Does your game feel a half-step behind your hands? Here is how to reduce input lag: turn on Reflex where it is offered, switch off VSYNC, use exclusive fullscreen, and raise your mouse polling rate to 1000Hz.
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| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Extra latency from a 125Hz mouse versus 1000Hz | Up to 3 ms on average |
| Range of mouse and keyboard latency | About 1 ms to ~20 ms |
| Reflex Low Latency GPU support (NVIDIA’s October 2020 guide) | Back to the GTX 900 series |
| Average PC latency cut from Reflex in top competitive games | 50% |
| Reflex 2 claimed PC latency cut (announced January 2025) | Up to 75% |
| THE FINALS test, no Reflex versus Reflex 2 | 56 ms down to 14 ms |
These figures come from NVIDIA’s system latency guide and NVIDIA’s Reflex 2 announcement. They are vendor figures and can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
Where input lag comes from
Input lag is the delay between something you do and the result you see. NVIDIA’s guide defines system latency as the time it takes your mouse clicks to end up as pixels on screen.
That chain has three parts, and each one can be tuned on its own:
- Peripheral latency: your mouse or keyboard sensing and sending the input.
- PC latency: the operating system, the game and the rendering pipeline.
- Display latency: the monitor processing the signal and the panel changing colour.
NVIDIA’s guide says PC latency is often the largest contributor to the total. That is why most of the fixes below sit in your game and driver settings, though the cheap peripheral changes are worth doing first.
One naming quirk: monitor reviewers often use “input lag” for the display’s own signal processing only. Your real experience is the whole chain, so a fast monitor alone will not fix a slow pipeline.
Measure before you change anything
A change you cannot measure is a guess. NVIDIA’s October 2020 guide suggests two starting points if you do not own a dedicated latency analyser.
- Use the in-game latency stats in games that have integrated NVIDIA Reflex.
- Use the rendering latency metric in the GeForce Experience performance overlay.
Note a settings change, then check the number again. If it did not move, you have saved yourself a pointless tweak.
Fix the mouse and keyboard first
Your mouse and keyboard add delay before the PC sees anything. The easiest lever is polling rate, which is how often the PC asks the device for new data. According to NVIDIA’s guide, a low rate such as 125Hz adds up to 3ms of system latency on average compared with 1000Hz.
- Set the polling rate to the maximum, usually in the mouse software or with a button on the mouse.
- Check measured click latency before buying, because the same guide says mice and keyboards range from 1ms to about 20ms.
- Do not chase DPI. NVIDIA states that higher DPI does not mean lower latency, so lower it if you prefer lower sensitivity.
Latency is not the only buying factor. Weight, wireless support and a shape that fits your hand matter too.
PC settings that cut latency
These steps follow the order of NVIDIA’s guide. Work down the list and test as you go.
- Turn on NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency in the game’s options if it is offered. It makes the CPU submit work to the GPU just in time to be rendered.
- Use Ultra Low Latency mode in the NVIDIA driver when a game lacks Reflex. It trims the render queue from the driver instead of the game, and Reflex overrides it if both are on.
- Choose exclusive fullscreen where possible. It bypasses the Windows compositor, which adds latency, and NVIDIA still recommends it over borderless windowed mode.
- Turn VSYNC off in the game and in the driver if you can tolerate tearing.
- Enable Windows Game Mode under Settings, then Gaming, then Game Mode. It helps prioritise processes tied to your game.
If you hate tearing and own a variable refresh rate display such as a G-SYNC monitor, NVIDIA says keeping VSYNC on alongside Reflex or Ultra Low Latency mode caps the frame rate below the refresh rate. That avoids VSYNC back pressure, but it gives slightly higher latency than running uncapped with Reflex.
Reflex and Ultra Low Latency are NVIDIA features, and the sources for this guide cover NVIDIA hardware. If you use another GPU, check its maker’s documentation for equivalent settings.
What Reflex 2 adds
NVIDIA says Reflex, released in 2020, reduces PC latency in top competitive games by an average of 50%. At CES in January 2025 it announced Reflex 2, which it says can cut PC latency by up to 75% by adding a Frame Warp step. The details are in NVIDIA’s announcement.
Frame Warp updates the rendered frame using the latest mouse input right before it is sent to the display. NVIDIA’s own example is THE FINALS at 4K with max settings on an RTX 5070:
- No Reflex: 56ms of latency.
- Reflex Low Latency: 27ms.
- Reflex 2 with Frame Warp: 14ms.
Treat these as a vendor’s best-case demo, not a promise for your setup. As of that January 2025 announcement, Reflex 2 was described as coming soon to THE FINALS and VALORANT, debuting first on GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, so check NVIDIA’s pages before assuming a game or card supports it.
Display, hardware and platform
Your monitor adds its own delay. TFTCentral’s Reflex explainer notes the display is subject to panel pixel response times as well as internal processing from the monitor’s scaler and hardware.
If the game itself still lags, the same article points to hardware. It says lowering resolution or graphics settings can reduce render latency, and that a faster GPU is a great method if you can afford one. A faster CPU can help when game processing is the limit.
If you are deciding where to play, the console vs pc gaming comparison weighs the wider trade-offs, though the settings above apply to PC. Streaming adds network latency, a separate issue from system latency, so what is cloud gaming is a useful next read if you play that way.
Frequently asked questions
Does a higher DPI reduce input lag?
Show answer
No. NVIDIA’s guide says mouse sensitivity does not significantly affect mouse latency and that higher DPI does not mean lower latency.
Is borderless windowed as good as exclusive fullscreen?
Show answer
Not quite. NVIDIA’s guide says borderless windowed latency has slightly improved in recent Windows updates, but its tests still favour the fullscreen setting.
Should I enable Reflex and Ultra Low Latency together?
Show answer
There is no need. When both are on, Reflex overrides Ultra Low Latency, so use Reflex if the game has it and the driver setting if it does not.
Is input lag the same as ping?
Show answer
No. NVIDIA’s guide separates network latency from system latency. System latency is the path from your click to pixels on screen, while ping describes the network.
