Your 1000 Hz Mouse Might Not Be Testing at 1000 Hz

Andrew Williams — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:47:27 +0000

Ever tested your mouse polling rate online and wondered why a 1000 Hz mouse sometimes shows something like 60 Hz or 144 Hz?

The problem may not be your mouse. There is another possibility: the test is measuring the browser's rendering rate instead of the mouse's actual input reports. A common mistake with browser-based polling-rate tests is counting mouse movement once per screen frame. On a 60 Hz display, that can make a 1000 Hz mouse look like a 60 Hz device.

Mouse polling rate ≠ monitor refresh rate.

A better test needs to look at the actual mouse input events and their timing, not just how often the browser renders a frame. That's what InputProbe's polling rate test is designed to do.

Move the mouse continuously and the test analyzes the incoming input reports. If there isn't enough reliable data, it doesn't simply make up a number.

You can also use InputProbe to check:

The key takeaway:

A good hardware test should measure what your device is actually reporting—not what your screen happens to be displaying.

Try the tests at InputProbe.

DEV Community: Andrew Williams

Your 1000 Hz Mouse Might Not Be Testing at 1000 Hz

The key takeaway: