Input lag refers to the time between making an input (e.g., with a mouse or keyboard) and seeing the corresponding action on the monitor screen. In Overwatch, a good input lag should be under 10ms. If the input lag exceeds 10ms, it can result in a poor gaming experience.
If you’re dealing with a high input lag issue, don’t worry. You can use one of the six methods below to reduce the input lag. Not every method may work for you, so try them one by one until you find the one that works best for your situation.
Method 1: Change in-game settings to increase FPS
Method 2: Change the power plan of your PC
Method 3: Set Overwatch to high priority
Method 4: Enable low latency mode in drivers
Method 5: Use wired mouse/keyboard
Method 6: Upgrade to a better monitor
Method 1: Change in-game settings to increase FPS
FPS (framerate per second) can affect input lag a lot. The higher FPS you have in Overwatch, the lower input lag you’ll have. That being said, to have lower input lag, you can try to increase the FPS.
Changing the in-game settings is an effective way to increase FPS in games. For Overwatch, following are the recommended settings.
- DISPLAY MODE (FULLSCREEN)
- VSYNC (OFF)
- TRIPLE BUFFERING (OFF)
- REDUCE BUFFERING (ON)
After you change the settings, play Overwatch and check to see if you’re still experiencing the high input lag issue. If the issue persists, continue to try other methods.
Method 2: Change power plan of your PC
To increase FPS, besides changing in-game settings, you can also try to change the power plan and make your PC run at high performance. To do so:
1) On your keyboard, press Win+R (the Windows logo key and the R key) at the same time to invoke the Run box.
2) Type “powercfg.cpl” into the Run box and click OK to open the Power Options window.
3) Select High performance.
4) Type “advanced” into the search box in the upper-right corner and then click on View advanced system settings.
5) Under the Advanced tab, click on Settings.
6) Select Adjust for best performance and then click OK to save the changes.
7) Restart your computer and check to see if the issue persists.
Method 3: Set Overwatch to high priority
Some Overwatch gamers said that setting Overwatch to High Priority had helped resolve their input lag issue. You can give that a try as well.
Here’s how to set Overwatch to high priority.
1) Launch Overwatch.
2) On your keyboard, press Win+S to open search, and type “task manager” into the search box and then click on Task Manager.
3) Click on the Details tab. Right-click on the Overwatch.exe and click on Set priority, and then select High.
4) Check to see if the problem persists.
Method 4: Enable low latency mode in drivers
Nvidia and AMD drivers provide settings that you can enable to reduce the input lag in games. If you’re using an Nvidia graphics card, you can enable the Ultra-Low Latency Mode. If you’re using an AMD graphics card, you can enable the Radeon Anti-Lag.
Note: To access this feature in the drivers, you need to ensure you have the latest graphics card drivers installed.
For Nvidia users, you can follow these steps to enable Ultra-Low Latency Mode in Nvidia Control Panel.
Open NVIDIA Control Panel, then click on Manage 3D settings in the left pane, and then click on the Global Settings tab in the right pane. Select On from the drop-down menu of Ultra-Low Latency, and then click on Apply to save the changes.
For AMD users, you can follow these steps to enable Radeon Anti-Lag in AMD graphics card control panel.
Open AMD graphics card control panel. Click on Overwatch profile (if you don’t see it on the menu, you can add it manually), then click the Radeon Anti-Lag button to turn it on.
After you’re done with the settings, launch Overwatch and see if the input lag issue persists.
Method 5: Use wired mouse/keyboard
Wireless mouse and keyboard (especially the cheaper ones) may have poor polling rate and response time, so they can cause input lag issues. If you play Overwatch with a wireless mouse/keyboard, you can use a wired mouse/keyboard instead. After that, the input lag issue may be resolved.
Method 6: Upgrade to a better monitor
The monitor you’re using can be the reason for the input lag issue, as some monitors introduce additional input lag on their own. So if you’re using a monitor that has higher input lag, you can buy a new monitor with lower input and higher refresh rate.
To find the monitor with lower input lag, you can google with the keyword “monitor with lower input lag”, then you’ll find some monitor review websites where you can find a monitor with lower input lag.
Hopefully you find the article helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below. I’ll get back to you ASAP.