User profile for user: El Matadurr
El Matadurr Author
User level: Level 1
1 points

Mouse Polling Rates?

Hello Apple Community. I recently purchased a MacBook Pro and I game on it a lot. Unfortunately the wireless mouse I got for it lags terribly. I've been looking for Mac compatible gaming mice online and there a few out there that have good specs, mainly many of razer's mice having a 1000hz polling rate, making the mouse respond in 1 ms. However, doing a bit more research, I have seen in 3 year old online articles that the mac operating system only supports 125hz polling rates, which makes any mouse have an 8 ms response time, which is way too long for a gamer. I can't find any direct information from Apple's website, recent articles, or even calling technical/apple care support, so I pose the question to any Apple developers or tech savvy mac users out there: What is the current accepted USB polling rate on Mac OS 10.6.4 for wired mice? Thanks for any help

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4), I game on my computer

Posted on Sep 18, 2010 1:13 PM

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User profile for user: ddrcoder
ddrcoder
User level: Level 1
8 points

Jul 5, 2011 10:49 PM in response to Paul Stamatiou

It's not a matter of reducing the stimulus-response time, it's a matter of shortening the feedback loop. Hand-eye coordination is precisely ability to connect muscle movements to visible results. Introducing even the slightest delay in this loop will be perceptible to anyone who's lived without it. Increase it too much and it can literally make you sick. This is especially true when it comes to gaming on a Mac. As it is, any mouse I connect to my MacBook Pro feels like I'm dragging the cursor around by a rubber band (albeit a short one).


I would greatly appreciate a fix from Apple on this or at least a comment as to the status of the issue.


Regards,


Tom Jackson

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User profile for user: BrooklynJude
BrooklynJude
User level: Level 1
4 points

Apr 25, 2016 12:14 PM in response to apocalysque

yea i am not a pro gamer neither, but , i do play allot of blitz and bullet chess. and i notice the lag , its so obvious. take the windows pc for example, when you move the mouse the cursor response time is exact and instantaneous and sustained no matter how fast you move the courser, it follows the speed of you motion(your hand), but on the MAC, i notice that it follows your motion for a very brief second and then it lags awfully. i am currently using smooth cursor and smooth mouse in attempt to combat this issue, but , their isn't a major (noticeable difference).


what i am doing (using) and what i have tried


smooth mouse (free)

smooth cursor (about $2 )


i tried overdrive (but i couldn't understand how to use i)

i tried cursorsence (but i couldn't understand how it works, or if it is even working)



the issue we are trying to resolve


we need this cursor to have a instant and sustaining response to the movement of the users hand. without it lagging(stoping a few distant from the desired destination).

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User profile for user: azpc
azpc
User level: Level 1
10 points

Dec 12, 2010 5:10 PM in response to El Matadurr

I know exactly the problems that you are facing. I have been battling these issues now for over two years.

I would encourage you to email Steve Jobs about this issue. I have emailed him twice in the last two months regarding this issue. I have also filed at least ten feedback reports at www.apple.com/feedback over the last two years.

Their is a website is dedicated to solving this issue:

http://dae.cyberic.eu/blog/mouse-cursor-skipping-jumping-bug-on-mac-os-x/

They have filed the following developer bug reports that should be referenced in communications with Apple:

problem ID: 7675662, #8023844, #7675662, #7826519, #8097819, #8102684


Steps I would take to get a resolution:

1. Write Steve Jobs an email. He has heard from several of us already but apparently he needs to hear from more of us.

2. File a report with Apple at www.apple.com/feedback

3. Report this issue to Apple Care with the links, tests and websites that they can access to verify the problem.

4. Bring the issue to the attention of Phil Schiller on Twitter.

I sure hope one of these tactics results in a solution. I have held off on purchasing a new 17 inch MacBook Pro because of this issue.
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User profile for user: thomas_r.
thomas_r.
User level: Level 7
32,025 points

Dec 12, 2010 6:47 PM in response to El Matadurr

There's no human on Earth with a response time fast enough to notice the difference you describe. Human response time is on the order of hundreds of milliseconds (tenths of seconds). 1 ms and 8 ms are both two orders of magnitude faster than that and are, as far as humans can tell, exactly identical.

If you're having problems with mouse lag in games on your Mac, it has nothing to do with mouse polling rates. I've never had any problems with mouse-based games on my Macs, and I've been playing mouse-based games on Macs for more than 20 years. Try contacting the game developer, or read the [Mac OS X speed FAQ|http://www.index-site.com/Macosxspeed.html].
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User profile for user: how2apple
how2apple
User level: Level 1
0 points

Dec 15, 2010 1:36 AM in response to thomas_r.

That's not what the thread is about. It has nothing to do with response time. Check out the website that's devoted to the issue and you'll see it has nothing to do with your response.

As a direct response to you, however, let's say a game is running at 60 frames per second. 50ms of lag between my input and a response on the screen is 3 frames. If every action on the screen is 3 frames after my input, it's noticeable. This is true for people who play Guitar Hero/Rock Band, first person shooters, fighters, or any other game requiring continuous twitch responses. So it does matter, maybe not between 1ms and 8ms but definitely at lower ms than you describe.

Again, that second bit has nothing to do with the issue presented in this thread, but just FYI.
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User profile for user: thomas_r.
thomas_r.
User level: Level 7
32,025 points

Dec 15, 2010 3:23 AM in response to how2apple

As a direct response to you, however, let's say a game is running at 60 frames per second. 50ms of lag between my input and a response on the screen is 3 frames.


How do you get 50 ms from a response time of 8 ms? That amount of time is not perceptible to humans nor would it make a difference with regard to the frame rate.

I am responding to the original poster's claim that the difference between 1 ms and 8 ms is significant in terms of mouse movement. It is not. If there is some other issue going on there that causes more significant delays, then that is another story.

Personally, I do not find that web site you refer to convincing. Yes, it seems that there's something going wrong with those third party mice it lists. As to whether it has anything to do with polling rates... I have only the assertion of that page's author as evidence, since he gives no explanation for how he discovered that or why it would be the case, and that doesn't cut the mustard for me. Certainly, in terms of human response time, there's no practical difference between 125 Hz and 1000 Hz. Anyone who thinks they need a "gaming mouse" only because a polling rate of 1000 Hz makes it "faster" is a victim of marketing and scientific ignorance.
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User profile for user: Paul Stamatiou
Paul Stamatiou
User level: Level 1
10 points

Jan 16, 2011 2:04 AM in response to thomas_r.

Bump

I have this issue on my 17-inch MBP running 10.6.6 with a Logitech G500 mouse I purchased today because my magic mouse had become horribly erratic and sucked batteries (another story..).

As the website listed above mentions, this is most definitely a polling rate issue. A supposed fix is changing the polling rate in Windows with the SetPoint software since the mouse has internal memory and will use the same 125Hz setting in OS X as well instead of the default 500Hz or so. But of course I couldn't get that to work as I only have a Mac and VMware Fusion with Win 7 and Win XP didn't recognize the full device, just a generic HID device.

So please fix this Apple. 🙂
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