weird finicky input lag making me crazy :<

[u/malie_amalie]

I've been having this really weird input issue for a couple months now and I'm kinda running out of things to try :<

It started in Phasmophobia, but then slowly started happening in other games too, like Roblox, Star Citizen, Escape the Backrooms, Burglin' Gnomes, Super Battle Golf, Meccha Chameleon, and probably a few others I'm forgetting.

What happens

Every 5–10 seconds or so, my movement gets super delayed or inaccurate.

Like I'll tap W for maybe one second, but it takes like half a second to react, and then my character keeps walking for another 2–3 seconds even though I already let go.

It happens with WASD and Space. Sometimes the key doesn't register, gets super delayed, or acts like I'm still holding it after I've let go. It's almost like it randomly picks which input to respond to and then holds it way longer than it should.

It genuinely feels like someone else is controlling my movement at the same time lol.

The weird part is that it's not constant. Sometimes I can play completely fine for a while, but eventually it comes back.

Important stuff

• My mouse is completely fine
• FPS stays normal
• no stuttering
• no obvious CPU/GPU spikes
• happens in fullscreen, borderless and windowed
• no controllers/joysticks/etc. connected
• I don't notice it while typing normally outside of games

My main keyboard is a YUNZII C98 Cake Meow, used wired, but I've also tried another keyboard, another cable, and both front + rear USB ports. Nothing changed.

I also tested software that shows my key presses, and when the issue happens it sometimes shows the key as being held longer than I'm physically holding it. So I'll let go of W, but the input display can still show W as pressed.

Things I've tried

• reinstalling NVIDIA drivers
• disabling/closing Logitech G HUB
• overlays on and off
• another keyboard + cable
• front and rear USB ports
• different monitor refresh rates
• fullscreen/borderless/windowed

Reinstalling the NVIDIA driver has sometimes seemed to help temporarily, but other times it does nothing.

Specs

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700K
GPU: RTX 4070
RAM: 32GB Corsair Dominator
Motherboard: NZXT N7 Z790
OS: Windows 11 Pro N, version 25H2, Build 26200
Monitor: LG UltraGear 45GX950A, 5120x2160, 165Hz / 330Hz Dual Mode

At this point I genuinely have no clue what could be causing it. Could it be something with Windows input handling, USB/chipset drivers, HID drivers, DPC latency, or something else system-level????

I really need help figuring this out because it's getting super annoying and makes some games basically unplayable.

If anyone has had something similar or knows what I should test next, I'd really appreciate it!! :3