Solved Low FPS While Playing Online Games

[BeKure]

I play a lot of PC games and most of those games are online games. My problem is that I get such low frames per second while playing online. When I play single player offline games I have seen my fps well over 100 and I average about 60.
When I play online games, (MMO's for example) I average 20-60 fps and I even see my fps dip into the teens occasionally. This is with or without V Sync. Needless to say, I do experience slow down. It's not often but when it does happen, it is annoying.
I utilize cable oppose to DSL and I average about 8Mbps download speed, so I can't figure out for the life of me what the problem is.
I hear some people say that they average 60-100 fps even while playing these same MMO's or other online games. It sounds kind of fake to me when I hear that these people are getting such good numbers and I'm getting such bad ones. I don't have a top of the line PC but I don't have a toaster either. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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[M1GU31]

have you considered possibly lowering settings like AA FX or lowering shadows or resolution? Or it could possibly be a driver problem not sure because from what i see you have a decent setup trying tinkering with the settings first

 

[EvilOzzmess]

I think most online games require at the very least 10Mbps speeds. Optimal is 15-20Mbps and that's with a router that can handle it (not the little piddly modems that come with the ISP - even the Verizon fiOs ones). I personally do not play online games... especially not MMO's (I don't want to be robbed monthly just to play an already expensive to buy game)... but I could if I wanted too, because I have 30Mbps down and almost 25Mbps up and that's with a router designed for gaming/video streaming that is also guaranteed to not bottleneck large data transfers online (Netgear WNDR37AV, which is also responsible for bumping my 25/25 to 30/25).

I can say with a certainty, since other non-net games work perfectly within normal and above average FPS, it is NOT your hardware or rig. Period. It has to be your net (and I'd say most of your problem would be coming from the dismal upload speed as online games - especially MMO's - rely on BOTH to send and receive data in a continuous loop).

 

[badger906]

10Mbps!?!?!!?

I have an average ping on BF3 64player of about 40! With a 1.7Mbps connection!

Used to play 128player return to castle wolfenstien with 56k lol.

The average internet speed in the entire uk is less than 6Mbps, from your reply it would mean most of the Uk can't play online games lol

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[BeKure]

have you considered possibly lowering settings like AA FX or lowering shadows or resolution? Or it could possibly be a driver problem not sure because from what i see you have a decent setup trying tinkering with the settings first

Even when lowering the settings, the issue is still there. Thank you for your suggestion tho.

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[BeKure]

I think most online games require at the very least 10Mbps speeds. Optimal is 15-20Mbps and that's with a router that can handle it (not the little piddly modems that come with the ISP - even the Verizon fiOs ones). I personally do not play online games... especially not MMO's (I don't want to be robbed monthly just to play an already expensive to buy game)... but I could if I wanted too, because I have 30Mbps down and almost 25Mbps up and that's with a router designed for gaming/video streaming that is also guaranteed to not bottleneck large data transfers online (Netgear WNDR37AV, which is also responsible for bumping my 25/25 to 30/25).

I can say with a certainty, since other non-net games work perfectly within normal and above average FPS, it is NOT your hardware or rig. Period. It has to be your net (and I'd say most of your problem would be coming from the dismal upload speed as online games - especially MMO's - rely on BOTH to send and receive data in a continuous loop).

I think that's the best answer that I have ever received concerning this issue. It just makes sense. I'm using a Dual Band Linksys router (Linksys E2500) and a Arris TM602G/115 modem (that was provided by my ISP). My ISP offers at max, a 25MBPS download/2MBPS upload package.
Your upload speed seems ridiculously fast compared to the norm.

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[EvilOzzmess]

10Mbps!?!?!!?

I have an average ping on BF3 64player of about 40! With a 1.7Mbps connection!

Used to play 128player return to castle wolfenstien with 56k lol.

The average internet speed in the entire uk is less than 6Mbps, from your reply it would mean most of the Uk can't play online games lol

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

As the OP stated, he CAN play them... they're just bottle-necked. You get what you pay for. I could probably downgrade my internet to the bare minimum of 1Mbps each way (and on "high speed" DSL rather than fiOs Broadband), and still be able to play an older game like Warcraft II.BNE over it's online network (though I doubt anyone's still playing it) and have NO problems. Try that with a modern MMORPG game (i.e. WOW) with significantly larger chunks of data having to be passed between you and the net. It'll be horrible.

And what else, pray tell, would you suspect when all other games NOT online play perfect? It has got to be the net.

 

[badger906]

i dont know, but id have thought modern games like Bf3 will have more and larger data packs than WoW.

was merely saying i manage with 1.7Mbps with 0 lag and low pings on all modern FPS's

 

[4eyed]

10Mbps!?!?!!?

I have an average ping on BF3 64player of about 40! With a 1.7Mbps connection!

Used to play 128player return to castle wolfenstien with 56k lol.

The average internet speed in the entire uk is less than 6Mbps, from your reply it would mean most of the Uk can't play online games lol

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

As the OP stated, he CAN play them... they're just bottle-necked. You get what you pay for. I could probably downgrade my internet to the bare minimum of 1Mbps each way (and on "high speed" DSL rather than fiOs Broadband), and still be able to play an older game like Warcraft II.BNE over it's online network (though I doubt anyone's still playing it) and have NO problems. Try that with a modern MMORPG game (i.e. WOW) with significantly larger chunks of data having to be passed between you and the net. It'll be horrible.

And what else, pray tell, would you suspect when all other games NOT online play perfect? It has got to be the net.

Woot? I've been playing wow since the wotlk came out with 1mbps, and never had any problems! It runs constantly at around 60ms ping, which may not be perfect, but i couldn't expect more from 1mbps. It just can't be his internet.

Edit: BTW. I don't think internet has anything to do with fps...

 

[badger906]

it doesnt/shouldnt. it would just produce lag. But fraps may read that as lower frame rates, as its the same thing that happens when a system struggles.

is it possible for you to run a cable from your router to your rig? that will rule at a wireless issue.

 

[Richardc269]

Wireless internet isn't really all that reliable (especially for games). I hate using wireless internet. I have a cable from my Router to my PC in my room. Try using a cable, and see if that helps any. It did for me.

 

[BeKure]

I use a cable directly from my router actually. I recently upgraded my internet speed and I do notice a slight difference while gaming online. Although it's not a staggering difference, it is still somewhat noticeable. (18Mbps/2Mbps)

I do notice a significant difference when it comes to downloading and streaming video though.

 

[Richardc269]

When you say "18MBP/s", do you mean 18megabytes a second? That's pretty dang high. That shouldn't be causing any lag at all.

Edit: Even with my lame ass DSL (which is only 125 killabytes a second), and no one else is using the internet except for me, even I could play WoW without problems.

 

[badger906]

Ill put money on it NOT being internet related.

If it was, you'd get the same poor performance/lagging on your system while downloading, and or running speedtests.

Is it just WOW? I could just be a compatability issue, with your hardware and or windows version.

Not sure if you've mentioned it but try compatibility mode. Xp s3 or similar

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[Richardc269]

He could also be having problems if he doesn't have "Ports" forwarded in his Router, but I have a suspicion that it's not that either.

 

[BeKure]

He could also be having problems if he doesn't have "Ports" forwarded in his Router, but I have a suspicion that it's not that either.

I didn't even think of that. Are there certain ports that are typically forwarded for online gaming purposes?

 

[Richardc269]

Depends on what game it is. Almost every game out there uses a different port for multiplayer. You'll have to look at the game's main website to get the port numbers.

 

[youllbelost]

You are getting decent FPS while you play offline, this ensures that you can play with the same framerate online.
I've been playing online RPG's for 3 years with 2Mbps line, ain't got a problem ever with pings/FPS.
But, what is not considered here is your SNR value, which is equally important.

What is a good "Signal Level" ? What is "Upstream SNR" ? What is a good signal strength ? If you want to know the answers to those and other similar questions, read on.
The basic information about your particular brand of modem can probably be found at the manufacturer's website... The most taled about issue when having problems, and the first thing to analyze, is the status of the signal to your [COLOR=green !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=green ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]cable [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=green ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]modem[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR], so what does it mean ?
On your cable modem manufacturer's page you might find terms such as: downstream SNR (signal to noise ratio), downstream power level, upstream SNR and upstream power level. Here's what all those mean, and a general guideline of what constitutes a problem:
Downstream SNR shows the strength of the signal to your cable modem as compared to the noise on the line (signal/noise). If the noise level increases the SNR value decreases. So, then high levels are good for the SNR. This number should be at 30 or more. If the SNR goes below 30 than you will probably start to experience some problems, such as intermittent connection, packet loss, etc.
Downstream Power shows the power of the signal your cable modem is getting. The level of the downstream power should be -15 to 15 dB according to most manufacturers' specs... However, it is best for that level to be in the -8 to 8 range.
Upstream SNR shows how much signal the head end is getting from your cable modem, compared to the noise level. "Head End" refers to the point of reference that is the central point of the local network of your [COLOR=green !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=green !important][FONT=inherit !important]service [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=green !important][FONT=inherit !important]provider[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]. Anything above 29 is good. Just like the download SNR if the noise level increases the upstream SNR decreases.
Upstream Power shows the level of the signal from the cable modem to the provider. This number should be lower than 55dB. The lower the number, the better your connection.
All those numbers can aid in determining many potential problems with your cable modem connection...

^via speedguide.net

YBL.

 

[Richardc269]

Some games have a problem if you can't open ports on your Router. StarCraft had this issue. If you can't open your ports, you can't play online due to your PC not receiving any "information packets".

Edit: I should say "sensitive" instead of problem.