This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Hunter Rising is a wikiHow Staff Writer based in Los Angeles. He has more than three years of experience writing for and working with wikiHow. Hunter holds a BFA in Entertainment Design from the University of Wisconsin - Stout and a Minor in English Writing.
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If your game freezes or has a delay between what happens on screen and when you press a button, then lag may be the culprit. Game lag happens when you have a weak network connection, but there are multiple ways to fix it and make your computer or console run smoothly. From adjusting hardware settings to checking your network connection, we’ll walk you through a ton of solutions to stop and eliminate lag. Keep reading for the best troubleshooting tips and learn what causes lag in the first place.
Things You Should Know
- Quit other programs you’re running and disconnect other devices on your network to help increase your bandwidth and get rid of lag.
- Connect to the router with an ethernet cord to get more reliable internet speeds. Try restarting your modem and router if speeds are still slow.
- Try lowering the graphics settings in your game to improve your latency issues. If you already lowered graphics, try updating your graphics driver or replacing hardware.
Steps
Community Q&A
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QuestionI have a brand new Alienware x51 R2 PC and I'm trying to play Fallout 4. I put all settings on the lowest values and it is still very choppy and lags badly. I am wondering how to fix this?Community AnswerRight now, even an extremely powerful computer experiences freezing in Fallout 4, due to the immense amount of bugs there are. You can try putting a custom setting, or wait till the game gets tweaked.
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QuestionI have a Vaio PC with Intel core i3 ,4 GB RAM, Intel HD graphics. I try to run Call of Duty: Black Ops, but it seems to be very laggy. How can I repair this problem?Community AnswerGo to Control Panel, click System, and go to Advanced System Settings. Click Settings in the Performance section, and uncheck all items.
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QuestionI'm playing Roblox Phantom Forces and halfway through, I experience a lag and my laptop is freezing. What should I do?Community AnswerGo to settings and change the things they show in the article. You could also change the server you are playing in to a less crowded server.
Tips
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You may be able to get faster speeds if you connect to the internet using a VPN. However, this may also increase your ping because it adds another stop for the data.[15]Thanks
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Search online for mods or enhancements created by users that improve the game’s performance. You may find mods and other helpful tips for improving lag listed on discussion forums for the game.Thanks
References
- ↑ https://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/how-to-improve-gaming-latency.html
- ↑ https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/bandwidth
- ↑ https://us.norton.com/blog/how-to/how-to-lower-ping
- ↑ https://youtu.be/qfS8-Qvvmfk?t=192
- ↑ https://us.norton.com/blog/how-to/how-to-lower-ping
- ↑ https://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/how-to-improve-gaming-latency.html
- ↑ https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/how-to-fix-input-lag.html
- ↑ https://www.trustedreviews.com/how-to/how-to-update-your-graphics-card-drivers-4240181
- ↑ https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/5-reasons-to-overclock-your-next-pc.html
- ↑ https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/how-to-overclock-a-cpu
- ↑ https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/business/small-business/resources/how-to-fix-pc-lag.html
- ↑ https://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/how-to-improve-gaming-latency.html
- ↑ https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/business/small-business/resources/how-to-fix-pc-lag.html
- ↑ https://us.norton.com/blog/how-to/how-to-lower-ping
- ↑ https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/can-using-a-vpn-when-gaming-lower-ping
About This Article
To reduce game lag, start by closing any other programs, like iTunes or Torrent, while you’re playing, since they can use a lot of bandwidth and system resources. You can also try turning off any other devices on the same network, such as a video-streaming device or tablet. Then, if the game has an option to select a game server, choose the one closest to you to increase your internet speed. If these methods don’t work, try unplugging your modem for 30 seconds before plugging it back in to reset the network hardware. To learn how to update your graphics card drivers to increase game performance, read on!