You cannot win each sport. Sometimes, you merely run right into a extra superior or better-equipped participant. But one factor you completely do not need to do when on-line gaming is dropping because of a sluggish web connection.
I play a whole lot of aggressive on-line video games like Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (might it relaxation in peace). I’ve performed them for hundreds of hours, and of the various foes I’ve confronted in these video games, the worst one would not even present up on the leaderboard: lag.
Getting caught in a match the place you are working 300 milliseconds behind the competitors isn’t any enjoyable. Dealing with excessive ping when 20 minutes of your time and your aggressive rank are on the road is diabolical. Here’s what you are able to do to repair the issue.
Let’s speak about ping
You’ve in all probability heard of ping when you’re an avid on-line gamer. Even if you have not, I’m keen to wager that you’ve got seen a bit of purple flashing speedometer image within the nook of your display screen in a multiplayer sport — in all probability proper earlier than questioning why you have seemingly dropped to zero well being out of nowhere.
Also often called latency, ping measures the time it takes for knowledge to maneuver throughout the community. It tells you what number of milliseconds between inputting a command and the server receiving it.
High ping results in discrepancies between what you assume ought to be taking place in-game and what’s truly taking place. This is why you’ll hear about avid gamers completely enraged with “lag.” It makes you are feeling such as you’re lagging behind everybody else and can spoil any probability of getting time.
Your ping is a product of two issues: the standard of your web connection and your location relative to the place the server is hosted. For essentially the most half, you’ll be able to solely actually enhance the standard of your web service. Gaming firms resolve the place a sport’s devoted servers shall be arrange, and also you merely must take care of your distance from them.
If you’re trying to get an edge with your house broadband, there are lots of methods to try this, together with upgrading your web service, switching from a wi-fi to a wired connection or guaranteeing you could have the very best modem and router for the job.
But what in case your connection is masking your location, making it appear farther away than you truly are? My drawback was easy, and the answer to hurry up my connection was simply as easy: It’s all concerning the VPN.
What is a VPN and what does it do to your web?
A digital personal community, or VPN, is software program that encrypts your web visitors. It permits you to browse with way more privateness and disguise your searching to seem like it’s taking place from anyplace on this planet.
There are many causes to make use of a VPN. If you reside in a rustic the place the press is regulated and suppressed, a VPN permits you to get an unfiltered view of what’s actually happening.
I exploit a VPN for one thing far much less necessary: Digging into the films and reveals in Netflix’s catalog that aren’t accessible within the United States.
Effectively tricking your broadband supplier into letting you entry the web from completely different geographic areas could be an effective way to teach and entertain your self. There’s one time if you often need to ensure you haven’t got the VPN operating, although, and that is enjoying on-line video games.
Your house web nonetheless makes a distinction. Should you improve?
While turning off your VPN would possibly cut back the latency you expertise whereas enjoying video games on-line, your house broadband nonetheless issues.
I’ve a Verizon G3100 Wi-Fi 6 router at house, and I usually fluctuate between 200 and 400Mbps add and obtain speeds, relying on what number of units are consuming up bandwidth. While these numbers is perhaps necessary for downloading new video games, they aren’t that necessary for enjoying video games on-line.
Ookla reported that the median obtain pace for American households in February 2025 was 280Mbps, and the median add pace was 41Mbps. (Ookla is owned by the identical guardian firm as CNET, Ziff Davis.) These speeds are greater than adequate for on-line gaming, so most American households ought to be good to go.
Your add and obtain speeds will have an effect on your latency as much as a sure level, however your distance from the server is what actually issues. Check out these pace exams I ran at house to see what I’m speaking about.
Below, you’ll see the outcomes of a pace check carried out with a connection to a server in Secaucus, New Jersey. This server is the closest one to my house, and I get a clean 26-millisecond add latency when related to it. A 50- to 60-millisecond latency is basically good for on-line gaming, so it’s clean crusing for me after I’m related to devoted servers right here within the northeast US.
Next, you’ll see the outcomes of a pace check carried out with a connection to a server in Tokyo. This server is in a area I like to connect with with my VPN, and I get a whopping 187-millisecond add latency right here, although my add pace continues to be wonderful.
A 100-millisecond latency is taken into account unhealthy for on-line gaming, and a 187-millisecond latency will in all probability really feel practically unplayable. If I have been related to a Japanese devoted server, I’d in all probability be strolling off maps and getting caught behind partitions.
Your broadband connection is perhaps the very best it may be — you possibly can also have a wired ethernet setup — and connecting to a server midway the world over will nonetheless trigger you points. There’s no manner the information packets can talk with the server as rapidly as you want them to. Your add latency goes to be an actual thorn in your facet.
Could turning off your VPN remedy your issues?
When you route your connection via a VPN, you broadcast that you just’re someplace utterly completely different out of your present location. This throws an actual curveball on the matchmakers for on-line video games.
Almost all aggressive on-line video games use devoted servers to host their matches. That means a number of servers are arrange particularly for that sport and unfold worldwide.
Many video games have separate servers for North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. I’m an American, so I be a part of North American servers, and I usually have 20- to 30-millisecond latency after I play video games.
When I’ve Proton VPN on and set to Japan, the matchmaker sees me as enjoying in Asia and can place me into servers hosted in Asia. In these servers, my ping sits someplace up within the three-digit territory. For all intents and functions, I’m screwed.
Routing your connection via a VPN will more than likely decelerate your web connection, even when you’re connecting to a server from your personal area.
Even when you’re utilizing a VPN to bounce your requests off a server positioned near your bodily location, your community request nonetheless must take one other detour earlier than ending its charted course and speaking with the sport.
One of CNET’s resident VPN consultants, Moe Long, defined that routing your broadband connection via a VPN is like ordering meals via DoorDash. The extra stops a driver has to make, the longer it would take to your meals to get the place it must go.
There are uncommon circumstances the place a VPN would possibly provide help to discover lobbies with higher connections in on-line video games. If you reside in locations that sadly don’t get devoted servers that host matches to your favourite sport, a VPN would possibly have the ability to discover you the closest doable connection. Even nonetheless, there are not any ensures this may work. Treat the VPN as a privateness software, not a method to enhance your on-line gaming connection.
It’s necessary to keep in mind that the slight improve in connection occasions because of VPN utilization doubtless gained’t tangibly have an effect on you when you’re not enjoying a web based sport. If you’re seeing considerably slower speeds, there are steps you’ll be able to take to repair that.
There are different causes to think about your VPN whereas gaming. You need to be vigilant about one thing like a storefront’s phrases of service. Leaving your VPN on whereas shopping for a sport on Steam, for instance, might be a bannable offense. But on the finish of the day, a VPN has many advantages exterior of bettering your broadband expertise.
Other causes for sluggish gaming
Besides utilizing a VPN, there are different elements that may result in your gaming laptop computer performing poorly.
Overheating
Your laptop computer’s cooling system can deteriorate over time. Dust particles and different particles can acquire on the system and block the airflow, which may result in your laptop computer’s temperature rising and overheating. Your laptop computer overheating can influence its efficiency because of sluggish processing speeds, laptop computer crashes, diminished battery life and in excessive circumstances, it could possibly harm the {hardware}.
Ram
Random Access Memory, or RAM, is your laptop computer’s workspace. According to HP Inc., RAM is a space for storing in your laptop computer that quickly shops knowledge that the central processing unit, or CPU, must entry. When you launch a sport in your laptop computer, your laptop computer should entry knowledge saved in its RAM. If your laptop computer isn’t outfitted with sufficient RAM, accessing the information within the laptop’s RAM shall be slower and may influence your laptop computer’s efficiency. To decide how a lot RAM your laptop computer wants, this may rely on the system necessities of the precise sport. Most sport builders show the RAM necessities to your laptop computer, be sure you think about this element earlier than enjoying a selected sport.
Storage house
Your laptop computer’s Solid-State Drive capability, or SSD, can have an effect on the loading time of your sport. The SSD is the storage unit in your laptop computer that’s chargeable for managing, synthesizing, writing and distributing knowledge, which is actually saved in reminiscence cells. Most fashionable video games require a certain quantity of storage for set up. Moreover, video games which can be in 4K high-definition might require a large reminiscence footprint. Consider how a lot space for storing your sport will take up in your laptop computer, and whether or not you could improve your storage to accommodate the sport.
Graphic settings
In some circumstances, your graphics settings is perhaps in charge for sluggish efficiency. Frames Per Second, or FPS, measures your laptop computer’s skill to render graphic frames each second. The larger the FPS, the smoother your gaming expertise shall be. You can alter your graphics settings to realize a better FPS. These embody however usually are not restricted to turning up the shadows, lowering the Anti-aliasing settings, lowering or turning off the dynamic reflections, turning off ambient occlusion and lowering render scaling beneath 100% to enhance efficiency. Adjusting your graphic settings won’t at all times assure an improved gaming efficiency. Other elements might level to extra excessive and irreversible circumstances, corresponding to broken laptop computer {hardware}.
Final ideas on the dangers and rewards of gaming and not using a VPN
VPNs give you safety and privateness as you browse the web. They assist ensure you don’t expose your private info on-line. While it’s doable to be doxxed via on-line video games, your security will depend on the sport you’re enjoying.
As I discussed, most fashionable on-line video games will route you to a devoted server, a third-party foyer everybody joins to play a match. These are fairly safe, and also you’re usually protected to have your VPN turned off whereas enjoying on devoted servers to make sure essentially the most aggressive expertise.
Older video games, alternatively, generally use peer-to-peer connections to facilitate multiplayer matches. With no devoted server to route your packets via, your knowledge is actually streamed on to the opposite contributors in a multiplayer session. Peer-to-peer connections are vulnerable to IP grabbing, which may result in doxxing or different publicity of private info.
If you’re enjoying a sport that makes use of peer-to-peer connection for multiplayer, it’s higher to maintain your VPN turned on to remain protected and safe. You is perhaps unlikely in addition up a sport utilizing a peer-to-peer connection, however some large titles, corresponding to Grand Theft Auto Online, nonetheless use any such server internet hosting.
Most aggressive ranked video games use devoted servers. But exterior these conditions, it’s not value sacrificing your privateness for a better rank in a online game.
Why Is My Gaming Laptop So Slow FAQs
What ping do you want for gaming?
Ping is a measure of latency that reveals how lengthy it takes to your laptop or gaming console to transmit knowledge forwards and backwards from an web server.
You need to goal for a ping of round 50 milliseconds or decrease. Generally, a excessive ping fee can result in lagging throughout on-line gaming. Read our professional tricks to decrease your ping whereas gaming.
A digital personal community, or a VPN, could be an effective way so as to add a layer of safety to your community. It encrypts your web connection and masks your ISP handle. Using a VPN could be essential when you’re related to a public community open to anybody in vary.
However, utilizing a VPN for on-line gaming is a distinct story. Routing your connection via a VPN will largely decelerate your web connection and decrease your ping.
What elements can have an effect on your laptop computer’s gaming efficiency?
If you flip off your VPN whereas gaming and nonetheless do not see a distinction in your laptop computer’s efficiency, there might be different culprits in charge which can be slowing down your gaming.
These might contain the durations of your laptop computer overheating because of points with its fan, lack of space for storing, how your graphics setting are calibrated and whether or not you could have sufficient RAM. In some excessive circumstances, you could have to improve your laptop computer if the {hardware} has been broken.
