Extreme FPS drops and stuttering when moving mouse (high polling rate)
Gaming mice configured with 4000Hz or 8000Hz polling rates flood Windows with thousands of interrupt calls per second, overwhelming the CPU game thread.
Internal desktop parts run on harmless 12V DC voltage and cannot shock you. Simply unplug the wall power cable first, then touch the unpainted metal case frame to ground static electricity.
Common Symptoms & Tells
- Game runs smoothly at 140 FPS when standing still, but drops to 20 FPS whenever the mouse is moved
- High CPU usage on Core 0 during rapid mouse motion
- Affects high-end gaming mice (Razer Viper 8KHz, Logitech G Pro X 4KHz, etc.)
Interactive Fix Checklist
0 of 4 steps completedLower mouse polling rate to 1000 Hz in companion software
Open Razer Synapse, Logitech G Hub, or vendor software. Locate Polling Rate / Report Rate and reduce from 8000Hz / 4000Hz to 1000Hz (1ms).
Plug mouse directly into rear USB 3.0 motherboard port
High-polling mice require direct CPU-connected USB root ports. Avoid front-panel ports, external USB hubs, or keyboard passthrough ports.
Enable 'Raw Input' in game settings
In game settings (Valorant, CS2, Overwatch), enable 'Raw Mouse Input' to bypass Windows OS cursor event translation bottlenecks.
Update mouse firmware and companion software
Manufacturers frequently release microcode firmware updates to optimize USB descriptor report size for high-frequency polling.
Still having trouble with your PC?
Describe what is happening to your AI Technician. We will tailor the fix to your exact hardware setup.