Modems and Routers

Kode · December 2017

I'm hoping some of the techy types can give some insight here.

I have been running the provided modem and router that came with my internet install from Charter. The service isn't terrible, but I wonder if it is affecting my gameplay. My ping is normally around 100, but it bounces regularly. I would guess every few minutes it will ping a bit.

Is there a realistic gain to be made from updating my hardware to something better? Will it decrease ping, latency, ect? Will is even out performance?

My wife and I play off of the same connection too, and we are wired to the router.

If I should upgrade, what should I look for in new hardware?

Thanks!

stewhead2ub17_ESO · December 2017

@Kode you may want to post under the forums "Players helping players" and "General Help" with this issue also.

Elsonso · December 2017

We can get a moderator to move it.

In general, I would suggest that the problem is probably not the cable modem. Especially if it is one of the newer ones. It could potentially be the router, if it is a discount router. You did not say.

After that, the list of things that can go wrong gets really large.

Charter has been good to me with ESO.

Kode · December 2017

LOL, banished the post into the boonies where nobody goes... because it doesn't belong in General Discussion where people actually go.

Hey, its cool though. I posted the same message on my CAR forum and actually got responses from some tech guys... imagine that.

Thanks for all the help, gotta give yourselves a purpose afterall! Forum warrior, +1

Sigtric · December 2017

How much of a spike are talking about when your ping jumps up?

100ms ping is well within an acceptable range for most things, including this game. - you most likely wouldn't notice any ill effects until it starts spiking over 150ms or so.

Much also depends on where you are located in relation to the server you're trying to connect to, and the quality of the infrastructure in your area and in between you and the destination.

Most likely changing your router/modem will not make much if any of a difference, unless one of them is having some sort of an issue, but if that were the case I would suspect your latency would be much higher than 100ms.

Nestor · December 2017

Here is an excellent resource on Routers and how they rank, along with Reviews

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/charts/router/view

Good news is, you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a decent router. And, most of the performance issues on low end routers are with multiple users (a few people streaming Netflix while you try to game is an example)

I do know the router that Charter supplies is a pretty decent router, they want to reduce truck rolls as much as possible there. It should suffice for most home use, including a mix of gaming and streaming.