Computer Question

JDookie · 12-27-05, 03:19

How do I test the "ping" of my internet connection? I ask because I got a new PC game for xmas (BF2), and I sometimes get kicked off the game because my average ping is too high, whatever that means. I assume it has to do with the communication between the game sever and my computer, but I have a 6mb broadband connection, so speed shouldn't be an issue.

What can i do to lower the ping rate of my connection?

Picus · 12-27-05, 05:16

Well, if you want to ping yourself, assuming you're using windows 2000/xp go to start > run, and type ipconfig, this will tell you your own IP. After that just type "ping (your ip here)" with no "'s or ()'s and you'll ping yourself.

Unfortunately that's kind of useless, since you're just pinging yourself, which will take 0ms and lose no packets. So it won't really give you an idea of what your ping will be on a bf2 server. To ping a specific server you need its IP, which should be available when you try to connect to it. To ping them just do the above with their IP in place of yours. That'll give you an idea why your ping is so high.

If you find that you're consistently getting very high pings on all servers the first thing I'd do is make sure my netcode looked right. For more information on that google "BF2 netcode", also it might be worth shooting on over to dslreports.com and going through their little "broadband tutorial" deal, where they show you step by step how to optimize your connectivity. If that doesn't do it you may consider calling your ISP to ask them if they're having latency issues.

Tasty · 12-27-05, 05:59

OR go to command prompt in XP (start > programs > accessories > command prompt) and type in tracert www.yahoo.com. This will show you the hops from you to yahoo and the time for each hop. You can get a decent idea of which hop might be your bottleneck. Also, make sure it's not the modem itself.

As for adjusting settings in game I'm not sure what BF2 has, but I used to play Quake 3 Arena A LOT and you could adjust things like rate, maxpackets, snaps, etc. All kinds of little tweaks that can add up to affect your ability to stay connected to a given server. Best thing to do is find a tweak guide geared toward your game. I would start by adjusting your packets, rate, and hunkmegs. Good luck!

EDIT: If that doesn't help do like Picus said and get on your ISP's butt. To have a connection that nice and not have it work right is unacceptable.

JDookie · 12-27-05, 07:12

Before pulling my hair out over a problem that my area is having, I called my ISP and they confirmed that they are having intermittent issues right now while they are still trying to get their systems back up and running after Hurricane Katrina (I live in New Orleans).

Anyway, earlier this evening, I was pinging various websites from the command prompt suggested by you guys and was getting consistent 200ms-300ms pings.

Well, I just did it again, and I am now down to 20ms-40ms pings, depending on the site I ping. Yahoo.com was a good 30ms, yet dslreports.com was a consistent 64ms ping.

Tasty, I did the bottleneck test, but don't quite know what I'm looking at. It produced 11 hops total. I would copy and paste the results, but can't.

Picus, I am going to check on the netcode next and let you know what that looks like.

Thank you both for your help. So far so good.

Picus · 12-28-05, 03:21

The difference in a 300ms to 30ms ping is pretty huge - sounds like it may have been a problem on your ISPs end. I just tracert'd yahoo.com and got 21ms, with the major hop being my ISPs servers, so it looks like you should be in good shape.

JDookie · 12-28-05, 08:48

tracert'd yahoo again today just to see if there was any change, and I got the exact same as you, 21ms.

Also, I went to dslreports.com and downloaded the Dr.TCP program. After running the tweak test and plugging in the various numbers to figure out the optimal RWIN setting, it actually wasn't much different than what Windows was already using. Windows configured RWIN is around 65,535 and if I calculate what my optimal should be, that's around 65,700 so I guess I will just leave it alone.

Pretty much the only thing I saw to change with the MTU setting, and I changed that to 1500.

Anything else you guys think I can change or check?

flatstick · 12-28-05, 09:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDookie

tracert'd yahoo again today just to see if there was any change, and I got the exact same as you, 21ms.

Also, I went to dslreports.com and downloaded the Dr.TCP program. After running the tweak test and plugging in the various numbers to figure out the optimal RWIN setting, it actually wasn't much different than what Windows was already using. Windows configured RWIN is around 65,535 and if I calculate what my optimal should be, that's around 65,700 so I guess I will just leave it alone.

Pretty much the only thing I saw to change with the MTU setting, and I changed that to 1500.

Anything else you guys think I can change or check?

Your numbers looked descent and the change in MTU ( 1500 ) is where you should be. are you going through a router at all ? they are a bit touchy if your settings are off. the high ping time as you said can be on the ISP side especially after the Katrina issues they had to deal with.

JDookie · 12-28-05, 12:03

Yes, I'm going through a Linksys wired router, but have turned MTU off in the advanced settings, which were actually already set to 1500 anyway.

flatstick · 12-28-05, 12:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDookie

Yes, I'm going through a Linksys wired router, but have turned MTU off in the advanced settings, which were actually already set to 1500 anyway.

Sounds like you are in good shape. as long as your firmware for your router is current you can only tweak the router so much. the 21ms you were getting is fine. as long as your ISP maintains a constant signal for you that is all that can be asked for. since the last readings have you been having any problems?

JDookie · 12-28-05, 12:23

The only time I actually noticed any kind of problem was when trying to play BF2 online. I kept getting kicked off the servers for having too high of a ping, and also kept getting a "lost connection" message during gameplay.

I haven't had time to sit down and play the game again since then, but everything seems to be working like it should, if not better with the couple tweaks that I did.

flatstick · 12-28-05, 12:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDookie

The only time I actually noticed any kind of problem was when trying to play BF2 online. I kept getting kicked off the servers for having too high of a ping, and also kept getting a "lost connection" message during gameplay.

I haven't had time to sit down and play the game again since then, but everything seems to be working like it should, if not better with the couple tweaks that I did.

Well looking at what you did ( being in the PC field ) you should have improved your speed a little. as you stated before the ISP had some latency issues. good news is that you got into a little tweaking which most people do not do. I work with so many people that have wireless connections that have the default setting on the router still. it would not be bad except for the scumbags that take advantage of the ping being enabled, SSID broadcast not turned off and generic log on to the admin page. sad but people do not always do their homework. glad to see that you are not afraid to dig in

JDookie · 12-28-05, 12:54

Nope, that I am not afraid to do. Thank you very much for all your help. You guys are the greatest!