In the last 15 years, Patrick Freese from MeinMMO has only used a mouse and keyboard connected to a PC via cable. He had avoided wireless connections for fear of excessive input lag. But is that still a problem today? He tried it and explains why he no longer has to worry.
do you know that Do you play shooters and only miss the right moment to shoot by a fraction of a second? Of course, you don’t blame yourself first, but rather your hardware. I don’t want to exclude myself from that. In the past, when I’ve narrowly missed someone on Counter-Strike, my wireless hardware’s input lag has been at the top of my list of culprits. Internet problems followed closely.
Who writes here? I’m Patrick, performance manager at MeinMMO. I built my first PC when I was about 13 years old. Since then I’ve used a lot of different hardware in and around PCs. I am enthusiastic about the technical advances and like to try new things that are related to gaming and working from home.
What exactly is input lag? This describes the delay from an input until it arrives at a device such as a PC and is implemented. Times were short for the first wireless mice and keyboards, but they were even longer than they are today. It’s worth noting that the mouse and keyboard cause only a small amount of input lag. The hardware in the PC and the monitor play a much larger role.
A poll by Logitech on Twitter brought me back to the topic. There they asked the community whether they had a wired or wireless mouse. Users replied as I would “Of course with. I don’t want any input lag.” But Logitech explained that this is no longer a problem.
I wanted to find out if that’s really the case. Logitech sent me hardware for testing to get to the bottom of the thesis.
Which hardware do I use for the test?
Mouse: I use the G502 X Plus as a mouse, which we have already presented to you in more detail here in the test on MeinMMO in the basic version without RGB. It replaces the G502 Hero for me. So basically similar mice.
Keyboard: I use the G915 as a keyboard with GL tactile switches. It’s our winner for best wireless gaming keyboard. The brown switches work well for people who want a compromise between good for writing and good for gaming in their switches. Previously, I used Cooler Master’s “MasterKeys” keyboard with brown switches. It was my first mechanical keyboard which I bought in 2017.
The two new devices are connected to my PC using Logitech’s Lightspeed technology. Logitech advertises that this technology offers low latency and reliable performance.
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I test in WoW, Valorant and LoL
How did I test? For the past 15 years I’ve always played with cable. I unplugged the two old devices and directly connected the two new ones to the PC wirelessly.
Both devices were quickly installed using the “Logitech G Hub” software. After a short setup with keyboard and mouse colors and DPI speed, I started playing right away.
WoW: First of all, I logged into WoW. I’ve been playing it every day since Dragonflight started, and that’s the first thing I could spot differences. But I don’t notice any. The hang gliding works as usual, I’m building the same bugs in races and can’t blame it on a hardware lag. Healing in heavy Mythic instances also works as before. I don’t feel any negative differences here. On the other hand, I have more freedom when positioning the mouse and keyboard without cables and can lean back and relax while fishing. Big plus!
Valorant: While I don’t currently spend as much time in shooters as I do in WoW, my Go-2 shooter is Valorant. So if there are noticeable differences in the hardware, I would notice them here. To be on the safe side, I also started the Aim-Lab on Steam and couldn’t find any noticeable differences in the time to shot and accuracy in both games.
On a positive note, I notice that the mouse glides “more freely” over the mouse pad without the cable and I don’t feel any resistance. With my old setup, on rare occasions I felt that the cable was minimally restricting movement. I didn’t notice any disadvantages with shooters either.
LoL: My last test game is League of Legends. Here I play ARAMs and Normals, so not competitive. Nevertheless, speed plays an important role here. I can land my skillshots quickly and precisely. The timing when flashing over certain obstacles also fits. No restrictions!
Conclusion: input lag is history – battery is not a problem
When it comes to gaming, the new devices don’t limit me. Neither in shooters and MOBAs nor in MMORPGs. My skillshots are as “good” as with a wired connection. My inputs arrive in the games on time. I really enjoy being able to move my devices freely on the table. You can take the keyboard and mouse straight off the table if you want to clean, and you don’t have to first unplug the cables or hang the devices over the monitor.
order on the desk
I am a believer in wireless gaming. If you have also avoided such devices because of the input lag, then take a look for yourself. Test the devices thoroughly and get an idea of it. Games like the Aim Lab on Steam are a good way to test reactions on the PC.
For me, charging the batteries was a point I dreaded before the test. “How often does that happen? Do I suddenly have to switch to wired mid-game?”
In practice, the keyboard starts flashing red to suggest that you should load “soon”. With the keyboard, this energy-saving mode starts at 15% battery and can be set even more specifically in the software. You still have enough time to finish the round and then connect the cable. The charge level is also displayed in the G Hub software. With normal use, I charge both devices once a week. According to the manufacturer, the G915 has a battery life of 30 hours. According to the manufacturer, the battery life of the G502 X Plus is around 37 hours when RGB is activated. If you switch off the bright colors, it should even be 130 hours. If you generally prefer to play without colors, you should not use the “Plus” version.
I leave both receivers, which are connected to the computer by cable, on the back of the desk. When the devices need to be charged, I simply unplug the receivers from the cable and plug the USB-C connection into the mouse and/or keyboard. I can continue to use both devices while charging.
The wireless use also has a particular advantage for me: the desk now looks much tidier. I like good cable management. It just looks nice if there are no loose cables hanging around anywhere. And it’s even nicer without cables than with well-organized cables.
Tip for cable management: If you, like me, value cable management on your desk, then I have a good tip for you: A USB hub for €30 will tidy up your desk and everything underneath it.