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Router & Wireless Adaptor
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Post by
Erethzium
Currently, I've got a Wireless-G hub, and a Wireless-N USB Dongle for my PC. I usually sit around 150ms latency, and I get many lag spikes, and the occasional d/c.
I was told by a guildmate that the problem is that I'm using a WiFi-N adaptor with a WiFi-G network. Is that the problem? If so, would I be better off getting a WiFi-N router, or a WiFi-G network card?
Post by
Zhivago
The dongle is probably compatible with WiFi-G or you wouldn't be getting any connectivity at all.
150ms latency is not all that bad. But that number alone doesn't mean much. If you are wired to the internet, what is your latency? Is it comparable to 150ms?
How many people are sharing your connection while you are playing WoW?
Where do you d/c? In Dal or when loading into an encounter, or just randomly while flying?
When you talk about lag spikes, do you mean one a day or one an hour?
Generally, wireless vs. wired for WoW is going to give subpar performance. I would suggest that you play wired for a while and see if these problems persist. If they don't, then you can look at upgrading your wireless router, placing it in a better spot, make sure no one else is using the connection when you are, etc.
Post by
90790
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Erethzium
150ms latency is not all that bad. But that number alone doesn't mean much. If you are wired to the internet, what is your latency? Is it comparable to 150ms?
I can't wire my computer to the router, it's at least twenty feet away, across the house.
How many people are sharing your connection while you are playing WoW?
Two. And they only browse the internet really.
Where do you d/c? In Dal or when loading into an encounter, or just randomly while flying?
The only places I really have d/c troubles with are ToC25, and Ulduar25. Other places, I'm fine.
When you talk about lag spikes, do you mean one a day or one an hour?
I mean lag spikes as in, once every 5 to 10 minutes, when I'm in ToC25 or Ulduar25. And usually when I get a lag spike, it disconnects me.
Generally, wireless vs. wired for WoW is going to give subpar performance. I would suggest that you play wired for a while and see if these problems persist. If they don't, then you can look at upgrading your wireless router, placing it in a better spot, make sure no one else is using the connection when you are, etc.
Once again, I can't really play wired, as I can't have an ethernet running across the house. When playing on my MacBook, my latency is MUCH lower, around 30-40ms, all the time. But sadly, my MacBook has crappy specs, and really, is a hunk of junk compared to my desktop PC. (In terms of RAM, processors, ect)
Should I try getting a Wireless-N PCI card? I know USB isn't the strongest for internet connections...sadly, I didn't know that when I bought it, and I also didn't know how to install a PCI card, at that time.
Post by
TheReal
My connection runs fine on 802.11g, so you don't really need to replace your router. You will get marginally better performance from a PCI card, but since your router can only broadcast at 54Mbps, you only need an 802.11g PCI card. Save yourself a few bucks.
Post by
Erethzium
Okay, just for you guys, I dragged my PC out to the living room, hooked it up to the HDTV (HDMI-Out FTW!) And used Ethernet...
Still 150ms or higher latency. I don't know about d/c's in 25mans, though. Can't really test that.
Maybe it's just my router/internet connection? When I hooked it up to Ethernet, nobody else was using the internet (Was home alone, made sure that other computers were turned off) so, I dunno what else to do.
Post by
Erethzium
So...anyone have a verdict? I'm teetering towards buying a WiFi-G PCI card, but my dad said that WiFi-N is much faster. (Master's Degree in Computer Science, I think he's a reliable source =P )
I can really do either, money isn't an issue. In a simpler representation, I'm wondering which would get me better results:
WiFi-N USB Dongle + WiFi-N Router
OR
WiFi-G PCI Card + WiFi-G Router
If it helps, I've got a little 'story' of sorts, about my current router (WiFi-G). I'd tell it, but it's much too long, and none of you would read it anyways. To make a long story short:
At one time, the router was perfect. No lag, no lag spikes, great latency. Then my mother messed with it while I was at camp, and ever since then, I've been getting lag spikes and high latency, and with my MacBook, I had to set my IP manually, to connect to it.
So my guess is that I should get a new router...xP
Post by
Anarchy
I don't know anyone who uses a wireless connection for gaming effectively, all my friends I've LANed with have tried wireless, with the same symptoms as you.
I've tried it, and it's terrible so I got a cable, I know what you mean about the wire running across the house though, try and find a suitable route for it and hammer it in with cable clips, if possible.
I don't doubt that there is a wireless setup perfect for online gaming, but from my experience there isn't, it's also much cheaper to just get a wire..and you'll have no problems.
That said, I'm using a mobile broadband dongle which is connected to a mobile phone network (HSDPA connection), not a wireless router with 100~ ms latency even though the store that sold me it told me it would be terrible for online gaming.
Post by
83344
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Erethzium
I don't know anyone who uses a wireless connection for gaming effectively, all my friends I've LANed with have tried wireless, with the same symptoms as you.
I've tried it, and it's terrible so I got a cable, I know what you mean about the wire running across the house though, try and find a suitable route for it and hammer it in with cable clips, if possible.
I don't doubt that there is a wireless setup perfect for online gaming, but from my experience there isn't, it's also much cheaper to just get a wire..and you'll have no problems.
Well the thing is, if I run an Ethernet across the house, it'd be going across two doorways, if I put it on the floor. And like I said above, even using Ethernet, my latency was the same as with wireless, so I think my router is at fault, here.
Post by
Anarchy
Wait, you think 150 ms latency is bad?
Post by
5200
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Erethzium
Well, I went out to my local Radio Shack and bought myself a NETGEAR Wifi-N Router. Plugged it in, got it connected up, and my latency now fluctuates around 30-80 ms when I'm in unpopulated areas, and sits around 150 when I'm in Dalaran. (Before, it was always 150 or higher, no matter where I was.)
this is unlikely to cause you problems unless your dongle simply is of very low quality. WoW doesn't need a lot of network capacity at all, so a dongle should be quite sufficient really.
Dongle cost me 70 bucks, it better not be low quality =P
* Signal strength.
Low strength tend to lead to packet loss, which greatly increases latency. Re-position your router, jiggle its antennas, or re-position your WiFi dongle, see if this helps. Follow the common advice on how to position your router properly, IE not close to metal objects, place it high up and with good visibility and so on. WiFi radio signals are impaired by solid objects and particulary metal, so the less stuff between your router and your PC the better.
Can't jiggle the antennas, they're internal. Also, the signal shows as quite strong (6 out of 8 bubbles) on the Netgear program that came with the USB dongle. It's also not near any metal objects (besides the modem!) and it's a good distance off the floor. (I'd say about four feet.) I can't get it any higher without mounting it on the wall or something, which my parents would not approve of.
* Channel setting.
If there's nearby networks using the same frequency channel as yours you can get packet collisions which leads to loss of that packet. Switch to a different channel and see if things improve.
The Netgear program on my computer reads:
Channel: 2,6
Screenshot of NETGEAR Program
I don't know what this means, but I'll try changing the channel to something else, and see if that helps.
* Other wireless equipment using same frequency band.
The standard 2.1GHz band is used by things like wireless keyboards and mice, cordless phones and microwave ovens. If your N-router and dongle allows it, switch to the 5GHz band which is much less likely to suffer from similar interference.
On the box, it says the router is at 2.4GHz band....I think. It just had a big "2.4GHz" on it. Do I still need to change it? And if so, how?
Post by
5200
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Erethzium
On the box, it says the router is at 2.4GHz band. Do I still need to change it?
There's no immediate NEED really unless you can't get a good connection at the standard frequency, and you say things improved with the new router, so I wouldn't sweat it. 5GHz's main benefit is it's a much less congested wavelength, like if you need to stream video for example your playback is much more likely to be smooth and uninterrupted over 5GHz than 2.4 (not 2.1 like I wrote before, heh!). So if you regularly transfer a lot of data and need fast speeds and high performance, then 5GHz = win. If you don't...like I said, don't sweat it. :)
Also, unless the documentation states the router is 5GHz capable then you actually
can't
change it. Also note, unless the router is dual-band capable (ie: has two entirely separate radio transcievers that can operate simultaneously) you won't be able to connect with standard B/G devices if you switch over to the 5GHz band...
Generally speaking, only upper-end routers today have dual-band radios, even though it's becoming more common than it used to be. In the past, only a scant few models could do simultaneous 2.4 and 5GHz, now there's a somewhat larger smattering of devices that handle it.
I've got the
WNR2000
model, and upon reading the specs, it does appear to be at 2.4GHz frequency. Doesn't say anything about changing it, though. (That I can see)
Post by
Anarchy
Well, are you still having problems with the new router?
Post by
Erethzium
No problems so far. I was just wondering if changing to 5GHz would help even more =P
Post by
138330
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Erethzium
Go wired.
Go here
www.monoprice.com
and get the necessary cable, wall plates, etc and run this stuff through the attic or crawl space instead of over the carpet. Would almost certainly be cheaper than getting an "N" router.
I see you didn't read any other posts in this thread =P
I already bought the 802.11-N router. It works fine. And it's much less work than having to drill a hole in the ceiling. My parents would just tell me to use wireless, if I told them I was going to do that.
My latency's already below 100 almost all the time. I don't think it's necessary to go any lower.
Post by
Domh
Your router should have no problem at all with operating in Wireless G mode, so I doubt the N router with a G adapter is the issue (though since you now have an N to N connection it's even less likely the issue :p ). Also the difference between the Macbook and the Windows machine is likely simply due to the way the operating systems handle their connections, both having different ways of handling connections and networking.
As suggested before, it sounds to me like the issue is interference. It could be from neighboring routers, cordless phones, random EMF, or any number of things.
I'd say that the next step here is to check the settings on your router. You mentioned before that it was running on to channel 6 and channel 2 (that's confusing me but I'm assuming it's due to your router supporting MIMO with your wireless N, not something I've personally used). Channel 6 tends to be a very populated channel, as it's right in the middle of the range. For years, it was also the default of most routers out of the box. I'd suggest giving 11 a shot (I'm noticing your screenshot name appears in Russian, and the European channels are somewhat different, so you might even get away with another, like 14). You may even have luck changing off channel 2. More importantly here though, is if your router channel is set to Auto, change it. Setting it to auto lets the router change channels whenever it detects interference (like say a neighbor picking up a cordless phone). When this happens, your connection will often hiccup, as your computer is disconnected and reconnects to the new channel. This switchover could easily explain a few random-seeming disconnects or lag spikes. I had this issue for a while on an old DLink router of mine, after the folks out home picked up a cordless phone - it would change channels and for a couple seconds all the computer's connections would stall or disconnect and reconnect.
Other than this, your signal does look good, so I'd suggest giving this a shot before trying anything more advanced. One other thing I'd like to point out though is that I see you're using WEP encryption. Unless you have a device in your house that's older and specifically requires WEP, I strongly, strongly suggest switching to WPA-PSK with AES, or WPA2. WEP is relatively very easy to crack and unless there's a need you really shouldn't be using it these days.
Good luck with it.
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