Good internet but really average pings?

thesmudge · 4 Nov 2008 at 17:35

I we are on bt broadband option 3 so have 8mb and there is nothing wrong with this when it comes to downloading as its really fast. However i like to play a few games online and my pings in the servers are really average. In a UK server i regulary go on i average ping between 50-70. I was talking to a guy on the server who is from holland who also has similar net 8mb adsl and he averages 20-30 ping to the uk server. He is around 4km from his local exchange where i am around 600 metres away so it can't be that either. Anyone know what could be causing this as i dont understand how i have really good download speeds but average ping. Maybe there is settings i could change apart from just port forwarding and closing down all background programs etc?

pennywise · 4 Nov 2008 at 20:31

(As far as I know) The Dutch have vastly better routing/quality of internet than most other countries in Europe, if not the world. Besides, you can't trust some games nowadays (namely cod games) since the pings they display are almost always wrong (some sort of engine bug from what I understand). Same goes with source engine games; you can lower your "in-game ping" to 5 through console commands, but your actual latency remains the same.

thesmudge · 5 Nov 2008 at 00:11

pennywise said:
(As far as I know) The Dutch have vastly better routing/quality of internet than most other countries in Europe, if not the world. Besides, you can't trust some games nowadays (namely cod games) since the pings they display are almost always wrong (some sort of engine bug from what I understand). Same goes with source engine games; you can lower your "in-game ping" to 5 through console commands, but your actual latency remains the same.

My ping like i said is average so its not really an issue i just wondered really. Thanks for the answer.

Skidilliplop · 5 Nov 2008 at 09:32

The latency shown in game can be down to many factors. You can incur latency on your PC before data even leaves your nic on a slow PC.
Probably the most common cause is Wireless routers. Wifi latency is far higher than wired, and on cheaper routers heavy encryption makes it worse.

Do you use Wifi by any chance?

thesmudge · 5 Nov 2008 at 22:58

Nope my pc is connected via ethernet cable.

Crilly · 6 Nov 2008 at 00:04

Your internet connection is probably interleaved. You can phone BT up and ask them to turn it off. You might lose a bit of sync speed but your pings will half.

tipsy · 6 Nov 2008 at 01:07

also you may have much hair left after asking them to switch it off. If you find the number to btvision help desk based in newcastle ring them after 12 midnight as they become tech support & will turn off interleaving.

Post your stats here before this as I'd think it may be better to get advice before going fastpath.

pennywise · 6 Nov 2008 at 16:23

I highly doubt he is interleaved; interleaving pings are normally 80-90 if not higher. Depending on the host, anything (displayed on the scoreboard) from 30-70 is normal for a busy UK server, from many years experience

PhillyDee · 6 Nov 2008 at 16:25

pennywise said:
(As far as I know) The Dutch have vastly better routing/quality of internet than most other countries in Europe, if not the world. Besides, you can't trust some games nowadays (namely cod games) since the pings they display are almost always wrong (some sort of engine bug from what I understand). Same goes with source engine games; you can lower your "in-game ping" to 5 through console commands, but your actual latency remains the same.

Which is classed as rate-hacking and as such will get you kicked and banned from servers. It is actually ping masking, and is frowned upon.

pennywise · 6 Nov 2008 at 22:41

PhillyDee said:
Which is classed as rate-hacking and as such will get you kicked and banned from servers. It is actually ping masking, and is frowned upon.

Yeah I had a big elaborate reply written about how it was lame to use and such, but I never got around to posting it. But still, it goes to show how inaccurate the pings you see can be.

thesmudge · 6 Nov 2008 at 22:42

ADSL line status
Connection information
Line state Connected
Connection time 2 days, 0:57:44
Downstream 8,128 Kbps
Upstream 448 Kbps

ADSL settings
VPI/VCI 0/38
Type PPPoA
Modulation ITU-T G.992.1
Latency type Interleave
Noise margin (Down/Up) 12.2 dB / 21.0 dB
Line attenuation (Down/Up) 25.0 dB / 14.0 dB
Output power (Down/Up) 19.8 dBm / 12.1 dBm
Loss of Framing (Local) 0
Loss of Signal (Local) 0
Loss of Power (Local) 0
FEC Errors (Down/Up) 5448 / 0
CRC Errors (Down/Up) 1 / 2147480001
HEC Errors (Down/Up) 1 / 0
Error Seconds (Local) 1

So interleave is on. What is it and is there anyway to get a number to get them to turn it off and would it be really beneficial?

tolien · 6 Nov 2008 at 23:01

It'll reduce your pings, but how much is hard to say without knowing the interleave depth or having a crystal ball.

You need to phone your ISP to get it switched off.

thesmudge · 6 Nov 2008 at 23:38

So its worth getting it turned off you think? Might give bt a call tomorrow. Anyone know how long the process is of it going off?

tolien · 7 Nov 2008 at 00:08

It's not worth having it on at least. As for how long, about 6 weeks to get any sense out of the monkeys at BT and about 6 seconds to switch it off.

Skidilliplop · 7 Nov 2008 at 12:17

thesmudge said:
Ok do u know how to lower it to 5? i just want to try it to see how it works. My ping like i said is average so its not really an issue i just wondered really. Thanks for the answer.

I never got this Ping size being a fashion accessory. It is what it is, does a thousandth of a second really make any odds whatsoever with Engines that interpolate?

thesmudge · 7 Nov 2008 at 14:16

Skidilliplop said:
I never got this Ping size being a fashion accessory. It is what it is, does a thousandth of a second really make any odds whatsoever with Engines that interpolate?

I don't care about getting it really low like that especially if it is just cheating the system. However if i am paying for something I want to get it the best I can possibly get out of it and reading up on it this interleaving thing seems to be a problem for many people who enjoy games. For me I had a lot of problems with ping spiking which i managed to sort so now i just want to get it sorted completly so i can focus on other things rather than having to constantly tamper with the damn thing. If taking off interleaving reduces my ping by any ammount i would be chuffed.

pennywise · 7 Nov 2008 at 19:45

Interleaving will lower your ping by approximately 20-30ms. I actually find it amazing that it's even on, since your pings are similar to what most UK players get with it off.

Anyway, if you suffer from actual ping spikes I don't think turning off interleaving would be such a good idea; in essence, it stabilises your line by sending the same packets multiple times (hence the longer time it takes for them to be processed/higher ping), so turning it off may lower your ping alright but you might run into more problems in the end up (disconnections, packet loss, etc.).

Skidilliplop said:
I never got this Ping size being a fashion accessory. It is what it is, does a thousandth of a second really make any odds whatsoever with Engines that interpolate?

It does make a difference, and if you're in any way competent at a game it can be a great hinderance towards your performance. As has been previously said though, many games "predict" your ping and so what you see on screen may not hold true to your actual connection.

tolien · 7 Nov 2008 at 20:19

It doesn't send anything multiple times unless there's an error. The main part of interleaving is that frames are split up and sent out of order, so that any intermittent error shouldn't completely wipe out the data that's transmitted.