Why does P2P (uTorrent, Steam) cause mouse lag?

JMorton6

Senior member
Jan 25, 2009
406
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Whenever either of these 2 programs are downloading something, my bluetooth mouse gets lagged to shit: really choppy, etc. The moment they finish downloading (or if I close them), it's instantly 100% fine again. What can it be? It's a fast machine and according to task manager, CPU and RAM are mostly unused, either when these apps are on or off. When on and downloading, they seemingly take up almost no system resources. So what's the problem?
 
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KirklandBrand

Member
Feb 15, 2012
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Check your resource usage when you are downloading... But also it's possible that your p2p application is causing the resource hog. Check it in your particular OS's resource monitor. :)
 

CKTurbo128

Platinum Member
May 8, 2002
2,702
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Whenever either of these 2 programs are downloading something, my bluetooth mouse gets lagged to shit: really choppy, etc. The moment they finish downloading (or if I close them), it's instantly 100% fine again. What can it be? It's a fast machine and according to task manager, CPU and RAM are mostly unused, either when these apps are on or off. When on and downloading, they seemingly take up almost no system resources. So what's the problem?

Is your main connection over Wi-Fi by chance? You might be experiencing Wi-FI & Bluetooth interference, as they both occupy the 2.4 GHz range. I had something similar happen to me at my old apartment on my laptop (which was saturated with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks). Whenever I was doing heavy downloads (uTorrent, etc.), my bluetooth mouse would act up and barely respond. Once downloads were completed, my mouse would act normal again.

I resolved my issues by switching my 802.11n Wi-Fi network to the 5 GHz range, as my laptop supported dual-band 802.11n. Another option is to use a wired or RF wireless mouse.
 
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Stronkr

Junior Member
Dec 14, 2015
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Is your main connection over Wi-Fi by chance? You might be experiencing Wi-FI & Bluetooth interference, as they both occupy the 2.4 GHz range. I had something similar happen to me at my old apartment on my laptop (which was saturated with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks). Whenever I was doing heavy downloads (uTorrent, etc.), my bluetooth mouse would act up and barely respond. Once downloads were completed, my mouse would act normal again.

I resolved my issues by switching my 802.11n Wi-Fi network to the 5 GHz range, as my laptop supported dual-band 802.11n. Another option is to use a wired or RF wireless mouse.

I honestly can't thank you enough. This was driving me mad, I kept updating drivers and thought it was software related. I am now changing to 5GHz as soon as possible, being unable to do stuff while dling in the background was wearing down my patience.
 

lakedude

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2009
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This should never happen, I mean philosophically. Back in the day my buddy's Amiga was described to me has having a "mouse co-processor". Now I'm not sure that is a 100% accurate description but the end result was that his Amiga NEVER had mouse lag and that is the way it should be.

IMHO the entire PC and OS should be centered around the user and what the user wants. I don't give a crap what the computer wants to do or why it is too busy to respond to my commands, I just want the thing to do what I want, always. No app or collection of apps should ever be able to hog up enough resources to slow down a mouse. There should be some built in QoS style limits that keep any program or collection of programs from ever using more than their fair share of system resources. Even that should have an override option, just in case you want you computer brought to its knees.
 

XavierMace

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2013
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IMHO the entire PC and OS should be centered around the user and what the user wants. I don't give a crap what the computer wants to do or why it is too busy to respond to my commands, I just want the thing to do what I want, always. No app or collection of apps should ever be able to hog up enough resources to slow down a mouse. There should be some built in QoS style limits that keep any program or collection of programs from ever using more than their fair share of system resources. Even that should have an override option, just in case you want you computer brought to its knees.

QoS isn't magic. If there was a way to prioritize your mouse so it never lags, that just means whatever would have been using that bandwidth is either running slower or stalled.

More importantly, we are talking about wireless signals not processes. You can't QoS an over saturated frequency.
 

corkyg

Elite Member | Peripherals
Super Moderator
Mar 4, 2000
27,370
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Don't forget that Bluetooth is radio communication between two devices. So is Wi-Fi. If the frequencies clash, they jam one another. In order to get what he or she wants, the user needs to make good choices.
 

lakedude

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2009
2,542
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Okay, I didn't read close enough. Bluetooth and WiFi are typically on similar 2.4GHz frequencies. I guess the OP needs to ether get a wired mouse or wired Ethernet or go to 5GHz WiFi.

Mouse lag is a peeve of mine on PCs since a 25 year old Amiga had the problem solved well 25 years ago...
 

Gunbuster

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,852
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In addition some machines use the worlds worst Marvel Avastar Wifi/Bluetooth combo chip... ahem Microsoft Surface Pro 1, 2, 3, 4, XBONE, Surface 3, Surface Book.
 

primal.pr28

Junior Member
Jun 22, 2022
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Is your main connection over Wi-Fi by chance? You might be experiencing Wi-FI & Bluetooth interference, as they both occupy the 2.4 GHz range. I had something similar happen to me at my old apartment on my laptop (which was saturated with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks). Whenever I was doing heavy downloads (uTorrent, etc.), my bluetooth mouse would act up and barely respond. Once downloads were completed, my mouse would act normal again.

I resolved my issues by switching my 802.11n Wi-Fi network to the 5 GHz range, as my laptop supported dual-band 802.11n. Another option is to use a wired or RF wireless mouse.

Mate i registered to this forum just to say thank you !! I have replaced my mouse 3 times, i talked to microsoft via chat 3 times and couldnt find a fix. This thing you say here there is not anywhere on google as far i searched ! I dont know how to thank you ! If you ever come to crete i will buy you pizza and beer ! :)