Experiencing unusual latency during online play.
Experiencing unusual latency during online play.
Hello, I've set up a new PC and it's running smoothly overall. However, I've noticed some unusual ping problems. My internet speeds are consistently high—over 250 download and around 50 upload with a ping of about 6ms. But when playing games, my ping fluctuates wildly, jumping from 10ms to 250ms during gameplay. I'm puzzled since my previous setup was in the same area and used the same WiFi antenna. It's possible something changed, even if it seems similar. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Speedtest measures speed, not just ping. It averages your best ping across multiple attempts. To identify network problems, run a tool and note where spikes occur. You should have an IP address to target, preferably the one used for the game you're playing. If unavailable, use 8.8.8.8 (Google's server) to exclude local issues. Download the free trial from pingplotter.com, enter your game or Google IP into the tool's address bar, and press play. Share a screenshot if you need help understanding the results. Add the "Maximum Latency" column to your stats by right-clicking and selecting it for clearer visualization. The duration depends on how often the issue recurs. This tool performs ongoing traceroute scans and records data for graphing. A traceroute sends pings through each node to pinpoint the problem area.
At first, the issue affected all games until I updated the WiFi drivers from the motherboard supplier. The performance improved noticeably. However, I suspect occasional lag during gameplay might be due to increased ping when using Discord calls.
Here you are. I faced problems with my Wi-Fi modem where speeds dropped to just 0.5–2.5 Mbps for about four hours. After contacting the ISP, they suggested sending an engineer to fix the issue or replace the modem since it might be faulty. In the meantime, speeds have improved but remain unstable at times.
The packet loss and ping spikes occur between the PC and the router, indicating a local network problem. The cause could be the network card, cable or Wi-Fi interference, or issues with the router (or modem if you have a combo unit, known as a gateway). Running the test from another PC and using a different cable (especially Ethernet) would assist in identifying the source.