If care is not taken, your online gaming will eventually slow down for many reasons. Online latency is referred to as the time a data package needs to be sent or received when you are gaming, it can also be said to be the time required for an online gaming session to perform on your device, for instance, it can be the total time required by your computer’s graphic card to update your screen, in order for it to play the required sound file. Your typical online game network should comprise the following;

The main gamer PC (1),
The router or modem (2),
The ISP (3),
Internet Gateway/Nodes(4),
The server ISP(5),
The main server(6),
The second gamer’s ISP (7),
The second gamer’s router or modem (8), and
The second gamer’s PC (9).

The image below summarizes how the online gaming structure is arranged

The slowdown in gaming can occur anywhere in the gaming network structure, and mostly s a result of process delay between the sent and received data packages. Lag and latency issues are typically part of the gaming slow-down process and there are so many reasons for such; you can read more about gaming networks on; https://www.badosoft.com/knowledgebase/all-you-should-know-about-lag-latency.php

Causes of game latency and possible solutions to them

#1: Not lowering your game requirements

One of the main reasons why there could be a slowdown in gaming could be the fact that you set all gaming requirements to the maximum. You might have upgraded your gaming system, but if you don’t have such kind of money, you can just consider lowering the gaming requirements. Problems such as high texture resolutions, high screen resolutions, maximum graphics options, and high render quality can cause lagging problems during gaming. Virtually all online gaming will comprise of the menu screen that allows you to go to the Options and settings, this means you can experiment with all options; you may want to reduce the screen resolution, reduce the texture resolution or lower the graphics demand.

Though high graphics quality enhances the gaming experience no doubt, if your computer does not have the capability to process such graphics, you don’t have a choice but to cut it down. Lowering requirements will reduce the workload on the graphics card and there will be a tremendous improvement in the performance of your PC.

Lowering the horsepower output of your online gaming also involve tweaking your graphic card in order to reduce its requirements. The use of anti-aliasing for instance can help eliminate the jagged edges around gaming objects. Tweaking also ensures the smoothness of the gaming experience. Making use of anisotropic filtering will also enhance the texture of the gaming system. All you have to do is to open up the graphic card settings, then go to the “Advance settings’ or “3D settings”, and then turn off these settings if you suspect that your gaming PC video card is incapable of handling such options.

#2: Update the driver of the video card of your gaming PC

Oftentimes, your gaming PC can handle graphics, sounds, and other components of the gaming, however, the video card driver might be outdated and that could be the cause of the slowdown in gaming.

To check whether the driver of your video card is up to date, simply right-click on the “My computer” icon, and then click on “properties”, before clicking on “system”, and “Device manager”, and then click on “Display Adapters”. Simply check on the brand of your graphics card and then go to the website of the manufacturer and download the latest version of the graphics card driver.

Updating driver software can reduce lagging in video gaming by as much as 95%

#3: Reduce your PC gaming processor workload

Aside from reducing the workload on your PC graphics card, you may want to reduce the workload on the main processor too. Reducing the workload on your processor is very important especially if you don’t have one of those super liquid-cooled gaming systems. You may want to shut down all non-essential service applications and services that are currently running on your PC, especially when you are playing your games.

While some people do prefer third-party apps like “Soluto” to handle this step for them, others will like to do it manually and remember that downloading and installing third-party apps will definitely consume bandwidth.

The best possible way to reduce pressure on the PC processor is to scan through the processes that are running on the processor and then shut down those that do not offer critical services to the operating systems or your gaming. You can simply do this by pressing Control Alt+del, then click on “task manager”, then clicking on the “Performance” tab, and then clicking on the “Resource monitor” button.

The resource monitor will display all the culprits that are consuming your bandwidth and network.

#4: Make changes to your network

Aside from the graphics and processor workload, you may also want to make changes to your network, in order to reduce slowdown in PC gaming. The ongoing downloads (such as the torrent clients you accidentally left to run), alongside peer-to-peer sharing apps, will consume your bandwidth and can cause lagging or slow down during gaming. You need to shut all these things down because you need all those bandwidths dedicated to your gaming.

Make sure you check the Apple store running on your PC likewise, you may want to check on the activities being performed by others in the house (for instance Netflix movie streaming, and iTunes downloads performed by others, can slow down your gaming). The best time for gaming maybe that time when everyone else is not on the internet.

If you have the option of changing the internet in your home, you may want to consider Cable, ahead of DSL, and the reason is that cable seems to be faster and more stable, especially for gaming. Cable is definitely the best medium for gaming online. Secondly, you may want to choose the highest bandwidth for your internet package, in order to accommodate other online activities. Do not try to indulge in PC online gaming with your Wi-Fi connection, it is definitely the least option you may want to consider. You need to plug in the hard wire internet connection to your PC if you want to enjoy gaming. Even with an excellent connection on your Wi-Fi, the walls and obstructions along the paths as well as several other interferences from the household must be considered. Make sure you run a wire from your router and plug it directly into your PC.

You need to get the best quality router, especially the one that is designed for high-speed gaming purposes. There are several gaming features now available on PC, and these features are optimized to be automatically adjusted according to the performances of PCs. If you have not upgraded your router in a long while, it is better to do it now!

#5: Other Upgrades you may want to consider

If you can afford to upgrade your PC RAM, do not hesitate to do so, and the same goes for your graphics card. The reason is that these two upgrades can make a huge difference in speeding up the performance of your gaming PC and they are not expensive.
Make sure all drivers are up to date, even those that are not directly involved in the performance of your PC.
Make sure you perform a de-fragmentation of your hard drive, doing this will speed up the processing time of your PC hard drive, thus reducing the lagging or slowing down during gaming.
Sometimes, making some little sacrifices such as playing your games without any sound, can reduce lagging. You don’t have to listen to people creeping up right behind you, therefore you should try and save more bandwidth by turning off the sound.
Overlocking your PC system can also be a good option if you don’t have a weak system and you are not faint-hearted. If you know what you are doing exactly, over-locking your PC system can provide a huge boost to the speed of your PC game.

For more information on ways to boost the speed of your PC while gaming on the internet, you can follow this link; http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-reduce-lag-in-online-gaming/

Following the simple steps above will make a huge difference in enhancing the speed and performance of your computer when gaming online. This means, you can boot up your PC faster, you can run faster, race speedily, shoot faster, and decapitate your enemies even much better. It is advisable to take one step at a time and see if each step can resolve the lagging problem. If the first step does not resolve the slow-down problem, you can perform the next until you are able to eliminate lag. For more information on handling the speed of your network, you may want to read up through http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000620.htm.