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What exactly is ping? Any gamer would tell you that it is the biggest hindrance to their gaming. That’s because when video games lag, the symptoms almost always lead to excessively high ping.
Ping is a latency measurement, or how quickly a signal is transmitted from and returned to your computer. It takes time for a game to recognize your activity in a gaming environment. When playing Zelda, for example, you want to know straight away if Link slayed his adversaries, not wait for your computer to record that they ever crossed paths.
While professional gamers can avoid high pings at all costs, sometimes even by updating their equipment to the latest and best gear, recreational online gamers are often left to repair their machines. On that end, consider this your guide to lowering ping and, eventually, lowering latency in video games.
What Factors Influence Ping?
Ping is mostly affected by internet connection speed. And internet connection speed is critical for online players. The amount of data a network is juggling and the number of users on that network at the same time can also have an impact on speed.
Consider playing fetch with your dog in a non-gaming situation. The further we toss the stick and the tougher the terrain the dog has to traverse to reach it, the longer it will take them to retrieve it. Latency is the amount of milliseconds – ping is measured in milliseconds — that we’re twiddling our thumbs waiting for the dog to return with our tossed stick.
So, when gamers scratch their heads and wonder, “Why am I lagging?” The answer is frequently high ping. As a result, to minimize latency, you must first lower ping. How can I reduce ping? You can optimize your internet’s path to connecting to gaming servers. In other words, you may assist in improving the connection between your computer and game servers.
Why is My Ping So High, and is It Better To Have a Lower Ping?
A lower ping is preferable to a high ping since it results in less latency. And reduced latency equals more fluid gaming. On the other hand, a high ping indicates a longer latency. It also implies that you have a slow internet connection. Remember that ping is the time it takes a device to “go get” data from another server. As a result, the less time it takes — i.e., the smaller the ping — the faster your game may be played.
Ping might be high for various reasons, many of which you can address. Your ping might be high for a variety of reasons, including:
- Routers and how they are updated, where they are located, and if their firmware is up to date
- Computers and if they are obsolete, unsuitable for gaming, or require cleaning
- Caches on your network or modem, whether full or not
- The number of devices that your network can support
- The settings of a game and if they are too optimized
- Your device has applications and programs operating in the background.
- Auto-updates that take effect while you’re playing
“Well, what is a good ping?” you may be asking. Realistically, anything less than 100 ms is playable, although average players should aim for pings of 50 ms or below. Professional players, on the other hand, may want a ping of 20 ms or less.
Most computers can do a ping test, albeit the method varies by manufacturer. There are also several online ping testing. To make matters easier, an internet speed test can provide context for your ping rate. Finally, if your game runs smoothly, you don’t need to worry about your ping. However, decreasing ping is critical to improving your gaming performance if your game is sluggish. Starting with a few troubleshooting procedures, it’s also fairly doable.
What Can I Do To Decrease My Ping?
Here are a few things you may do to reduce your ping:
1. Check Your Internet Connection Speed to Reduce Lag
What constitutes “speed internet” is subjective and varies by individual. Every online game, however, has a minimum internet bandwidth requirement. So, once you match that requirement, there is no use in optimizing something that will never achieve the minimum at its best.
An internet speed test may be performed using a free bandwidth testing program. If you are still waiting to receive the speed you have paid, contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to resolve the issue.
2. Examine Your Router’s Configuration
Modern routers are built to manage several devices at the same time. However, if numerous devices consume a large amount of data simultaneously, your connection will slow down, and your ping will suffer. Consider removing idle or unwanted devices from your network to decrease slowness during games. Also, download and apply any pending router firmware upgrades so that it doesn’t update itself amid a game.
It is also possible to upgrade your existing router. A router update can help you extract the maximum possible bandwidth and, to some extent, minimize latency. But remember that your internet connection is only as fast as your data plan allows.
3. Use an Ethernet Connection
Wi-Fi is fantastic, but it is less dependable than Ethernet. Wireless connections can result in delay, packet loss, and lag. Multiple devices linked to your wireless network are not ideal for gaming since their signals might interfere with one another.
Connect your PC to the network using an Ethernet cable to ensure a stable connection with minimal ping. Even if you aren’t concerned about fewer pings, an Ethernet connection may make internet-based activities quicker and more dependable.
4. Switch Game Servers and Check Server Ping
Most online games will automatically select the best server for your area. However, the ping might get quite high if you use a VPN to connect to servers outside your country. The lower the ping, the closer you are to the server physically. Gaming Server Ping can help you find your device’s best-performing game server from several locations.
5. Make use of Ping Enhancer
In principle, ping enhancers attempt to patch your connection using the most optimum route available on their system to provide a steady server connection and reduced ping. However, these programs are most useful if you are attempting to play on a remote server outside your region.
It’s essentially a VPN with a low latency focus. Ping Enhancers, for example, can aid if you are in a Non-US/EU area that does not have the best routing to games with US and EU servers. Popular Ping Enhancers include ExitLag, Ping Zapper, and WTFast. Almost all of these services need a subscription. So, before making a purchase, make sure to use the trial and test out the applications.
Finally, double-check your ISP’s service status or contact support to ensure nothing is interfering with your game. If your ISP continues to cause problems, switching to one that offers faster local speeds may be worthwhile. The faster your internet connection, the faster data is transferred and received, resulting in decreased latency.
Your Internet package may have a data cap. When you reach this limit, your ISP “throttles” your connection, reducing your internet speed. Even some unlimited data plans have a “fair usage policy,” which states that the ISP will throttle you if you exceed a particular limit.
EndNote
While individuals play video games for various reasons, some for pleasure and others to beat their opponent, no gamer wants to encounter latency – and every gamer wants to eliminate lag. Fortunately, simply maintaining your equipment may significantly impact your gaming experience. So, go forth, decrease your ping, and climb the leaderboards!
Also read: Window 10 Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling: Everything You Need To Know
