A few question about ping

[IAmAndre]

Hi,

 

My internet at home is quite slow at 2mbps, but it allows to do pretty much all the things I want to do: YouTube streaming at 480p-720p, web browsing, online gaming for some games. I also use my 3G connection when I'm away or when I need to download or upload files very fast.

Now here's the problem. Yesterday I wanted to play NBA 2K online but wasn't able to because it was too laggy and unplayable with my home WiFi. I tried to use my 3G connection (about 8mpbs) and it was even worse. After doing some research, I found out that it wasn't due to the internet bandwidth, but to my ping, and that online gaming didn't require that much data/bandwidth but was relying on the ping. I can't find the link, but I saw on Reddit that FIFA 14 would use something like 40KB/s on PS4. Does it mean that upgrading my internet plan to 8mpbs would be useless for gaming? Is there any way to improve my ping, other than selecting a server that is closer to my geographical location?

I also want to know if Skype and other VoIP clients also rely more on ping than on bandwidth. My last question is the following: is there any advantage in buying a 3G/4G router over using an old phone?

 

Thanks

[Lurick]

It's not so much ping as it is latency which is measured with ping times. Latency is the time it takes a packet of data to go from device A to device B and be processed. If you have a potato internet provider using ancient equipment on outdated code there isn't much you can do. Lets say you have to go 20 hops to get from the computer to the server then you'll have more latency than someone going over just 10 hops on the same network.

 

Increasing you bandwidth won't decrease latency however VoIP cares about latency along with things like jitter and packet loss.

[Cryosec]

Here in Italy, ping isn't at the customer's control. I used to have a 20-30ms ping from where I live to Milan (less than 30km), but recently Fastweb did something and now I have constant 5ms ping (a friend of mine has 1ms with the same ISP). 

 

Your ping is based on the connection tipe (fiber optics, copper, wifi, and so on) and how your ISP manages the infrastructure (it Italy it's shit).

 

 

(If I'm wrong, please correct me)

[Windows7ge]

4 minutes ago, IAmAndre said:

Hi,

 

My internet at home is quite slow at 2mbps, but it allows to do pretty much all the things I want to do: YouTube streaming at 480p-720p, web browsing, online gaming for some games. I also use my 3G connection when I'm away or when I need to download or upload files very fast.

Now here's the problem. Yesterday I wanted to play NBA 2K online but wasn't able to because it was too laggy and unplayable with my home WiFi. I tried to use my 3G connection (about 8mpbs) and it was even worse. After doing some research, I found out that it wasn't due to the internet bandwidth, but to my ping, and that online gaming didn't require that much data/bandwidth but was relying on the ping. I can't find the link, but I saw on Reddit that FIFA 14 would use something like 40KB/s on PS4. Does it mean that upgrading my internet plan to 8mpbs would be useless for gaming? Is there any way to improve my ping, other than selecting a server that is closer to my geographical location?

I also want to know if Skype and other VoIP clients also rely more on ping than on bandwidth. My last question is the following: is there any advantage in buying a 3G/4G router over using an old phone?

 

Thanks

If you're connection to the game server has dropped then a configuration in a server somewhere has changed which has increased your ping. Paying for higher bandwidth internet won't help. Selecting a more local server (if an option even) would help. Maybe if a DNS server is closer to your home it could help lower the ping.

 

Video/Audio conferencing is very sensitive to delay that's why it uses UDP (User Datagram Protocol). This is sometimes noticeable when their is a glitch in the audio or a drop in frames durring a video conference. A lower ping would result in a improved Skype conversation although most of the time these glitches go unnoticed.

 

4G would have higher bandwidth not sure about lower ping so perhaps but I wouldn't waste the money.

[IAmAndre]

27 minutes ago, Cryosec said:

Here in Italy, ping isn't at the customer's control. I used to have a 20-30ms ping from where I live to Milan (less than 30km), but recently Fastweb did something and now I have constant 5ms ping (a friend of mine has 1ms with the same ISP). 

 

Your ping is based on the connection tipe (fiber optics, copper, wifi, and so on) and how your ISP manages the infrastructure (it Italy it's shit).

 

 

(If I'm wrong, please correct me)

 

29 minutes ago, Lurick said:

It's not so much ping as it is latency which is measured with ping times. Latency is the time it takes a packet of data to go from device A to device B and be processed. If you have a potato internet provider using ancient equipment on outdated code there isn't much you can do. Lets say you have to go 20 hops to get from the computer to the server then you'll have more latency than someone going over just 10 hops on the same network.

 

Increasing you bandwidth won't decrease latency however VoIP cares about latency along with things like jitter and packet loss.

 

19 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

If you're connection to the game server has dropped then a configuration in a server somewhere has changed which has increased your ping. Paying for higher bandwidth internet won't help. Selecting a more local server (if an option even) would help. Maybe if a DNS server is closer to your home it could help lower the ping.

 

Video/Audio conferencing is very sensitive to delay that's why it uses UDP (User Datagram Protocol). This is sometimes noticeable when their is a glitch in the audio or a drop in frames durring a video conference. A lower ping would result in a improved Skype conversation although most of the time these glitches go unnoticed.

 

4G would have higher bandwidth not sure about lower ping so perhaps but I wouldn't waste the money.

OK thanks for your replies. I just had a call with my ISP and they confirmed me that their different offers vary only in terms of bandwidth. The guy told me that it could impact my gaming experience, but he's not sure about it. Which means that I just need to play games that don't require very low latencies like strategy games or... go live in another country.

 

BTW I just tested my ping and it's 127ms :-O (West Africa to Western Europe)

[Lurick]

1 minute ago, IAmAndre said:

 

 

OK thanks for your replies. I just had a call with my ISP and they confirmed me that their different offers vary only in terms of bandwidth. The guy told me that it could impact my gaming experience, but he's not sure about it. Which means that I just need to play games that don't require very low latencies like strategy games or... go live in another country.

Yah, unfortunately there isn't much you can do about latency on your end.

[Cyracus]

22 minutes ago, Cryosec said:

now I have constant 5ms ping (a friend of mine has 1ms with the same ISP)

That sounds pretty dang good, right now I have 17ms ping at the same distance

[Windows7ge]

3 minutes ago, IAmAndre said:

 

 

OK thanks for your replies. I just had a call with my ISP and they confirmed me that their different offers vary only in terms of bandwidth. The guy told me that it could impact my gaming experience, but he's not sure about it. Which means that I just need to play games that don't require very low latencies like strategy games or... go live in another country.

When he says he's not sure he's correct. Games aren't seriously bandwidth using they're latency dependent (different games can vary). Lower the ping then better the experience. One you reach a certain bandwidth higher bandwidth won't do anything for you. If your gaming experience was already good but suddenly shifted for the worse paying for higher speed would have done nothing for you.

[IAmAndre]

2 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

When he says he's not sure he's correct. Games aren't seriously bandwidth using they're latency dependent (different games can vary). Lower the ping then better the experience. One you reach a certain bandwidth higher bandwidth won't do anything for you. If your gaming experience was already good but suddenly shifted for the worse paying for higher speed would have done nothing for you.

Actually it really depends on the game. I've always had issues playing 2K because the servers are located in the US, which is far from where I live. I have a much better experience (not perfect, but very decent) with other games like FIFA. That's probably because their servers are in Europe. I have no problem with strategy games (like Age of Empires) as having a high latency is not such a big deal in such games.

[Windows7ge]

2 minutes ago, IAmAndre said:

Actually it really depends on the game. I've always had issues playing 2K because the servers are located in the US, which is far from where I live. I have a much better experience (not perfect, but very decent) with other games like FIFA. That's probably because their servers are in Europe. I have no problem with strategy games (like Age of Empires) as having a high latency is not such a big deal in such games.

I said "different games can vary". That's what I was referring to...