Help- very bad lag in gaming

[tokarev34]

Hello everyone.

This has been an ongoing problem for months. I have invested heavily into a gaming computer and my Xbox. Gaming is my primary hobby, its how I spend most my leisure time. I take multiplayer games seriously and I have not been able to compete because of very bad lag.

Here is my setup. I have a WRT54G wireless router. In my computer I have a Linksys Instant Wireless PCI Card for wireless B. Two other comps use the same network, a mac and another pc but neither of them use very much bandwidth.

My ISP is gatehouse networks. Gatehouse is owned by Lamont Digital Systems, which recently merged with AT&T. This is a very crappy ISP. Its unprofessional, the installation took months, the tech support is horrible.

I don't know very much about how cable is distributed but its my understanding that cable is a shared medium unlike dsl. I live in a very high density neighborhood, and cable is included in the homeowner's fee. As a result everyone has cable internet. During peak hours I think there might not be enough bandwidth to go around?

My ping is counter strike is usually around 200, sometimes upwards to 300. On occasion it will be even higher and I can't play at all. Everyone else on the server has pings below 80. Halo 2 seems even worse.

I ran Dan Elwell's Broadband Speed test. I scored poorer than expected on ping times to Euro, West coast, and East coast servers.

So what should I do? Heres a few questions I have.

1. Should I get an ethernet cable and see if that helps? It would have to be nearly 100 feet.
2. Change ISPs? Is DSL faster than cable?
3. Get a wireless G card for my comp?

Thanks ALOT this has been bothering me for a long time and any help is really appreciated

 

[Dragonbate]

Well, start by checking your dl speed at a site like http://reviews.cnet.com/Bandwi...ter/7004-7254_7-0.html I found that having a 80211 b device on my network slows me down but I also don't use a wireless conncetion for gaming. Technically b should be plenty fast for internet but who knows. There is a range restriction on ethernet cable (not sure how long it is). I've had bot cable and dsl. DSL was fast and cheap but cable is a bit faster for me. Good luck.

 

[tokarev34]

well according to the site my dl speed was 259kbs

 

[kindest]

http://www.dslreports.com/tools

take the tweak test. you might need to up some tcp and r values and what not with Doctor TCP.

 

[Googer]

Ditch the wireless, it is a major source of latency. it will cut your ping by 20-60ms. Get some good old Cat5e or Cat6 STP.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: tokarev34
well according to the site my dl speed was 259kbs

259k, that is bad

 

[syco83]

i trired that speed test got 1.5megabits then did the dslreports one and got 4 megabits
I wouldn't trust just one speed test.

 

[ktwebb]

" Ditch the wireless, it is a major source of latency. it will cut your ping by 20-60ms. "

As a blanket statement that is complete rubbish. Given a good link from client to ap the aded latency will be in the 1 to 3 ms range. One thing that did jump out in this thread though is you mentioned 100 feet if you had to cable. is this a direct line, meaning is you wireless link 100 feet? If so, do you have multiple obstructions in the path? If so, then yeah, wireless is probably not a good solution, especially when latency is a problem for you. A poor wireless link with cause resends, sometimes alot of them, specifically if signal quality is poor. Strength is less important but still a factor.

Also, yes, bandwidth tests are not to be used for hard benches. Download something big from MS or from Netscapes public FTP. That will tell you what your capable of. I'd do this on several occasions throughout a given day to see if your are suffering from cable bandwidth issues, sharing with your neighbors.