In osu!(stable), use exclusive Fullscreen mode and the Optimal frame limiter, then compare the same beatmap with your usual input device. Enable Raw input only for a mouse or tablet when you need osu! to bypass operating-system pointer processing. Do not chase the smallest FPS-counter number: official osu! guidance says Optimal has an imperceptible latency difference from Unlimited for most users, while Unlimited can cause stutters or heat.
Play a familiar map and check whether a key press or pointer move appears late while the picture and music remain smooth. If the whole picture freezes or the music rewinds, use the stuttering workflow instead.
2
Enable exclusive fullscreen
Open osu! Options, search for Fullscreen mode, and enable it. Stable's official troubleshooting says windowed or borderless play can add up to one frame of latency.
3
Use the Optimal limiter
Set Frame limiter to Optimal and leave VSync off unless you are solving visible tearing. Replay the same section before trying Unlimited, because osu! recommends Optimal for low latency without the extra stutter and heat risk.
4
Test your input device
Repeat the map with another keyboard, mouse, or tablet when available. If only one device feels delayed, use its current official driver rather than changing unrelated osu! graphics settings.
5
Configure Raw input when needed
For a mouse or tablet, enable Raw input when you want osu! to bypass pointer acceleration and smoothing. For an absolute-position tablet, use Map absolute raw input to the osu! window so its area stays inside the game window.
6
Watch the frame-time graph
Press Ctrl+F11 and repeat the same input sequence. If white spikes appear exactly when control feels delayed, close the background process or driver causing those spikes before changing the frame limiter again.
7
Keep the responsive setup
Play the same section twice with Fullscreen, Optimal, and the chosen input setting. Keep the setup when both runs respond consistently without visual stutters or lost pointer movement.
If it does not work
If the FPS counter shows a slightly larger millisecond value but input feels the same, do not treat that number alone as end-to-end device latency.
If VSync removes tearing but the controls feel later, return to Optimal; osu! documents that VSync buffers frames and can add display latency.
If control stops completely rather than arriving late, use Ctrl+F11 to check for white CPU-time spikes and test the input device with its official driver.
ⓘ Sources and verification
Checked against official documentation on . Scope: osu!(stable) on Windows.
Source-checked against current osu! stable-client options, performance troubleshooting, and the official latency engineering note. Input latency was not instrumented during review.
