Mouse Test Bench 1.5.2
See the previous 1.5.1 changelog.What's Changed?Our 1.5.2 changelog removes two comparison measurements from the Sensor Latency test box.Test GroupChangesSensor LatencyRemoved Delay To Start Of Movement measurementRemoved Delay To End Of Movement measurementBelow is an example of this change in our reviews:BEFOREAFTERPrevious Sensor Latency test results for the Razer Viper V3 Pro.Updated Sensor Latency test results for the Razer Viper V3 Pro after the removal of Delay To Start Of Movement and Delay To End Of Movement measurements.Why Are We Making This Change?We've received ongoing feedback from the community and manufacturers identifying inconsistencies and occasionally unexpected results in our sensor latency measurements. In particular, we were concerned that mice from the same manufacturer, using the same sensor model and reportedly using the same firmware versions, could still produce higher-than-expected performance variation. The comparison below between the Endgame Gear OP1 8k and the Endgame Gear XM2 8k is a frequently cited example.Previous Sensor Latency results for the Endgame Gear OP1 8k.Previous Sensor Latency results for the Endgame Gear XM2 8k. Despite using the same sensor model and firmware as the OP1 8k, it achieved lower measured latency.After internal audits on our Sensor Latency testing rig, we discovered the following:The Delay To Start Of Movement measurement was inconsistent between measurement sets. We weren't able to reliably get reproducible results to a satisfactory degree. Despite our best efforts, we also weren't able to conclusively determine the cause of these irregularities.The Delay To End Of Movement results also suffered from inconsistency. We determined this measurement was highly dependent on mechanical factors in our testing rig, including inertia, cradle rigidity, and mousepad friction. Each of these was prone to small variations and could have an outsized effect on our measurements. Furthermore, due to the improvement in the quality of modern sensors, these differences are increasingly on the order of sub-microsecond variation.Our Delay at Half Movement measurement remained highly consistent and reproducible throughout our audit. It isn't affected by the unknown irregularities at Start Of Movement or by the variable mechanical factors present at End of Movement.Based on these findings, we made the difficult decision to discard our Delay To Start Of Movement and Delay To End Of Movement measurements, while retaining Delay At Half Movement. We've also implemented new validation processes to help ensure measurements remain consistent over time, with regular checks against a baseline.This change means that new results are less granular and provide less insight into the specific characteristics of individual sensor implementations, which we understand will be frustrating, especially for those who have long relied on them for comparisons.However, we're confident this change will improve long-term measurement reliability while continuing to provide the information necessary for informed buying decisions. Sensor performance has improved significantly in recent years, and most modern gaming mice now perform at a very high level. At this point, mice scoring above 7.0 offer performance that most users are unlikely to distinguish in practice. As scores exceed 8.0, differences in perceived sensor performance become increasingly marginal, reducing the practical value of fine-grained measurement distinctions.Does This Affect Our Scores?This change doesn't significantly affect our scoring. We've recalibrated our scoring spline, and most mice will see only minor score adjustments of between 0.1 to 0.3 points. Relative performance between models remains unchanged, and our overall conclusions are consistent. No mice previously identified as having good sensor latency performance are now rated poorly. Models remain in the same relative positions within our scoring system as before.What Will Happen To Supplementary Results?Many of the mice we've tested over the last several years include supplementary text and results demonstrating sensor performance across multiple polling rates and other latency-affecting options, such as Motion Sync and competitive modes.Previous Sensor Latency results for the Razer Viper V3 Pro, including supplementary polling rate testing and Delay To Start Of Movement, Delay At Half Movement, and Delay To End Of Movement measurements. Start and End Of Movement remain in most existing reviews but are now deprecated.To preserve transparency and comparability, we plan to keep many of these supplementary results in place, particularly where our testing rig was performing as expected, and the data remains sound. As a result, some older sections will continue to include the now-deprecated Delay To Start Of Movement and Delay To End Of Movement measurements. Going forward, new supplementary results won't include these measurements.Let Us Know What You ThinkYour feedback is instrumental in improving our testing. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions about this or any future updates, reach out to us in the comments, on our Discord server, or email us at feedback@rtings.com.
1 4 days ago
