The Gamer’s Dilemma: Identifying and Fixing a High Ping

What’s the worst dilemma a gamer can have? Other than your mother asking you to pause an online game, what else do you have in mind? If you are a frequent gamer, you must be familiar with the distress of FPS spikes, ping stuttering, heavy lag and constantly disconnecting from the game. We get you. All of us have been there at some point.

Don’t fret over it. High latency and ping isn’t rocket science rather there’s a quick and easy fix for it. We would suggest you to not jump on the bandwagon of finding a quick solution either. It’s better to slowly and steadily identify what’s causing the ping issues and then proceed to the fix. Here’s a quick look at the possible problems and their corresponding solutions.

Speed test to identify the root cause

The root cause for ping latency and a broken internet connection can be its speed. How would you reach up to this conclusion though? Through a speed test, of course. Speed test tools are available across the internet so choose one and insert your current IP address for an accurate analysis.

Once the speed is tested, you shall know your current download/upload speed and ping levels in real-time. The ideal ping for gaming is somewhere between 20 and 50ms. If the ping test exceeds 150ms then you are a victim to potential lag undoubtedly.

The role of internet speed

A speed test governs the overall quality of your current internet connection. Yet factors that are more diverse include wired or wireless connection, gaming equipment such as modem and router and data availability.

The notion itself is self-explanatory. The slower the speed, the greater the latency and vice versa. What’s the fix? Internet speeds can only be enhanced by choosing the right connection type. You have ample of options but cable, fiber and satellite connections are the most common.

If speed is the foremost concern, blazing-fast upload and download speeds are only bestowed by both cable and fiber. That can be fixed so by opting for internet services and plans from Mediacom xtream or any relevant ISP as you deem fit.

Wired or wireless?

To comprehend the dilemma further, you can dig deeper into knowing the existing connection types and their differences. You can go either wireless or stay wired to Ethernet. Your smartphones aren’t constrained to a wired connection and yet perform well but that’s just not the case with gaming. It’s quite the opposite. Unhindered gaming is the result of a wired connection only. When you go wireless, you should brace yourself for ping spikes and high latency.

So, when you have identified the underlying internet speed issue, you can choose a wired connection over satellite internet service providers. Make sure you don’t realize the mistake later on or else moving to a new ISP and internet connection type will consume a lot of your time and money only.

Selecting the right equipment

Equipment plays a huge role in gaming even if you were least expecting it. If you need a system for video streaming or regular surfing, a standard system would suffice but it won’t be enough for gaming enthusiasts. Better to purchase equipment that will also help in the long run of your gaming endeavors. The two most essential items in your gaming equipment list are your modem and router. Without each, lag will persist and you will end up rage quitting every game you play online.

The integral part of maintaining a stable internet connection is your router. You can get a standard one from your local internet provider or you can choose to invest in a few bucks to power up your router and modem both. Not always but at times, it’s required to connect multiple devices to the router at once. If you choose a good quality one, the bandwidth is equally divided and your gaming experience remains faultless.

Conclusion

There’s so much you can do to fix a high ping. It’s all about the extent of awareness and know-how you have. You don’t have to be an extremely tech-savvy person to follow and execute each aforementioned step. Just be aware of the lag, high ping and latency symptoms to never face the dilemma as a gamer again.