Ping jumps all over th place

[frostedone]

Hey everyone. Lately my family updated from 6.0 Mb DSL to 12.0 Cable internet.

In the last few days though I have been having some trouble with my ping in games.

I pretty much only play Aliens vs Predator on Steam. In game my ping is usually under 100, but every 30-45 seconds or so it suddenly jumps to 700-1000!

Any tips? The internet connection is 12 mb/s downstream and 1.5 mb/s upstream and no one is using the internet for anything else besides websurfing, Youtube, and netflix.

The only thing I can think of is that my computer is near a metal desk and that may be messing with the wi-fi signal? Any way to boost the router signal? I use a Cisco Valet and it does not have antennas.

If it helps my wi-fi signal is WEP protected, and none of our neighbors know it. It is wireless N too.
Thanks!

 

[wonder44]

If anyone else is using the internet at the same time, that could be the cause. Especially if they are watching youtube videos because when you watch youtube videos its actually downloading the video file, which you probably already knew. Also make sure theres no programs such as utorrent, bittorrent ect... If they are seeding or uploading or downloading then that will also cause issues.

 

[HEXiT]

yep any1 using the web will cause your ping to jump. reason being every time they connect, click a button or load a video information is being queued ready for transfer. as the connections build up your ping will increase. and as each connection can take up to 30-65 hops on its way to a server any of which can have an issue, resulting in your ping increasing...

open your router and put your pc at the top. put everything else under it and if you can limit there priority (some routers allow this as the have a gaming mode). if your router has multiple Ethernet ports use em. rather than using wireless. particularly if the other user is in the same room... if not you can get an ethernet block which plugs into the house electrics. you plug it in upstairs and plug another downstairs by the pc. the kid use this and dont need to use the wireless at all. as it basically makes your house electrics into a big Ethernet cable.
look it up b4 you spend money on it though... as it may not work for every 1.

 

[AntiZig]

hook up with a cable and see if the problem goes away