# [SOLVED] Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games



## cactusbodyslam (Feb 28, 2015)

For about 7 months now my computer has been plagued by jarring lag spikes while playing online games. I have spent hours scouring for answers and yet this problem has eluded me. Despite my attempts, I've come no closer to finding an answer than when this problem first began. I have, however, compiled as much information as I possibly can in order to help diagnose the issue. My only hope is that someone more tech-savvy than me can find a solution. I'll try to highlight the important clues in *bold*.

Here's a video of the lag in Team Fortress 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuWceYA4Iug

The multi-colored graph on the right shows various network information. At the very, very bottom right there is a dark blue line beneath a forest green line. (Note that this line might be covered by Youtube's video player while paused). If you watch that blue line during the video, you'll notice two orange "cliffs" run across periodically. To be more precise, those orange bars appear *every 11 seconds*. From what I've gathered, the orange spikes indicate that the game is extrapolating. For some odd reason, the extrapolation *always comes in pairs*. In addition, my *ping is not affected* by the lag whatsoever.

Some other things to note:
- I'm using a wifi adapter on this computer.
- This is the only computer in my house that has this issue. (*Other computers/consoles connecting via wifi run just fine*).
- *This problem affects all online games including ones not on Steam*.
- This problem does not affect offline games.
- To my knowledge, this issue does not affect downloads, videos, or web-browsing (I've had some issues, but none that happen periodically).
- This problem has vanished for short amounts of time (the last time this happened was months ago).

What I've tried:
- Cleaning my computer with compressed air.
- Switching out wifi adapters (both adapters are the same model).
- Disabling my anti-virus/firewall.
- Complaining on a different forum.

For the sake of getting as much info out there, here's my ping test:




If I remember anything else I'll try to post it here as soon as I can. Thanks a bunch in advance. Any suggestions are appreciated.


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## satrow (Feb 4, 2012)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*

Welcome to TSF :smile:

Extrapolating infers that something is incomplete/missing and that an element of guesswork is need to bridge that gap.

Close to impossible to test for something that isn't currently happening.

Had any electronic item been replaced, moved, etc. around the time that it last happened?

Any Task Manager/Resource Monitor data/screenshots available from the time it was happening?


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## cactusbodyslam (Feb 28, 2015)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*



satrow said:


> Welcome to TSF :smile:
> 
> Extrapolating infers that something is incomplete/missing and that an element of guesswork is need to bridge that gap.
> 
> ...


Thanks :smile:
I might have made this unclear, but the lag is constantly occuring. It's _never not_ happening. The last time the lag went away (which was months ago) its absence lasted for a few days.

I can try to post another video displaying both my task manager and the game at the same time.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*

What is the model number of the WiFi adapter?

If its a USB adapter, where do you have it plugged into?


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## cactusbodyslam (Feb 28, 2015)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*



Masterchiefxx17 said:


> What is the model number of the WiFi adapter?
> 
> If its a USB adapter, where do you have it plugged into?


Here's the model: *TP-Link TL-WN722N*.

I forgot to mention that I've tried plugging the wifi adapter into different ports. I've also tried plugging my wifi adapter into a USB cradle. I was able to move the cradle around a bit (the cradle is only a couple feet long), but it didn't seem to fix the issue.


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## cactusbodyslam (Feb 28, 2015)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*

Also, here's the video that displays my task manager and game simultaneously: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsNi_PIm_SM

Sorry for the choppiness and low quality (the video's going at 10-15 fps).


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*

Are you running any software for that WiFi adapter? What about the latest drivers?


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## cactusbodyslam (Feb 28, 2015)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*



Masterchiefxx17 said:


> Are you running any software for that WiFi adapter? What about the latest drivers?


I just updated the drivers (which didn't seem to fix it). I'm not really sure what you mean by software though.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*

The utility program is here:

TL-WN722N - Welcome to TP-LINK


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## cactusbodyslam (Feb 28, 2015)

*Re: Rhythmic Lagging in Online Games*



Masterchiefxx17 said:


> The utility program is here:
> 
> TL-WN722N - Welcome to TP-LINK


Oh my god *I LOVE YOU*. The utility program fixed the issue entirely! :smile: Thank you for all the help.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Glad to hear! :smile:


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