There are random ping increases in a game on your laptop, but not on your PC.
There are random ping increases in a game on your laptop, but not on your PC.
Hello,
I mainly play games on my laptop, mostly just Valorant. I have been experiencing random ping spikes ever since I got my new ISP as well as my laptop, so I never noticed where's the issue really is.
So.., I face random ping spikes (anywhere from +10 to +50ms) while gaming on my laptop, but on my PC there is barely ±2ms difference in ping. Ping spike happens mainly when there is more and more things happening. And while it doesn't happen every time, whenever it happens, the intensity of ping spikes can be connected with how many things are happening in the game, especially by me.
I use ethernet on both and even tried using my PC's ethernet cable on my laptop but the issue remained same.
If I do ping or traceroute tests using command or hrping or PingPlotter, I see pretty much the same ping on both, without any ping spikes. Also, ping to my router remains better (0.4ms to 0.8ms) in my laptop compared to my PC (0.9ms to 1.4ms).
I have pretty much the same programs installed on both and had this issue even when I did a fresh Windows installation.
Spoiler:
Specs
Not sure if this requires specs to be mentioned but here they are-
Laptop: MSI Alpha 15.
Ryzen 7 5800H with RX6600M GPU.
32 GB RAM (16+16) 3200 MHz CL20.
PC:
Ryzen 5 3400G with iGPU.
MSI Tomahawk B450 Max motherboard
16 GB RAM (8+8) 3200 MHz CL16.
Hello!
I've been noticing packet loss in games lately. It doesn't occur all the time, but I wasn't able to detect it during ping or trace route tests even when it was happening regularly. I'm unsure if it's related to differences between UDP and TCP packets or if it's only affecting certain servers.
This issue appeared in both Valorant and CS2. In CS2, it was significantly worse and made it hard for me to play properly. After checking the console, I saw consistent reports of packet loss exceeding 25%.
While it was happening, I tried pinging the server's IP address (listed in the console) using hrping and Ping Plotter, but no packet loss was recorded. The same went for any IPs I tested.
In Valorant, I also pinged various servers, including those provided by Riot Support, without reproducing the problem.
It seems to happen intermittently and rarely in Valorant compared to CS2. I haven't identified a specific time when it occurs, which makes it feel completely random.
I've tried online packet loss tests, but they didn't show any loss.
I suspect my ISP might be involved, but I need more evidence to share with them.
I'm using Ethernet and have tested different cables, though I mainly play on my laptop where I'm experiencing ping spikes instead of on my PC. This issue appears on both devices, so while I believe it's related to my ISP, I still need something concrete to present.
This post matches exactly what's here, just phrased differently. Avoid doing this to prevent delays in helping you.
Have you reached out to your ISP recently?
Which kind of internet connection do you currently use? Cable, DSL, Satellite?
I haven't reached out before for similar problems (for my friend) and understand the type of questions they usually ask. They won't act unless they can recreate the issue, without actually playing the game. It feels like trying to hit a wall with your head while talking to them without giving anything in return, such as ping or traceroute tests. That's what they typically demand. Also, this appears to be a device-specific problem for me. Their ping seems stable on my PC.
Not exactly. This message is focused on ping spikes only on my laptop during gaming. I didn’t notice any ping spikes on my PC while playing games either. This post deals with packet loss that I’m seeing in both devices, but I’d like to show it in a way my ISP could handle without needing me to play the game (since they won’t). It occurs even when I have a perfectly stable ping.
I resolved this problem. It was caused by an outdated Ethernet driver. The newest version from MSI and the Windows update were from 2021. Once I installed the latest driver, the issue disappeared entirely. Lesson learned – avoid depending solely on OEM and MS for updates ;-;