Causes of Input Lag?

[Zaku77]

Hey guys, I just recently got the emulator setup on my new rig, and I'm noticing that I'm still having input lag like I was on my last PC, so I'm hoping to maybe finally track down the cause of it. It is slight, but it's definitely there. I am using the latest full release, pretty much standard settings, no speedhacks, no frame skipping, and no v sync, and playing in hardware mode @ 1080p. I use a PS2 controller hooked up via USB, but I've also noticed this when using my wireless 360 controller. I increased the sensitivity through lilypad, which made it feel a bit better, but it's still definitely there.

Is it possible that there is just some degree of slight input lag no matter what, and I'm just more susceptible to noticing it?

My current rig is:
i5 OCd to 4.5 ghz and a 780ti, so my hardware is fine, and I never see my FPS drop. I'm currently playing Tales of Legendia, but I was noticing this with other games on my old computer, too. I'd just really like to get to the bottom of this once and for all. It's noticeable through slight delays when trying to navigate a 3d world, a slight delay between pushing the d-pad and movement in a menu, and it made stopping that damn spinning wheel in Shadow Hearts slightly trickier than it's really supposed to be. :3

[Thewonderboy]

Well I have always thought that emulation in general has more input lag compared to if the software was running natively on the hardware.

I usually dont play 1st/3rd person shooters on the emulator unless they have really fast and responsive controls (like, Red Faction 2 has fantastic controls so it works pretty decently, original Ghost Recon on the other hand had just bearable framerate and controls so its pretty terrible experience on the emulator)

Though I could be wrong since some people have said that emulation doesnt have any extra input lag but in my experience it happens on pretty much every emulator.

[Nobbs66]

Yeah, there is some input lag on emulators in my experience

[willkuer]

Other than emulation it can be usb related. I am experiencing usb-lag at work (not during playing games) but i am not completely sure how large it is. I think in the ms-range. This is related to windows that checks for new usb-devices and communicates with all usb-devices every x seconds. Somebody told me once disconnecting usb-devices (as printers) can reduce this lag but I never tested it. If you have several usb devices just test what happends if you disconnect all of them and what happens if you use other usb-ports (not the ones in your usb-hub but directly on the mainboard for example)
If this is true for wireless devices as well I don't know.