Native Windows can only make a single internet connection at a time with non Killer hardware. In the few instances where you have two discreet Internet connections, however, there is a clear advantage to using it.
While the preceding theoretical discussion is all well and good, we got our hands on some gaming hardware to test these concepts. The open question for us was if a modern gaming router with QoS activated would be sufficient for managing and prioritizing the network traffic for a smooth gaming experience, and what difference, if any, the Killer NIC would make in this setting. The laptop was connected to the router over a wireless 5 GHz connection.
The game was a first person shooter, the classic Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault that was played at x with Hardware Texture 2. Gamers care much more about frames per second than about theoretical network benchmarks, so we're using FRAPS 3. This gives us a good idea of standard performance for a gaming notebook, and we found it was capable of playing the game at a healthy average A recent speed upgrade from our ISP to 60 Mbps proved a challenge for the test as we now needed to congest the network to compromise the game.
We decided to do this with background streaming video from YouTube, and it took five streams of 4K video and an additional p video for good measure, which was about 60 Mbps.
This saturated our download bandwidth, essentially leaving the game with 5 to 8 Mbps of over-provisioning from the cable connection. With six background videos playing at once, Medal of Honor dragged to a lousy average of The game also stuttered and hiccuped to near unplayable levels.
With the average frame rate down 67 percent from the baseline, and we could now see what router QoS and Killer NIC could do to help the situation. Dynamic QoS was turned on with default settings, which considers online gaming tier two of the four.
When the test was run with dynamic QoS, it disappointingly had a virtually negligible effect with the average frame rate at a still too low For the next test, we switched to manual QoS and changed the online gaming category from high to highest, putting it into the top tier.
With this done, the frame rate went up to Even with the reduced frame rate, the test proved QoS could prioritize traffic and help with gaming. It also shows that the default settings of dynamic QoS may not be ideal for gamers. We next wanted to see what the Killer NIC could do. When the game was played, the frame rate went to In other words, forced to choose between router QoS and Killer NIC, the Ethernet card was the more powerful intervention point in our testing setup.
This represented a mere 6 percent reduction from baseline, with a minimum frame rate of 52 fps. Lag during your online gaming is an unwanted disruption. It can cost you the game, if not your sanity.
Lag is a result of an unstable WiFi connection. Mostly, it is due to a poor WiFi signal. If your WiFi signal is weak, your WiFi speeds will suffer, too. As will your whole network performance. Without a stable internet connection and internet speeds, you are going to experience lag with online gaming. All homes have good and bad spots. By knowing the dead spots, you get a better idea about where you need to start checking your WiFi signal strength. Once you identify where you have a good signal strength and where you need to improve your signal strength you can start fixing the bad WiFi signal strength.
Afterall, without a strong WiFi signal, your gaming experience will plummet, or not exist at all. Is your router in an optimal position? What we mean is, is your router centrally located, not blocked by thick walls and off of the floor? If not, it should be. Placing your router in an optimal location will help your WiFi signal connect better with your devices. Give it a try.
Sometimes, your router just needs a fresh start. Specifically, one with multiple antennas. Multiple antennas can greatly improve your home wireless signal. Speaking of antennas, if your router already has antennas, there ways to improve them. The first thing you can do is reposition them. Instead, tilt one of the antennas parallel to the router and pointed toward your device.
Wi-Fi extenders are a big no. Mesh networking is a more modern solution and mesh networking equipment has gotten better and more affordable in the last couple of years. The idea is that you can only connect wirelessly to your router, make sure your Wi-Fi signal is as strong as possible.
The distance between your device and the router, as well as the number of devices using the Wi-Fi network, will affect the connection. Try to place the router in an open spot. Since this is a wireless connection, distance, any obstacles walls, floors, ceilings, large furniture , electronic interference, and the number of users on the network are all factors to consider.
To get the best signal possible, ideally it should also be positioned above most furniture and away from other electronic devices that may cause interference, such as microwave ovens and baby monitors. Another valid advice is to position the antennas perpendicularly: one horizontal and the other vertically. A Wi-Fi device works best when its antenna is parallel to the router's antenna - if you have two antennas, one should be pointing up and the other pointing sideways.
These can help you recognize wireless blind spots in your home and determine where signal strength is best and adjust accordingly as needed. Adjusting a few settings into the router's configuration can be useful. Bear in mind that the functions may be available in a different location, depending on the router.
The 2. It uses overlapping sets of frequencies that we call channels. However, the 2. We also have the 5 GHz band, which has no overlapping channels, is less crowded, and can provide more bandwidth. However, it does this at the expense of range -- you'll get a better and faster signal at 5 GHz, but it has a shorter range than the 2.
Running a test using both is a good idea. Interference can occur mainly in the 2. The 5 GHz band, on the other hand, has 23 non-overlapping channels. This makes it so much easier to get a good connection in crowded places. Check which channel is used the least and set it in the router settings.
If something seems confusing, the creator of Wi-Fi Analyzer provides relevant tutorials and advice. Your router may also be able to change the frequency automatically. If possible, you can choose auto-switching between channels and frequencies for the optimal setting. In the router settings, find the QoS tab and select the games that should have priority, or the connected devices.
Our router offers Adaptive QoS with pre-defined, drag-and-drop presets such as gaming, media streaming, web surfing, etc. We can also use Bandwidth Limiter to set limits on download and upload speeds for devices.
After selecting Adaptive QoS you can prioritize traffic by arranging categories in the preferred order. Once this is established, your Wi-Fi network will manage traffic queues to prioritize what you have chosen to be most important. It will improve your in-game connection, especially when other people or devices connect to Wi-Fi simultaneously.
And certainly, do not download any files while playing online. Taking things to a certain extreme, you may also want to turn off network connectivity on devices that use the same connection. While it may be impractical, this will maximize your connection speed for online gaming.
This is where QoS comes in handy. If you have it enabled, you can worry less about other devices in your network. Going back to our explanation about server location and ping, this will ultimately depend on the game, and your preferences. It will have a highly positive effect on ping and latency, ensuring faster communication.
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