So, the less time it takes — meaning the lower the ping — the quicker your game can be played. There are a number of reasons why ping can be high, many of which you can correct yourself. Some reasons your ping might be high include:. Professional gamers, on the other hand, might want a ping around 20 ms or lower.
You can run a ping test on most computers, though how to do so differs across manufacturers. Some online ping tests also exist. To simplify, an internet speed test can also provide context to your ping rate. But if your game is lagging, lowering ping is crucial to level up your gaming performance.
How can you lower ping? It all begins with optimizing your internet connection speed, because this is what most often affects pings. Running through a computer maintenance checklist can go a long way in speeding up your device and how clearly it can communicate with a gaming router. Another consideration: Are your ethernet cables up to date? Ethernet cables are available in categories ranging from 3 to 8, or Cat 3 to Cat 8.
The higher the category, the better your internet bandwidth and transmission speed. Most households have a Cat 5 or greater ethernet cable, which suffices for gaming because it can handle internet speeds of 1, Mbps or higher.
Outdated cables, however, might not even be able to handle speeds higher than Mbps. Our routers are the mainframe of our internet connectivity and they too deserve a little TLC.
Consider the following router maintenance tips:. If your speed score is low — below Mbps — this could be an indication that the internet may be the problem. Keep in mind that internet speeds vary depending on the number of users that are on your network at the same time. For this reason, consider doing a few internet speed tests throughout the day to determine if your bandwidth is overwhelmed. You might also want to plug your computer directly into an ethernet cable to see how the numbers change.
An unfortunate truth is we sometimes have to make sacrifices to improve our gameplay, including ditching Wi-Fi altogether, disconnecting other devices from your network, and even lowering the visual quality of games. Instead, consider the following pointers to reduce ping, listed from the least to more painstaking sacrifices.
Enabling automatic updates for software and applications is a great way to stay on top of your cybersecurity and ensure your devices are running optimally. Just be sure to enable them once you push pause for the day. Think of an ethernet cord like an IV. Still, using an ethernet cord most often provides a more stable internet connection versus Wi-Fi, which is being tugged and pulled by many users and devices. And when you consider the rise of IoT , our routers have to juggle a lot.
Then, multiply that by how many people live under one roof and your internet connection might simply be overwhelmed. Another thing to consider is how close a game server is to your device, physically. Claiming over 25 billion speed tests since , the most popular is probably the Ookla Speedtest -- it's fast, simple and easy to use, and I like that it gives you control over which nearby server you're using. The SpeedOf. For example, I was able to measure latency of 30 ms to a server about miles away from me in New York, then latency of ms to a server located in Sydney, Australia, roughly 10, miles away.
The distance obviously makes a huge difference. Whichever speed test you're using, start fresh by rebooting all of your hardware first -- then, grab an Ethernet cable and connect your laptop directly to your router. From there, a speed test will tell you what your speed -- and ping -- looks like before your router starts transmitting the signal throughout your home.
After that, you can unplug and do a couple of wireless speed tests at different spots around the house to see how much the numbers change. You'll see faster speeds and slight reductions in ping in your speed tests if you switch from a wireless to a wired connection. How big of a difference depends on your router and the speed of your connection to begin with.
It likely would have gone up even more if I had tested the wireless connection at a greater distance. A good set of powerline adapters can deliver speeds and latency that are close to what you'd expect from a direct, wired connection with your router. That's why most online gamers will tell you to use a wired connection whenever possible. That's all well and good if your computer or gaming console is in the same room as your router, but if you're using a bedroom or a back room for gaming, then the wired approach probably sounds less feasible.
One potential solution: powerline adapters that use your home's electrical wiring to move your internet signal around your home without the same speed degradation as Wi-Fi. Plug one in near your router and connect it with an Ethernet cable, then plug the second one in near your gaming setup and wire it to your computer or console, and voila, you'll enjoy speeds and latency that are almost as good as what you'd get from a direct, wired connection.
We'll have some fresh powerline adapter tests for you later this year, but in the meantime, our longtime, go-to favorite is the Netgear Powerline AC It delivered speeds of up to Mbps in our tests, so if your Wi-Fi in that back bedroom is any slower than that, it should make an immediate difference.
The type of Ethernet cables you're using shouldn't have a noticeable impact on ping, but it's still worth it to use ones that support higher speeds with less interference. One quick note while we're talking about the importance of a wired connection -- it's also worthwhile to make sure that you're using current, up-to-date cables that can support today's top speeds. Just don't expect them to do much of anything as far as ping is concerned. In fact, during a recent run of speed tests, I tested both a Mbps fiber connection and a 50 Mbps cable connection using multiple speed-check services at different times of day.
I ran each round of tests four times -- once with the laptop connected to the modem via Wi-Fi, and then once again using a wired connection to the modem with each of the three most common types of Ethernet cables: Cat 5, Cat 5e, and Cat 6.
On both networks, the Cat 6 cable connection returned the highest average download speeds, but the type of cable didn't have a noticeable effect on ping, with all three averaging out to within 2 ms of one another. Still, Ethernet cables with the Cat 5e or Cat 6 designation are your clear best bet, as they're made to handle top speeds of up to 1, or even 10, Mbps. Outdated Cat 5 cables aren't designed for speeds higher than Mbps, and they don't do as much to prevent interference as signals pass through the copper wiring inside.
If you're using cables like that, then it's worth picking up some new ones. Proper cabling is nice, but maybe you're playing a game on your phone, tablet, or another mobile device that can't easily benefit from a wired connection. In that case, upgrading to a better router might be the right play -- but you'll want to make sure that you're getting the most out of your current setup first.
At the very least, it will improve website load times on your end. Here's a useful guide on how to change your DNS server. If restarting your router didn't help, and you're on a Wi-Fi connection, your device might simply have a hard time picking up your router's signal. Make sure the router is located in an open space, with no large objects, walls, or other electronics in the way. If it wasn't bad enough that every piece of furniture around your house interferes with your signal, wait till you find out that your neighbors' Wi-Fi does so as well.
Standard 2. Take a look here to find out how to change your Wi-Fi channel to a less crowded one. Alternatively, check out our list of the best Wi-Fi routers and switch to one that supports the faster 5 GHz band, where there's usually less interference. Not even the fastest Wi-Fi connections can rival the speed and stability of good old wired networks. Moreover, you don't have to deal with network interference. Use an Ethernet cable and see if that helps.
As mentioned in the beginning, running a Tracert test can help you identify whether any faulty network nodes are causing your high ping. You can fix the issue by using a high-quality gaming VPN. How does it work? Well, when you connect to a VPN server, your data basically follows an entirely different route to the game servers and vice-versa.
Imagine this process as avoiding the highway traffic jam and taking a side road. Of course, VPNs tend to slow down your connection similar to how you can't reach very high speeds outside highways. The drop in speed won't be as noticeable with a top-tier provider, but here's a guide on how to speed up your VPN , just in case. Generally, connecting to a VPN server close to the region you're playing in will yield the best results.
Now, it's rare for ISPs to throttle online games since they don't use as much data as streaming and other network-intensive activities. Still worth keeping in mind for when you want to unwind with some Netflix, but you keep running into the dreaded buffering wheel. Even if you disregard the dangers of free VPNs and there are quite a few of them , it's simply not worth using a free VPN for online gaming.
Two words: poor performance. Powerful servers cost a lot of money, and free providers can't afford lightning-fast speeds for sometimes millions of users. Considering games like Fortnite and Minecraft use around MB of data an hour , that's not a whole lot - especially if you use the VPN for other activities, like watching geo-blocked YouTube videos.
That's about it - see you on the battlefield.
0コメント