125 Hz
Every 8 ms. Most office and laptop keyboards.
Keyboard Polling Rate Test
A USB keyboard only sends changes when the computer polls it, so its key timings fall on a grid. Drum on the keys and this test finds the grid spacing — your keyboard polling rate — and shows how well each standard rate fits.
Updated · 2 sources
Use a wired keyboard, or a wireless one on its USB receiver. Click the box, then drum your fingers on several keys — press and release lots of keys quickly, in any order — for about 15 seconds.
1 · Drum on the keys inside the box
—Hz
Click here first. Each key press and release is one sample.
- Samples
- 0
- Report interval
- —
- Grid fit
- —
- Timer precision
- —
How well the key timings line up with each polling rate
Faster rates always line up too, because their grid contains the slower one. Your rate is the slowest bar that is full.
Short answer
Drum on the keys for 15 seconds. A USB keyboard only reports when it is polled — every 8 ms at 125 Hz, every 1 ms at 1000 Hz — so the gaps between key events line up on that grid, and the test finds its spacing. It resolves up to about 2000 Hz; browser timer precision cannot confirm 4000 or 8000 Hz.
How to use it
- Use the USB connection. A cable, or a wireless keyboard on its USB receiver. Bluetooth does not follow a USB polling grid.
- Click the box and drum. Press and release lots of keys quickly, in any order, for about 15 seconds — 150 samples.
- Read the slowest full bar. Faster rates always line up too; the slowest rate with a full bar is your keyboard.
- Check timer precision. If the browser rounds key times to 1 ms, the result reads “1000 Hz or faster”.
How this keyboard polling rate test works
A USB keyboard does not send a press the instant it happens. The computer polls it at a fixed rate — 125 times a second for most office keyboards, 1000 or more for gaming keyboards — and the keyboard reports any change at the next poll. So every press and release arrives on a grid whose spacing is the polling interval: 8 ms at 125 Hz, 1 ms at 1000 Hz.
Drum on several keys and the test collects the gaps between key events. It then searches every interval from 20 ms down to 0.4 ms for the largest one those gaps line up with, and snaps it to the nearest standard rate. That search also catches problems other keyboard Hz tests miss:
- No grid at all — a Bluetooth link, heavy system jitter, or a keyboard faster than the test can resolve.
- A grid that is not a USB rate — for example a timer that only moves in 15.6 ms steps, which would otherwise look like a slow keyboard.
Reading the fit bars
In this keyboard Hz test, each bar shows how well the key timings line up with that polling rate. A faster rate always lines up too, because its grid contains the slower one — a 1000 Hz keyboard fills the 1000 and 2000 Hz bars. Your keyboard polling rate is the slowest bar that is full.
1000Hz keyboard, 8000Hz keyboard: the limits
Browsers round timers to 0.1 ms in normal web pages to protect privacy. That is fine for 125 to 2000 Hz, but an 8000 Hz keyboard reports every 0.125 ms — finer than the timer. Such keyboards show as 2000 Hz or faster, or as no grid. Some browsers round key times to whole milliseconds; the test detects that and reports 1000 Hz or faster instead of guessing.
Keyboard report rate too low?
- Open the keyboard software, set the polling (report) rate, and save it to the keyboard’s onboard memory.
- Plug the keyboard or its receiver straight into the computer, not a hub or monitor port.
- Use the 2.4 GHz receiver rather than Bluetooth on a wireless keyboard.
- Re-plug the keyboard and run the test again.
For typing, 125 Hz is perfectly fine. For fast games, 1000 Hz cuts up to 7 ms of waiting on every press.
Common keyboard polling rates
1000 Hz
Every 1 ms. The usual gaming keyboard setting.
4000–8000 Hz
Every 0.25–0.125 ms. Recent esports keyboards; beyond what browser timers can resolve.
If something goes wrong
It reads 125 Hz on a gaming keyboard
Set the polling rate in the keyboard software and save it to the keyboard, then re-plug it.
No polling grid found
Bluetooth, a busy system, or a keyboard above about 2000 Hz. Use the cable or receiver, close other apps, and collect more samples.
Timer too coarse
This browser or system only reports key times in large steps. Try another browser.
FAQ
How does a browser measure keyboard polling rate?
Indirectly. A keyboard only reports when it is polled, so every press and release reaches the computer on a poll boundary. Over many presses, the gaps between them are multiples of the polling interval — 8 ms at 125 Hz, 1 ms at 1000 Hz. This test finds the largest interval the gaps line up with.
Can it test an 8000Hz keyboard?
Not exactly. Browser timers are rounded to 0.1 ms in normal web pages, which is coarser than an 8000 Hz grid (0.125 ms). The test resolves up to about 2000 Hz; faster keyboards show up as 2000 Hz or faster, or as no grid. Confirm 4000 and 8000 Hz in the maker’s software.
Is a 1000Hz keyboard worth it?
For games, 1000 Hz removes up to 7 ms of waiting compared with 125 Hz on each press. For typing it makes no noticeable difference.
Why does a Bluetooth keyboard show no grid?
Bluetooth sends reports on the radio link’s own schedule, not a USB poll, so the timings do not form a clean grid. Use the keyboard’s USB receiver or cable to measure its polling rate.
Sources
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