A raw input buffer is a system-level feature that lets a game read your mouse movements directly from the hardware, bypassing the normal processing that Windows applies to mouse signals. When enabled in a game like Valorant, it creates a more direct path between your physical mouse and what happens on screen, reducing potential delays and eliminating interference from Windows settings like mouse acceleration or pointer smoothing.
How Windows Normally Handles Mouse Input
When you move your mouse, the signal doesn’t go straight to your game. Windows intercepts it first and applies several layers of processing. The operating system converts device-specific data (like raw scan codes from a keyboard or positional data from a mouse sensor) into standardized messages that any application can understand. Your mouse’s raw sensor data gets translated into cursor movements, with Windows layering on its own pointer speed settings, acceleration curves, and smoothing along the way.
This system made sense when most software just needed to know where the cursor was. But for competitive gaming, those extra processing steps introduce two problems: they add a small amount of latency, and they alter your mouse movement in ways you can’t fully predict. Mouse acceleration, for example, changes how far the cursor moves based on how fast you swipe. Move slowly between two points, and you’ll land in one spot. Cover the same physical distance quickly, and the cursor overshoots. That inconsistency makes it nearly impossible to build reliable muscle memory for aiming.
What Raw Input Changes
Raw input uses a different pathway built into Windows. Instead of receiving pre-processed mouse messages, an application registers to receive data directly through a special message type called WM_INPUT. This delivers the actual data your mouse sensor reported, with no acceleration, no pointer speed scaling, and no smoothing applied by the operating system. The application gets exactly what the mouse hardware sent.
Most competitive shooters have offered a “raw input” toggle for years. This tells the game to use that direct WM_INPUT pathway instead of reading the standard Windows cursor position. The “raw input buffer” setting, popularized by Valorant, takes this a step further. It controls how the game collects and processes those raw input messages between each frame it renders. When enabled, the game pulls mouse data straight from the hardware buffer rather than relying on the standard Windows message queue, which can batch or reorder messages under certain conditions.
Valorant’s developers removed the beta label from Raw Input Buffer in Patch 7.12 and changed the default from off to on, signaling their confidence that it’s the better option for most players.
What Your Mouse Actually Sends
Every mouse follows the USB Human Interface Device (HID) protocol, which defines exactly how data gets packaged and sent to your computer. A typical mouse sends a small report, often just four bytes, that contains the state of each button (encoded as individual bits), plus the X movement, Y movement, and scroll wheel change since the last report. No extra metadata travels with each report. The structure is defined once when the mouse connects, and then every subsequent report is pure data matching that structure.
How often these reports get sent is your mouse’s polling rate. A standard 1,000 Hz mouse sends 1,000 of these tiny reports per second. Gaming mice now go up to 4,000 Hz or even 8,000 Hz, sending updates every 0.125 milliseconds. At these speeds, the sheer volume of incoming data matters. A raw input buffer gives the game a more efficient way to consume all those reports without any getting delayed or dropped in the Windows message queue.
High Polling Rates and CPU Cost
Higher polling rates do consume more CPU resources, since your processor has to handle each incoming report. Testing on a Ryzen 7 5800H laptop processor showed a clear scaling pattern: CPU usage sat at 16% with a 1,000 Hz polling rate, rose to 20% at 2,000 Hz, hit 23% at 4,000 Hz, and reached 27% at 8,000 Hz. That’s a meaningful jump, especially on a laptop or older desktop where CPU headroom is tight.
For most players running a 1,000 Hz mouse, the CPU impact of raw input buffer is negligible. If you’re using a 4,000 Hz or 8,000 Hz mouse, keep an eye on overall system performance. The responsiveness gains from high polling rates are real, but they come at a cost that depends on your specific hardware. On a modern desktop processor, the overhead is typically easy to absorb. On a budget system, it could cut into your frame rate.
When to Enable or Disable It
For competitive shooters, enabling raw input buffer is the straightforward recommendation. It removes variables between your hand and the game, giving you consistent, predictable mouse behavior. Every physical movement translates to the same in-game result regardless of speed, which is exactly what you need to develop consistent aim.
There are a few situations where you might want it off. If you’re using a mouse fix utility (like the MarkC Mouse Fix) that’s designed to correct Windows pointer behavior, that fix is meant to work with raw input disabled, since raw input bypasses the very layer that the fix modifies. Some players also prefer Windows pointer processing for desktop use or slower-paced games where acceleration feels natural rather than disruptive.
The setting location varies by game. Most titles that support it place a toggle in the controls, input, or mouse section of the settings menu. It might appear as a checkbox, a toggle switch, or a dropdown. Not every game labels it “raw input buffer” specifically. Some call it simply “raw input” or “raw mouse input.” Valorant places it under Settings, then General, then the Mouse section.
Raw Input Buffer vs. Raw Input
These two terms overlap but aren’t identical. “Raw input” is the broad concept: reading unprocessed mouse data through the Windows raw input API instead of standard cursor messages. Nearly every modern competitive game supports this. “Raw input buffer” refers specifically to how the game reads from the queue of accumulated raw input messages. With the buffer enabled, the game pulls directly from the low-level input queue in a way that’s optimized for high-frequency updates, reducing the chance of messages sitting idle between frames.
In practical terms, the difference is most noticeable at higher polling rates. At 1,000 Hz, both methods feel similar because the volume of incoming data is manageable. At 4,000 Hz or above, the buffered approach handles the flood of reports more cleanly, which can translate to smoother tracking and slightly lower input latency. If your mouse runs at a standard polling rate and you already have raw input enabled, turning on the buffer setting is unlikely to feel dramatically different, but there’s no downside to leaving it on.