mouse movement makes game lag

Last week when I installed a new game on my PC, I expected things to run smoothly and enjoy the Sunday evening with my new game. But the whole evening was ruined as my PC had other plans. 

Soon after I started to play the game, I found that mouse movement makes game lag, and my PC started to stand still! 

It was a super annoying situation and I started scouring the internet to find solutions for this issue. Unfortunately, there was not much I could find, and I had to do my own research and experiment with some settings. 

After thorough research and trial & error, I found a couple of issues that could cause mouse movement to make the game lag. And interestingly, some games work perfectly fine on the same PC, and some don’t! 

In this post, I’ll break down these reasons and show you how to fix this issue, so you won’t have to figure it out yourself.

Why Does Moving My Mouse Make Game Lag?

There can be a couple of causes for mouse movement makes game lag. Some of the reasons are hardware related, and some are software related. 

Why Does Moving My Mouse Make Game Lag


Here are the most common reasons:

Problems With Your Mouse And CPU 

The polling rate of your mouse plays a vast role in game play. 

Usually, the default polling rate is set at 1000Hz for a mouse. If the CPU of your PC is relatively weak, this polling rate causes games to lag

Also read: is 90c safe for cpu while gaming?

The polling rate will be how often it updates the computer about its position. Polling basically means that the CPU communicates with the mouse asking, “how far have you moved since we last spoke?” 

1000hz means it asks 1000 times per second. If the CPU is weak, this communication between two parties exhausts the capacity of the CPU and causes games lag.

Graphic Card Issues

Some games require high-performing graphic cards that deliver higher frame rates. 

If your PC’s graphic card is not compatible with the game’s minimum requirements, it can cause games to lag and stutter. 

I found that Nvidia graphic cards frequently caused this issue for many users during my research. 

Also read: GPU 80 degrees while gaming

How to Fix Mouse Movement Makes Game Lag? 

Whatever the cause of mouse movement makes games lag, you might have to try several ways to fix the issue. 


Sometimes you might be able to solve the problem in one go if you are lucky enough. As my case went otherwise, I had to try several methods to succeed. 

Listed below are the methods I used (for your reference), and you can try these if you face similar game-lagging problems. 

Changing The Mouse 

This is kind of a diagnostic test. You must first ensure that the problem does not lie in your mouse. The simplest way to do that is to change the mouse and use another one to play the game. 

If the new mouse does not make mouse movements lag in the game, I am certain the problem lies with your mouse. Change it and buy a new one. 

If changing the mouse does not resolve the issue, try the others. 

Change the Polling Rate of Your Mouse 

Since we already know polling rate plays a vital role in games, the obvious first move should be to check if changing the polling rate fixes the issue.

Go to the mouse settings and check the default polling rate. If it is 1000Hz, change it to 250Hz and try playing the game. In most cases, for most games, this is the best solution. 

Reduce the Game’s Graphics Settings

If you have a weaker CPU and you are not planning on replacing it soon, what you should do is reduce the game’s graphic settings

Reduce the Game's Graphics Settings


This will allow the CPU to cope with the various requests sent by the game while you are playing and fulfill them without a hassle.

Also read: PC fans loud when gaming

This is easy to do with most games as they offer presets such as “low” and “high” graphical settings.

First, read the game’s minimum requirements when it comes to specifications and try to meet them to avoid unnecessary lagging and stuttering.

Run The Game As An Administrator 

This might sound weird (and it is!) but during my research I came across at least 5 or 6 people who got the issue fixed by running the game as an admin.

To run the game as the administrator, you need to go to where the game is installed and find the .exe. Then right-click on it and click “run as administrator” (windows 8). 

If you don’t see it on your windows version, go to properties, then go to compatibility and near the bottom, you will see ‘Run this program as an administrator’. Click the box and apply, then close out everything. 

Anyway, be cautious because running a game as an administrator means giving special application permissions to access restricted areas on your computer. 

Upgrade Graphics Card 

If the graphics card and your operating system are not updated with recently released updates, there can be lag-related issues. 

The simple solution is to update both with the latest versions to optimize their settings and achieve better performances. 

Reinstall Software 

I listed this at the bottom of the list because this is not the best option to choose. However, if all the above solutions did not work, you’ll have to give this a try. 

Reinstall Software


Reinstall the game, drivers, and mouse’s software and check whether the game is working fine now. 

Bottom Line 

I know by experience how annoying it is when mouse movement makes game lag. All the solutions I have mentioned in this article have been tested by other users and it worked for them. Hope this works for you too.

However, you might not get the result you want even after trying all these solutions for a specific game. If you are in a situation like that, please let me know in the comments so that I can check it out and let you know if there is any solution. 

FAQs

How do I stop mouse input lag Valorant?

Fastest way to deal with the issue is to update all the drivers and complete all available windows updates. You should disable Windows 10 game mode and turn off optimizations for full screens. Upgrade not only the operating system but also the graphics card. This will solve the problem.

How to fix Xbox Game Pass lag every time the mouse moves?

To fix xbox game pass lag, keep tabbing in and out of the game until you get the menu. Go to settings and scroll down to find an option of vsync. Remove the vsync and there you go! Problem solved.