Mouse Polling Rate Calculator
Calculate mouse report interval and the latency polling rate contributes.
About Mouse Polling Rate Calculator
Average polling latency is half the report interval, so 125 Hz averages 4 milliseconds while 1000 Hz averages 0.5. Going beyond 1000 Hz saves fractions of a millisecond while raising CPU interrupt load. The step from 125 to 1000 Hz is genuinely perceptible, while 1000 to 8000 Hz mostly is not, which is where diminishing returns set in sharply.
Formula
Mouse Polling Rate
Report interval = 1,000 ÷ polling rate; average latency is half that interval
- polling rate
- Reports per second sent to the host
- counts per report
- Movement accumulated between reports, which affects smoothness
Worked example
With the default values below, Mouse Polling Rate Calculator returns Report Interval of 1.0000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Polling rateminimum 1 Hz
- 1,000 Hz
- Comparison polling rateminimum 1 Hz
- 125 Hz
- Mouse movement speedminimum 0 cm/s
- 40 cm/s
- Mouse DPIminimum 1
- 1,600
Results
- Report Interval
- 1.0000 ms
- Average Polling Latency
- 0.5000 ms
- Latency Saved Against the Comparison
- 3.5000 ms
- Mouse Counts per Report
- 25.20
- Verdict
- Standard high polling rate, a good balance
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Mouse Polling Rate
- 3Report Interval= 1.0000 ms
- 4Average Polling Latency= 0.5000 ms
- 5Latency Saved Against the Comparison= 3.5000 ms
- 6Mouse Counts per Report= 25.20
- 7Verdict= Standard high polling rate, a good balance
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Mouse Polling Rate calculated?
Report interval = 1,000 ÷ polling rate; average latency is half that interval Average polling latency is half the report interval, so 125 Hz averages 4 milliseconds while 1000 Hz averages 0.5. Going beyond 1000 Hz saves fractions of a millisecond while raising CPU interrupt load.
Why does Mouse Polling Rate matter?
The step from 125 to 1000 Hz is genuinely perceptible, while 1000 to 8000 Hz mostly is not, which is where diminishing returns set in sharply.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Polling rate, Comparison polling rate, Mouse movement speed, Mouse DPI. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.