Question Mouse Responsiveness

[SteeleStriker]

Hello, I have been playing games on pc for a long time but since I began playing on a pc I began to notice an issue I have been having since I started playing that I just haven’t been able to fix.

When I’m moving my mouse to aim especially while aiming down sights my mouse doesn’t seem as responsive to my movements as it does in other games. For instance it feels like there’s a small but noticeable delay from when I move my mouse to when my monitor actually displays any mouse movement.

I thought this problem might have to do with a low frame rate but I recently upgraded my PC and have a 2080ti and i9 9900k and 32gb of ram as well as a 165hz monitor with 1ms response time. But my problem persisted even after this upgrade. I got a new mouse to see if that was the problem and no matter what mouse I use even if I set the polling rate to 1000 it seems to act a little slow in game.

I’m currently using the Glorious Model O but it doesn’t work with my Razer Naga Chroma, Razer Deathadder Elite or my G502. I have my enhanced pointer precision setting off in my mouse options and everything but no matter where I look I cannot find a solution for this issue.

I know it’s not a problem with my performance but I’m wondering if there is a setting I’m forgetting that could be effecting this. I also checked to see if my cpu was being used to much but it averages on about 60% or 70% when playing games which should leave more than enough for it to focus on my mouse.

 

[Aeacus]

When I’m moving my mouse to aim especially while aiming down sights my mouse doesn’t seem as responsive to my movements as it does in other games.

If the issue appears only in one game, then it's the game's fault.

If the issue appears several games, are they online games (requiring internet connection)? If they all are, issue could be with your ping.

If the issue appears everywhere, inside all games (both online and offline), including on desktop (e.g web browsing), issue could be with USB packet delivery. Every USB device communicates with the PC via packets. There is no priority set for those and CPU deals with them once it has time for those. This latency issue can arise when you have several USB devices plugged to your PC and your mouse packets are ending up at the end of the USB packet lineup. Also, when the USB packet delivery system hangs for whatever reason, you'll get high latency either way.

If you can, try using PS/2 mouse and look how it fares. Despite PS/2 being older tech than USB, it still has few benefits which USB mice haven't matched. PS/2 mouse sends dedicated signals to the PC which interrupts anything CPU is currently doing and forces CPU to deal with the PS/2 input. In that sense, PS/2 mouse and KB are far better since you won't get any latency with them.

 

[SteeleStriker]

If the issue appears several games, are they online games (requiring internet connection)? If they all are, issue could be with your ping.

I get a stable 25-40ms while playing, however the game does indicate that my connection is not secure despite my ping being low.

If you can, try using PS/2 mouse and look how it fares. Despite PS/2 being older tech than USB, it still has few benefits which USB mice haven't matched. PS/2 mouse sends dedicated signals to the PC which interrupts anything CPU is currently doing and forces CPU to deal with the PS/2 input. In that sense, PS/2 mouse and KB are far better since you won't get any latency with them.

This looks promising but would a USB to PS/2 adapter have the same effect? The only mice I have are strictly USB mice

If the issue appears everywhere, inside all games (both online and offline), including on desktop (e.g web browsing), issue could be with USB packet delivery. Every USB device communicates with the PC via packets. There is no priority set for those and CPU deals with them once it has time for those. This latency issue can arise when you have several USB devices plugged to your PC and your mouse packets are ending up at the end of the USB packet lineup. Also, when the USB packet delivery system hangs for whatever reason, you'll get high latency either way.

I only have 3 devices in my PC that are using USB cables, my mouse, my keyboard and my microphone. There is not noticeable delay in my desktop at all and my CPU doesn't even use 100% while playing games so I am not sure if this is the cause for the problem. Is their a way to set my mouse as a priority for processing in task manager? I have looked this up but I only found anything for PC's using windows 7 and I am using Windows 10. Any way I can make my PC prioritize my mouse over other USB or background processes would be appreciated.

 

[Aeacus]

USB to PS/2 adapter may work but it can cause issues since USB is digital while PS/2 is analog signal. Btw, PS/2 mice are cheap to buy. 10 bucks a piece,
amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Perixx-PERIMICE-201P-Wired-PS2-Mouse/dp/B07WV55HZD

To get lower latency during gaming, you can set other applications priority to "low" while game priority is "high". That may cure latency/ stutter issues.

Also, what's your OS drive? And where games are located? (You failed to list full system specs.) Without knowing that, it could be the issue with your storage/OS drive as well.

 

[SteeleStriker]

Also, what's your OS drive? And where games are located? (You failed to list full system specs.) Without knowing that, it could be the issue with your storage/OS drive as well.

My OS drive is my C: Drive, I store my games on it as well. It is an m.2 with 500GB. I do not have an external hard drive or anything I store everything in the same spot, I only play a couple of games though so space is not an issue unless somehow it could be effecting my latency.

 

[Aeacus]

It's not the space that's the issue but read/write times. Also, there are 2x types of M.2 drives, NVMe and ACHI. Former is much faster while the latter isn't any better than regular 2.5" SATA SSD.

Also, when was the last time you made a clean OS install, or the very least, optimized the OS? Since as time goes onwards, OS also needs optimization (cleanup).

All in all, the issue could be with:

• software (OS, game, some other application conflicting, bloatware, malware)
• hardware (MoBo, SSD, mouse)
• network (ping, bandwidth, game servers, proxy servers)

Software fix could be either the easiest (if you wipe the drive and make clean install) or the hardest (if you try to find that needle in a haystack which causes the issue). Hardware fix costs money (component replacements) and we know that it's not the mouse itself. My current list would be SSD and MoBo (since you didn't list that you upgraded your MoBo, only new GPU, CPU and more RAM). And with network, there's little to none you can do to fix it. Only few things you can do is to prioritize game traffic within router settings and if you're using wi-fi, try using cable connection. The rest is out of scope. Also, your ISP can't do much either, only perhaps help fixing bandwidth issue.

Also, found this, it may help,
link: https://blog.pcrisk.com/windows/12211-how-to-fix-mouse-lag-on-windows-10

 

[SteeleStriker]

It's not the space that's the issue but read/write times. Also, there are 2x types of M.2 drives, NVMe and ACHI. Former is much faster while the latter isn't any better than regular 2.5" SATA SSD.

Also, when was the last time you made a clean OS install, or the very least, optimized the OS? Since as time goes onwards, OS also needs optimization (cleanup).

All in all, the issue could be with:

• software (OS, game, some other application conflicting, bloatware, malware)
• hardware (MoBo, SSD, mouse)
• network (ping, bandwidth, game servers, proxy servers)

Software fix could be either the easiest (if you wipe the drive and make clean install) or the hardest (if you try to find that needle in a haystack which causes the issue). Hardware fix costs money (component replacements) and we know that it's not the mouse itself. My current list would be SSD and MoBo (since you didn't list that you upgraded your MoBo, only new GPU, CPU and more RAM). And with network, there's little to none you can do to fix it. Only few things you can do is to prioritize game traffic within router settings and if you're using wi-fi, try using cable connection. The rest is out of scope. Also, your ISP can't do much either, only perhaps help fixing bandwidth issue.

Also, found this, it may help,
link: https://blog.pcrisk.com/windows/12211-how-to-fix-mouse-lag-on-windows-10

My old PC got destroyed in a flood, everything in this PC is completely new except for the keyboard and mic because both of those survived the flood. As for my SSD I have a NVMe drive. How would my response time be effected by my internet? I play on local LAN servers and still have the same issue I do when I am in online play.

 

[SteeleStriker]

It's not the space that's the issue but read/write times. Also, there are 2x types of M.2 drives, NVMe and ACHI. Former is much faster while the latter isn't any better than regular 2.5" SATA SSD.

Also, when was the last time you made a clean OS install, or the very least, optimized the OS? Since as time goes onwards, OS also needs optimization (cleanup).

All in all, the issue could be with:

• software (OS, game, some other application conflicting, bloatware, malware)
• hardware (MoBo, SSD, mouse)
• network (ping, bandwidth, game servers, proxy servers)

Software fix could be either the easiest (if you wipe the drive and make clean install) or the hardest (if you try to find that needle in a haystack which causes the issue). Hardware fix costs money (component replacements) and we know that it's not the mouse itself. My current list would be SSD and MoBo (since you didn't list that you upgraded your MoBo, only new GPU, CPU and more RAM). And with network, there's little to none you can do to fix it. Only few things you can do is to prioritize game traffic within router settings and if you're using wi-fi, try using cable connection. The rest is out of scope. Also, your ISP can't do much either, only perhaps help fixing bandwidth issue.

Also, found this, it may help,
link: https://blog.pcrisk.com/windows/12211-how-to-fix-mouse-lag-on-windows-10

Also would you like a video of it? to try and make more sense of it?

 

[Aeacus]

Sure, you can record a vid of it if you can. Vid helps the most with software/game issues though.

Did you check the possible latency fixes i linked above?

Oh, one more thing. Is the monitor you're using, the same one as with the old PC?

 

[SteeleStriker]

Sure, you can record a vid of it if you can. Vid helps the most with software/game issues though.

Did you check the possible latency fixes i linked above?

Oh, one more thing. Is the monitor you're using, the same one as with the old PC?

I tried all the fixes above but none of them had fixed the issue, I did notice in my bios that my DRAM was getting slightly too much voltage for whatever reason and I had been letting that happen for months. I don’t think there’s permanent damage it was only at a stage where it displayed as orange not red. But when I lowered the voltage it improved my response time a little bit, there’s still so much lag however. I’ll send you a video in a second I need to get on my pc.

 

[SteeleStriker]

Sure, you can record a vid of it if you can. Vid helps the most with software/game issues though.

Did you check the possible latency fixes i linked above?

Oh, one more thing. Is the monitor you're using, the same one as with the old PC?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl6XiGTkyUQ

 

[Aeacus]

So, checked your vid and it looked smooth and fine to me. To be honest, that vid dazed my eyes and produced small headache due to the constant twitching. Then again, i'm not a twitchy FPS player but a casual gamer.

Also, the video can show stutter or screen tearing, but not input lag (latency). For the latter, external camera is needed that records both the key presses on your KB/mouse and image seen from monitor. Then, analyzing the vid, frame by frame, one can calculate how much time it takes from the point you press e.g W to move forward and how long it takes (in ms or in frames) for your char to starting moving forward (watching from the monitor). Note: same or higher FPS recording is needed as your monitor refresh rate is.

What's your monitor make and model (or part number)? Since different monitors have different input lags. Also, if possible, try using a different monitor to see if it has any difference.

 

[SteeleStriker]

So, checked your vid and it looked smooth and fine to me. To be honest, that vid dazed my eyes and produced small headache due to the constant twitching. Then again, i'm not a twitchy FPS player but a casual gamer.

Also, the video can show stutter or screen tearing, but not input lag (latency). For the latter, external camera is needed that records both the key presses on your KB/mouse and image seen from monitor. Then, analyzing the vid, frame by frame, one can calculate how much time it takes from the point you press e.g W to move forward and how long it takes (in ms or in frames) for your char to starting moving forward (watching from the monitor). Note: same or higher FPS recording is needed as your monitor refresh rate is.

What's your monitor make and model (or part number)? Since different monitors have different input lags. Also, if possible, try using a different monitor to see if it has any difference.

I have tried multiple monitors but none of them seem to do fix the issue, I have noticed that when I am playing games my Asus z390 pro gaming motherboard has the CPU LED light up red when under heavy load, how would I know if my cpu isnt getting enough power? Im sure that could cause input lag if it was not

 

[Aeacus]

Your PSU make and model (or part number) is?