Blur Busters Forums

Hello everyone,

as a few might have noticed, the old thread I created was closed a few weeks ago. That was a good decision as nothing productive came from it any more. Despite the topic being closed, I've not given up on testing and researching the problem some more.

This post focuses on the problems that are regularly brought up, like heavy input lag, desync and similar delays that shouldn't happen. I've gotten much more insight into my specific problem and I'm now able to reproduce a good feeling experience consistently, with very simple adjustments to my setup. I'm even able to "switch" between the PC behaving normally and horribly, and it shows up on the data I've collected with my monitor's integrated LDAT unit, which can measure the click-to-display delay. Don't worry though, you don't need to take LDAT measurements to deliver helpful information for me.

This testing methodology revolves around electricity, and despite me not giving any instructions that would have you come into contact with electricity, I'm still going to put the usual disclaimer: Don't open any devices, don't touch any wires and don't do stupid stuff. One single wrong step, your hand placed in the wrong spot once or your screwdriver accidentally slipping can instantly kill you. Don't poke around anything that could somewhat be considered dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

Also, if you're of the opinion that electricity doesn't affect anything and all the problems come from Windows or anything else, this thread isn't for you and I'd like to ask you politely to skip it.

With that out of the way, everyone still reading can contribute to me understanding the problem better.

First, I want you to remove all electrical devices from the circuit your computer is plugged into. If you don't know which room is on which circuit, simply remove all devices that are plugged in across the entire room. Make sure that, at least in the room you're in, all the outlets are free and no devices are plugged into them. Remove your computer and all devices associated with it as well, so your room is completely "free" of electrical devices.

Secondly, I want you to connect a single power strip to an outlet. What kind of power strip doesn't really matter, however a "dumb" power strip without much filtering/other "smarts" is ideal.

Next, I want you to plug in your devices in a very specific order. Most power strips are a "daisy-chain" style internally. This means that all outlets on the power strip are connected in series. For this test you need to know which outlet on the power strip is wired "first". STOP! Do not open it up and do not look inside. There might be components inside that will kill you, even when the thing is unplugged. Cheap power strips will try to save on materials, so in 99% of cases, the outlet closest to the side where the cable comes in will be the "first" one. Go by this rule instead of looking!

Next, take a look at this image. As you can see, I've numbered the outlets (sw is for "Switch", don't worry if yours doesn't have one, it'll still be the same).

https://ibb.co/xrQWmf2

Plug your devices in like this:
1: Computer / Console
2: Main monitor
3: Router / Switch / Network equipment
4: Audio equipment like DAC/AMP

The most important part is to plug in the computer/console into the first outlet on the chain. If you usually use more monitors, leave them unplugged for the duration of the test. If you need for example a router and a switch, plug them in after each other and move anything downstream one spot further. Anything not necessary for the operation of the computer should be left unplugged for the duration of the test.

Please play with this configuration a bit and report back how it feels. Answer a few questions if possible:

1. Are you on a computer, a laptop or a console?
2. Did the feeling change at all?
3. Assuming it changed, does it feel better or worse?
4. Can you pinpoint what exactly feels better or worse?
5. If the feeling didn't change: Are you in a house or an apartment?
6. If the feeling changed to better: Unplug the computer from the 1st outlet and plug it into the last one. Does that worsen the feeling again?
7. If the feeling changed to worse: Unplug the computer from the 1st outlet and plug it into the last one. Does that improve the feeling?

EDIT: A few more questions which I initially didn't think of, but could be very helpful.

8. Which country / region are you from?
9. With "3-prong" plugs, does your plug/socket enforce polarity? Can you only insert the plug one way, or can you rotate it 180°? (Example: North America's NEMA 5-15 plugs enforce polarity, Germany's SCHUKO plugs don't)

I hope to get answers on these questions from a few readers. However, if you don't feel like answering all of them, a simple "it's better" or "it's the same" is also enough.

If this returns mostly positive results, I might go into more detail on what I think the problem is. For now, I want to see if this does or doesn't change the feeling of the computer for a larger number of people.

Thanks to anyone taking part and trying this out.

It’s our body causing it

Go play somewhere else where it works fine for somebody and i guarantee it will be the same mess there for u.

So yea there’s that

Inputlagguy wrote: ↑

06 Jun 2025, 15:47

It’s our body causing it.

Apart from that being impossible, please read this sentence

ChristophSmaul1337 wrote: ↑

06 Jun 2025, 11:30

Also, if you're of the opinion that electricity doesn't affect anything and all the problems come from Windows or anything else, this thread isn't for you and I'd like to ask you politely to skip it.

and try to respect this very, very simple request of mine. Thanks. Good luck in your future endeavours.

Deleting this. Not gonna be toxic

it’s not that far fetched that our body could do something.
When my mom wears a wrist watch within 15-20 min the time will already start to lag behind. The longer she wears it the bigger the time difference gets.

There’s posts all over the place about people trying different places and gaming cafes and having the desync appear after 2-3 games.
You can easily go somewhere people play at a high level and see for urself that it’s us.

There’s people on here 10 years+ into this and if it was just electricity it would have been solved by now by simply moving and replacing all hardware (which still does not fix the problem)

Inputlagguy wrote: ↑

06 Jun 2025, 16:32

it’s not that far fetched that our body could do something.

Fine, I'll go over it again.

Your computer you're probably using right now I assume to be an average desktop PC. Let's give it a good hardware configuration, like a 9800x3d and a 4090. As you probably know, PC components like a CPUs and a GPUs run on 12V. Oh look, how convenient, we know the power draw of these parts in Watts and we know they run on 12 Volts, so we can use Ohm's law to figure out the amount of current going through each component at peak power! That will give us a good reference point for later.

The 9800x3d has a TDP of 120W, and while this isn't directly translateable to actual power draw, it's close enough for this assumption. So, with a power draw of 120W at 12V, the 9800x3d under maximum load will draw 10A of current. The 4090 can draw up to 600W under full load. 600W at 12V results in a current of 50A. Both CPU and GPU at full load will combined together draw a total of at least 60A of current. That's a fact and you can't argue with it.

Now, let's see how your body could influence that. In order for your body do have any effect on the computer, it needs to create a current somewhere in the computer. As long as you don't connect yourself directly to your computer with electrodes piercing your skin, we can rule out the possibility of "direct contact" & current running straight through your body. No, touching your mouse or keyboard or even the case isn't sufficient, because 12V is nowhere near powerful enough to penetrate your skin. The resistance is way too high.

If there was any current coming from your body, it would have to be induced through the air.

So, let's assume your body is the primary side of a transformer and the computer is the secondary side. In order for current to flow on the secondary side, current also needs to be flowing through the primary side. That's how induction works, it's proven science and you also can't argue with that. This inevitably means that, in order for your body to act as the primary side of a transformer, there needs to be a current going through your body!

Even if we assume a 1:1 ratio of "windings", this would mean utter destruction to your body. Even to induce "only" 1A of "stray" current into the computer, the same 1A would need to go through your body. Ouch! You'll probably notice that by the severe burning and the cardiac arrest you're going to suffer from. Anything over 1 milliamp (0.001A) is detectable by humans and anything above 5 mA is considered dangerous. This means that, without you being constantly shocked while sitting in front of your computer, the maximum possible amount of current you can induce is below 1 milliamp (0.001A).

All of that of course ignores the fact that current needs to be able to flow in your body in the first place, which isn't feasible either. Last time I checked I wasn't connected to a circuit somewhere that would constantly deliver power through my body. But you do you, I guess. Maybe you're sitting on a 9V battery or something? You never know...

I highly doubt that a stray current of <1mA that's being induced by your body can cause the effects we're seeing. However, if you want to believe that, you're of course still free to do it. But please, and I'm saying it again one last time, respect my request to skip over this topic if you don't believe that electricity has an influence on the problem(s). It's your right to think that, but in that case, this topic isn't for you. Last reply to you.

Here’s something u can hold onto, tried it and changed absolutely nothing in gameplay. Feels exactly the same


Ill check back in a year to this same topic getting closed. Bunch of useless info about to be poured into here. Have fun tho

Inputlagguy wrote: ↑

06 Jun 2025, 17:39

Bunch of useless info about to be poured into here

I wonder what's more useless... me trying to actually help people find the root cause of these problems that can be proven by scientific fact and logic, or your response(s) so far. No, can't figure that one out by myself.

Inputlagguy wrote: ↑

06 Jun 2025, 17:39

Here’s something u can hold onto, tried it and changed absolutely nothing in gameplay. Feels exactly the same

Even though I doubt you took any of it serious and did it like I said you should, I'll still note down the result.

Inputlagguy wrote: ↑

06 Jun 2025, 17:39

Ill check back in a year to this same topic getting closed.

I wonder why reasonable topics like this get closed? Could it be because of people like you, instantly dismissing anything because it doesn't fit their narrative? Might it be for close-minded users who go on to contribute no meaningful information or argument to a genuine conversation? Surely not, right?

It's not like I am 100% certain it's electricity either, but at least there is reasonable physics to stand on regarding this matter. I've sat down, thought this through about 100 times and there's still stuff for me to consider. What I'm going after here with this experiment/data collection is the possibility of harmonics and their effects. Actual, real physics with phenomena that are scientifically proven to exist.

The goal with this experiment is to figure out if harmonics created by the switched-mode power supplies inside virtually any electronic device can be the cause for the problems or at least contribute to it. When looking at a power strip with all outlets connected in series, it's feasible that harmonics are created by the SMPS inside the electronic devices, distorting the sine wave down the line. The more devices "in front of" the PC, the more the sine wave might be distorted by the harmonics, creating flat-topped sine waves which has a considerable impact on the operation of other SMPS. Look, real effects that are proven to exist! https://powerquality.blog/2021/11/22/wh ... hemselves/

How about you deliver something meaningful now? Since you're a reasonable human being who's not only here to troll and get legitimate topics closed, let's hear it from you! Quote anything I've written down in the last 2 posts, argue against the points I made, especially the part about how the human body can't really tolerate currents above 1 milliamp, and use real science to prove your point.

Inputlagguy wrote: ↑

06 Jun 2025, 17:39

Have fun tho

Same for you, man! Enjoy your daily dose of 50A running through your body causing every cell inside of it to disintegrate.

I used to have all my devices plugged into different outlets, but after trying this my monitor's image quality seems to have improved. The mouse feels more consistent as well but I wouldn't call it better, because I used to separate my cables and plug them into different outlets each, but this works as well.

Hyote wrote: ↑

07 Jun 2025, 01:59

I used to have all my devices plugged into different outlets, but after trying this my monitor's image quality seems to have improved. The mouse feels more consistent as well but I wouldn't call it better, because I used to separate my cables and plug them into different outlets each, but this works as well.

Thanks! A couple more questions (which I've updated in my original post as well): Where (roughly) are you from? Does your version of the "3-prong" plug enforce polarity? Could you rotate the plug in the socket by 180°?

Also, do you know how your room is wired? Some regions of the world daisy-chain the outlets instead of running separate wires to them. In my case, I have a little distribution panel inside the wall in this room, and all outlets are on a separate wire run. However, it might be that your room gets one "main" wire run to an outlet straight from the breaker box and then just daisy-chains the other outlets. Do you happen to know what kind of installation is present?