Polling rate
Also called report rate · 1000Hz
Polling rate is how often a mouse or keyboard sends its state to the computer, measured in Hz. At 1000Hz the device reports every millisecond and at 125Hz every eight milliseconds.
A very high polling rate on a busy USB port can cause stutter. Dropping it one step is a quick test when the cursor hitches.
In practice
The polling rate decides how fresh each position report is when it reaches the computer. Going from 125Hz to 1000Hz is a noticeable improvement for gaming. Going beyond 1000Hz gains much less and costs processor time and battery life. Some older games and busy systems stutter at very high rates.
How to check
Set the polling rate in the mouse’s own software, which is the only reliable place to read it. Browsers group and deliver mouse events in their own way, so online polling rate counters give different answers in different browsers. If the cursor stutters, drop the rate one step and see whether it goes away.