With new hardware comes great innovations. Peripherals have always been about the lowest latency, the fastest gaming performance, and that oh-so-sweet tactile click under your fingers. The latest development coming to our keyboards and gaming mice is an ultra-polling rate.
For a while now, the industry standard has been a 1,000Hz polling rate, with certain mice allowing you to scale it down. Now, we have mice and keyboards from the likes of Endgame Gear, Corsair, Glorious, and Razer boasting polling rates of 8,000Hz. That’s an 800% improvement! We’re here today to investigate this innovation, to see if it’s just clever marketing or a mind-blowing development.
What is a Polling Rate?
The Polling Rate is the speed at which your peripherals talk to your computer. It is the time taken between clicking your mouse and your computer reacting. In fancy terms, it is the frequency at which your input device sends information. The frequency, itself, is measured in Hertz (Hz), whereas the resulting latency is measured in milliseconds (ms). In terms of the industry standard, the 1,000Hz polling rate, your peripheral will send information to your PC a thousand times a second. As a result, the latency is 1ms.
Already this is imperceptibly fast and nearly impossible to comprehend how it can be improved on – but they managed it!
8,000Hz Technology
The best way of looking at improved polling rates is by comparing it refresh rates of monitors. Displays with higher refresh rates are receiving more information at any one point than the older models. The result is a smoother experience and a more accurate picture of what is happening on screen. The same applies to polling rate, the more information sent, the better the end result.
Instead of a 1ms latency, this drops to 0.125ms. Whilst this may not be something you can directly experience or notice – unlike with the monitor – this is still eight times faster and heckin’ impressive.
Gaming at 8,000Hz
What does this mean in terms of gaming? In competitive spheres, getting the shortest input delay on games where quick reactions are paramount is always going to be a boon. Higher polling rates result in better precision when it comes to gameplay. But does it improve performance for your gaming mouse and keyboard specifically?
Gaming Mice
We all know that your gaming mouse is one of the most vital tools in your gaming arsenal. It is often the interface between you and your game, whilst serving as an extension for your arm. With an ultra-polling rate, this transition from hand to mouse to computer is going to be even more seamless.
Gaming mice, nowadays, are equipped with incredibly sensitive optical sensors to pick up every slight movement and flick of the device. This performance, however, is not always flawless. Tracking can drop out, resulting in stutters that distort your movement. You might miss your target, or you might unfortunately glitch off a cliff – who knows what devastation this stutter can wreak! It’s moments like this where ultra-polling rates really come into their own. By delivering eight times the information, these stutters can be smoothed out, resulting in less opportunity for error.
This is consistent cursor movement you can feel.
Keyboards
With keyboards, you reap the same benefit as with mice, each keystroke will have eight times lower latency. The only real downside is that it is difficult to demonstrate and feel this improvement in performance. There’s no infographic denoting the fluid movements of your keypresses. Perhaps it needs to be measured against speed typists!
Is it Worth Investing in This Tech?
As with any new tech, there is always the drawback that the rest of the world hasn’t quite caught up yet. Whilst this may be a piece of cake for your processor, some game engines won’t support this faster polling rate yet. You can scale the settings back on your mouse and keyboard, sure, but does that negate the need for buying this tech in the first place?
I would say not. Upgrades are always coming. As ultra-polling rates become the industry standard, games will release updates to support the tech – allowing you to get the best out of your hardware. We do love a good competitive edge. At this point, ultra-polling rates should not be high on the priority list when choosing a new mouse or keyboard, but it is definitely something to consider.
Say you’ve narrowed your search down to two gaming mice that meet your standards. They are lightweight, have your preferred PixArt sensor, and feature gorgeous RGB lighting. One is equipped with the industry standard polling rate, whilst the other delivers your input information at 8,000Hz. Why not go for the future-proof model? Get ahead of the curve, but make sure your mouse and keyboard are still the best fit for you.
Be Ultra-Polling Rate Ready
Whilst there may be limited models of mice and keyboards carrying this technology, here at Overclockers UK we have a growing range for you to peruse. We’ve even selected a few of our faves to kick start your shopping!
Endgame Gear OP1 8K USB Optical Gaming Mouse
- Wired gaming mouse
- 8,000Hz polling rate
- Hot-swappable Kailh GX switches
- Nuvoton M483 MCU and PixArt PAW3395 sensor
- Hybrid skate design
Corsair Sabre RGB Pro Champion Series Gaming Mouse
- Corsair Quickstrike buttons with spring-loaded design
- 8,000Hz polling rate with Corsair Axion hyper-processing technology
- Lightweight design at only 74g with flexible paracord weave cable
- Equipped with PixArt PMW3392 optical sensor: 18,000 DPI, 450 IPS tracking, and 50G acceleration
- 2-zone RGB backlighting configurable in iCUE
Corsair K65 RGB Mini USB Mechanical Keyboard
- 60% form factor TKL mechanical keyboard
- Corsair Axion hyper-processing technology with 8,000Hz polling rate
- PBT double-shot keycaps for incredibly longevity and durability
- Equipped with Cherry MX Red switches for linear feedback
- Vivid per-key RGB lighting and custom macros configurable in iCUE
Razer Huntsman V2 USB Optical Keyboard
- Full-size keyboard with optical switches for clicky feedback
- Up to true 8,000Hz polling rate for lower input latency
- Double-shot PBT keycaps to prevent shine, wear, and tear
- Multi-functional digital dial for on-the-fly control
- Hybrid on-board and cloud storage for memory profiles
Are You Gaming at 8K?
Let us know in the comments below if you’ve made the jump to an 8K polling rate. How has it improved your gaming?
- 6 min read
Emily Haylock
Author
Emily is a board and cosy gamer, keyboard obsessive, and content copywriter for Overclockers UK. She has been with Overclockers UK since 2020, writing about everything from noblechairs to 8Pack PCs. She writes from within her desk nest with a foster pup at her feet. (What, a desk duvet is a totally normal thing!) In her downtime, she likes to play board games, farming sims, and old-school Final Fantasy. IX to be specific. It is the best, and that is a hill she will die on.
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