Hi there,
First time RPi user here, so apologies if this is an obvious question.
I recently grabbed the Pi5 8GB Kit from Core Electronics to finally see what all the fuss was about. However, after a straight forward setup from the included SD card, the (USB) mouse performance on the desktop is diabolically laggy and brought the excitement to a screeching halt.
I’ve tried the logical stuff… other USB mice that work fine elsewhere, different USB ports, checked for updates, multiple reboots, etc. Bah! I just want to make fun stuff already!
Surely, this is not the desktop performance out of the box, or am I missing something?
Many thanks for any advice you have!
Scott
Hey @Scott298216,
Welcome to the Forum!
Hopefully we can get you making fun stuff ASAP.
To help figure out what’s going on with the mouse lag, can you let us know a few quick things:
- Are you using the official mouse from the kit, or another one (wired or wireless)?
- Is the lag only affecting the mouse, or is the whole desktop feeling slow (e.g. opening menus, dragging windows, etc.)?
- Which USB port is the mouse plugged into? The Pi 5 has two USB 3.0 (blue) ports and two USB 2.0 ports — some devices behave better in the USB 2.0 ones.
- Are there any other USB devices plugged in, like external drives or dongles?
- Could you try opening the Terminal and running:
top
Then let us know if anything is using a lot of CPU or memory?
Also just to confirm, are you using the included power supply from the kit?
Hey Ryan,
Thanks for the quick reply and good questions.
- No, the kit I purchased did not have a mouse and keyboard. I am attempting to use several generic wired USB mice I already have, that worked perfectly elsewhere. Keyboard input is very responsive with no lag.
- It is hard to tell given how erratic the tracking is, the click response seems prompt. But it does feel like the OS is struggling to keep up with rendering the mouse pointer, it’s almost a slideshow and on very fast movement, it doesn’t even update the position of the cursor.
- I have tried all 4 ports, however the lag is still present.
- No other devices are connected to the USB bus.
- CPU usage is barely 1% on idle, 7% when moving the USB mouse.
- Yes, using the official power supply
Looking like a ‘me’ problem…
Perhaps I should just purchase an offical mouse and see if that improves things?
Many thanks!
Scott
Hey @Scott298216,
Based on what you’ve sent through, its possible that the issue is more to do with how your desktop encironment is rendering the mouser pointer and graphics.
You could try checking the display resolution and refresh rate.
Sometimes a display defaults to an odd mode that doesn’t play nicely. Could you please check:
- Open the main menu → Preferences → Screen Configuration
- Right-click the HDMI display → Resolution and Frequency
- Try setting it to 1920x1080 @ 60Hz, if it’s not already
Then reboot and see if the lag persists.
If it still persists, you can try enabling/disabling cursor compositing.There’s a known issue in some cases where cursor rendering under certain window managers can lag:
sudo raspi-config
- Go to: Advanced Options → Compositor
- Try disabling the compositor, then reboot
Let us know if either of these changes the behaviour.
Hey Ryan,
Screen resolution is confirmed at 1080P/60 and switching to even lower resolutions show no performance increase.
Unfortunately, ‘Compositor’ does not seem to appear as an option in the Advanced menu of the raspi-config.
Thanks again!
Scott
Hey @Scott298216,
Ah, one last trick up my sleeve, try updating everything, including firmware. This will make sure you’ve got the latest kernel, GPU drivers, and other system components.
In Terminal, enter:
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo rpi-update
sudo reboot
This will pull in any recent fixes that might help with display or rendering performance.
Hey Ryan,
Sorry mate, ran the updates as you prescribed but same performance issue.
Appreciate your awesome suggestions though!
Many thanks,
Scott
SUCCESS! 
Solved by this bad boy here! (Came with the A500 mini)
Anyone remember these 
Brings back good memories of a similar adventure many years ago…
So yes, it seems any Logitec mouse I had did not like the Pi. This works PERFECTLY.
Sorry to run you around.
Really appreciate your patience and help, Ryan!
Scott
2 Likes
Hey @Scott298216,
No worries at all, glad to hear you’re all sorted and can get into the fun stuff! 
Sometimes the old gear just pulls through in the clutch. That mouse brings back some nostalgia!
Thanks for the update, and don’t hesitate to reach out if anything else pops up. Always happy to help
