Polling Rate Test — Measure Your Mouse's Real Hz
Move your mouse in the box below to see its true USB report rate — live, as a graph, with a full breakdown of how consistent it is instead of just one average number.
Press start, then move around here
Keep the mouse moving inside this box for a few seconds — small circles or side-to-side sweeps both work.
What Is Mouse Polling Rate?
Polling rate is how often your mouse tells the computer where it is, measured in Hertz (Hz). A 1000 Hz mouse reports its position 1000 times a second — once every millisecond. It's a completely separate setting from DPI, which controls how far the cursor moves per report.
- Higher Hz means less time between updates — at 125 Hz the computer waits up to 8ms for the next report; at 1000 Hz it waits at most 1ms.
- It's not sensitivity or speed — polling rate only changes how often position updates arrive, not how large each update is.
- It affects input lag, not accuracy — a higher rate means your movements reach the game sooner, which matters most in fast, competitive play.
| Polling rate | Delay per report | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 125 Hz | 8 ms | USB default, office use, saves battery on wireless mice |
| 500 Hz | 2 ms | A solid middle ground for most games |
| 1000 Hz | 1 ms | Standard for competitive gaming |
| 2000–4000 Hz | 0.5–0.25 ms | Newer high-end sensors, smaller gains each step up |
| 8000 Hz | 0.125 ms | Highest current spec, needs a capable CPU and USB port |
What Your Result Actually Means
The number on the left is your true average. Everything else on the panel tells you how much to trust it.
Average, max and min Hz
The average is what your mouse delivers over the whole test. Max and min show the spread — a big gap between them usually means an unstable connection, not a bad mouse.
Consistency score
The share of samples that landed on the same standard rate as your overall result. 85%+ is rock solid; below 55% is worth investigating.
Interval distribution
Shows exactly which standard rates your samples fell into. One tall bar means a clean, stable signal; several spread-out bars mean real jitter.
What's a Good Polling Rate for Gaming?
More Hz always reduces delay, but the improvement shrinks fast once you're past 1000. Pick based on what you actually play.
- 125 Hz — fine for browsing, office work and battery-saving on a wireless mouse. Noticeably laggy for fast games.
- 500 Hz — a good default if your mouse or wireless dongle can't sustain 1000 Hz cleanly.
- 1000 Hz — the standard for competitive shooters and the point where most players stop noticing a difference.
- 2000 Hz and up — a smaller, still-real improvement for very fast, high-DPI flicks. Uses more CPU and, on wireless mice, more battery.
How to Change Your Mouse Polling Rate
Windows has no polling-rate control of its own — like DPI, this setting lives on the mouse or in its companion software.
- Open your mouse's software — Logitech G HUB, Razer Synapse, SteelSeries GG or Corsair iCUE, depending on the brand.
- Find the performance or sensor page — the polling rate option is usually shown as "Report Rate" or "Polling Rate" in Hz.
- Pick a rate and save it — most gaming mice store the value on the mouse itself, so it survives a restart.
- No software available? Some basic mice ship fixed at 125 Hz with no way to change it — check the mouse's spec sheet to confirm.
- Retest above to confirm the new rate is actually being delivered, not just selected in software.
Why Your Result Might Be Lower Than Expected
If your consistency score is low or the Hz is well under what you set, it's almost always one of these.
- Bluetooth instead of a 2.4GHz dongle — Bluetooth mice are commonly capped around 125 Hz regardless of what the software claims.
- A USB hub or extension cable — both can add latency and drop reports. Plug directly into a rear USB port on the PC.
- Windows USB power saving — "USB selective suspend" can throttle a mouse mid-session. Turn it off for that port in Device Manager.
- Wireless interference — other 2.4GHz devices, USB 3.0 ports and hubs near the dongle can cause dropped or delayed reports.
Everything else you need to tune your mouse
Mouse DPI Test
Check what your sensor really reports.
TesteDPI Calculator
Turn DPI and sensitivity into one comparable number.
CalculatorSensitivity Converter
Keep the same feel when you switch mice or games.
Calculatorcm/360 Calculator
Find how far you swipe for one full in-game turn.
CalculatorDouble-Click Test
Check click latency and catch button chatter early.
TestDPI Accuracy Database
Measured vs. advertised DPI, model by model.
DataFrequently asked questions
What is a good mouse polling rate?
500–1000 Hz covers almost every use case, including competitive gaming. 125 Hz is the USB default and fine for everyday work. Rates above 1000 Hz mostly help with very fast, high-DPI flicks, with rapidly diminishing returns.
How accurate is a browser-based polling rate test?
In Chrome or Edge, this test reads raw hardware reports through the Pointer Events coalesced-event API — close to what dedicated desktop software measures. In Firefox and Safari the browser only exposes events at the display's refresh rate, so very high polling rates can read lower than they really are.
Why does my result not exactly match 1000 Hz?
Small deviations of a few percent are normal — background CPU load, browser timer precision and USB scheduling all add a little noise. A result far from any standard rate, or with low consistency, usually points to a wireless issue or a weak USB port rather than the test itself.
Does a higher polling rate increase DPI or sensitivity?
No. Polling rate only controls how often the mouse reports its position, not how far the cursor moves per report. DPI and in-game sensitivity are separate settings — changing one doesn't change the other. Check yours with the DPI test.
Why is my polling rate lower than what I set?
The most common causes are a Bluetooth connection (often capped around 125 Hz), a USB hub or extension cable, Windows USB selective suspend, or wireless interference. Plug directly into a rear USB port and disable USB power saving for that port to rule these out.
How do I change my mouse's polling rate?
On most gaming mice, open the manufacturer's software — Logitech G HUB, Razer Synapse, SteelSeries GG or Corsair iCUE — and set the report rate there. Windows itself has no polling-rate control in its mouse settings.
Chrome and Edge expose raw hardware timing through the Pointer Events coalesced-event API, which this test uses when available. Other browsers can only see events at the display's refresh rate, capping the highest rate they can accurately report — for full-precision results on an 4000-8000 Hz mouse, use Chrome or Edge.