Your mouse reports its position to your computer many times a second. That frequency is its polling rate (also called report rate), measured in hertz (Hz).
Polling rate and delay
| Polling rate | Time between reports |
|---|---|
| 125 Hz | 8 ms |
| 500 Hz | 2 ms |
| 1000 Hz | 1 ms |
| 2000 Hz | 0.5 ms |
| 4000 Hz | 0.25 ms |
| 8000 Hz | 0.125 ms |
Does a higher polling rate help?
Going from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz makes cursor movement smoother and lowers the delay between moving your hand and seeing the result. That is why gaming mice default to 1000 Hz. Above 1000 Hz the improvement is smaller and depends on a fast computer and a game that can use it; higher rates also use more CPU.
Does polling rate affect click speed?
Not directly. Polling rate describes movement reports; clicking speed is limited by your finger and the switch. See does your mouse affect CPS?
How to check your polling rate
Use our mouse polling rate test. It works best in Chrome and Edge, which expose every mouse sample; other browsers deliver one event per frame and may show your display refresh rate instead.
How to change it
Look in the manufacturer’s software, or for a button on the underside of the mouse. 1000 Hz is a sensible default for most players.
Ready to put it into practice?
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