CAN NOT figure out where my lag is coming from.

[Aarel]

Although I am positive it is not a hardware issue, I'll list my specs anyways.

Nvidia 650i ultra motherboard
Corsair xms 2gb ddr2 (low, but doable)
Geforce GTX 550 ti
Quadcore intel processor

I know it isn't related to ram or cpu, because i can play more taxing games, or the sames games that do lag offline, and there will be no issues what so ever. The main game in question is Tribes: Ascend. When I play online, I will be just fine for a little bit, and then I start warping around like crazy. It is entirely random, and will occasionally even happen when I'm standing still. During all of this, my ping will be completely fine.

I've done tons of speed tests, it always comes out 53-57 down 9-11 up and about 16ms ping. Only one time, however, it came up 200ms ping. I have not been able to recreate that though.

Other games lag just as well though. Just to be entirely sure, I logged into runescape to see what effect it had , and it would just randomly lose connection and come back every so often. Even logging me out some of these times.

Could it be as simple as my ethernet cable is bad? I looked at the heads and they seem fine, I don't see any wires that don't connect. I had to temporarily run one from the next room over to reach my computer in a new location. I don't have another cable right now long enough to test if this is the problem.

Any suggestions are appreciated, sometimes I get so annoyed I just can't play anything online.

 

[bumnut53]

you need to to a constant ping to your default gateway, click start, then run and type

ipconfig /all

this will show your default gateway, then type

ping 192.168.0.8 -t (using your gateway address) leave it running for a while and see if you get any dropped packets. if not your internal wiring is fine.

then ping a website the same way and again check for dropped packets.

I have to ask, are you running any filesharing apps while gaming? or is anyone else in the house downloading while you are gaming?

 

[Aarel]

No, nobody else is downloading anything, and i'm not running any type of filesharing app.
When I type ipconfig /all into run, a window flashes on the screen for a split second, but doesn't stay up. I tried typing the rest into run just in case, same deal. The window won't stay open, it just flashes onto the screen for a moment.

Windows 7 64bit, if it makes any difference.

 

[lordravage]

I've had this happen before, and it was a sign that my network adapter was dying on me. In my case, it was just a simple buying a USB network adapter, which I used to connect wirelessly.

I don't know for a fact that your problem is the same, but for mine it felt like my network adapter was 'overheating'. It would work fine for a while, then get sputtery, then disconnect. If I let it sit around a few minutes I could go back to using it again, and the only time I noticed the problem was when gaming. It didn't seem to have an issue with large downloads or watching videos.

It's possible there was something else going on in my system, and an analogy is certainly not the best evidence, but when I used the USB network adapter my problems all went away. This was after trying different drivers, cables, and even a different router to see what was causing my issue.

 

[lordravage]

No, nobody else is downloading anything, and i'm not running any type of filesharing app.
When I type ipconfig /all into run, a window flashes on the screen for a split second, but doesn't stay up. I tried typing the rest into run just in case, same deal. The window won't stay open, it just flashes onto the screen for a moment.

Windows 7 64bit, if it makes any difference.

in the run box, type cmd
Then, when you have a dialog box, go ahead and type ipconfig /all and the window won't disappear on you.

 

[Aarel]

Thanks, worked fine.

So, I get an error for ipconfig /all but not ipconfig by itself. This shows my default gateway, so that's what I used. Ran it for a few minutes, it sent 223 and did not lose any.
Next I used google and let it go for a few minutes. It sent 251 and dropped one single packet.

I use comcast, and my modem works as my router. Like i said however, I'm connecting to it with an ethernet cable anyways. I put new heads on my cable wires just to be sure, and made sure my gpu and motherboard drivers were up to date.
I don't notice anything while on youtube, or any other websites. It only seems to be an issue while playing online games.

 

[lordravage]

What does it show if you leave it running and play Tribes? If you experience the warping but it shows no packet loss, you might just be playing on bad servers. Otherwise the only thing I can think of is you have the same problem I did, and would need to pick up a different network adapter.

 

[HEXiT]

thing is game lag can often be out of your control. if another player is lagging hard it can affect your game.
you may well be on a 16 ms connection but if the other guys are on 200+ you will have to wait for them to update b4 you can which means you will start lagging just as much as they are.
there is little you can do about this other than try to play with players who have a similar ping to you and kick any 1 with a ping higher than 150-200
if there pings are bouncing it can get very bad very quickly so kick em asap and you should start having a smooth game.
oh and run your ping test 3 times each time you do it. and do it at least 3 times a day for at least 1 week. make sure your numbers are consistent at peak and minimum usage times. if there not then get in touch with your isp and tell em your problem.
you can user the cmd line and enter tracert www.somewebaddress.com (use 1 thats relaiable within 500miles) if you see a time out then that can cause issue or if 1 or more of the hop ip's has a * in it then you may want to try another connection... you can do this by logging off and back on. if your in a city you should be able to log on with a different route.

 

[Aarel]

What does it show if you leave it running and play Tribes? If you experience the warping but it shows no packet loss, you might just be playing on bad servers. Otherwise the only thing I can think of is you have the same problem I did, and would need to pick up a different network adapter.

I'll try that in the morning, but the thing is, i'm the only one warping. I set it to filter out any region but us east and have tried atleast 10 different servers with no changes. I do not see any other people warping around, and plenty of people have complained to me about it. Also, i have been looking at pings, they are usually comparable to mine. It's not like every one in the game has 200+ ping. There might be one or two that do, but that wouldn't make me start warping and nobody else.

I've asked in game before too, noone has ever said they were having the same problem. It's always "Buy better internet". Obviously, that isn't the issue.

And, I'm not using a network adapter. I'm using a wired connection. Plugged directly from the back of the pc to my modem.

 

[Scott_D_Bowen]

Use HRPING instead of PING, from Cfos.
- It can send them one after the after
- It does not have to wait for a reply.

This way you can test 100 packets per second and see what your loss is. (10ms, do not wait).

It might be that your loss 'accumulates' over time and then you start warping as two (or more) consecutive UDP's drop to or from your PC.
- Some titles can handle this while others simply don't even try to.

It might also be that you've tweaked the settings too much and your client config is totally out of whack with restrictions set on the servers you play on (eg: update rate and cmd rate may have high minimum values your NIC, or router, etc. just can't keep up with).

 

[lordravage]

And, I'm not using a network adapter. I'm using a wired connection. Plugged directly from the back of the pc to my modem.

A wired connection still goes through your network adapter, it's part of your computer, built into your motherboard most probably. Go into your device manager and you will see it listed under network adapters. That was what went bad on me, so I had to buy a different connection. I chose a USB wireless connection, but you can get a USB or PCI card with a wired connection too.

 

[Aarel]

Use HRPING instead of PING, from Cfos.
- It can send them one after the after
- It does not have to wait for a reply.

This way you can test 100 packets per second and see what your loss is. (10ms, do not wait).

It might be that your loss 'accumulates' over time and then you start warping as two (or more) consecutive UDP's drop to or from your PC.
- Some titles can handle this while others simply don't even try to.

It might also be that you've tweaked the settings too much and your client config is totally out of whack with restrictions set on the servers you play on (eg: update rate and cmd rate may have high minimum values your NIC, or router, etc. just can't keep up with).

Same problem as earlier, window closes immediately after opening. I'm sure there's an easy fix, I can't find it.

A wired connection still goes through your network adapter, it's part of your computer, built into your motherboard most probably. Go into your device manager and you will see it listed under network adapters. That was what went bad on me, so I had to buy a different connection. I chose a USB wireless connection, but you can get a USB or PCI card with a wired connection too.

Okay, learning something new. I don't know if I'm having the same issue, because mine is pretty constant. I can't play any game more than a minute without the problem occurring. It also never fully disconnects me with most games. I just warp around. Might be worth trying nonetheless. I'll see if i can find one around before i go out and buy one.

EDIT: And as if just to prove me wrong, i tried pinging the default gateway while playing Tribes, and did not run into a single issue. I did not warp once. I tried playing three separate games on three different servers, and did not warp once. I didn't lag at all. I'm gonna try again in a little while and see what happens..This is the first time in a full month that this hasn't happened while playing a game.