OMG lag spikes they're everywhere!!!

[Parker 1st MRB]

So since January I've been getting lag spikes as most of you know. In vent/game/steam I lag sometimes due to these lag spikes. I called my internet provider and they ran a modem test, my modem is not the problem. I restarted my modem and router 1000 times, they are not the problem. I ran a ping test from the cmd prompt and it confirmed I do get lag spikes, I'm usually pinging at 15ms and every 30 seconds to a minute there is a jump to 3000ms. I checked the programs that are running in the background that may cause this (i.e. Antivirus or spy sweepers) and shut them off and ran the same test, nothing changed...

Anyone have some idea of what my problem may be?

[Greco]

DSL or cable? Also you say this does happen every 30 sec-1 minute constantly?

[Greco]

DSL could be blamed on weather, but if its cable it shouldn't happen

Yea i have nothing but problems with my DSL during storms...even if they are 50 miles away....so annoying...

[Jasko]

could be your motherboard recieving or sending signals goofy

[Parker 1st MRB]

I have cable and my motherboard is fine.

[Jasko]

alright, use your task manager and look under performance and see if your cpu usage or ram usage is abnormally high at idle

[Ford 1st MRB]

Put your left hand in your right pocket. Use your index finger and pinky and slowly massage between your testicles using the lining of your pocket as a small yet effective polishing rag. Stand on your tip toes and slowly lean backwards while humming the Imperial March and trying to whistle the Sanford and Son theme song.

None of this will help your lag issues but I don't have any other advice at this time.

[Janke 1st MRB]

2 Questions:

1. Are you using wireless on your gaming computer to access the Internet?

2. If so what operating system do you have?

[Guest Phan 1st MRB]

lol at ford =)

[Parker 1st MRB]

alright, use your task manager and look under performance and see if your cpu usage or ram usage is abnormally high at idle

Did it, everything is fine.

2 Questions:

1. Are you using wireless on your gaming computer to access the Internet?

2. If so what operating system do you have?

1. Yes

2. Windows Vista 32-bt

[Le 1st MRB]

Try upgrading the firmeware on your router.

[Janke 1st MRB]

Did it, everything is fine.

1. Yes

2. Windows Vista 32-bt

I've hard that on Vista it scans for wireless networks approx. every 1 minute. I had the same problem you are, and I remedied it by running a 50-foot Ethernet cable through my vents and into my computer room. I'm not sure how to stop it from scanning for networks every minute, however that's more than likely your problem.

Are you located near by your wireless router or are you some distance away ..?

If your close .. sometimes a good remedy is changing the frequency your router broadcasts on, by default everyone uses the same channel so your computer could possibly be bogged down by all the broadcast requests or just from things on the same frequency.

I recall reading somewhere that there are certain frequencies of wireless network broadcasts in Canada that are illegal to broadcast on.

Edited March 19, 2010 by Janke 1st MRB

[Parker 1st MRB]

Alright but the strange thing is that I've had this comp for about 19 months and I never had this problem before. Like I said it started in December/January and during that time I made no changes to anything that might cause a problem. I've gone through 2 routers and 3 adapters and the problem still exists...

Oh well I wanted a new comp anyways!

[Englebretson 1st MRB]

his awesome computer finally crapped on him

[Greco]

Alright but the strange thing is that I've had this comp for about 19 months and I never had this problem before. Like I said it started in December/January and during that time I made no changes to anything that might cause a problem. I've gone through 2 routers and 3 adapters and the problem still exists...

Oh well I wanted a new comp anyways!

wireless and gaming should NEVER mix. I use wireless on my media PC's but would never ever think about anything wireless for a gaming PC. That in itself could be the problem for many many reasons. For starters your neighbors could have installed a wireless system of their own which is affecting yours. If you live by an airport, industrial center or military center they can also have wireless signals that may interfere with yours. Updating firmware for something that has just started having problems after a year of working fine isnt going to work in almost all cases. You may try updating network drivers but I doubt that will fix the problem either. I say hook up wired to your router, if you still have the problem then you have eliminated the wireless signal being the problem. However, if you get no more lag spikes then you have your answer.

Report back when you have tried it using a wired cord, and let us know your results. You have 24 hours, this message will self destruct...

[Ford 1st MRB]

I'd personally go for a new laptop....

Try this one, it's cheap:

[Bullock]

sounds to me like a virus to many times looking at porn someones trying to hack you

I suggest u get a new comp or atleast get a rental and see if that fixes it

[Jasko]

if janke is correct the problem may have been caused by an update of vista, so i'd reccommend an ethernet cable

[Marsden 1st MRB]

if u get a new compy i can live with a glitchy comp, i bet itll still be better than my ancient computer, its from just after the release of XP lol, u know when ppl still hated it lol.

but i personally agree with Greco, Wireless just doesnt ever seem to work out for gaming, anytime i have tried it it hasn't gone well and that was on my grampa's Lockheed computers that he used to moniter satallites on and shit (that's all that i know for sure that he did, the rest was just not talked about) so i know that the lag wasn't coming from them. for laptops wireless is great but i dont think its a good idea for gaming.

[Janke 1st MRB]

From personal experience; wireless is fine for laptops, work computers, and console gaming, but not PC gaming. Maybe if it was an 802.11-N wireless network, but still you wouldn't get the same performance as wired.

[Connary]

I have had multiple computers on my wireless router and all have had the same problem you are mentioning. As some of you have heard, i bitch about mine every time im online. I am far away from the router so i lose signal, when i look at the wireless network agent it shows the 3 wireless networks in the area. My windows 7 i think does scan for a new network all the time so i feel it is why i spike so often. The laptops in the house never have any issue with the network dropping ever, but my desktop sure does.

So to my question(s):

Is there a way on Windows 7 64-bit to blacklist a neighbors wireless signal so that my computer does not see it?

Is there a way to make my computer access more of the bandwidth from the router? I.E. make it so the laptops dont interfere with my gaming as much?

thank you ahead of time.

[Greco]

I have had multiple computers on my wireless router and all have had the same problem you are mentioning. As some of you have heard, i bitch about mine every time im online. I am far away from the router so i lose signal, when i look at the wireless network agent it shows the 3 wireless networks in the area. My windows 7 i think does scan for a new network all the time so i feel it is why i spike so often. The laptops in the house never have any issue with the network dropping ever, but my desktop sure does.

So to my question(s):

Is there a way on Windows 7 64-bit to blacklist a neighbors wireless signal so that my computer does not see it?

Is there a way to make my computer access more of the bandwidth from the router? I.E. make it so the laptops dont interfere with my gaming as much?

thank you ahead of time.

If your gaming on wireless internet, then you need wireless N. There is no way you can increase wireless G bandwidth enough for it to be stable in gaming.

[Connary]

I see, well thank you for the fast response. Guess ill just have to wait tell i move for that beautiful cable connection.

[Goodwin 1st MRB]

Make sure drivers for your extra hardware is up to date.

Although, it sounds like it could be packets dropping on their way between the server and your computer.

At one point I had an issue like this playing WoW - I'd get these MASSIVE lag spikes, and my vent would drop, and my game would DC. This went on for days, I contacted EVERYONE I could think of. Luckily, a guildie happened to be a network tech for a living - together him and I spent about 4-6 hours running various diagnostics.

In the end of it all - my video card drivers needed updating badly. They were the original ones installed (I thought I had updated, but apparently the update didn't take).

What I did find was that occasionally packets were dropping - but they were getting dropped somewhere in the bouncing from ISP servers, not from my PC.

First and foremost, make sure your drivers are ALL updated for ALL your hardware.

If it is - then I'd start looking for tracert commands which will allow you to see where your packets are going, and where the lag spikes are coming from. There's a good chance that it might be like mine, and something on your ISP's side is dropping a packet here and there, which causes irregular lag spikes that happen at interval like that.

If you'd like I can dig up the tracert commands & netstat information you run from cmd prompt for you, as long as you're 100% positive your drivers for ALL of your hardware are up to date.

[Goodwin 1st MRB]

Also, with regards to wireless gaming, I know plenty of folks who play reliably on wireless with fast ping, and just as little lag as a wired person. For a long time I played xbox live and all my PC games on wireless and had no issues with irregular lag spikes.

However, I realize sometimes things are setup incorrectly, and there can be interference and such. I PREFER wired, but if it needs to be done, one can game fine on wireless with little to no issue as long as they have a good connection with no interference. I don't feel wireless is the culprit here just yet...

[Goodwin 1st MRB]

I have had multiple computers on my wireless router and all have had the same problem you are mentioning. As some of you have heard, i bitch about mine every time im online. I am far away from the router so i lose signal, when i look at the wireless network agent it shows the 3 wireless networks in the area. My windows 7 i think does scan for a new network all the time so i feel it is why i spike so often. The laptops in the house never have any issue with the network dropping ever, but my desktop sure does.

So to my question(s):

Is there a way on Windows 7 64-bit to blacklist a neighbors wireless signal so that my computer does not see it?

Is there a way to make my computer access more of the bandwidth from the router? I.E. make it so the laptops dont interfere with my gaming as much?

thank you ahead of time.

I'm not 100% sure, but if you've ever heard of DD-WRT Firmware for routers, they basically 'unlock' a lot of features most routers typically have on lock-down. It can essentially turn a $50 Linksys WRT-54G into a $500 router. You can adjust signal strength coming from the router, set up VPN's, monitor absolutely everything, and if you know enough, probably set up limits dependent upon PC's.

I'm not sure how comfortable you are updating firmware or what kind of a router you have, but you might want to look into it - if nothing else you might be able to boost the signal a bit from your router, allowing it to be a more stable connection.