Controller polling rate
A wired controller usually reports its position to the PC 125 times a second. Push that polling rate up to 500 or 1000 Hz and inputs register a few milliseconds sooner. It is a real, if small, latency win — but the usual way to do it leans on an unsigned driver, so this guide is short, blunt about the risk, and entirely optional.
Know what you are installing
The common tool for this, Hidusbf, installs an unsigned USB filter driver. That means Windows will warn you, you may need to allow unsigned drivers to install it, and it sits in the USB stack for every device. The real risks are practical: USB instability — devices dropping, not enumerating, or the controller misbehaving — and the general caution that applies to any unsigned kernel driver. This is at your own risk, advanced, and not something FrameForge does or recommends as a default. If you are not comfortable with that, skip it; the gain is small.
If this is for a mouse, stop here
Do not use Hidusbf for a gaming mouse. Modern mice expose polling rate in their own software — Logitech G HUB, Razer Synapse, and the equivalents — with a signed driver and a proper UI. Set 1000 Hz there in two clicks, no unsigned anything. The hidden-USB-driver route only makes sense for devices whose maker gives you no such option, which is mostly basic wired controllers.
How it works, briefly
A USB input device and the host agree on a polling interval. Hidusbf inserts a filter that rewrites that interval to a shorter one, so the device is asked for its state more often. If you try it, the sane approach is conservative.
- 1.Use a wired controller. Polling tricks are a wired-USB thing; this is not for Bluetooth.
- 2.Try 500 Hz before 1000 Hz. Some controllers are unstable or no better at 1000; 500 is the safer, often-identical-feeling step.
- 3.Apply it to that one device, not globally. Then test: does the controller still work cleanly, and do other USB devices behave?
- 4.Know how to undo it — restore the default rate and remove the driver — before you start, in case the USB stack gets unhappy.
At a glance
| Rate | Interval | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 125 Hz | 8 ms | Stock for most wired controllers. Perfectly playable. |
| 500 Hz | 2 ms | The sweet spot to try first — lower latency, usually stable |
| 1000 Hz | 1 ms | Diminishing returns; more likely to cause instability |
Be realistic about the gain
Going from 125 to 500 Hz shaves a handful of milliseconds off how soon an input is seen — noticeable to some, placebo to others, and smaller than the wins you get for free from a higher refresh rate and the in-game FPS cap. If your only goal is flaky-controller fixes rather than latency, FrameForge’s usb_suspend tweak (USB selective suspend off) is the signed, reversible, no-driver way to stop a wired pad dropping out — a different problem, but the one people often actually have.