When it comes to online gaming, there is no excuse for a drop in gaming performance like “it was a lag.” This term is often reserved for cases where the response time of the game is too slow after entering a command from the keyboard. Sometimes it can also be said for other reasons, such as not to take personal responsibility for a lack of skill or a drop in frame rates.
The last two have nothing to do with lag. In fact, low frame rates have a lot to do with your computer, not network issues, but high ping that is causing latency. Most players still don’t understand the true reason for the delay they are complaining about.
This happens so often that even the definition has been changed to match, causing frame drops as “local latency” and combining the cases to simply mean “noticeable application speed degradation due to excessive network congestion or insufficient processing power.”
Frames per second (FPS) vs. Ping
If lag is a slang term, I suppose, the definition is likely to change depending on the whims of the people who use it. However, to understand what exactly is causing the latency, we first need to understand the difference between frames per second (FPS) and ping.
To help you identify and fix computer performance problems when they occur, you need to understand the cause. We can start by separating and discussing what fps and ping are, and then apply what we have learned. This will help clarify why our online gaming sessions are experiencing performance issues.
Low frames per second
Low frames per second (FPS) is a computer problem and therefore is not technically considered lagging. FPS is basically a measure of how well your game is performing on your computer. It specifies the number of new images your computer can create to create a smooth, fluid in-game image.
The higher the number of frames, the smoother the gameplay will be. When frames are small, screen images may appear choppy, choppy, or stutter. The maximum number of frames your computer can generate is determined by several factors.
- The specifications for your computer processor (CPU), video card (GPU), random access memory (RAM), and sometimes hard drive.
- The graphics settings for the game you are currently playing.
Typically, the reason for low FPS is that there are more events happening on the screen than your computer can generate. This most often occurs when playing more complex games on a computer that require updated components. The fact that your computer can have all the minimum game requirements checked does not mean that the game will run normally.
The noticeable drop in FPS is likely due to your computer trying to render more than it can handle. You can avoid this problem by updating one (or all) of the four components mentioned above. It can also help ensure that nothing is running in the background while playing so that your computer’s processing resources are not allocated.
High latency
Lagging, in its true sense, is the result of a network problem. Namely, high latency, also called “ping”, is the delay between sending and receiving information. Therefore, when your network contacts the game server, the time it takes for the server to “hear” what your computer is requesting is counted in your ping.
The same thing happens when the game server answers your computer’s question. The time it takes to receive this response also counts in your ping. The complete result of both will give you a number representing your ping. In-game, your ping is measured in milliseconds, so it can appear as ### ms (# is your total).
The higher the ping, the higher the likelihood of a delay in game time. Usually, if your computer is far from the game server, your ping is likely to be high. An example of this is playing a new eastern MMORPG based in South Korea while you live on the east coast of the United States. You can expect higher ping times than usual.
High ping indicators
The frames per second can stay high while your game lags a lot. When playing multiplayer, the game itself can appear smooth, all images are generated as they should. However, during this time, players on the screen may appear to be stuck, running in place, or teleporting. This is not a “game hacker” (although it is not completely excluded), it is a lag.
Another indicator is trying to shoot someone in a first person shooter, but you consistently miss every time, even when you are at close range. This could be because your lag is so great that by the time your shot reaches an enemy on your screen, they’ve actually moved that character onto theirs. The actions you entered seem to take longer than they should.
Lag jumps are also a problem. This coincides with the teleportation discussed earlier in the multiplayer game. Your delay can lead to a sharp increase in the number, resulting in a sharp increase in the number, and now normal walking will look like the player’s characters are jumping in time.
Improve your tardiness
There is not much you can do personally to fix the lag problem. It would be suggested to switch servers, if applicable, to one that is physically closer to where you are currently located. Another option is to only use an Ethernet connection, not Wi-Fi. Slow internet can play a role in your problems, so increasing your connection speed can help.
Hopefully you can now understand that if you are experiencing lag, it is due to a network problem and not a computer. Computer performance issues are a separate thing, although they can sometimes seem similar.
It can show low FPS correlation and lag
To further complicate the notion that lag is dependent on computer performance, low FPS and latency can sometimes occur at the same time. This can happen if your game is having issues with network responsiveness and rendering.
An example is an online MMORPG where, when entering a large city filled with other running players, it is very possible to experience both low frames and high ping simultaneously. Latency occurs when the server is struggling to keep up with everything that is happening at the same time, while your computer is struggling to create all the visuals on the screen, resulting in low FPS.
This can lead to confusion among players, since in this particular case both low FPS and latency have the same reason – more people than the game can handle in one place at the same time. This does not mean that they are now the same thing, just a large number of players are the reason for both the drop in computer performance and network problems.
Why is this important
Understanding the difference between latency and low FPS can help you identify problems and have a better chance of fixing them. Some games allow you to display the current FPS and ping while playing. So, despite the lag in the game, you can check the FPS and ping counters to see what has changed. This will point you to the current problem and, if possible, fix it.
What can you do depending on your current ping level and FPS:
Normal ping + normal FPS
- It’s okay.
High ping + normal FPS
- Possible server latency. See if others on your server are complaining about delays.
- No complaints? Make sure you are connected to a more local server (if applicable). If you’re purposefully on a different server from your computer, you’ve probably already prepared yourself for latency.
- Check Task Manager for network programs running in the background that shouldn’t be there. Close them if you can to free up network resources, or wait for them to complete.
Normal ping + low FPS
- If a lot of events are happening on the screen at the moment, give your computer a few seconds to catch up.
- There can also be programs running in the background, eating up processing resources. You can check the Task Manager and stop them to see if performance increases.
High ping + low FPS
- It could be a lot. This is a problem with both the computer you are working on and the network. Maybe just an unfortunate splash in both. You can wait to see if it subsides and the values ??return to normal, or you can perform the “fixes†shown in the other sections above
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