Mouse Polling Rate Test
Move your mouse in fast circles inside the box to measure how many times per second it reports its position. You get live, average and peak Hz, plus how stable the rate is.
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Move your mouse in fast, continuous circles inside this box
Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
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What Is Mouse Polling Rate?
Polling rate is how often your mouse reports its movement and button state to the computer, measured in hertz (Hz). A 125 Hz mouse sends a report every 8 milliseconds. A 1000 Hz mouse sends one every 1 millisecond, and an 8000 Hz mouse every 0.125 milliseconds.
A higher polling rate means less delay between moving your hand and the cursor moving on screen, and smoother motion because each frame has a fresher position to draw. It is the mouse equivalent of the touch sampling rate on phones and tablets.
How This Mouse Polling Rate Test Works
Each report your mouse sends becomes a pointer event in the browser. In Chrome and Edge the test listens for pointerrawupdate, which fires once for every report the operating system delivers. Other browsers combine several reports into one movement event per frame, so the test reads the extra reports back out with getCoalescedEvents().
The test then looks at the last second of reports, skips any gaps where the mouse paused, and divides the number of reports by the time they span. That gives the live reading. Every half second a reading is saved, and those readings make up the average, peak, stability and history chart.
- Move fast and keep moving: Mice only report when they move. Draw quick, continuous circles inside the box for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Close other heavy apps: Games, video calls and busy browser tabs can delay events and lower the reading.
- Use a direct USB port: Plug the mouse or wireless receiver into a port on the computer, not a hub or monitor.
- Press Stop to freeze the results, then Reset to start a fresh run after you change a setting.
125 vs 500 vs 1000 vs 8000 Hz
| Polling Rate | Report Interval | Typical For | Browser Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 Hz | 8 ms | Office mice, Bluetooth mice, USB default | Reliable everywhere |
| 250 Hz | 4 ms | Older gaming mice, some touchpads | Reliable everywhere |
| 500 Hz | 2 ms | Budget gaming mice, battery-saving mode | Reliable in Chrome and Edge |
| 1000 Hz | 1 ms | Most gaming mice, wired and 2.4 GHz wireless | Reliable in Chrome and Edge |
| 2000–4000 Hz | 0.5–0.25 ms | High-end esports mice | Often accurate on a fast PC, may read low |
| 8000 Hz | 0.125 ms | Flagship esports mice | Usually reads low or capped |
Why Your Result Is Lower Than Advertised
Readings a few percent under the advertised number are normal. A 1000 Hz mouse commonly reads 950 to 1000 Hz, because the operating system and browser occasionally merge or delay a report. The "Likely" line under the live reading rounds to the nearest standard rate for you.
Bigger gaps usually have one of these causes:
- Slow movement. At low speed a mouse may have nothing new to report on some cycles.
- The polling setting changed. Many mice reset to 125 or 500 Hz after a firmware update or on a new PC without their software.
- Wireless power saving. Some wireless mice lower the rate on low battery or when idle.
- Bluetooth. Bluetooth mice are usually limited to about 125 to 133 Hz.
- The browser. Firefox and Safari can merge reports, and Safari may limit events to the display refresh rate. Chrome and Edge give the most accurate result.
About 2K, 4K and 8K mice: a browser cannot always keep up with these rates. If an 8000 Hz mouse reads around 2000 to 4000 Hz here, that is a limit of the browser and computer, not a fault in the mouse.
How to Change Your Mouse Polling Rate
Polling rate is set in the mouse, not in Windows or macOS. Use the software from your mouse's maker, then come back and press Reset to test the new setting.
- Logitech: Open G HUB, select the mouse, then go to Sensitivity (DPI) and change Report Rate.
- Razer: Open Synapse, select the mouse, and set Polling Rate on the Performance tab. 4000 and 8000 Hz models may need the HyperPolling dongle.
- SteelSeries: Open SteelSeries GG, go to Engine, select the mouse and change Polling Rate.
- Corsair, Glorious, Zowie and others: Look for Polling Rate or Report Rate in the maker's app. Some Zowie mice change it with a button combination or a switch on the bottom.
Does Polling Rate Matter for Gaming?
Going from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz is a clear improvement: it removes up to 7 ms of delay and makes fast flicks look smoother. Going beyond 1000 Hz helps less. The extra gain is under a millisecond, which matters most on high refresh rate monitors (240 Hz and up) where each frame is short enough to show the difference.
For most players, 1000 Hz is the right setting. Try 2000 or 4000 Hz if you have a fast PC and a high refresh rate monitor, and drop back down if games start to stutter.
Reading the Stability and History Chart
The Stability tile shows the standard deviation of your half-second readings: how far they typically sit from the average. A healthy wired 1000 Hz mouse moved steadily usually stays within ±10 to ±40 Hz. A much larger spread means reports are arriving unevenly.
The history chart draws one bar per half second, with reference lines at the standard rates. Even bars that sit on a line are what you want. Regular dips usually line up with moments you slowed down or changed direction, so they are not a fault. Random drops while you keep moving fast point to something else:
- Wireless interference: move the receiver closer, ideally with a USB extension cable so it sits on the desk a short distance from the mouse.
- A busy computer: close games, video calls and other heavy browser tabs, then press Reset and test again.
- A failing cable or port: try another USB port. If drops continue on a wired mouse, gently flex the cable near the mouse while testing.
Wireless, Bluetooth and Touchpad Polling Rates
Modern 2.4 GHz gaming mice that use their own USB receiver poll at 1000 Hz or more, just like wired mice, and many now offer 2000 to 8000 Hz with a newer receiver. Some lower their rate to save battery when the charge is low or after a period of no movement, so test with a charged battery.
Bluetooth is different. Most Bluetooth mice report at around 125 to 133 Hz because of how the Bluetooth connection is scheduled, so a dual-mode mouse will read far lower over Bluetooth than on its receiver. That is expected, not a fault.
Laptop touchpads usually report between 60 and 250 Hz, depending on the hardware and driver. Pens and drawing tablets vary widely, from about 100 Hz to over 200 Hz. All of these can be measured here, though their rates are not adjustable the way a gaming mouse is.
Limitations
This test measures the rate at which pointer reports reach the browser, which is very close to the mouse's polling rate but not identical. It cannot see reports the operating system merges before the browser receives them, and it does not measure click latency or sensor accuracy. Results above 2000 Hz depend heavily on your browser and CPU.
Further reading
Read Mouse Polling Rate Explained: 125 Hz to 8000 Hz for how polling rate, DPI and input lag fit together. Related tests:
- Touch Sampling Rate Test: the touchscreen equivalent of polling rate, in Hz.
- Keyboard Polling Rate Test: estimate how often your keyboard reports.
- Mouse Double Click Test: check each button for unwanted double clicks.
Frequently Asked Questions: Mouse Polling Rate
Why does my 1000 Hz mouse show 500 Hz or less?
The most common reasons are moving the mouse too slowly, a polling setting that was changed in the mouse software, a wireless mouse in power saving mode, or a USB hub or front-panel port that adds delay. Move in fast, continuous circles, plug the mouse or receiver straight into a rear USB port, and check the polling rate setting in the manufacturer's software. If the Method line does not say 'Raw pointer updates', your browser may also be dropping reports, so try Chrome or Edge.
Can a browser measure 2000, 4000 or 8000 Hz?
Sometimes, but not reliably. Chrome and Edge pass along raw pointer updates and often read 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz mice correctly on a fast PC. At 8000 Hz the operating system, the browser and your CPU all have to keep up with a report every 0.125 ms, and many systems cannot, so the reading often comes out lower or caps around 2000 to 4000 Hz. A low reading at these rates does not mean the mouse is faulty. Use the manufacturer's software to confirm the setting.
Does a higher polling rate use more CPU?
Yes. Each report is an interrupt the computer has to handle. At 1000 Hz the cost is tiny on any modern PC. At 4000 to 8000 Hz some games and older CPUs show higher usage, frame time spikes or stutter. If you see stutter after raising the polling rate, drop back to 1000 or 2000 Hz.
Is wireless polling rate worse than wired?
Not anymore for good gaming mice. Modern 2.4 GHz wireless mice run at 1000 Hz or higher, the same as wired. Bluetooth is different: it is usually limited to around 125 to 133 Hz, so a mouse connected over Bluetooth will read much lower here than the same mouse on its USB receiver.
Why does my reading jump around?
Mice only send reports when they move, so slowing down, changing direction or lifting the mouse makes the live number dip. Background tasks and browser tabs can also delay events. Look at the Average and Stability tiles instead of the live number. A stable 1000 Hz mouse usually shows a spread of a few tens of Hz.
Can I test my touchpad or touchscreen here?
Touchpads work, and most report between 60 and 250 Hz. For touchscreens, use the Touch Sampling Rate Test instead, which is built for finger input.