There are few keyboards that are currently on the market, especially models geared towards the game, which incorporate USB Passthrough, a USB connector on the keyboard itself that allows us to connect other devices, such as USB sticks, the wireless receiver of a headset or ours Mouse. However, in the gaming ecosystem, users are still looking for the maximum performance And so it is inevitable to ask the question whether the mouse will lose its performance by connecting it to this USB stick of the keyboard.
The USB relay consists of a USB port built into the keyboard itself, usually USB 2.0 (although it is true that some keyboard models already integrate USB 3.0), designed not to “lose” a USB port of the PC when connecting the keyboard itself, so that it can be reused to connect other devices, no more, no less. However, not all USB ports on keyboards are the same and there are specific cases in which connecting your mouse is not recommended.
Do not connect the mouse to the keyboard USB if it does not have two connectors
As we said, not all manufacturers build USB passthrough into the keyboard in the same way, and really to be true to the truth, there are some who call it that when it isn’t. really the case. Technically, USB Passthrough is nothing more than a bridge (passthrough means “to pass through”), and for that the keyboard must integrate two USB connectors: one to operate the keyboard itself, and the second connector precisely to serve this USB port.
In this way, the second USB connector on the keyboard simply acts as a bridge and its connector USB integrated it will have exactly the same powers as the USB port of the PC to which you have connected it, thus giving you all its performance. Therefore, if your keyboard has a USB relay and two USB connectors, you can plug your gaming mouse into it without fear as you will get exactly the same result as if you connected it directly to the PC.
The thing changes with these keyboards which have a USB Passthrough connector but which only connect to the PC via a USB connector; in this case, the same connector will serve both for the keyboard and for said USB port, bandwidth sharing data and voltage, so when connecting a high performance gaming mouse to this port performance may be impaired, with sporadic disconnections, lighting that does not work, “jerks” or with its reduced polling rate. In fact, when connecting a high-performance mouse to a keyboard with these characteristics, the same can happen to you on the keyboard itself for the same reason, although the device becomes the owner of its own operation before it actually works. device you have connected. to its USB.
Typically, with just one USB 2.0 port, you’ll already have enough to maintain a keyboard and mouse, so in many cases, you won’t really have major issues. The problem is with gaming devices, whose RGB lighting and high-performance sensors dramatically increase power consumption compared to a normal device, which is why a single USB 2.0 connector may not be enough for this. In case the keyboard is USB 3.0 things change, and in this case, you normally won’t have problems the same way as if the keyboard has two USB connectors.
