8 Ways to Reduce Input Lag For Gaming on PC

Ping isn’t the only delay that matters when gaming; input lag can add crucial milliseconds that make the difference between victory and defeat. Here are a few tips for you to minimize input lag on your PC for smoother gameplay.

What Is Input Lag?

Input lag is the delay between your physical action and the corresponding on-screen response. It’s the total time your input device (like mouse/keyboard) takes to communicate with your PC, and have that signal processed and displayed on your monitor.

On average, input lag can be between 20-50ms. This might not seem much, but it matters a lot in competitive games. For example, if you change servers in a game that increases ping by 30-40ms (like NA to EU), you will see a noticeable delay while playing the game. If you improve input lag, it will feel similar to reducing in-game ping by 30-40ms.

To get a general idea of your current input lag, you can use the Basro input lag measuring tool. It won’t give exact input lag in games as there are too many factors involved, but you’ll get a general idea of how your input devices perform.

Use a High Refresh Rate Monitor

There’s a noticeable difference between a 60Hz and a 144Hz or higher monitor. It not only provides smoother visuals but also reduces perceived input lag. While it doesn’t speed up input, it displays the result faster, shortening the time it takes to see your command in action.

We recommend using a 144Hz or higher refresh rate monitor for gaming. If your current monitor is 60Hz or 75Hz, you’ll surely see a big improvement.

Other factors like response time, panel technology, or the Overdrive feature also affect input lag, but the refresh rate is usually the most impactful.

Ensure Your CPU and GPU Can Provide Sufficient Frames

There is no point in having a high refresh rate monitor if your PC can’t provide the FPS to match it. Monitor refresh rate and game frame rate need to match for smooth gameplay with minimal input lag.

If you are going to get a 144Hz or higher monitor, make sure your GPU and CPU offer enough power to provide the required FPS. Since FPS fluctuates, it’s best to ensure your PC can run the game higher than monitor refresh rate and then use fixed FPS inside the game settings. Ideally, your PC should be able to run the game at 180+ FPS if you want to use a 144Hz monitor.

Here’s a video by Nvidia showcasing how high FPS impacts latency in games:

If your PC can’t provide the required FPS, you’ll either have to upgrade the PC (try to upgrade GPU first) or optimize the PC for performance.

Use Wired Connections

A wired connection consistently offers lower latency compared to wireless, making it the better choice for gaming peripherals. Wireless devices can introduce small delays, even in the best conditions, which may affect performance in fast-paced gaming.

For example, a wired gaming mouse typically has less than 1ms of latency, providing stable and reliable input. While modern wireless gaming mice can achieve similar latency, they are still vulnerable to interference from Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals. This interference can lead to occasional issues like cursor jitters or input delays, making wired peripherals a more dependable option for minimizing input lag.

You’ll also have to pay a premium price to get a wireless device with latency as low as wired devices. Usually, budget-friendly options have a delay of 5-10ms.

Of course, managing and caring for cables can be an issue, but it will be worth it if you prioritize stable input.

Enable Game Mode on the Monitor

Many modern gaming monitors come with a dedicated Game Mode or Low Latency Mode that prioritizes low latency over visual sharpness. It disables some image and signal process buffers to ensure you get the least latency. Although it can sometimes cause artifacts and glitches, the reduced latency is worth it for gaming.

On most monitors, you can enable it in the on-screen display (OSD) menu.

Use a Mouse and Keyboard with High Polling Rates

The polling rate is the total number of times a device sends its current state to the computer per second. For example, if a mouse has a 500Hz polling rate, it means it sends its position 500 times per second to the computer (i.e. 2ms delay).

Regular mice and keyboards usually have a 125Hz polling rate, which introduces an 8ms delay. For best performance, you should go for mice and keyboards with a 1000Hz polling rate. Although there are premium devices that can have over 8000Hz polling rate, they usually don’t offer any practical benefits to most users.

You can check the polling rate of your current mouse by testing it on CPSTEST.ORG

Disable V-Sync to Reduce Input Lag

V-Sync is a great feature to avoid screen tearing. However, it introduces input delay as it forces the GPU to wait for the monitor to display a frame before rendering a new one.

You can disable it in the game’s settings or system-wide from your graphics card manufacturer software. To avoid screen tearing, try to manually select FPS in the game that matches your monitor’s refresh rate. Additionally, if your GPU and monitor support it, try using G-Sync or FreeSync instead as they don’t introduce latency.

Disable Fullscreen Optimizations in Windows

Fullscreen optimization is a Windows feature that allows you to run a game or app in full screen while still having access to system overlays, notifications, and easy task switching.

However, this hybrid environment introduces slight input delay and performance decrease due to the way it handles the game’s background processes and other system processes. If you don’t tab out often while gaming or don’t use any overlays, then disabling fullscreen optimizations can be beneficial.

To disable fullscreen optimizations in Windows, right-click on the game’s icon and select Properties.

Move to the Compatibility tab and enable the option Disable fullscreen optimizations.

Of course, this only applies to games that run in fullscreen mode, games running in windowed or borderless mode will not be affected.

Enable Optimizations for Windowed Games in Windows

Contrary to the above, if you prefer playing games in window/borderless mode or your specific games only work in window mode, then ensure this feature is enabled. When enabled, this feature will optimize the windowed game to improve performance and slightly reduce input lag.

Open Windows Settings and go to System -> Display -> Graphics -> Change default graphics settings. Enable Optimizations for windowed games toggle.

However, it might also introduce visual artifacts/glitches in some older games, you’ll have to disable it in that case.

Apart from these suggestions, I’ll also recommend you enable the anti-lag feature in your graphics card software settings. You can also check these guides on AMD Radeon settings and Nvidia Control Panel settings to improve game performance and decrease input lag.

Image credit: Freepik. All screenshots by Karrar Haider.

Karrar is drenched in technology and always fiddles with new tech opportunities. He has a bad habit of calling technology “Killer”, and doesn’t feel bad about spending too much time in front of the PC. If he is not writing about technology, you will find him spending quality time with his little family.