3 / 5 Bar wireless connection. Router is 10-15 feet away?

[TaskTool]

I'm having an issue basically with this wireless connection. I recently moved and I'm staying with my parents right now and basically I'm being forced to use wireless for the time being.

I play fighting games competitively and I knew beforehand all of this was going to be a nightmare. With a 3/5 connection I notice considerably more delay AND the extremely severe lag spikes that occur in-game that cause the game to freeze up for 2-3 seconds at a time.

I gave up with xbox live until I can find a microsoft wireless adapter (right now i'm using a bridged connection from the xbox to my desktop which I assume may just add onto the delay/disruption of data flow)

Not only am I asking why in the world I would have a 3/5 connection when the router is literally 15 feet away or less, and actually the connection has been degrading even more, I saw it go down to 1 bar/2 bars.

But I'm also asking if there is any way to make wireless gaming practical, or if one of you could educate me about wireless connections a bit and data loss or added delay.

For instance, on a program I use, it tells you the delay from your PC to your modem basically. When I was on a wired connection, it was 0ms . Since on this wireless* connection I see anywhere from 3 - 8ms. I can keep clicking to refresh it and it jumps between 1 - 8 ms

This obviously is unacceptable from a gaming standpoint, but to expect family members to understand my frustration and to change the way they have everything set up just for me isn't really realistic.

I read about how you could have some kind of a plug that goes into any power outlet, and you could have another plug in any room of the house and it was supposed to be a way to have internet access without actually having wires running all over the place or using wireless. I really want to learn some more about this, or if there would be any loss of data or added delay.

My router is a Linksys Wireless G something. I'll get the actual model if needed.

Any advice?

 

[Nitestick]

...For instance, on a program I use, it tells you the delay from your PC to your modem basically. When I was on a wired connection, it was 0ms . Since on this wired connection I see anywhere from 3 - 8ms. I can keep clicking to refresh it and it jumps between 1 - 8 ms

This I think is an acceptable range. I've used this setup in the past myself as has a friend, both successfully even when using 3G/Wimax internet as the connection>Wifi>ethernet bridge. Are you certain this is not an issue with the connection itself?

 

[TaskTool]

I'm sure the issue isn't with the connection itself. I say that because. Even if there wasn't any connection at all, it still wouldn't influence the signal between my wireless card and the wireless router.

And that is what I see as being my main issue. I had a type in my first post. I said "since using this wired connection" when I meant "this wireless connection"

I have no idea what could cause the signal to be this weak.

 

[Sheepykins]

0-8ms is not unacceptable lol. on world of warcraft we see connections to the server at up to 100-300ms whilst still being able to run fluidly and in real time.

the fact that you've said it freezes and lags points to an underlying issue i think. It could be the setup of your home. I can get full bars literally in the next room at certain points of my flat and 0 in others through the same wall, i live in an old house though EMI is prevalent in some places.
and from an ex contractor standpoint, when i used to build walls i saw people throw any old crap between boards of plaster etc as it was a cheap way to dispose of materials (what can i say, some people are lazy and cheap)

other wireless signals can also interfere. the problem with built up suburban areas is that people slap the router on and leave it, especially the default wireless channel. you'll have 10 people using the same one overlapping i bet, try changing that.

 

[TaskTool]

0-8ms is not unacceptable lol. on world of warcraft we see connections to the server at up to 100-300ms whilst still being able to run fluidly and in real time.

the fact that you've said it freezes and lags points to an underlying issue i think. It could be the setup of your home. I can get full bars literally in the next room at certain points of my flat and 0 in others through the same wall, i live in an old house though EMI is prevalent in some places.
and from an ex contractor standpoint, when i used to build walls i saw people throw any old crap between boards of plaster etc as it was a cheap way to dispose of materials (what can i say, some people are lazy and cheap)

other wireless signals can also interfere. the problem with built up suburban areas is that people slap the router on and leave it, especially the default wireless channel. you'll have 10 people using the same one overlapping i bet, try changing that.

You're not getting what I was saying.

When you see those pings of 100ms+ on world of warcraft, those are the players pings from their modem to the server. Since everyone connects to a server to play, who knows how many miles away they live from the server they are connected to. This is where the issue with delay comes into play. 100 milliseconds passes before the server receives the data sent from the player when they hit a key.

In my situation, I was not describing the delay from my modem to any server. The delay I am referring to is the delay between my PC and my modem which is 15 feet away. This **** ALWAYS be either 0 - 1ms on a wired connection. 8ms is completely unacceptable for something 15 feet away.

Also, you seem a bit uneducated about internet gaming not to seem rude. But the fact you assume 100ms allows players to play fluidly in any game aside from world of warcraft, where you can actually have a blatant delay in the actions of other players and it would not affect your gameplay at all, shows you aren't real experienced.

In first person shooters/3rd person shooters, ping/delay is the thing that compromises someones ability to play the game properly. Without a good netcode it can force the players to compensate for the lag within their aiming. This is called lead aiming or lead shot. What happens here, is you shoot in front of where you visually see the player/player model. Where you currently see the player represents their position however many milliseconds ago. This is where individual ping comes into play. The higher the players ping, the further in front you may need to aim to compensate for the delayed data. In counter strike source however there is something strange they did with the hitboxes so in order to hit players you actually have to aim behind them while they are running horizontally.

My issue is that I play 2d fighting games and ANY delay at all makes the game not worth playing since combos require precise actions. Some combos are so strict on the timing you only have 1 frame to input the move correctly. How are you supposed to do this in a game where everything is delayed by 5 frames and is freezing all over?

 

[Sheepykins]

thanks for the condescension i'll bear that in mind next time

and

powerline adapter.I read about how you could have some kind of a plug that goes into any power outlet, and you could have another plug in any room of the house and it was supposed to be a way to have internet access without actually having wires running all over the place or using wireless. I really want to learn some more about this, or if there would be any loss of data or added delay.

powerline adapter

and 8ms is acceptable, you're expecting too much from a wireless network. like i said, i'd be more worried about the spikes you get that are 2-3 seconds long that freeze your gameplay

 

[TaskTool]

thanks for the condescension i'll bear that in mind next time

and


powerline adapter

and 8ms is acceptable, you're expecting too much from a wireless network. like i said, i'd be more worried about the spikes you get that are 2-3 seconds long that freeze your gameplay

Yeah I suppose the spikes and signal strength should be the first priority, and once I have that in order then I can investigate delay.

I have another router I will be experimenting with tomorrow. I read the speed of a router deteriorates over time, and considering how old my router is, it might be reaching the end of its lifespan.

 

[Sheepykins]

clearly you've made the obvious move by moving your equipment closer to the router to see if anything changes.