Randome Ping spikes

[terminbed]

Hi,
I have recently noticed that in all games I play I get a severe ping spike every few minutes. I use a wireless network (I know this isn't ideal but the router is too far away to use a wired connection) and also don't notice this problem when downloading anything or watching an online video. This has been going on for about a week or so and is starting to frustrate me.
Please help!

P.S If any additional information is required, don't hesitate to ask

 

[john-b691]

Ping spikes in games measure much more than just the network latency. It also includes load on both the server and your pc. As strange as it seems you will see people on the gaming forums recommending changes to the video settings which resolves it for some.

What you want to do to test if it is a network issue is to open a cmd window and issue a continuous ping to 4.2.2.2 or 8.8.8.8. When the game reports high ping time switch to the cmd window and see if the results correspond.

Your problem is exactly why it is recommended to never play games on wireless. Spikes in the latency is very common in wireless. Any type of interference will cause this. It can be as simple as someone opening and closing doors in the house.

A video is not affected as much by short bursts of errors. It has a buffer so it has time to hide the error. A game is live data much like a telephone call you cannot use a buffer to allow for data retransmission.

 

[terminbed]

Ok thanks for the help, how do I issue the continuous ping?

 

[john-b691]

Ping from the cmd window with the -t option