Computers are fast! But how come they sometimes feel slow?
summary
Computers get faster but moment-to-moment responsiveness still lags because multiple delays stack: human visual reaction (~180–250 ms for simple tasks), input hardware (measured 15–60 ms across keyboards), OS and rendering scheduling, and display refresh (16.7 ms at 60 Hz). A local-multiplayer web prototype aimed at twitch action proves not low-latency enough for competitive Street Fighter, empirical work uses 240 fps camera measurements and finds controller vs wireless gaps that translate to 7 ms versus 17 ms effective latency across frame boundaries.
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chapters (5)
- 0:00Start
- 6:36Human "Simple RT" Test Response Time
- 7:20Physical button press
- 8:40Computer Processing
- 9:41Output latency
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