How to lower ping in games [Extensive Guide for 2023]
In online games like Fortnite, League of Legends, CS GO, Dota 2, Cod: Warzone 3, Apex Legends, Valorant, and many more, to have the absolute best experience, you have to lower ping to the lowest possible. That’s why you have to make sure to set up everything correctly on your computer to achieve the absolute best ping while gaming. Below you can find the best practices to lower your ping to the lowest possible while playing online games.
Before you start doing anything, I recommend you do a speed test for your connection and write down the ping results so you can compare them with the final results to check if your ping is reduced. The best way to do that is by visiting https://www.meter.net/ping-test/ and doing a test on your internet connection.
1. Update Windows
The first and most important thing is to make sure you have all the latest windows updates downloaded and installed on your computer. The latest Windows updates will provide you with the latest fixes and optimizations for your computer and network adapter.
To download and install the latest Windows Updates, follow the steps below.
- Go to your Windows search bar and type “Check for updates” and click on it.
- On top of the page, click on “Check for updates” and make sure to download and install every single update that pop-ups.
2. Update Network Drivers
Windows updates will install a working network driver but sometimes won’t install the latest one. It’s crucial to have the latest network drivers installed on your computer to have the best possible ping.
To update your network drivers, follow the steps below.
The first thing you should do is to find your network adapter model.
To do that, navigate to the windows search bar and type “Control Panel” Then click on -> Network and Internet, and choose -> Network and Sharing Center. You should see the option -> Change adapter settings on the left side, click on it, and now you can see all your network adapters. Under the adapter name, you can see the adapter’s model, ex—Realtek, Intel, Killer, etc.
Depending on your model, there is a different process to update your drivers. I will go through the update process of the three most used ones. ( Realtek, Intel, and Killer )
2.1 How to update Realtek Network Drivers? (Realtek Users)
Visit Realtek’s official website to download the latest drivers for your network adapter.
Scroll down below and look for the “Win10 Auto Installation Program” option and click on the blue button to download it.
A new webpage will open asking you for an email address. You can place any email address since there is no verification process. Once you enter your email, click on the download button.
Once downloaded, right-click on the folder and extract the files. Next, search in the folder for setup.exe and right-click on it, and choose ” Run as administrator “. A window should pop up. Click next and install. If an older version has is installed, you may not see the option “install”. Instead, click the repair option.
2.2 How to update Killer Network Drivers? (Killer Users)
Visit Killer Networking’s official website to download the latest drivers.
You must be able to see the form below.
Choose your operating system and your Killer Device and click on filter.
Now, navigate to the middle of the page, look for a tab named ” Driver Only Packages ” click on it, and click download.
Once downloaded, right-click on the file, choose Run as administrator, and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
2.3 How to update Intel Network Drivers? (Intel Users)
Visit Intel’s official website to download the latest drivers available.
On the left side of the website, you should see two options :
PROWIN32.zip and PROWINx64.zip. If your system is 32bits, choose and download the PROWIN32.zip. If it’s 64bits, then select and download PROWINx64.zip.
Once you download the file, right-click on it, and extract it. Look for the setup file, right-click on it, and choose run as administrator and follow Intel’s on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
3. Optimize Network Adapter Settings with TCP Optimizer
Now that you have updated your network adapter drivers, the next thing you should do is to optimize the network adapter settings. I will go in-depth on how to do it using a free software named TCP Optimizer.
TCP Optimizer is a completely safe to use and legit software that will help us to quickly stabilize and lower our ping as much as possible to any game.
Navigate to the official download page of TCP Optimizer, and click on the download button.
Once you download the file, right-click on it and choose run as administrator.
Now you should see a window like this one below.
We are going to change most of the settings, so pay close attention.
3.1 Best TCP Optimizer settings for Gaming
In order to stabilize and lower the ping on your PC while gaming, you will have to follow all the steps below and configure your settings accordingly.
Navigate to the General Settings TAB of TCP Optimizer and change the settings as shown below.
Choose settings(bottom of the window): Custom
Connection Speed: Set it to 100+ Mbps
Network Adapter selection: Select your active adapter ( The one you updated before ) or leave the default one.
Tick the option: Modify all network adapters
MTU: 1500
Untick: PPPoE
TCP window Auto-Tuning: normal
Windows Scaling heuristics: disabled
Congestion Control Provider: ctcp
Receive-side Scaling (RSS): enabled
R.Segment Coalescing (RSC): enabled
Time to Live (TTL): 64
ECN Capability: disabled
Checksum offloading: disabled
TCP Chimney Offload: disabled
Large Send Offload (LSO): disabled
TCP 1323 Timestamps: disabled
Once you’ve copied all the settings, click on apply settings. A window will pop up asking you to reboot your computer for the settings to apply. Click “No” as you are going to do that at the end of this guide.
Now that you changed the general tab settings of TCP Optimizer let’s move on to the Advanced settings.
Navigate to the advanced settings tab and change the settings according to the ones shown below.
Internet Explorer Optimization
- MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server: 10
- MaxConnectionsPerServer: 10
Host Resolution Priority
- LocalPriority: 4
- HostPriority: 5
- DnsPriority: 6
- NetbtPriority: 7
Retransmissions
- Max SYN Retransmissions: 2
- NonSackRttResiliency: disabled
Retransmit Timeout (RTO)
- Initial RTO: 2000
- Min RTO: 300
Type/Quality of Service
- QoS NonBestEffortUnit: 0
- QoS Do not use NLA: optimal 1
Gaming Tweak – Network Throttling index
- Network ThrottlingIndex: disabled ffffffff
- SystemResponsiveness: gaming 0
Gaming Tweak – Disable Nagle’s algorithm
- TcpAckFrequency: disabled 1
- TCPNoDelay: enabled 1
- TcpDelAckTicks: disabled 0
Network Memory Allocation
- LargeSystemCache: default 0
- Size: default 1
Dynamic Port Allocation
- MaxUserPort: 65534
- TcpTimedWaitDelay: 30
Once you copied all these settings, click apply changes, choose NO if you are asked to restart right now, and close the program. And let’s move on to the next part, where I will show you how to optimize the rest of the network adapters’ settings manually.
Now your settings should look like this :
4. Optimize Ethernet / Wifi settings for Gaming
Now let’s apply the best ethernet and wifi settings for gaming which mostly includes disabling all the power-saving features of your adapter so it doesn’t go into power-saving mode in the middle of the game and skyrocket your ping.
Go to your search bar and type network connections, and click on view network connections.
Right-click on your network adapter and click on properties. After that, click on the configure button and click on the “Advanced” tab.
Here you can see a list of options.
Change the following settings accordingly :
Energy-Efficient Ethernet
- Disabled
Green Ethernet
- Disabled
Power saving mode
- Disabled
Make sure to disable any other power-saving feature depending on your adapter’s model. Once you’ve changed the above settings, navigate to the top right corner, and select the power management tab.
Untick the option ” Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power“, and click okay.
5. Correctly Configure the Windows Update delivery settings
Navigate to your search bar and type “Windows Update delivery” and click on Windows Update delivery settings.
The first thing to do here is to disable the option “Allow downloads from other PCs“, navigate down, and click on the advanced options tab.
Switch from Absolute Bandwith to Percentage of measured bandwidth, limiting both of the percentages bars to 5%.
Scroll down to upload settings and limit the first option to 5%.
6. Flush your DNS
By clearing your DNS, you are clearing all the IP addresses of all the websites you have ever visited. To flush your DNS, type the following commands on your CMD in the same order as you see them below.
Command #1: ipconfig /flushdns
Command #2: ipconfig /registerdns
Command #3: ipconfig /release
Command #4: ipconfig /renew
Command #5: netsh Winsock reset
7. Stop Background apps that are using your internet
Programs like OneDrive, Skype, Discord, torrenting services, and more may be using your internet bandwidth in the background, making your ping unstable and higher.
Go to Apps & features, and take a look at all the apps that are installed on your PC. Note which of them may be using your internet connection, and disable/uninstall all the ones you don’t absolutely need.
Keep in mind that a lot of apps are constantly pinging their servers to check for updates, so even if you think this might not help you, trust me, just keep the absolutely necessary ones installed and you will see your ping much more stable and lower especially in games.
8. Use an ethernet cable instead of wifi or move your computer closer to the router.
Using an ethernet cable instead of wifi, if not all of the time, most of the time will get you a lower and more stable ping. I understand that sometimes it may not be possible for you to connect via an ethernet cable. If that’s the case, then you may consider moving your computer or laptop closer to your router or getting a better network card or router.
Here are two cheap but highly effective ethernet cables that will make sure you have the lowest possible ping while gaming: VANDESAIL and AB RJ45
9. Select the closer server on the game that you play
The online game you are currently playing may have different servers for different regions. Consider choosing the server that is closer to your current location. For example, if you live in France, you should consider selecting a server in Europe instead of playing on the North American server.
This way you make sure that your ping will be the best possible while playing that particular game.
10. Ask your Internet Provider if there is an option for better ping
Some providers offer a “fast path” feature this feature will lower your ping in exchange for a slight decrease in your maximum internet speed. For example, if your current ping and speed are 90ms / 20mbps, applying the fast path feature could get you to 75ms / 19mbps. Pretty fair exchange since your purpose is to lower your ping as much as possible. * Note that not all internet providers offer this feature, also, some of them may have applied the feature automatically.
11. Disconnect devices that you are not using from the network
If you are not using your phone or other devices while gaming, you may consider disconnecting from the network as background apps may be running and using your internet connection.
Phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, or any other device that could be using your internet connection should be disabled if you want to have the lowest ping possible while gaming.
12. Restart your Computer and Modem
Once you apply everything demonstrated in this guide, restart your computer and your modem for all settings to apply successfully.
If, after following this guide, you still can’t solve your issues, you can book a PC Optimization appointment with me, and I will be more than happy to help you out and solve all your problems.
Last but not least
If none of the above steps stabilized your ping, there is a good chance that you could have a malware or rootkit installed on your PC that has an open backdoor sending & receiving data at all times. It would be a good idea to get a good antivirus and do a full check-up of your PC. You might be surprised by the results.(hopefully not)
Go ahead and download Malwarebytes. By using my link, you can get a 14-day premium trial and 25% off if you decide to continue using the premium version. If you want to be totally safe on the internet and can afford it, get the premium version and you’ll never have to worry again about viruses, malware, adware, spyware, etc.
Install Malwarebytes and then open it. Click on Scanner -> Advanced Scanners ->Configure scan, and select the option scan for rootkits also, on the right side, select all your drives and click on scan. This scan may take a lot of time, but it can save you from serious issues, especially if you use your computer for transactions, work, etc.
Once the scan is completed, quarantine everything and restart your PC.
Using a VPN?
If you have to use a VPN to play your games, you need to connect to a high-quality server. You can’t be gaming on the public servers of free VPNs.
I recommend getting NordVPN since it’s the best all-around VPN in the market and it’s also well-priced.
Ultra-High or unstable ping?
If you are experiencing super high or unstable ping before and after following this guide, maybe you should look at your modem and see if it is the ping’s cause. Borrow a modem from a friend and check it with your connection. If your ping is stable now, maybe it’s time for you to upgrade to a new one and throw away the old one. The TP-Link AC1750 will do the job.
Guides to Optimize your PC
Below you can find some posts from me that will help you optimize your PC even more and possibly increase your FPS.
- Windows 11 Ultimate Optimization Guide
- Best NVIDIA Control Panel Settings
- Best AMD Radeon Settings
- Debloat Windows 10
- Unpark your CPU cores
If you still can’t solve your issues after following this guide, you can book a PC Optimization appointment with me and I will be more than happy to help you out and try to solve all your problems.
