What is the Flydigi controller polling rate on PC?
About 1000 Hz on the cable and the dongle for every current Flydigi flagship gamepadla has tested. The rate is not where the models differ. The Apex 4 measured 996.99 Hz on a cable and still took 42.8 ms to register a stick movement, while the Vader 5 Pro took 2.38 ms at the same rate.
Every current Flydigi flagship polls at about 1000 Hz on PC, on the cable and the 2.4G dongle. Gamepadla measured the Vader 5 Pro at 1000 Hz on both under Windows 11, with average button latency of 3.04 ms wired and 3.98 ms on the dongle. The previous generation reached the same rate and very different latency: the Apex 4 measured 996.99 Hz on the cable and 42.8 ms on sticks. With Flydigi, the polling rate tells you whether a pad is current, not whether it is fast.
Ten Flydigi pads, measured
One primary test per link, Windows 11, XInput mode. The stated column quotes Flydigi's own product page where one still exists. Its shop now lists only the Apex 5, Vader 5 Pro and Vader 5S.
| Controller and link | Flydigi states | Polling (Hz) | Buttons (ms) | Sticks (ms) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vader 5 Pro, cable | 3 ms stick latency | 1000 | 3.04 | 2.38 |
| Vader 5 Pro, dongle | 3 ms stick latency | 1000 | 3.98 | 3.22 |
| Vader 5 Pro, Bluetooth | - | 114.56 | 19.75 | 21.1 |
| Apex 5, cable | 1000 Hz, sticks 3 ms | 875.66 | 3.01 | 2.82 |
| Apex 5, dongle | 1000 Hz, sticks 5 ms | 922.78 | 4.90 | 5.54 |
| Apex 5, Bluetooth | 1000 Hz excludes Bluetooth | 99.47 | 22.3 | 23.0 |
| Vader 5S (wired only), cable | - | 500.25 | 3.37 | 4.24 |
| Vader 4 Pro, cable | 1000 Hz (retailer) | 924.84 | 6.43 | 16.2 |
| Vader 4 Pro, dongle | 1000 Hz (retailer) | 996.55 | 7.62 | 19.2 |
| Vader 4 Pro, Bluetooth | - | 167.73 | 22.2 | 28.8 |
| Apex 4, cable | - | 996.99 | 7.03 | 42.8 |
| Apex 4, dongle | - | 997.5 | 7.67 | 50.7 |
| Apex 4, Bluetooth | - | 171.67 | 22.4 | 73.5 |
| Direwolf 3, cable (GPDL) | - | 998.68 | 5.25 | - |
| Direwolf 3, dongle (GPDL) | - | 998.36 | 6.26 | - |
| Direwolf 3, Bluetooth (GPDL) | - | 130.28 | 30.1 | - |
| Vader 3 Pro, cable | - | 597.01 | 8.72 | 29.3 |
| Vader 3 Pro, dongle | - | 497.76 | 9.40 | 30.2 |
| Vader 3 Pro, Bluetooth | - | 105.35 | 32.7 | 52.0 |
| Direwolf 2, cable (GPDL) | - | 499.75 | 8.43 | - |
| Direwolf 2, dongle (GPDL) | - | 327.23 | 13.1 | - |
| Direwolf 2, Bluetooth (GPDL) | - | 208.77 | 20.0 | - |
| Dune Fox, cable | - | 499.62 | 8.68 | 9.76 |
| Dune Fox, dongle | - | 370.4 | 12.3 | 19.2 |
| Vader 3, cable (GPDL) | - | 591.1 | 10.3 | - |
Test details: Vader 5 Pro, firmware 7.1.4.6, 12 April 2026. Apex 5, firmware 7.0.2.9, 23 October 2025. Vader 5S, firmware 1.0.5.3, 12 February 2026. Vader 4 Pro, firmware 6.9.3.3, 17 March 2025. Apex 4, firmware 6.8.3.5, 19 March 2025. Direwolf 3, firmware 5.3.1.4, 25 December 2024. Vader 3 Pro, firmware 6.7.5.1, 20 January 2025. Direwolf 2, firmware 5.1.1.1, 28 May 2025. Dune Fox, firmware 5.4.0.2, 27 December 2024. Vader 3, firmware 6.5.7.1, 12 February 2025. Stated figures are from Flydigi's pages for the Apex 5 ("wired/wireless 1000 Hz polling rate (except for Bluetooth)", joystick latency "Wired: 3ms, Wireless: 5ms") and the Vader 5 Pro ("3ms Ultra-Low Latency"); the Vader 5S page gives neither. The Vader 4 Pro is no longer on Flydigi's shop, so its 1000 Hz "both wireless and wired" comes from the MaxGaming listing. The Apex 3 and original Direwolf have polling-only results on gamepadla, so we left them out.
Same rate, two generations of latency
The Vader 4 Pro and Apex 4 deliver the 1000 Hz on the box, within 8% on every wired and dongle test. Their sticks are another matter. The Vader 4 Pro measured 16.2 ms on the cable and the Apex 4 42.8 ms, against 2.38 ms for the Vader 5 Pro and 2.82 ms for the Apex 5. That is a gap of 13.8 and 40.0 ms between models polling at the same rate (derived). At 1000 Hz the mean wait for the next report is 0.5 ms (the half-interval rule from our polling rate page), so polling explains almost none of it.
The Apex 4 figure is not one slow press. Its fastest stick movement on the cable took 41.54 ms and the slowest 44.25 ms, with 0.73 ms of jitter. Gamepadla does not say why, so we will not guess. Buttons tell a milder version of the same story: 6.43 ms on the Vader 4 Pro and 7.03 ms on the Apex 4, about twice the 5-series pads.
The current pads also meet Flydigi's own latency claims. The Apex 5 page promises joystick latency of 3 ms wired and 5 ms wireless, and gamepadla measured 2.82 ms and 5.54 ms. The Vader 5 Pro page says 3 ms, and its sticks measured 2.38 ms wired and 3.22 ms on the dongle.
The dongle costs about a millisecond
Here Flydigi differs from its nearest rival. Eight pads were tested on both links, and the dongle was slower on buttons on all eight, but by little:
| Controller | Cable (ms) | Dongle (ms) | Dongle costs (ms) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apex 4 | 7.03 | 7.67 | 0.64 |
| Vader 3 Pro | 8.72 | 9.40 | 0.68 |
| Vader 5 Pro | 3.04 | 3.98 | 0.94 |
| Direwolf 3 | 5.25 | 6.26 | 1.01 |
| Vader 4 Pro | 6.43 | 7.62 | 1.19 |
| Apex 5 | 3.01 | 4.90 | 1.89 |
| Dune Fox | 8.68 | 12.3 | 3.62 |
| Direwolf 2 | 8.43 | 13.1 | 4.67 |
The median is 1.10 ms, and six of eight sit under 2 ms, inside or near gamepadla's plus or minus 1 ms margin. The two outliers are the Dune Fox and Direwolf 2, whose dongles also polled lower than their cables (370.4 and 327.23 Hz). On our GameSir polling rate page the same comparison ran from 2.08 to 23.87 ms. The Vader 5 Pro's dongle, at 3.98 ms, lands level with the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless dongle at 3.95 ms.
The Vader 5S: 500 Hz and still quick
The Vader 5S is the wired, Xbox-licensed model, and it never measured above 500 Hz on PC: 500.25 Hz in gamepadla's primary test, 500 and 498.75 Hz from two other testers. Buttons averaged 3.37 ms and sticks 4.24 ms, both faster than the Vader 4 Pro at 925 Hz. It was also tested at 250 Hz, which raised buttons by 1.15 ms and sticks by 1.37 ms. The half-interval rule predicts 1.0 ms (derived), so the 5S follows the arithmetic, unlike the three GameSir pads whose sticks lost about 20 ms between 1000 and 250 Hz. On a console the question does not arise: Microsoft documents a 125 Hz input cadence, as our Xbox controller polling rate page explains.
Bluetooth and Switch mode cut the rate
Over Windows Bluetooth in XInput mode, seven pads measured 99.47 to 208.77 Hz and 19.75 to 32.7 ms on buttons. Flydigi says so itself: the Apex 5's 1000 Hz is "except for Bluetooth". Bluetooth in Switch mode polled faster on the Vader 4 Pro (429.76 Hz) and Apex 4 (434.73 Hz) without being fast: 16.4 and 17.3 ms on buttons. On a cable, Switch mode costs the rate. The Vader 5 Pro, Vader 4 Pro and Apex 4 all fell to about 125 Hz, the Apex 5 to 99.83 Hz, and the Vader 4 Pro's buttons went from 6.43 ms to 19.0 ms. Nintendo's own pads show the same pattern in our Switch Pro Controller polling rate guide. On PC, keep a Flydigi pad in XInput on the cable or dongle.
Where this stops applying
Each row is one unit on one firmware, and gamepadla gives its rig a margin of plus or minus 1 ms, so differences under a millisecond sit inside it. The Vader 4 Pro, Apex 4 and older results date from late 2024 and 2025, so a unit on current firmware may differ. A later Apex 5 test on firmware 7.0.4.0 measured 1000 Hz and 2.64 ms sticks, slightly better than the primary row. Everything here is Windows on PC. Dongle results depend on placement, and a USB 3.0 port beside the receiver can raise the noise floor, as our USB 3.0 interference page shows. Polling says nothing about stick precision, which is set by the sensor and your deadzone.
What to do
- Buying for PC: the Vader 5 Pro or Apex 5. Both measured about 1000 Hz and about 3 ms on buttons and sticks wired.
- Own a Vader 4 Pro or Apex 4: the rate is fine, the sticks are not. They measured 16.2 and 42.8 ms on the cable.
- Use the dongle without guilt on a Vader 5 Pro: it cost 0.94 ms on buttons. Avoid it on the Dune Fox and Direwolf 2.
- Skip Bluetooth on PC: 16 to 33 ms on buttons on every Flydigi pad tested. Keep the pad in XInput, since Switch mode on a cable dropped four pads to 125 Hz or less.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Flydigi Vader 5 Pro 1000 Hz?
Yes, on the cable and the dongle. Gamepadla measured 1000 Hz on both under Windows 11, with average button latency of 3.04 ms wired and 3.98 ms on the dongle, and sticks at 2.38 ms and 3.22 ms. Over Bluetooth it measured 114.56 Hz and 19.75 ms on buttons.
Is the Flydigi Vader 4 Pro 1000 Hz?
Close to it: gamepadla measured 924.84 Hz on the cable and 996.55 Hz on the dongle. Latency is the weak point. Buttons averaged 6.43 ms wired and sticks 16.2 ms, five to seven times the Vader 5 Pro's sticks at a similar rate.
Is the Flydigi dongle as fast as the cable?
Nearly. On the eight Flydigi pads gamepadla tested both ways, the dongle cost between 0.64 ms and 4.67 ms on buttons, with a median of 1.10 ms. On the Vader 5 Pro the gap was 0.94 ms. GameSir's dongles cost 2.08 to 23.87 ms in the same kind of test.
Should I use Bluetooth with a Flydigi controller on PC?
No. In XInput mode over Windows Bluetooth, seven Flydigi pads measured between 99.47 and 208.77 Hz and between 19.75 and 32.7 ms on buttons, against 3 to 9 ms for most of them on the cable or dongle.
Does the Vader 5S poll at 1000 Hz?
Not in any test we found. The Vader 5S, Flydigi's wired Xbox-licensed pad, measured 500 Hz at most on PC, with 3.37 ms buttons and 4.24 ms sticks. That is still faster than the Vader 4 Pro at 925 Hz. Flydigi's product page for it states no polling rate.