How is the input lag with that UPS of yours these days? Do you keep it plugged into the mains all the time?Roxtar wrote: ↑27 Nov 2025, 04:36Quick update on my input lag / “dirty electricity” issue, in case it helps someone in the same situation.
In my first thread I talked about how buying a new PSU seemed to fix my input lag and “floaty” mouse feeling. For a few days it felt amazing: Valorant was crisp, flicks felt natural, and even moving the mouse on the Windows desktop looked super sharp.
But after turning the PC on and off over the next week, the bad feeling slowly came back. Each day it felt a bit worse, almost like the PSU was struggling more and more. My (non-expert) theory is that the PSU capacitors were gradually getting “contaminated” by dirty power from the wall again.
After about a week I was honestly crushed. I went back to lurking forums and watching videos until I found a post where someone mentioned that a double-conversion UPS fixed their issue. Not just any UPS, but specifically double-conversion, because those units convert AC → DC → AC, effectively filtering out most of the dirty electricity before it reaches your PC.
By the end of summer I’d started a programmer job, and the first thing I wanted to do with my first paycheck was buy one of these UPS units. I waited a bit to read more about it, and in November I finally ordered a double-conversion UPS (Salicru SLC Twin PRO 2 700VA Schuko SAI).
I set up my power chain like this:
Wall outlet → UPS → PC + both monitors
On the UPS I enabled LINE mode so it always delivers filtered power to the outputs. Then I booted up the PC and launched Valorant.
Results:
- It didn’t feel 100% perfect, but it was much better.
- Mouse control improved a lot, and aiming for the head felt more consistent.
I waited until the end of the month to see if the problem would slowly creep back like it did with just the new PSU. So far, it hasn’t.
- The “60 Hz-ish” feeling was still there on the monitor, but overall I’d say the UPS removed about 60–70% of the issue.
Right now I’ve ordered a replacement PSU, because I suspect the remaining ~30% of the problem might be due to components that have already been degraded by years of dirty power. I’m also planning to buy a medical-grade isolation transformer to go even further with power conditioning.
I’ll keep updating this thread with any new results. Hopefully this helps someone else struggling with the same weird input lag / dirty power nightmare.
UPDATE 04-12-2025
The PSU replacement arrived, and I also ordered a new CPU (9800X3D) plus a new UPS with enough power (Salicru SLC Twin PRO 2 2000VA Schuko SAI).
At first, it felt horrible, just like when I didn’t have any UPS connected. Then I remembered that in the UPS manual it says the PC must be at least 20 cm away from the unit. With the old 700 VA UPS this wasn’t an issue because it was quite small, but the new one is gigantic, so I guess there’s more interference.
I moved the PC as far away as the power cable allowed and I have to say: the feeling is incredibly amazing now. Zero input lag, the mouse feels like an extension of my arm, I know exactly how much I need to move it to land headshots, and the monitor looks like real life at 1000 Hz.
I’ll keep updating weekly… if I don’t forget.
UPDATE 17-12-2025
Still doing good, however, I've watched some videos about dirty electricity and EMI in general, I think I'm going to buy some devices to help me document and find a better answer rather than just a plain 'UPS fixed it'. Will probably make another thread if I decide to keep researching and invest more into this.
Any updates from anyone who managed to solve 100% the problem?
Based on my research, I believe the cause of my problem is likely my smart meter, which generates a significant amount of EMI inside my apartment.
The only thing I haven't tried yet is connecting my gaming PC to a double-conversion UPS with a pure sine wave output.
The last thing I tried—which resulted in a slight improvement (let's say around 25%)—was using "dirty electricity filters" that I built after watching a YouTube video.
The video recommended assembling several of them and distributing them across all the circuits in the house. Unfortunately, however, I’ve only managed to build two so far due to the high cost of the components required.