# Can ping depend on router?



## Widjaja (Aug 18, 2012)

I am noticing often my ping in games being around 60-80.
I mainly play Killing Floor and Tribes: Ascend in Multiplayer.

Is this due to quality of connection or quality of router?

I am not using a fantastic router by any means, it's a Technicolor TN582 or something like that.
I am hard wired in so no wireless issues.
Just wondering if I upgrade my router is there a possibility ping would improve?


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## FordGT90Concept (Aug 18, 2012)

Simple to test: bypass router.  Most likely it's just your internet connection and/or distance to server you're playing in.  Upgrading router probably wouldn't see more than a 10% decrease in ping.


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## hat (Aug 18, 2012)

I had a really crappy router for a short while. It was so bad that I pinged 200 to people that I ping 70 to now that I'm using my E1000 once again. I couldn't find any hardware specs on it anywhere, but according to its support page at DD-WRT (just in case anyone's wondering, it's not actually supported, just listed as no/impossible support) it actually had no system memory at all, and 2mb flash memory.

There can definitely be an improvement if you have multiple people using your connection, depending on the hardware specs of your router. A stronger cpu, and, more importantly it seems, more system memory means a better ability to handle multiple users and the strain they put on the router, and to handle things like AES encryption all while allowing every user to maintain a high speed connection.

If you really want a great router, I've heard good things about this one:
ASUS RT-N16 Wireless Router 802.11b/g/n up to 300M...

If you can afford to run another pc 24/7, especially if you have some really power efficient parts, you could even turn your pc into a router using something like the dd-wrt x86 version if all you want are generic features, or you can get into some really advanced stuff.

Personally I have a Linksys E1000. Some people have told me that at 32MB it doesn't have enough memory, but with 51% free while running some torrents I don't see a problem (torrents can really hammer your router with the many connections they impose).


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## Jetster (Sep 14, 2012)

A lot of things effect ping. Your router may be part of it but their are some things you have no control over. Like distance


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## Completely Bonkers (Sep 14, 2012)

If you are in Europe where TV comes through the internet (France, Germany, Switzerland) then having the TV (box receiver) on will significantly affect performance.  As does firewall if on, or number of connections, esp. in cheaper routers.  Also integrated wifi can affect performance, more so with encryption, as the little RISC based processor is managing routing and wifi connections all at the same time.

I get really crappy performance from a relatively new fonera when there is more than one thing happening at a time. If I run significant LAN-LAN traffic through the wired connection, then the wireless drops completely!  So I switched back to a very old Netgear FVL328 which is rock solid. The fonera hangs off the FVL328 to provide a wifi access point. But as a router, the fonera is toilet.


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## Bundy (Sep 14, 2012)

Based on your ping, your probably will not get better, assuming it's DSL. A better router will be less likely to crash though.


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## Kreij (Sep 14, 2012)

You can run some tests outside of gaming (like speedtest or just pinging servers directly from the command prompt) to see what your pings look like.
Yes, a router can affect pings, but it may not be the cause of the latency in your case.
You could always borrow another router to check, if you know someone close by that will lend you one.


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## 3870x2 (Sep 14, 2012)

Aside from issues with a router, it usually isnt an problem.

There are programs out there you can run diagnostics with, and also don't forget tracert from your very own command prompt.

I will tell you two things that you probably already know:
1. 60-80 ping is great, competitively speaking (I play CS:GO, CS:S, very demanding in terms of latency with 80-90)
2. If it is your ISP (which it probably is) there is nothing you can do about it in most cases.  Never hurts to talk to them.

In the future I recommend any router capable of running DD-WRT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD-WRT
This will last you forever, youll never need another router.


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