

Given the very specific and odd symptoms of the problem, I'm wondering if there's an issue with your Windows itself or possibly an odd bit of virus or malware.

This is an odd question that I can't believe I'm asking with a straight face, but have you checked your mousepad/mousemat? It's possible something happened to the surface or texture, or something small that got under the pad changed your perceptions of the mouse's performance? I have a cat that pushes coins under my mousepad and when that happens, there's an almost imperceptible bump that stutters the movement a little (and then I let out an expletive because I always forget to not leave coins around). A bizarre suggestion, I know, but a free one.
 
Jun 6, 2021
17
0
10
Are you having any odd performance issues with other USB devices?

There's a first time for everything, but while I've had motherboards with failing USB controllers in the past -- it's one of the reasons I upgrade the 3770K PC to an 8700K in 2018 -- I've never seen one fail in quite this way. Generally, they stop working intermittently or don't work at all.

I would be highly surprised if this had anything to do with the PSU.

Given the very specific and odd symptoms of the problem, I'm wondering if there's an issue with your Windows itself or possibly an odd bit of virus or malware.

This is an odd question that I can't believe I'm asking with a straight face, but have you checked your mousepad/mousemat? It's possible something happened to the surface or texture, or something small that got under the pad changed your perceptions of the mouse's performance? I have a cat that pushes coins under my mousepad and when that happens, there's an almost imperceptible bump that stutters the movement a little (and then I let out an expletive because I always forget to not leave coins around). A bizarre suggestion, I know, but a free one.

No I only have a mouse and keyboard plugged in through usb. The keyboard seems to be working fine and I do not notice any lag on that or when I press the buttons on my mouse. There may be an issue with windows but I have reinstalled it 2 or 3 times in the past few months. I ran a scan through windows defender and nothing came up. As for my mousepad, theres not really anything that could have happened. I clean it every 2 weeks and let it dry properly. It always feels nice after being cleaned but still feels sluggish after ~5 minutes compared to what it felt like when I first started.
 
Jun 6, 2021
17
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10
Your ram is running at 2133mhz instead of 2400mhz.
Go into BIOS and enable XMP.
I had it yesterday, turns out something was shorting out my pc, it was the strip connecting my pc... get a better surge port

I tried switching surge protectors and then just plugging my pc into the wall. Still no luck. I did notice that the pins on the cable that goes from the psu to the wall was bent to the left. Could this be an issue?