I tried an 8,000Hz polling controller so you don't have to, but depending on the games you play, you might want to

Overkill or not, it looks as though the future of the best PC controller arena will be fought out by gamepads that have a polling rate of 8,000Hz or more. It all started when Razer launched an 8K version of its popular Wolverine V3 Pro. But GameSir was quick to bite back, announcing an 8K version of the G7 Pro back at CES at the beginning of 2026. Now, GameSir is on the verge of launching a whole new line of Tarantula Pro controllers, and two out of the three will have 8K polling rates.

It won't be long until other brands jump on this trend to stay competitive, and I'm sure a lot of folks will be asking the same thing: whether it's actually going to be worth it. Even competitively tilted mice and keyboards that have 8K polling rates are only really serving a niche in the market that cares about latency to this extent, and it's hardly the norm for most gaming mice to ship with a polling rate above 1-2,000Hz.

I set out to test the 8K model of the G7 Pro in the hopes of finding answers. Is an 8K polling rate overkill or not? Regardless of my findings, I'm just happy to see the new "upgraded" version of the G7 Pro stay in the same price region as the original. A boost from $79.99 up to $89.99/£99.99 isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things, and I've seen other brands charging a lot more for incremental upgrades to existing products. Even the special edition colorways of the regular G7 Pro can set you back more than this, so GameSir is doing a good job of inviting players to try out the cutting edge of controller speed without raising the price of entry.

Design & Features

I've already given a full rundown of the specs and features of the GameSir G7 Pro in my original review, so I'll give a shortened version here, seeing as the 8K PC version carries over basically all of them.

Obviously, when it comes to the design, the 8K model has a bit more pzazz thanks to more dramatic colorways. At the time of writing, the 8K model has an officially licensed Aimlabs colorway, an officially licensed Nioh 3 skin, or a black and gold "Champion Edition" which is tied to Esports fighting game athlete, Xiaohai. I'm testing out the Aimlabs model, which blends some lovely light blue colors with deep blacks. There's a subtle transparency to the grips, allowing you to just about peer into the chassis and catch a glimpse of the vibration motors. All the while, the grips don't lose their rubberized texture. Speaking of which, my favorite design flourish is a 3D texture to the face button symbols, which feels really satisfying under your thumb.

Beyond that, you get the same design points as you will on the Xbox-flavored G7 Pro. It's the same controller body with two back buttons, two extra clicky bumpers, a circular D-pad, and premium-feeling microswitch buttons. There's a wireless dongle, a charging stand, decent battery life, trigger stops, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

What does differ on the 8K version is an expanse of swappable parts. It's a shame that the carrying case GameSir announced at CES for the G7 Pro isn't included as standard on the 8K model, as it would have really helped it to feel like an "upgrade". Not to mention, with more swappable thumbstick tops in the box, it'd help to ensure you don't lose them all.

I found three extra sets of thumbstick tops in my G7 8K's box. One taller pair with domed heads, one indented pair, and a shorter domed pair as well.

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Naturally, the biggest feature of this gamepad versus the standard G7 Pro is an 8K polling rate to help it make the most of its TMR controller potential. Essentially, TMR thumbsticks have a much higher resolution and communication speed than Hall effect ones, and so the thinking behind 8K polling controllers that utilize this technology is presumably that you can actually make the most of their speed. If you're not such a big fan of any type of thumbstick tech these days, the G7 Pro 8K is also fitted out with gyro aim features.

Something I'm happy to report is that, despite its faster polling rate, the G7 Pro 8K doesn't lose out on its rumble motors. Razer stripped back the Wolverine V3 Pro's rumble for its 8K version, and it completely uprooted the feel of the device, making it feel cheaper and a lot less premium. The G7 Pro 8K doesn't suffer from that, and I'm really glad because an increase in performance for competitive multiplayer games through a faster polling rate shouldn't mean you need to lose out on speed.

Performance

The first question on a lot of gamers' minds when I told them about testing an 8K polling controller was, "Can you actually tell the difference?" It's a tricky question to answer, because the difference between latencies of 250Hz, 1,000Hz, and 8,000Hz isn't really about an input delay that your human reflex speeds and nervous system can feasibly interpret. The jump between 1,000Hz and 8,000Hz really presents itself through an increase in sensitivity.

Going from a 1,000Hz controller with Hall sensor sticks to an 8,000Hz one with TMR sticks, I don't think a lot of people would be able to differentiate them, if I'm being honest.

However, jumping from Valve's Steam Controller (which polls at 250Hz with TMR thumbsticks and a zero deadzone mode) to the G7 Pro 8K in full-flung 8,000Hz mode with shortened deadzones from the out-of-box experience, I absolutely felt the difference.

Where Crimson Desert's inputs felt sluggish in places before, they now felt a bit unruly as the game suddenly registered every tiny piece of my inputs on the thumbsticks at record speed. It felt like a jump up in sensitivity, not so much a removal of latency, if that makes sense. I quickly got used to this, and it became clear that shoving the camera around in an open-world action adventure was hardly going to be a test for a controller like this.

It was in FPS games that things were really going to get interesting, and boy, did they. Describing the experience of playing my go-to testing shooter for controllers, Hunt: Showdown with the G7 Pro 8K PC is tough. In some ways, it's revolutionary. In some ways, it's unlocked an entirely new level of gamepad performance in a game that demands precision aim to combat veteran mouse players. In others, it's really not going to be necessary or, perhaps more importantly, wind up as the preferred choice for a lot of gamers.

If you've kept up at all with controller tech in recent years, you might have heard chatter about Hall effect thumbsticks being a little hot to handle when they first arrived on the scene. That can sometimes be the case, and still, depending on how they've been calibrated and tuned, and the tensions used on the controllers themselves, Hall effect thumbsticks can be a bit unruly. I've actually found that TMR sticks are a bit more balanced across all the ones I've tried, maybe because of their higher resolutions, leveling out the sensitivity with more accuracy. But the G7 Pro, with its taller right thumbstick attached, deadzones shortened, and 8K mode switched on, is no short of shit-hot.

Seriously, you really have to adjust and, in some ways, re-learn how to play shooters with this controller, because some of your instincts from using lesser ones will now be absolutely no use to you. In fact, they'll actually lead you to use this one in the wrong way.

For example, in Hunt: Showdown, I overcompensate in certain shooting tactics when I use a controller vs when I'm playing with a mouse and the Azeron Cyborg II. If I need to take a quick shot and then immediately get back into cover, it's pretty easy to ADS, take a precise but flicky shot, and then almost in the same motion, flick back the other way and move my hunter out of the way. With a controller in hand, the flick out of the shot can't be as aggressive and quick, so you end up snatching one direction or the other during the shot to get as close to the same level of speed. It's almost as though you use the sensitivity differential between ADS and shoulder aim to try to make up for your inability to turn around quickly.

If you "snatch" the camera away during the shot while changing from ADS sensitivity to shoulder aim sensitivity with the G7 Pro in 8K mode, you will end up looking back over your shoulder because you no longer need to compensate as much for the speed differentials.

Similarly, a lot of controller players in FPS games will compensate for a lack of precision with the aiming stick by keeping their aim relatively still and moving their player into position so the crosshair lines up on a target instead. That doesn't need to be the case with this pad, and in fact, flies in the face of its specialty: extremely smooth tracking.

I might catch flak for this, but the G7 8K is, in this way, the closest experience I've had to using a mouse to aim. If you need to track a target that's moving across, up, or diagonally around your display, a consistent and measured move of your thumbstick on any other controller might be tough to hold onto, and if there are any speed changes in what you're tracking, it's easy to fall off the target. With the G7 Pro 8K, it's off-puttingly easy to just keep your crosshair exactly where it needs to be.

This is what I mean. In some ways, you'll need to relearn how to use a controller like this. It'll feel unwieldy because of the increase in sensitivity, and you'll likely need to really take time to get used to it. For many, that may be a step too far, and it may never be something that people get used to if they're coming from a lifetime of using slower controllers. But for the competitive controller crowd who are already dialed into their aiming skills with a gamepad, this is going to make them unstoppable forces that will have even less trouble keeping up with mouse and keyboard players.

The skill gap between the peripherals feels as though it's been considerably narrowed in recent years, but with this type of controller, it's getting narrower still. Overkill or not, I can absolutely see 8K polling rates becoming a trend that other brands jump onto.

What I will say is that I struggled to really find a lot of value to an 8,000Hz mode outside of FPS titles. Yes, there are going to be gaming genres that rely on the right stick more than others, but from my testing across lots of them, besides an increase in sensitivity, you probably aren't going to notice much. The right stick is really where you feel the majority of the difference in polling rates.

Metroidvanias felt snappy and responsive, but I wouldn't say there was a performance boost enough to say an 8K polling controller is going to be worth it for fans of that genre. Racing around the streets of Forza Horizon 6 was easy with really smooth steering, but testing directly against the Xbox G7 Pro in 1,000Hz mode, I didn't honestly feel much of a difference while exploring virtual Tokyo City.

Should you buy the GameSir G7 Pro 8K PC?

So in the end, I'd argue that the 8,000Hz polling rate unlocked by this version of the GameSir G7 Pro is the new cutting edge of the controller market, but the problem with being on the cutting edge is that questions arise over whether you're actually necessary or not. In FPS games where ultimate aiming control is needed against mouse and keyboard players, this is going to be a new final boss on the shelves you need to consider. Then again, it's going to feel too sensitive to handle if you aren't willing to make some adjustments to your playstyle.

But for your average gamer, I'm not really feeling or seeing much of a difference, or at least enough of one across the board to say that everyone should rush out and buy an 8KHz peripheral. The good news is that the upgrades the G7 Pro 8K will provide you with over the original model aren't going to set you back much more money. That means that in the same light, there's also no real reason why not to buy the 8K model. It has the upgrades available for you to use if you want them, and the futureproofing not many rivals offer. A stretch of $10 more is hardly a lot to argue with. That said, Xbox players are going to lose compatibility with their console if they buy this version, so keep that in mind.

Whether the 8K polling rate is going to be overkill or not for you and the games you play, the GameSir G7 Pro 8K PC is still an enhanced version of one of the best Xbox Series X controllers that's been released in the last few years. It's a shame that there aren't more enhancements here to really bolster it as a flagship device for GameSir, but as is, there are few controllers that are going to service competitive and enthusiast gamers quite so well - especially for under $100.

How I tested the GameSir G7 Pro 8K PC

I adopted the GameSir G7 Pro 8K PC as my controller of choice for all gaming for around two weeks before writing this review. I played with it in both 1,000Hz and 8,000Hz modes in that time to get a feel for the differences and played around with its deadzone levels in the GameSir Connect software. I also tested it against other TMR controllers and the original G7 Pro to get more of a feel for how it compares to rivals on the shelves.

For more on how we test controllers, have a peruse of our full-length hardware policy.

Diving deeper down the rabbithole? Take a look at the best PS5 controllers, the best Switch 2 controllers, and the best gaming mice.