Wireless viability for online gaming
 

Ok, first off the gear I'm using is a Netgear 54 mbps wireless usb adapter WG111 and a Netgear WGR614 router. Both are 802.11g and b compatible. Now my problem is that I encounter frequent periods of lag where I can't do anything for 10-20 seconds in online games like BF2, DoD and WoW and sometimes even get disconnected from the server. Is this because my adapter sucks or my router sucks or something isn't configured right or is it because wireless just can't handle online games?

Other than games it doesn't seem to drop my connection at all. Any help is appreciated :confused:

Check and see what the connection quality is between the router/wireless card as well as what rate it's connecting at. Personally, I'd never game over wireless - you can hook directly into the router at 100Mbit/sec and don't have to worry about any kind of strange wireless packetdrops.

My advice would be to plug into the router directly, see if it gets better. If it does, you'll just have to hook in whenever you're playing games. If not, I'd say it's more likely something with your ISP instead of the router.

Aye, I'd also say go for the cable if possible. At least to nail down wireless as the problem.

If you want to help the wireless situation there are a number of steps but start by surveying for interference. At minimum check for the best signal strength on channels 1, 6, and 11. Choosing among those will give you the best chance of avoiding neighbors. Try your landline 2.4GHz phones and microwaves during tests to see how they affect reception on each channel.

I've never had any trouble connecting directly through the router but I can't do that anymore without running wires through the entire house. Maybe I'll move the router to my room and everyone else can deal with the wireless.

The connection quality is pretty good 9/10 bars and it's connecting at 48mpbs. Thanks for the help.

I've played some games over my school's wireless network just fine, but of course, if you have your laptop line-of-sight with the access point (which, when I'm gaming, is what I always do) then in theory you shouldn't have a problem.

ive gamed over UMTS, thats broadband 3G. so wireless can take it, especially .11g. But you have to watch out for sudden interference spikes, such as. microwave, wireless phone, the sun being on the same vector as the router.

Also if another user logs on, that could cause a few hickups as the new connection is established, but it shouldnt be that bad.

along with the whole trying the cable idea, try other streaming systems, like streaming video or radio to see if they cut out occasionally.

I've never had an issue gaming over wireless. Most wireless connections can still put through more than enough bandwidth, especially given how efficient most netcode has become.

I'd also say that wireless is NOT the problem.

Even the slowest wireless at 11mbps is far quicker then any home (and likely most business) grade ISP connections.

Say, DSL at 512/512 is half of a mbps, or cable at 256up/2000down is still around 20 percent of 11mbps.

That said, if your wireless connection is heavily interfered with this (worst case scenario for .11b) and is degraded down to say 1mbps...you're still faster then most DSL connections.

Try doing some speed tests from dslreports.com and see what's going on with your circuit, your ISP, or your general geographic region, and this might give you an idea.

-bear

Speed isn't the issue, signal quality is.

Well, I did a speed test on dslreports on wired and wireless. The first wired test resulted in a 30kbs down and 57 kbs up and the 2nd resulted in 240kbs down and 54 up. The wireless test was 24 kbs down and 44 up. The signal quality is pretty good, usually 70% to 90%. So it seems like my connection is just unreliable and it shows up more often in the wireless. Streaming stuff such as movies and online radio stations cut out frequently as well.