question about usb controllers

sin5150

New member
Hello all. New here. I'm curious to know if there some kind of solution to a problem I have. I've used several different emulators on my PCs over the years and a few usb controllers. I think I've tried 3 different usb controllers, all with the psx layout, and I always have had a tiny bit of delay which puts me off to playing emulators, from nes to psx. I never really looked into if there was a solution until now. Is there something I could do? Its a tiny delay but it becomes bothersome. Im sure it's not my hardware IDK. Im using a newer i7 laptop right now and have some generic game stop USB controller but Ive used the PS3 controller and I get the same delay as with the generic. If anyone can help I would appreciate it.

Thank you,
Sin
 

ulaoulao

Controller Man
Staff member
You never should see a delay with usb. The amount of time it takes to process a controller button states and then send that to a usb host its well under a millisecond. The human brain can not discriminate between anything less then 2 milliseconds as it takes that long to respond to a response from and to the brain. Lastly and more definitively the refresh rate on you monitor can not see changes any short then 12-14 ms depending on your refresh rate. So its normal for you to see a delay in the 12-14 range.

So what does all that mean? Your bottle neck is the monitor not the controller. If the usb took 14 ms to send its code the usb would timeout. Your average game is intended to use ntsc and I think that 60 hrz. You monitor is more then likely higher then that.

If you are experiencing delays as in ( push a button ) then you see the action noticeably apart you are seeing a delay well over 15 ms IMO, unless your some kind of supper geek. If you do see a delay like that its hard to say what causes that. Yes it could be your computer getting loaded down. You need to watch you cpu under the load of the game and see if its at 100%. Make sure you meet the requirements for that emulator.

BTW: you can test the controller in controller panel. It will have light that light up when you press the button. If you see a delay then its possible that usb adapter is junk but I would not expect to see 3 usb adapter of different types be junk. What specs are you running on your system, what OS do you have?
 
Last edited:

sin5150

New member
I have 2 windows 7 laptops. Im typing from an i5-2430 @ 2.40ghz, intel hd 3000 graphics card, 4 gb ram. Idk. Im sure its not the usb adapters either. Maybe its the fact you mentioned about games being intended for ntsc. Idk. I googled the problem before I joined here and found nothing. I cant play comfortably with whatever the issue is and I wish I could.

Thanks for your input
 

sin5150

New member
So... after reading your post I began to think. Ever since Ive tried to use usb controllers Ive also had hdmi output option on my laptops and Ive been trying to recreate the whole gaming experience by using both together. I totally forgot that Ive always had a delay from my laptop to my tv when using the hdmi output. Lol. Only it never bothered me because I was just watching movies. Now for the first time ever after reading your reply I remembered I discovered the delay long ago watching a movie. So I tried just plugging the usb controller in without the hdmi output and whoala!.....

I feel silly. I never thought about it before. wow.
So now the real problem, how do I fix the delay from the hdmi output? If possible. Would WIDI be better? DLNA? Both laptops are equipped with the technology. Im excited about gaming again. All these years.... !
 
Top