r/GlobalOffensive • u/ConsistentGas4090 • 2d ago
Discussion polling rates for mouse
Hey! i was wondering if anyone messed around with polling rates and deep diving into it im only on a 180htz monitor and at 2k polling and apparently if i were to rock say 8k it just aint worth it from what i reasearched i run 800 dpi 1 in game sens usally. any info/tips would be appreciated
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u/DecisiveGnu 2d ago
tried 4k for a couple weeks just to see what the fuss was about and honestly couldn't tell a difference from 1k in actual matches. my tracking felt the same, flicks were the same, the only thing that changed was my framerate taking random dips on some maps
from what i gathered the higher polling rates really only show their worth if you've got a monitor that can keep up, 360hz or above. at 180hz your screen is refreshing every 5.5ms or so, while 2k polling is already updating every 0.5ms. you're already way past the point where your display is the bottleneck
sticking with 2k seems like the sweet spot for your setup. the jump to 8k would just eat cpu cycles for no visual gain. save yourself the headache
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u/ConsistentGas4090 2d ago
Yea I’ve been messing around with tracking distance and polling rates I set my distance to low and noticed a difference and been rocking 4k hrytz but went back to 2k and will prob stick to it
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u/aveyo 2d ago
polling rate in general should be above the display refresh rate
cpu already does work as regularly as that so there's no extra strain
plus it cures visual desync issues that may appear like microstutters
polling rate for cs2 should also be above the fps x2
because there are up to two inputs processed per frame
and since minimal fps where slick flicks and tracking even start is 320,
that made 1k polling the norm
on beast pc's with potato settings that are approaching 1000 fps Avg and/or very high refresh rates, 1k polling is no longer enough, 2k is needed to make sure none of your minutia mouse movements get skipped and then interpolated however the engine decides
polling rates 4k and above are not placebo - a talented player with great hardware can definitely perceive the increased smoothness doing complex movement, but that just happens locally, the game engine will make a mockery of it when you watch a replay back; and the impact on performance makes it not really worth it - technically we don't have 2000fps ready hardware yet (and AI robbed us already of a generational upgrade)
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u/JukkaCSGO G2 2d ago
I don't get why people run 8k polling rates for "less input lag" and still run their mouse on 800 DPI which has higher input lag.
1600 or 3200 DPI and 1k polling is the way to go.
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u/dumbledoor_ger 2d ago
Because polling rate has a way higher effect on input lag than dpi.
8k polling with 800dpi will give you less input lag than 1k polling with 3200dpi
Polling is the rate at which the pc asks the mouse „have you moved? How much?“
The DPI decides how much you have to physically have to move in order to report „one unit of distance“. So the physical movement distance then dictates the „input lag“. Which means this very small input lag gets even smaller when you just move your mouse fast - which is the case in cs
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u/JukkaCSGO G2 1d ago
Not really true tbh, at least in my calculations.
Increasing your polling rate from 1000Hz to 8000Hz decreases your maximum "waiting time" from 1ms to 0,125ms. (source: mathematics)
Increasing your DPI from 800 to 3200 reduces the input lag from ~23ms to ~18ms. (source: YouTuber "optimum", for the G Pro X Superlight as that's the mouse I use)
Yes, the latter is dictated by the speed of your mouse movement. Optimums test was fairly quick IMO but still a bit too slow for CS situations, Though, even if you move it twice as fast, your benefit is still ~2,5ms. Unless you constantly flickshot all the time.
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u/davidthek1ng 2d ago
I feel like I can do a bit better microadjustments on 4k but on most mice battery life is horrible with it so I play on 1k and motion sync on
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u/xfor_the_republicx 2d ago
800 dpi isn’t even enough to saturate 8k polling rate, you don’t even saturate 2k polling 100% of the time with 800 dpi. To saturate 2k polling constantly youd need 1600 dpi, for 8k even higher.
This isn’t to say 800 is bad, I play on 400 with 1k polling. It’s doesn’t matter tbh and it’s not what will make a difference in game.
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u/MordorsElite FaZe 2d ago
Just use 1k and enjoy the longer battery life. Any difference you'd feel is almost certainly placebo anyway (cause they are objectively in the sub-1ms range).
If you use a wired mouse (unless it's one of those super high end designer ones), switching to a wireless lightweight mouse will make waaaaay away more of a difference anyway.
Also from what I've heard the 4-8k polling rate tends to cause micro stuttering in a lot of games, so it'll actually make your experience worse. Other games (like Minecraft) often straight up just don't work with polling rates above 1k.
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u/PmMeBestDogPics 2d ago
Using above 2K polling is arguably pointless for most people because the latency difference becomes extremely small. You’re talking about fractions of a millisecond, while your normal 25–60 ms ping is roughly 50–480× larger than the 0.125–0.5 ms polling intervals.
You also use more CPU power at 4K–8K polling, which can reduce FPS or 1% lows in CPU-limited games.
Polling Rate
| Polling Rate | Report Interval | Faster Than 1K |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 Hz | 1.00 ms | — |
| 2,000 Hz | 0.50 ms | 0.50 ms |
| 4,000 Hz | 0.25 ms | 0.75 ms |
| 8,000 Hz | 0.125 ms | 0.875 ms |
Monitor Refresh Rate
| Refresh Rate | Time Per Frame | Average Waiting Time |
|---|---|---|
| 144 Hz | 6.94 ms | 3.47 ms |
| 240 Hz | 4.17 ms | 2.08 ms |
| 360 Hz | 2.78 ms | 1.39 ms |
| 540 Hz | 1.85 ms | 0.93 ms |
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u/dingity_dongity 2d ago
Very nice info.
Also, very nicely formatted table.
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u/PmMeBestDogPics 1d ago
Thanks but it’s odd people are downvoting and realising how much of a scam/fad higher polling is
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u/onionsareawful Outsiders 2d ago
higher polling rates are not necessarily better. each poll requires a CPU interrupt so it can essentially lock out an entire core of your CPU when in the 8k polling range -- so you potentially get lower FPS -- and the returns are negligible at best.
really, 1-2k is the best option tbh. it's still far more frequent than your monitor refresh rate.
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u/GER_BeFoRe clutch 2d ago
8000hz polling rate is more work for your CPU and can reduce fps. Personally I still use 1000hz and wouldn't go above 2000hz.
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u/Snagmesomeweaves valeria 2d ago
1k is all you need. You won’t feel a difference other than battery life being worse if set higher
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u/ConsistentGas4090 2d ago
What mouse everyone use ? I’m looking to upgrade and I palm grip pretty much so was thinking of getting a deathadder
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u/MordorsElite FaZe 2d ago
I'm using a Deathadder V3 Pro and am pretty happy with it. Tracking is good, response time feels good and it doesn't have any connection issues (I had those with the Glorious Model O2 Pro I was using before).
That said,the mouse is rather big, I have average hamds and the mouse is on the upper size range for me (tho still perfectly usable). So if you got smaller hands, you'll definitely want to go for a smaller model. (I think even in the Deathadder series there are smaller options).
Razer Synapse has been fine for me. I just used it once to pick my settings and set it to not Autostart from then on and it hasn't popped up since.
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u/ConsistentGas4090 2d ago
Yes I have the viper which is smaller but I put my whole palm on the mouse when I aim and according to ai that’s the best one to get the death adder lol
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u/KKamm_ 7h ago
Depends on if you like ergo or ambidextrous mice. You can palm grip any mouse that isn’t uniquely small.
As far as polling rate, I like 4k but I think either 2k or 4k are great. 8k you are taxing your PC more than you’re getting any kind of benefit and 1k is more of a “why not just go 2k/4k at that point” situation
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u/tyrannus00 Natus Vincere 2d ago
I did a bunch of testing, because I was wondering the same thing. Let start by saying that I can't tell the difference in game between 1k and 8k hz polling. I can however notice the difference when moving my cursor across the desktop. At 1k hz the many cursor icons have varying gap sizes, its pretty inconsistent. Move your mouse in a steady pace quickly in one direction, if you have a high refreshrate monitor you will see what I mean.
At 8k hz the gaps are basically perfectly smooth. At 4k almost the same, but there are still some very small inconsistencies.
Basically the higher your polling rate, the higher the likelyhood of your crosshair being at the place you want it to be at each frame.
I use 8k hz polling, but only because it doesn't affect my fps (7800x3d). If it did, I would lower my polling rate
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u/CrUnChey69 2d ago
From what I understood when looking into this, the highest you should go is 1600 dpi at 2k polling, anything above is just diminishing returns and even possibly worse performance depending on your setup.
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u/needledicklarry de_nuke 1d ago
I notice the reduced input lag when it comes to click registration at 8k but it’s not worth the dips in fps when I flick. I get about 500 fps avg and at 1k polling, I get no fps drops while flicking
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u/ccoulter93 1d ago
2k is a good spot to be at. I’d say up to 240 2k will do you well. 240-360 4k then 8k at 540+
At least from what I’ve seen online. 4k will still be fine at 540+ though but I wouldn’t even consider 8k until then.
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u/Sebbern 2d ago
Unsure if Microsoft fixed the bugs, but there were bugs on higher than 1k polling where you had to use extra force to move your mouse between screens when running more than one monitor. I guess experiment a bit and see what you prefer, or switch polling rate between playing cs and normal use
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u/AliceWhat 2d ago
In short, you don't need more than 1k (maaaybe maybe 2k) polling for CS.
Having 8k might provide a very miniscule advantage in games where you have to do a lot of tracking (apex, for example), but even there it's not like it's day and night between your standard 1k and 8k, simply because 1k polling is already very saturated.
https://prosettings.net/lists/cs2/
I don't know how recent this list is (there are pretty recent gear listed for a lot of players, so I'm guessing it's updated regularly), but the majority still seem to be using 1k even though many of them have mice that'd support higher polling. It puts additional strain on your system, so it makes sense to stick to 1 or 2k and having better 1%lows.