TCPAckFrequency - Gaming Latency reducer?

[Robscure]

Hello,

I've read a lot about TCPAckFrequency + TCPNoDelay, the registry key which reportedly (and visibly) reduces your Ping, albeit it may slow download speeds.

Is there any expert on this forum who knows more about this?

Check this guide for information on TCPAckFrequency and TCPNoDelay

http://lifeandcode.net/2009/05/reduc...ge-1/#comments

So, is it true that they will improve your gaming connection and reduce latency?

I notice that my ping's number does go down dramatically, from 150ms in WoW to 50ms....

Is this an illusion or does it actually make a difference?

Thanks

[KowShak]

Hello,

I've read a lot about TCPAckFrequency + TCPNoDelay, the registry key which reportedly (and visibly) reduces your Ping, albeit it may slow download speeds.

Is there any expert on this forum who knows more about this?

Check this guide for information on TCPAckFrequency and TCPNoDelay

http://lifeandcode.net/2009/05/reduc...ge-1/#comments

So, is it true that they will improve your gaming connection and reduce latency?

I notice that my ping's number does go down dramatically, from 150ms in WoW to 50ms....

Is this an illusion or does it actually make a difference?

Thanks

I don't believe your ping on WoW could go down to 1/3rd of its original value by tweaking the registry. I find that the time of day and network traffic make my ping vary more than anything else. If somebody on your ADSL is downloading big files, you'll get a bad ping, if its after midnight and the other users your ISP has have gone to sleep you'll get a good ping.

If you want to test this scientifically, do it at the same time of day and connect to the same server.

[Robscure]

I don't believe your ping on WoW could go down to 1/3rd of its original value by tweaking the registry. I find that the time of day and network traffic make my ping vary more than anything else. If somebody on your ADSL is downloading big files, you'll get a bad ping, if its after midnight and the other users your ISP has have gone to sleep you'll get a good ping.

If you want to test this scientifically, do it at the same time of day and connect to the same server.

I have done.

My ping doesn't change throughout the day.

Without this registry tweak, my ping stays between 130-150, never higher or lower unless downloading of course.

With it, however, my latency is 49ms and it never goes above 60 without downloading of course.

It is very clearly a difference regardless of time of day.

I have tested it, I understand your confusion but trust me when I say that I know better than to be confused due to time of day on this matter.

Now the question is, does this 49ms ping actually exist performance wise or is it simply a number that appears lower but grants no benefit?

I have tried noticing the difference in gameplay but it is very difficult to gauge properly, also because of my preconceptions then it skews my test results when relying on user-experience, it could simply be a placebo effect.

[aidanjt]

Any TCP traffic flow will be massively improved by prioritising ACKs. Without ACKs, servers tend to start holding back on sending additional packets, which drives up average connection latency.

[Robscure]

Any TCP traffic flow will be massively improved by prioritising ACKs. Without ACKs, servers tend to start holding back on sending additional packets, which drives up average connection latency.

Sorry, what does this mean? TCPAckFrequency 1 is good or bad? Default is 0 on vista.

[Legthigh]

I've used this before in the past with WoW and it reduced my latency in WoW from 100-120 to 45-60.

Can't post a link as I need 5+ posts, however google 'Leatrix Latency Fix' for a handy reg file so you don't need to go messing around in the registry yourself.

[Robscure]

But I wish someone would answer my question...

I know TCPAckFrequency + TCPNoDelay has made my ping appear to be lower, the number is certainly MUCH lower... But does this actually improve performance or is the number simply lower whilst actually degrading performance, for example?

[funkymunky]

I'd expect disabling Nagle's Algorithm (TCPNoDelay) to improve performance in most TCP based games as only small amounts of data are usually moved around and this will ensure the packet isn't sat around in a buffer waiting for it to fill before being sent thus improving latency. Setting TCPAckFrequency to 1 will probably decrease your ping in game but will generate more network traffic (as every packet is ACK'd rather than every other) which *may* be counter productive. In reality if you're only playing the game at that time and not downloading in the background etc. you'll probably find the tweaks do improve your gaming experience. May not be wise to keep them like that outside of the game though.

[Robscure]

I'd expect disabling Nagle's Algorithm (TCPNoDelay) to improve performance in most TCP based games as only small amounts of data are usually moved around and this will ensure the packet isn't sat around in a buffer waiting for it to fill before being sent thus improving latency. Setting TCPAckFrequency to 1 will probably decrease your ping in game but will generate more network traffic (as every packet is ACK'd rather than every other) which *may* be counter productive. In reality if you're only playing the game at that time and not downloading in the background etc. you'll probably find the tweaks do improve your gaming experience. May not be wise to keep them like that outside of the game though.

Thumbs up, thanks for the response.

This is generally what I thought, but it's nice to have reassurance. When I game, I don't use my bandwidth for anything else, and my download speeds seem the same with or without it, although they appear lower on speedtest.net I haven't noticed any applicable downgrade.

Thanks again

[Lee H]

I notice that my ping's number does go down dramatically, from 150ms in WoW to 50ms....

I'd take a butchers at the VM 'community' forum if I was you.

The last update to WoW has changed the packet data and now it's getting caught up in the virginmedia's newly implented, crapply configured traffic management system and getting classed as low priority, hence the crap pings and packet loss expected by some customers.

No matter what you do, short of dipping your LAN connection in unicorn blood it is not going to give you the speeds and pings you desire.

Looks like its time to jump ship as their traffic management is so badly configured their 50 Mb line drops to 200 kb/s on steam and is woefully un-useable.

[Robscure]

I'd take a butchers at the VM 'community' forum if I was you.

The last update to WoW has changed the packet data and now it's getting caught up in the virginmedia's newly implented, crapply configured traffic management system and getting classed as low priority, hence the crap pings and packet loss expected by some customers.

No matter what you do, short of dipping your LAN connection in unicorn blood it is not going to give you the speeds and pings you desire.

Looks like its time to jump ship as their traffic management is so badly configured their 50 Mb line drops to 200 kb/s on steam and is woefully un-useable.

Well actually I haven't noticed much difference between my Virgin 20meg line and my old O2 12 meg or w/e it was.

My ping is between 40-70 in WoW right now and I don't notice any bad latency issues.

Also, as I'm sure you're aware, almost everything involves a contract now, so I'm stuck whether I like Virgin or not. Plus, even if I could stop it, all I have is a virgin line in this flat, I would have to have an engineer cut/drill and install a new line, pay a lot of extra money, etc... So I just have to find me some Unicorn blood but thanks for the response keep me updated if you hear anything about Virgin or improving line or anything like that, thank you

[Lee H]

Rob,

I've been watching on their forum and more people are reporting the issues are slowly dying down with their pings returning back to normal but there are still a few people reporting really bad pings and major packet loss.