What Is Mouse Polling Rate? Hz, Delay and the Right Setting
Mouse polling rate is how many times per second your mouse reports its movement and button presses to the computer, measured in hertz (Hz). At 125 Hz the mouse sends a report every 8 ms; at 1000 Hz it sends one every 1 ms. A higher rate means less waiting between reports and smoother tracking, with smaller gains above 1000 Hz.
You can check the rate your own mouse is using in a few seconds with the mouse polling rate checker. This guide explains what the number means, where the standard rates come from, when a higher rate helps and which setting to pick.
What is a polling rate?
A polling rate is the frequency at which one device sends its latest data to another. A mouse does not stream its position continuously. Its sensor tracks movement all the time, but the mouse packs that movement, plus any button changes, into small reports and sends them to the computer at a fixed pace. The number of reports per second is the polling rate, also called the report rate or mouse Hz.
Logitech describes it the same way: polling rate is how often your mouse reports its position and button presses to your computer. The time between two reports follows from a simple formula:
Time between reports (ms) = 1000 / polling rate (Hz)
| Polling rate | Time between reports | Average wait for the next report |
|---|---|---|
| 125 Hz | 8 ms | 4 ms |
| 250 Hz | 4 ms | 2 ms |
| 500 Hz | 2 ms | 1 ms |
| 1000 Hz | 1 ms | 0.5 ms |
| 2000 Hz | 0.5 ms | 0.25 ms |
| 4000 Hz | 0.25 ms | 0.125 ms |
| 8000 Hz | 0.125 ms | 0.0625 ms |
The last column matters most. A movement or click can happen at any moment between two reports, so on average it waits half an interval before the computer hears about it, and at worst it waits the whole interval.
Why the standard rates are 125, 1000 and 8000 Hz
The common settings are not random. They come from how USB schedules small input devices such as mice, keyboards and controllers. Microsoft’s USB documentation explains that full speed devices are polled in 1 millisecond frames, so the shortest possible gap is 1 ms, which is 1000 reports per second. High speed devices are polled in microframes, and there are eight microframes in each 1 millisecond frame, so the shortest gap drops to 0.125 ms, or 8000 Hz.
That is why 1000 Hz was the ceiling for gaming mice for many years. In January 2021 Razer announced HyperPolling, a “true 8000Hz polling rate” that, in Razer’s words, uses a high speed USB microcontroller to cut input delay from 1 ms to 1/8th of a millisecond. Rates of 2000 and 4000 Hz sit between the two and are offered by many high-end mice today.
The 125 Hz setting traces back to the same tables: Windows polls low speed devices no faster than every 8 ms. Basic office mice often still run at that rate, and nothing is wrong with them.
Does polling rate matter for a mouse?
Yes, but how much depends on the jump. Going from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz cuts the average wait from 4 ms to 0.5 ms and makes the cursor update eight times as often, which most players notice in fast games. Going from 1000 Hz to 8000 Hz saves less than half a millisecond on average, which is hard to feel on its own.
Put that in context with the rest of the chain. Your monitor, graphics card, game engine and your own reaction all add delay. Your own reaction takes far longer than any figure in the table above, which you can see for yourself in the reaction time test. Polling rate is one small, cheap piece of total latency: worth getting right, not worth obsessing over.
Polling rate affects clicks too, not only movement, because button presses travel in the same reports. At 125 Hz a click can wait up to 8 ms to be sent; at 1000 Hz, up to 1 ms. That does not change how fast you can click. Even 125 Hz sends a report every 8 ms, far quicker than anyone can press a button, so your score in the CPS test depends on your fingers.
How polling rate affects smoothness
Smoothness is where polling rate shows most, especially on fast monitors. Each frame your screen draws uses the latest mouse position the game has received. If reports arrive slower than frames, some frames get a new position and some do not, and the cursor or camera moves in uneven steps.
You can work out how many reports arrive per frame by dividing the polling rate by the refresh rate:
| Screen (frame time) | Reports per frame at 125 Hz | At 1000 Hz |
|---|---|---|
| 60 Hz (16.7 ms) | about 2 | about 17 |
| 144 Hz (6.9 ms) | under 1 | about 7 |
| 240 Hz (4.2 ms) | about 0.5 | about 4 |
| 360 Hz (2.8 ms) | about 0.35 | about 3 |
At 125 Hz on a 144 Hz or faster screen, some frames receive no new mouse data at all. At 1000 Hz every frame gets several reports, which is why 1000 Hz is the usual baseline for gaming.
There is a subtler effect as well. Blur Busters founder Mark Rejhon showed in 2014 that the gap between the frame rate and the mouse rate creates a beat: with a 125 Hz mouse and 120 frames per second, 125 minus 120 leaves 5 visible microstutters per second. He noted that these stutters are easiest to see on strobed (motion blur reduction) monitors when dragging a window. Raising the polling rate makes each stutter smaller, which is one reason Razer pitched 8000 Hz at owners of high refresh rate monitors.
Downsides of very high polling rates
A higher rate is not free. Each report is work for the computer, and the cost grows with the rate.
- Processor load. At 8000 Hz the computer handles eight times as many mouse reports as at 1000 Hz. Logitech notes that the extra USB traffic and processor use at high report rates may cause minor frame rate drops in some games.
- Battery life. Wireless mice use more power at high rates. Logitech says its G mice adjust their polling rate on the fly to save battery, so a wireless mouse may not hold its top rate all the time.
- Software support. Older games and some programs handle very high report rates poorly. If you see stutter, frame drops or odd cursor behaviour after raising the rate, set it back to 1000 Hz first.
None of this harms the hardware. Every side effect goes away when you lower the rate again.
What polling rate should I use for my mouse?
For most people, 1000 Hz is the right answer for gaming and anything works for everyday use. Logitech’s own guidance is that 250 Hz or below is enough for most users and that very high rates only help if your screen can keep up. Use this as a starting point:
| How you use the mouse | Suggested polling rate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Office work, browsing, email | 125 to 500 Hz | Delay is invisible here; lower rates save battery on wireless mice |
| Casual gaming on a 60 Hz screen | 500 to 1000 Hz | Several reports per frame, no extra cost |
| Competitive gaming at 144 to 240 Hz | 1000 Hz | The long-standing standard; every frame gets fresh data |
| Competitive gaming at 360 Hz or more, strong PC | 2000 to 4000 Hz, then 8000 Hz if smooth | Smaller microstutter; check your frame rate stays steady |
| Laptop on battery or older PC | 500 to 1000 Hz | Keeps processor load and power use down |
A simple rule for picking the best polling rate: start at 1000 Hz. If your mouse supports more and you play on a very fast monitor, step up one level at a time and play for a while. Keep the highest rate at which your game still runs smoothly, and drop back the moment you see stutter. If a higher setting does not feel different to you, there is no reason to keep it.
Is 8000 Hz worth it?
Only in a narrow set of cases. The latency saving over 1000 Hz is under one millisecond, so the real benefit is smoother motion on monitors of about 360 Hz and up, where 1000 Hz delivers only around three reports per frame. On a 144 Hz screen or a mid-range PC, 8000 Hz mostly adds processor load and drains wireless batteries faster.
If you want to try it, plug the receiver or cable straight into the computer rather than a hub, then confirm the rate actually holds with the polling rate checker. Browser tests often read lower than the setting at 4000 and 8000 Hz, because the browser itself struggles to keep up, so a reading of a few thousand at the 8000 Hz setting is not a fault.
What is polling rate on a controller?
A controller has a polling rate too, and it means the same thing: how often the gamepad sends its stick positions and button states to the PC or console. Controllers usually report less often than gaming mice. GameStar’s hardware team wrote in 2026 that a standard controller mostly reports at 250 Hz, giving the Sony DualSense over a cable as an example, which works out to about 4 ms between reports.
Some newer controllers, such as the PXN P5 8K that GameStar tested, advertise up to 8000 Hz. The same rules apply as for a mouse: the step from a low rate to 1000 Hz is the useful one, while the jump beyond it is very hard to feel. GameStar’s tester tried an 8000 Hz controller and titled the result that by the end they no longer trusted their own perception.
Keyboards work the same way as well. A gaming keyboard often lists its report rate in its specifications or software. The mouse checker on this site measures mouse movement only, so it cannot test a keyboard or a gamepad.
Polling rate, DPI and sensitivity are different things
Polling rate is often confused with DPI. Polling rate is how often the mouse reports. DPI is how far the cursor moves for each inch you move the mouse. Changing one does not change the other, and raising the polling rate will not make your aim faster or slower.
- To find the real DPI of your mouse, use the Mouse DPI Analyzer.
- To compare sensitivity between players or games, read what eDPI means and work out yours with the eDPI calculator.
- To carry your aim from one game to another, use the mouse sensitivity converter.
If your mouse feels wrong rather than slow, the cause is more often a worn switch than the polling rate. Check every button with the mouse button tester and see whether single clicks register twice with the double click test.
How to change your polling rate
Polling rate is stored in the mouse, not in Windows or macOS, so you change it in the manufacturer’s app. Logitech, for example, lets you choose the rate for a device in its Logi Options+ app. Many gaming mice also have a small button on the underside that cycles through the rates. Basic office mice usually run at one fixed rate with no setting.
After any change, measure it. Move the mouse in fast circles in the polling rate checker for about five seconds and compare its “Likely rate” with what you picked. The test page also lists the common reasons a reading comes out lower than the setting, such as wireless power saving or a USB hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is polling rate on a mouse in simple terms?
It is how often the mouse tells the computer where it is and which buttons are pressed. A 1000 Hz mouse does this 1000 times a second, once every millisecond. A higher number means the computer gets fresher information.
Is a higher polling rate better?
Up to about 1000 Hz, yes, for almost everyone who games. Above that the delay saved is under a millisecond, while processor load and battery use go up. Higher rates help most on monitors of 360 Hz and above.
Is 500 Hz or 1000 Hz better for gaming?
1000 Hz is the safer choice for gaming. It halves the average wait from 1 ms to 0.5 ms and gives every frame fresh data on fast monitors. 500 Hz is still fine for casual play and saves some battery on wireless mice.
Does polling rate affect DPI or sensitivity?
No. DPI decides how far the cursor moves per inch of mouse movement, and polling rate decides how often that movement is reported. Your sensitivity stays the same when you change the polling rate.
Does polling rate matter for wireless mice?
Yes, in the same way as for wired mice, plus the battery trade-off. Wireless gaming mice can run at 1000 Hz or more, but high rates drain the battery faster, and some mice lower the rate on their own to save power.
Can a high polling rate cause lag or stutter?
It can on some systems. Very high rates such as 4000 or 8000 Hz add processor work, and Logitech notes this may cause minor frame rate drops in some games. If that happens, lower the rate to 1000 Hz.
Does polling rate matter for office work?
Not really. For typing, browsing and spreadsheets the difference between 125 Hz and 1000 Hz is not something you will notice. A lower rate is fine and saves battery on a wireless mouse.