I've been having a frustrating issue on my computer for about a month now: I can't seem to play online games smoothly. For instance, I struggle to join games in Battlefield, and while playing Phasmophobia with my friends, I often get kicked due to high latency. When I played Valorant, I could connect, but my ping would spike to around 1500. The weird thing is that my internet connection seems fine, as my girlfriend can play on her PC without any problems. I've also tested another internet connection, but the issue persists. I can download Battlefield 6 in about 30 minutes, so speed isn't the problem. I've tried multiple updates and rebooting my PC, yet nothing seems to fix it. My computer is only two years old, so I'm a bit worried about needing a hardware replacement. Any suggestions?
3 Answers
Good internet speeds don't always guarantee low latency. Download speeds don't indicate latency or jitter levels. If you're on Wi-Fi, that could be a big problem because wireless usually has higher latency than wired connections. You might want to try a different network driver or a USB WLAN adapter for a quick test. It might be more reliable for gaming, but wired is generally better for latency.
You should check where the ping is occurring. Try pinging your router, your ISP gateway, or a site like google.com, as well as the game server. This will help narrow down the problem. If everything seems fine, your PC might be experiencing CPU spikes affecting latency, or you could have some malware that's interfering.
Thanks, I’ll check that! But can malware survive a reboot?
Are you using Wi-Fi? If so, switching to a wired Ethernet connection could really help.
I’m going to buy an Ethernet cable today, will update you!
Does a wired Ethernet work better? I’m getting one today to test it out!