High ping is a constant problem in online games—and CS:GO isn’t an exception.

Ping in online video games refers to internet latency. It’s the time it takes for your connection to register a command via the game’s server.

The unit of ping or latency is milliseconds. The higher that number, the more lag you’ll experience in the game. It’s normally related to internet connection issues but there are some things you can try to fix high ping aside from upgrading your internet.

How to see your ping time

Usually, if your ping is below 30 milliseconds, you can play online games rather smoothly. But if it’s above 100 milliseconds, you’ll definitely have lag issues.

If you don’t know how to see your ping time, follow this tutorial:

Step one: Launch CS:GO. In the left panel, click the gear icon to open the Settings window. Then go to the Game Settings and finally to the Game tab. Scroll through the list below to locate Enable Developer Console (~) and select Yes.

Step two: Exit the Settings window. Press the ~ key on your keyboard to invoke the command-line window in CS:GO.

Step three: In the command-line window, type net_graph 1 and click Submit. You can enter net_graph 0 to revert the change.

What could be the problem

Aside from a slow internet connection, there are other things that could be causing high ping, such as your PC settings, the server you’re choosing to play CS:GO on, or bandwidth hogging applications.

An old network adapter, less storage, and memory along with a GPU can all lead to high ping and lag issues. Check the minimum requirements for the game and make sure your PC fits them.

Latency is also determined by the distance between you and the game’s server. It’s recommended that you play on a server that’s closest to where you’re playing from, so choose one in the same country as you.

Having too many applications in the background opened may also slow down your network and trigger high ping issues. Close the unnecessary programs before playing the game, as well as background downloads.

It’s also recommended that you play on a PC through a wired connection. This will allow you to use your full bandwidth and have a more stable connection. 

How to fix high ping

Here are four solutions you can try to bring down your latency. The right one could be all of them or just one. It depends on what might be causing your high latency. There’s a lot you can try to do aside from getting faster internet.

Fix one: Restart your modem and router

This one is so common that it’s turned into a meme, but it can work. Restarting your modem and router will clear up the cache that’s been accumulating, especially when they haven’t been switched off for a long time. Just give them some time to cool off.

Fix two: Verify integrity of game cache files

Speaking of cache, check if your game cache files are in order.

Fix three: Thoroughly close bandwidth hogging applications

This is one way of closing the background applications through the Resource Monitor. But be careful not to close any system processes, such as sychost.exe. Don’t stop any program if you’re not sure what it’s for.

Make sure you know what sort of programs you’re closing. Don’t stop any programs that you aren’t familiar with in case you mistakenly end something that’s important.

Fix four: Disable your antivirus software

Though firewalls and security software are for your protection, the software may impact your bandwidth, slowing down your download speed. You can try to disable any security software that might be running on your computer before playing CS:GO.

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