In this article I’ll explain what overclocking a mouse mean and then how you can overclock your mouse on windows 10. 20H2 version.

I have been having problems finding the correct information on how to increase polling rate of my mouse on windows 10., so I’ve decided to write a complete guide that will cover everything. Please note that this guide is written only for latest windows 10. operating system, if you have an older windows 10. version please update your windows 10. and then proceed with reading this guide.

WHAT IS MOUSE OVERCLOCKING AND DO YOU NEED IT?

Overclocking means increasing the clock rate of your computer, and overclocking your mouse mean increasing the polling rate of your mouse. This guide is intended for older mices like MX518, Intellimouse etc. Modern mouses have an option to increase requests per second in their official mouse software’s.

As you can see in my screenshot above, on the left I’ve logitech device software panel openned, in it says mouse polling 125hz but I’ve successfully increased polling rate to 250hz. on windows  10. Pro x64 1909 version.

DPI Explained

Dots per inch (DPI) is a measurement of how sensitive a mouse is. The higher a mouse’s DPI, the farther the cursor on your screen will move when you move the mouse. A mouse with a higher DPI setting detects and reacts to smaller movements.

Higher DPI isn’t always better, as it seems to get too fast too quick so modify settings per your preference.

High DPI mice are more useful if you have a higher-resolution monitor. If you’re playing a game on a low-resolution 1366×768 laptop screen, you don’t necessarily need that high DPI. On the other hand, if you’re playing a game on a 3840×2160 4K monitor, a higher DPI lets you move your mouse cursor across the screen smoothly without having to drag your mouse across your entire desk.

Polling Rate Explained

A mouse’s polling rate is how often it reports its position to a computer. Polling rate is measured in Hz. If a mouse has a 125 Hz polling rate, it reports its position to the computer 125 times every second—or every 8 milliseconds. A 500 Hz rate means that the mouse is reporting its position to the computer every 2 milliseconds, and for 1000hz every 1 ms.

In the picture above you can see the difference between polling rates detected by PC.

Do I need to increase polling rate of my mouse?

Before you start overclocking, check to see whether your official mouse software has an option integrated already to increase hz.

If you don’t know if you have already software installed for mouse, I would suggest going on mouse manufacturer’s website to see if there is any. If not, then follow these simple steps and note that this guide is intended for Windows 10.(x32, x86, x64).

Please Beware! This procedure might burn your USB slot, and you, and only you are responsible for any action you perform with your mouse. ( If your mouse usb stops working, don’t be alarmed – just unplug the mouse from that usb port and plug it in the next one – when you plug a different device onto that „faulty“ usb port – usb port will start working again )

Things needed for overclocking :

• Atsiv
• Mouserate
• HIDUSBF driver
• USB Mouse rate Adjuster

ATSIV – Command line tool to load unsigned drivers

Mouserate : Mouse rate is a simple program that will measure mouse hz’s. It will tell you how often the position of your mouse is sent to the other applications. With this tool you can check whether you’ve successfully overclocked your mouse.

HIDUSBF : Hidusbf is just a driver file that will tell windows to „boost up“ your USB slot.

Unfortunatelly, this driver is NOT officially signed from Microsoft as this costs $$$. Gamer community is thinking of buying this once again.

USB Mouse Rate Adjuster : is a lightweight software that will help you manage your mouse and increase a polling rate within it.

METHODS TO OVERCLOCK A MOUSE

There are 2. methods available to overclock a mouse. Both of them have some flawls which I’ll describe in detail.

One method involves using a command line tool that allows to load and unload unsigned drivers on windows, that program is called Atsiv. Unfortunatelly, atsiv is recognized as a virus on most of todays antiviruses so you’ll have to disable antivirus in order to proceed with this method.

Second method is to put windows 10. into TEST mode, disabling windows driver signature verification and overclocking your mouse manually. Unfortunatelly, this methods flaw is that when you put windows 10. in TEST MODE environment, you might experience problems with anticheat software as they detect that something is fishy with your operating system.

Personally, I am using the first method as I consider myself a professional gamer and if you are playing in windows test mode, anticheat engine will mark you as suspicious. So, atsiv method is a must for me.  

1. METHOD : ATSIV Mouse overclock procedure

DOWNLOAD FILES

This guide will work for overclocking up to 1000hz. If you wish to overclock more, you have to slightly modify that package. I haven’t included atsiv.exe file into the package, so you’ll have to download it from somewhere else and come back to this guide.

1. Place premade folder ‘atsiv’ in ‘C:\Program Files’ so you have a ‘C:\Program Files\atsiv’ path
2. Run C:\Program Files\atsiv\DRIVER\Setup.exe, press Install Service, tick Filter On device checkbox and choose your desired rate. Remember that some mouse can go only up to 500.
3. Press Copy ID’s, paste it somewhere and copy the second line(in my case that would be “USB\VID_046D&PID_C01E\5&17411534&0&1”) and then replace accordingly in the restart.cmd file located in ‘C:\Program Files\atsiv’
4. Then launch windows scheduler located in C:\Windows\system32\taskschd.msc and import task ‘overclock.xml’ also located in ‘atsiv’ folder
5. Restart your PC and confirm with the mouserate software that the overclock is working.
6. Include atsiv.exe into your antivirus file exception so it won’t get automatically deleted when your antivirus scans your PC.

2. METHOD : Mouse overclock procedure

DOWNLOAD FILES

To play around with windows 10 system files, you have to be an administrator because you have to run command prompt in an elevated mode as you are messing with the drivers…

In order for this method to work you have to place your windows in TEST mode and overclock will only work while your windows 10. is in TEST mode environment.

To put your Windows 10 in a test mode you have to open a command prompt as an Administrator

1. In Command Prompt type : bcdedit -set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
2. Inside of command prompt type : bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING on
3. Restart your PC, and if everything is successfully done, you’ll see Windows 10 Test mode – text on the right bottom of your screen.
4. Download all files needed .
5. Extract them to desktop
6. Locate HIDUSBF.INF file, right click on it , click install .
7. Open UsbMouseRate.exe file as an Administrator, then select „Mouses Only“, filter on device, and choose your desired polling rate.

8. Click Install Service

1. And finally, click Restart, then Close.
2. Restart your Windows, and afterwards check your results with mouserate software

Conclusion :

Higher DPI and polling rates may be useful, but they’re not everything. There’s a good chance you’ll find yourself decreasing the DPI below the maximum value after buying a pricy gaming mouse. You most definitely don’t need the mouse with the highest DPI settings. These specifications aren’t a simple measurement of performance . It is more of a users preference.

There are rumors online that gaming community is about to get overclock drivers signed at Microsoft in 2021.