why does wireless cause input lag?

[Kingjames0202]

I've wondered why having a wireless mouse can cause input lag? My Razer Mamba 16000 can be wired or wireless. So why does it being wireless cause input lag? It's the same sensor and the same mouse just without a wire.

[iRileyx]

Because the signals can travel down the wire much faster(well not much, but fast enough to make difference) than they can through air.

[AresKrieger]

Just now, RKRiley said:

Because the signals can travel down the wire much faster than they can through air.

Not really it more so has to due with compensation for lost data during transmission, both travel at light speed

[unknownmiscreant]

2 minutes ago, RKRiley said:

Because the signals can travel down the wire much faster(well not much, but fast enough to make difference) than they can through air.

True, but there is another layer. Its the signal integrity. Wireless is fundamentally slower, as there is much more interference with a wireless connection, so more data has to be transmitted to ensure accurate tracking information is being sent.

 

With wireless, sometimes the information has to be resent multiple times.

[Mira Yurizaki]

In older days, it was because there was processing needed to transmit and receive. But I'm pretty sure processing that is much faster today to the point where it's imperceptible.

 

3 minutes ago, RKRiley said:

Because the signals can travel down the wire much faster(well not much, but fast enough to make difference) than they can through air.

 

Just now, AresKrieger said:

Not really it more so has to due with compensation for lost data during transmission, both travel at light speed

Signals travel through copper at about 2/3 the speed of light. Radio waves in air are basically at the speed of light in a vacuum.

[Kingjames0202]

1 minute ago, RKRiley said:

Because the signals can travel down the wire much faster than they can through air.

well than everyone just needs to make the signals stronger similer to the logitech g602

[AresKrieger]

4 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Signals travel through copper at about 2/3 the speed of light. Radio waves in air are basically at the speed of light in a vacuum.

I think the gauge of the wire comes into play but I know for a fact that electricity on the grid for instance is similar to light speed (approx 285,102,627 m/s on 12 gauge wire) so a little less but not much off.

[Shiv78]

1 minute ago, Kingjames0202 said:

well than everyone just needs to make the signals stronger similer to the logitech g602

It's not only strength but p e n e t r a t i o n power and other factors. Also depends how far the receiver is. 

If that mouse is new return it and exchange it, Razer stuff tends to be low quality and break.

[GoodBytes]

Normally, if your mouse has very good wireless system, the input lag would be minimal, and impossible to detect, especially if the sensor is close by. But technically, yes.

 

However, to answer your question:

• On Wireless, the mouse needs to conserve power. So depending on the mouse, different things can happen. The sensor polls less, the mouse goes quickly to sleep the moment it stops moving, sends packets the receiver less often when the mouse is not moving, and 'causes a delay when the mouse moves and the packet are sent faster due to the detection of movement algorithm overhead (and processor), etc.
• Overhead by passing though additional chips needed to send the signal wireless and conversion from wired to wireless and wireless back to wired.
• Loss of packets due to normal air travel and interference.
• Signal degradation due to distance (links to above point)

[vanished]

8 minutes ago, RKRiley said:

Because the signals can travel down the wire much faster(well not much, but fast enough to make difference) than they can through air.

Why do people keep saying this... Another version I've heard is "wireless can go in a straight line and not have to follow the cable so it's a shorter path".  Both are completely ridiculous.  Any impact that either of those things have will be on the order of nanoseconds, ie, about 1 million times less than the scale input lag can be noticed on.

[GoodBytes]

7 minutes ago, AresKrieger said:

I think the gauge of the wire comes into play but I know for a fact that electricity on the grid for instance is similar to light speed (approx 285,102,627 m/s on 12 gauge wire) so a little less but not much off.

Stop saying light speed. It doesn't go light speed. Fiber optic doesn't even go light speed, even if you make one in 100% glass and in a straight line. Light only goes to light speed, in a 100% theoretical vacuum.

[Mira Yurizaki]

Just now, AresKrieger said:

I think the gauge of the wire comes into play bu I know for a fact that electricity on the grid is similar to light speed (approx 285,102,627 m/s)

Considering that electricity is a transferring of electrons, which have mass, it's slower than that.

[AresKrieger]

Just now, M.Yurizaki said:

Considering that electricity is a transferring of electrons, which have mass, it's slower than that.

It isn't transferring its oscillation, ie it's an em wave in essence

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 minute ago, AresKrieger said:

It isn't transferring its oscillation, ie it's an em wave in essence

Even that doesn't go at the speed of light  in a vacuum in a conductive medium: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity_factor

[AresKrieger]

1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Even that doesn't go at the speed of light  in a vacuum in a conductive medium: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity_factor

I said similar to light speed, not equal, stated 12 gauge wire plus gave a value, and even mentioned gauge would likely play a role.

 

Any way we're off topic at this point, @GoodBytes gave a great answer, so

@Kingjames0202 theres your answer.