New Wireless Card/USB

[Nathan]

I've had my comp hardwired to the router all summer. Now I've moved it back to the same place it was but my ping is going up to 500ms, and maybe getting as low as 200. Nothing else has changed. And it's a really cheap card I have anyways.

So here's a hardware item i don't deal with often.

Anybody have suggestions for a card, or usb i suppose? I'm looking for something less than $25. I don't know what makes one better than another for ping, which is my main concern.

All suggestions are appreciated.

Also this is why you haven't seen me in the server

PS - The router is pretty darn new and all my laptops work fine off of it. If only they could play at more than 2 FPS...

Edited September 4, 2011 by Gillock 1st MRB

[M. Duke]

High ping and low FPS are two different things...

Ping is related to your internet connection and FPS is related (mostly) to your computer hardware.

Regarding your ping problems, do 2 things and post the result here.

1) Go to http://www.speedtest.net/ and run the test.

2) Go to command prompt (start - type cmd is the search box) and type "tracert 208.167.243.207" (without the quotes).

------------------------------

Added - I just re-read your post and realize I misunderstood the comment about FPS - so ignore that part of my response.

Also, I realize you're asking for advice about what to buy - but let's take a quick look at the problem to see if that's the correct solution before spending the money!

Edited September 4, 2011 by Duke 1st MRB

[Janke 1st MRB]

I'm sorry, you want reliable pings on a card under $25. If you're looking for longevity AND performance, I'd look more in the $25-$50 range for cheap ones. A cheap card may last you reliable for a short while, but after a while your performance will degrade, you'll either get high pings again, or you'll begin getting random disconnects. However, for $14 I was able to get a 50 foot cord and run it from my router to my comp, and wired is always the most reliable. Depending on who you live with/where your computer is in relation to the router, buying a long cord (25-100 feet, depending) and discreetly running it to your computer would be the cheapest, most reliable, and longest-lasting option.

[Dillon 1st MRB]

Before you look at the card, look at your router. Most newer routers will have packet prioritization. It can give you higher priority on your computer. Check your setup of your router. Or, just post your router model, and I can look it up for you. Linksys/Cisco are the easiest to work on. But, what I would recommend, if you want to ensure you have good games as far as ping, is to set your MAC address to the highest priority. This isn't a big deal because DODS only runs ~10K/sec. There is plenty of bandwidth for anyone else on your network.

[Nathan]

C:\>tracert 208.167.243.207

Tracing route to 208.167.243.207.choopa.net [208.167.243.207]

over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 7 ms 10 ms 9 ms 10.7.192.1

2 9 ms 9 ms 9 ms ge-1-1-5-jun04.mtc3.okc.ok.cox.net [68.12.8.29]

3 15 ms 12 ms 10 ms COX-68-12-8-50-static.coxinet.net [68.12.8.50]

4 14 ms 42 ms 11 ms mtc3dsrj01-ge510.0.rd.ok.cox.net [68.12.14.35]

5 61 ms 63 ms 56 ms nyrkbprj02-ae0.0.rd.ny.cox.net [68.1.0.253]

6 55 ms 59 ms 56 ms ve27-br1.ewr3.choopa.net [66.55.135.233]

7 62 ms 56 ms 57 ms tge2-4-cr2.ewr2.choopa.net [66.55.128.162]

8 57 ms 56 ms 55 ms 208.167.243.207.choopa.net [208.167.243.207]

Trace complete.

I'd love to string the wire out but I think my dogs will end up ripping the card out of the computer or the router off the shelf.

Thanks for the help with this!

[M. Duke]

The problem is definitely not related to connection speed - you have plenty to spare there.

Your tracert also shows no problems.

Based on what you posted you should be getting pings well under 100.

Did you run those tests from the same computer and with the same setup as when you play DOD:S?

[Nathan]

Yes, same conditions. I got on the Private today for a realism and had decent ping. Then no kidding as soon as the first round was called live it shot up to 800. It seems to be some kind of pulse type occurence, thats why we dont see it in those tests. My cousin can play on his laptop with no ping problems.

I'm going to try reseating the card, blowing everything off, and reloading the drivers/firmware to the device. Hopefully one of those three will fix it .

I'll let you know in the morning.

[Nathan]

None of that worked. Any good cards out there?

[Dillon 1st MRB]

Its going to depend if your wireless protocol is -g or -n. -n will generally be much more robust and provide a better connection, depending on distance and things interfering (walls, metal, etc.).

[Nathan]

I've tried everything including updating drivers and tweaking settings. Since no other computer in my house is having trouble it's gotta be the card. Hell it never was great anyways . I got a new router/modem 6 months back and it should be screaming.

So i ordered this one.

Rosewill Card

Hopefully with this I'll be on n and killing people even better than before. Will give an update when it comes in.

Anyone fix-up crappy wireless cards and want to pay shipping ?

[Nathan]

Got the new card. Better and I'm happy to have N but not solved. Reset router to original factory settings and that seemed to help a little. limited my FPS in dods and that helped a little. But check out my packet loss above. Anything above 0 is bad and I was at 60.

Second Round:

Even worse.

My roommate tested it and was getting even same numbers. But on a different website he got zero loss and any time either of us do cmd prompt pings they all come up fine.

Is it ISP or Modem? Modem is combo modem/router, pretty new. Motorola SBG6580 I think.

So tired of this

[Nathan]

Ok so last night was definitely better than before but i was pissed because the card was such a pain in the ass to install.

I forgot that after i reset my router, the IP Flood Detection has to be turned off. Did that this morning when i realized a multi part download wasn't working properly.

SO I'll see how it goes.

Also quick note: I blew $130 plus on my modem/router combo, Motorola SBG6580. It sucks, I should have read reviews but i figured going to local BestBuy and laying down some cash would work out. Do not buy this modem/router, it's pretty bad from most accounts. Hence things like the auto enabled IP Flood Detection will stall anything if you have more than one incoming signal (so gaming, IMing, Email, Download, BitTorrent entirely shuts down). Anyways, PSA.

[Dillon 1st MRB]

I'd upgrade the firmware on your surfboard before you start getting too disappointed. After that, you may want to go wtih DD-WRT. It tends to work very well. As to the packet loss.... that's a ton. When they installed the Internet, did they upgrade your coax? RGB 6 is the standard. Might want to see what is plugged into your modem. You may have some old, crappy coax.