--- title: "Latency added by your screen and mouse: 35 ms" description: "Latency added by your screen and mouse: typically 35 ms, really 20 ms to 80 ms. What is measured, and why it counts as a physical limit." url: https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/display-input-latency/ site: "At One Place" --- # Latency added by your screen and mouse **Latency added by your screen and mouse: 20 ms–80 ms** Physical limit — the time available, not a human figure A 60 Hz display holds each frame for 16.7 milliseconds, so the stimulus alone can be that late before anything reaches your eye, and USB polling, browser event timing and operating-system scheduling add more. On a television with image processing enabled the total can exceed 100 milliseconds. This is why online reaction tests report numbers 20 to 80 milliseconds slower than laboratory figures, and why comparing your score against someone else's is comparing hardware. ## The numbers - **Typical:** 35 ms - **Range:** 20 ms to 80 ms - **What it is:** Physical limit — the time available, not a human figure - **What is measured:** End-to-end delay between a frame being drawn and an input being registered by software. ## Why this is a physical limit This is how long the event gives you, not how long a person takes. It is here because comparing the two is the only way to see whether reacting is possible at all. ## Where it sits against everything else *Reflexes at the top, reactions in the middle, design values off the end of the scale.* - Vestibulo-ocular reflex — Reflex: 10 ms - Knee-jerk (patellar) reflex — Reflex: 22 ms - Latency added by your screen and mouse — Physical limit: 35 ms - Blink reflex — Reflex: 40 ms - Withdrawal reflex — Reflex: 90 ms - Time a jab takes to land — Physical limit: 110 ms - Sprint start reaction — Reaction: 140 ms - Simple tactile reaction time — Reaction: 155 ms - Simple auditory reaction time — Reaction: 170 ms - Professional gamer reaction time — Reaction: 190 ms - Formula One start reaction — Reaction: 200 ms - Simple visual reaction time — Reaction: 250 ms - How reaction time changes with age — Reaction: 250 ms - What sleep loss does to reaction time — Reaction: 300 ms - What alcohol does to reaction time — Reaction: 320 ms - Recognition reaction time — Reaction: 340 ms - Choice reaction time — Reaction: 380 ms - Time to hit a 95 mph fastball — Physical limit: 400 ms - Time a goalkeeper has on a penalty — Physical limit: 450 ms - Time to play a 90 mph delivery — Physical limit: 500 ms - Driver reaction to an expected event — Reaction: 850 ms ## Screens and input | What | Typical | Range | Kind | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Professional gamer reaction time | 190 ms | 150 ms–220 ms | Reaction | ## Common questions ### How long is latency added by your screen and mouse? Typically 35 ms, with a real range of 20 ms to 80 ms. End-to-end delay between a frame being drawn and an input being registered by software. ### Is that a reflex or a reaction? Physical limit — the time available, not a human figure. This is how long the event gives you, not how long a person takes. It is here because comparing the two is the only way to see whether reacting is possible at all. ## Related pages - [Professional gamer reaction time](https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/esports-reaction/) - [A reflex is not a reaction](https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/reflex-vs-reaction/) - [Stopping distance at every speed](https://atoneplace.net/reaction-time/stopping-distance/) - [Measure your own reaction time](https://atoneplace.net/tools/reaction-time-test/) ## Sources - Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)