USB mouserate switcher?

Anyone try this? I use to use PS2Rate Plus for my old PS2 mouse. But I use the Explorer 3.0 now, and was wondering if this usb switcher to up the rate is coolness or not. Thx.

 

It seems the default refresh rate for an USB mouse is 125 Hz, and this good enough for you. Especially as most monitors runs at 85-100 Hz (CRT) or 10-16 ms. reaction-time (LCD ~85-100 Hz), so when increasing the mouse refresh-rate then you wouldn't notice as the monitor is the "bottleneck". The only thing you will achieve by increasing the refreshrate is spending more CPU resources on updating the mouse-cursor position, but it won't be visible until the monitor refreshes.

 

While mostly true Snakefoot, some information there is incorrect. The 125mhz you quoted is infact the default USB 1.0 Polling interval for windows, NOT the default CPI for a mouse. that is infact 400mhz/dpi for a intelimouse 3.0, 800mhz/dpi for a Logitech MX510, and 1600 mhz/dpi for the new Razer Dimondback. While your 100% correct that this "overclocking" of the USB bus will not help shataan much at all, it will help and is intended for hardcore FPS players who use high dpi mice like the logitech MX and razer Karma powered lines. in that case boosting the systems USB polling interval up to and including 500mhz to smooth out movements made at high speeds such as full 360's and such while boosting presision. as for the monitor refresh thing, tha tis only valid in windows desktops not in games where most gamers disable vsynq and what you see is what you get and that no longer applys. So it is cool. and helps gamers looking for every edge they can get with a high dpi gaming mouse, but it wont help you use your desktop better

 

[Edit to prior- Should be noted however some people have reported bsod's if they set there polling interval to high 500mhz+, While i havent personally seen this, im also on a powerful system and it seems to mainly effect slower processers due to thread contention. just a heads up.]

(Edit timed out lol)

 

Well, I mostly game actually. So I guess upping the refresh rate of the Explorer won`t help in my case then? K. thx

 

I wouldnt say it wont help, as from reports on many sites including tomshardware raising the polling frequency did boost lower dpi mice to a higher level of presision. in come cases making a Mx510 nearly as precise as the MX1000 laser mouse and the razer viper mouse.

so it's worth a try and could boost your mouses precision, but if you encounter problems just reset the polling speed in safe mode. GL.

 

Well, I tried it, and have my Explorer 3.0 set to 250. And it IS smoother. Decided to do it cause I remember having my PS2 mouse set to 200 hz with the PS2Rate Plus app. And it really did help accuracy in gaming. Well, long distance accuracy. It seems to be working great. Thx for your replies.

 

So if having a mouse that uses 800 DPI(Dots Per Inch)/CPI(Counts Per Inch) then when moving the mouse an inch within a second (Guess one could move several inches) then the mouse will send 800 messages within a second, and the USB Port checks for messages 125 times a second. This means that it will have to process about 5-8 mouse-movement messages for each check. One dot is about 0,3 mm so it will make the mouse "jump" 2.6 mm at each check when moving the mouse fast.

The mouse-position is reported to the active application, and the application spends time on updating the cursor position accordingly. But indenpendtly of the application then the monitor only updates the current cursor position 100 times a second. So when the cursor position within a second is moved an inch, then the monitor will display the mouse movement with "jumps" of 2.5 mm.

I guess it is possible for the monitor to display the registered cursor position right before the cursor position is updated by the USB Port. Then causing the the mouse-position to "jump" more than 2.5 mm at the next monitor-refresh.

- Mouse Update
- 8 ms
- Monitor Update
- Mouse Update ("Jumps" 2.6 mm)
- 8 ms
- Mouse Update ("Jumps" 2.6 mm)
- 2 ms
- Monitor Update ("Jumps" 5.2 mm)

By increasing the interval the USB Port checks for messages, then it will set the USB Port to check for messages 500 times a second. This means that it will have to process about 1-2 mouse-movement messages for each check. So it will make the mouse "jump" 0.6 mm at each check. Thus making the monitor-"jumps" 2.5 mm (+/- 0.6 mm) instead of 2.5 mm (+/- 2.6 mm).

Well I guess I learned something today. Though one should be careful when changing the USB Refresh Rate as it will affect all USB devices, and I doubt all game-developers tests how their application reacts when getting the mouse-position updated 4 times more often than usual.

 

Guess I'll have to re-read this thread, I don't understand how we went from Mouse refresh rate to DPI.

 

Yes your on the right track Snakefoot, but, your still confusing a monitors refresh rate with its possible display rate. A moniters refresh rate is simply the maximum speed at that it can display a image "in synq" with a program or windows with it engaged, now in windows this is used to keep display errors from happening but as of late, most game engines are built well enuff that you dont need to use vert-synq to keep errors from happening (mostly a dx7 issue) and as we all know a game can "display" many, many more frame per second Then it can when in synq with your game causing some overlap of images (and in older games the display errors) as like you seid while it helps some with the "jump" of the mouse outside of games in windows due to the refresh-lock in windows it still jumps with the refreshrate, and likewise in vsynq enabled games. But with it disabled you will see updates as fast as the system can pump them out, (The reason why the human cant "See" over 75fps medicaly, but can "Feel" the diffrence of 100 and 400 fps in quake 3). As for the problems from this, the games wont ever have a issue with this, as the game takes your mouse speed out of the scope, "makes sense since you could be using a 400cpi or 1600 cpi mouse and it doesnt have a issue" it doesnt care about how fast the mouse moves inside the screen or how often it is polled, as the game doesnt poll it, the system does. But on the same note, your very right about it affecting other USB devices while i havent has any issue with my keyboard,joystick,gamepad,headphones as of yet, these are all new devices and i could see older usb devices having issue with such a fast polling rate.

 

Oh and adrynalyne, sorry if we confused ya DPI is Dots per square inch and this normally is related in this thread to the res- that a mouse reads at or aka @ 1600x1200 it takes the mouse "roughly" 2.0/2.5cm to traverse 1 screen [font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]diagonally[/font] when moved as fast as possible with a 1600dpi mouse. CPI is how many counts per inch the mouse can make it's self, think of it like the mouses own refresh rate, it can update at 1600cpi or 1600 times a inch., meanwhile the Refresh rate of the USB bus is default at 8ms or 125mhz. and is how fast the system can receive updates from the mouse, so naturally overclocking that bus to say 500mhz will really help the mouses smoothness and presicion in games with no synqing enabled to hold the update rates down.

The reason for mouse smoothing in games if you ever noticed when you had v-synq disabled the mouse seemed jumpy, this is because you were now seeing your systems refreshrate/polling rate in real time, and it seemed jumpy at such a high framerate (why some games now lock framerates in menus) and mouse smoothing would average the mouses movements over a few frames, to smooth it out, however this led to loss of presicion, but is now not needed with higher cpi mice like the MX510, as you can leave it off and the mouse "with the buss overclocked esp" is very smooth and acc without it.

 

lol. you can disregard post #10 i was 1/2 asleep when i wrote it, and after reflecting on what you seid snake, i found i misunderstood your post. lol (thats what working a 13 hour shift and little sleep when you reply gets you).

But that seid i agree 100%. tho i dont think it will effect games at all in a negitive way save for possibly older games "pre-2000",.

 

Well I made an calculation error, by saying one dot is 0.3 mm (When using 800 CPI), as it is 0.03 mm, which changes the jumps from 2.5 mm to 0.25 mm.

But I usually use a sensitivity speed-factor of 10, so I guess the end result is still noticable.