There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to play a game of CS:GO with high ping. Every time you move, your character lags behind other players, making it hard to aim and shoot accurately. Don’t even get me started on the times when you end up getting killed because of it. Luckily, you can lower your ping and get back to playing the game you love. Well, have no fear – I am here to help!
In this blog post, I’ll teach you how to lower your ping in CS:GO. First, I want to talk about what ping is and why it matters. In the meantime, try not to let the high ping get to you. It’s not worth it. Just take a break and come back when you’re ready.
What Is Ping and Why Is It Important in CS:GO?
Ping, also known as latency, is a measure of the round-trip time for data packets sent from one computer to a website or game’s server and back again. It’s measured in milliseconds (ms), and the lower the ping number, the better. Ping affects not only your online gaming experience but also your streaming experience and web browsing experience.
Why does ping matter in CS:GO? A high ping can cause delays in communication that can lead to all sorts of problems in games. Like not being able to land any shots because you anticipated an opponent’s move too late or dying unexpectedly because someone shot at you before you saw them coming.
A high ping can also cause video buffering or even dropping out entirely when streaming content. Basically, if your ping is high, almost everything you do online will be negatively affected.
Now that you know what ping is and why it matters, let’s see what’s causing it.
What Causes High Ping in CS:GO?
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The cause of high ping can vary depending on your setup, the server you’re playing on, and even the time of day when you’re playing. However, we can narrow it down to a few things which are often to blame.
One common cause of high ping is a congested network. This can happen when too many people are trying to use the same internet connection at the same time. Another common cause is poorly optimized game server settings. This can mean your connection is routed along an unnecessarily long path with lots of interference. But the main reason is location, location, location.
If you’re playing CS:GO on an international server, you’re likely to experience higher than normal ping. The distance data has to travel between your computer and the game server is too big. The good news is you can implement a number of ways to reduce ping, including using a VPN and connecting to a server that’s closer to your location.
If you’re looking to up your game, check your ping to see if it might be hindering your kill count and take steps to reduce it.
How to Check Your Ping
Follow these steps to see your ping in CS:GO:
1. Launch the game and go to Settings > Game Settings > Game.
2. In the Game tab, you’ll find an option called Enable Developer Console. By default it would be set to No, so switch it to Yes.
3. Exit the settings panel and press the ~ (tilde) key on your keyboard to open the command console.
4. Type the following CS:GO ping command: “net_graph1” (without the quotation marks).
5. Click on the submit button.
Now you should be able to see a set of parameters in the lower right corner of your screen. Here are the values you should be interested in:
- Ping: The value tells you your ping time measured in ms. The higher it is, the more lag you’ll experience.
- Loss: The loss value tells you how many data packages the network lost. If you see a loss value above 0%, you might have a weak connection due to your ISP.
- Choke: The choke value indicates the data packets that get lost on their way from the server. Imagine being with someone on the phone and you only receive every second word. That’s similar to choke.
Generally, if the ping value is less than 50, you shouldn’t experience any delays and if it’s up to 100 the game should still be playable with occasional lag spikes. But what makes ping times go up?Loss and choke are the main indicators you can use to see what may be increasing your ping.
If your choke value is above 10%, the problem is usually with the server or you’re receiving too few or too many data packages due to network rate inconsistencies. You can try to fix this by adjusting 3 variables: your ingame rate should match your internet speed, the rate of data you send to the server (cmdrate), and the rate of data you receive from the server (updaterate). Try the following values in the console:
- rate 786432
- cl_updaterate 128
- cl_cmdrate 128
The rate I set is the maximum that CS:GO allows and you should use it if your internet speed is anywhere above 6.2 Mbps, which should cover pretty much every gamer these days. The download and upload rates should be the same and set to 128 so they match the maximum rates of the server. Also, if you play on 64-tick servers, this value will be automatically lowered to 64.
Finally, if your loss value is high together with your ping, you probably have a software or hardware-related issue.
How to Lower Your Ping in CS:GO and Land Those Headshots
Before you kick the router, you need to check your internet connection outside of CS:GO. Test your network speed with a speed tester like Ookla.
If your download/upload speed and ping are consistently poor, you should contact your internet service provider. But if everything is fine, you need to try one of the following solutions to lower your ping.
1. Close Any Unnecessary Applications
Other apps that run in the background might be using all of your bandwidth and making CS:GO lag. Streaming and torrenting sites are the top culprits here, so make sure you close them. Also, pause any software downloads and updates that might be running on Steam or Windows.
Anything else that uses your internet connection takes resources away from CS:GO. It’s not that online games necessarily take up a lot of bandwidth, but they do require high priority on the bandwidth load, and other applications may be interfering with this.
2. Try a Different Server
As I mentioned earlier, high ping isn’t always your system’s fault. If you get a high choke value during your game, you might be playing on a high-latency server. Connecting to servers physically closer to your location will lower your ping. They may also be less congested, improving your choke value. So try connecting to one of them and run another net_graph1 test to see if there’s any difference.
3. Restart Your Router
No, really, try turning your router off and on again. A hard restart fixes a lot of problems with a lot of devices, so it’s worth giving it a shot. In terms of your router, this will reset the cache which could help speed things up again. Here’s how to do it properly:
1. Turn off your router and unplug it.
2. Wait for 30 seconds to a minute to clear the cache.
3. Plug in your router and turn it on.
Depending on your router model, it can take a couple of minutes for it to configure itself so be patient.
4. Update or Reinstall Network Adapter Drivers
Network drivers can improve your internet connection so make sure they’re up-to-date. Head over to your PC’s Device Manager by simply typing “device manager” in the Windows search bar. Scroll through the device list until you find the Network Adapters section, and update all the drivers.
You can right-click on each driver in the list and select Update driver, then follow the steps.
5. Check the Integrity of the Game Files
Run an integrity verification on CS:GO. Corrupted game cache files can cause high latency and other issues. If Steam finds anything fishy with the game files it will try to fix the problem. Here’s how to do it:
1. Go to your Steam Library and right-click on CS:GO. A new menu will open. Click on Properties.
2. Select the Local Files tab and click on the Verify Integrity of Game Files option.
3. If the game files are corrupted, the verification process will try to fix them.
Now, launch CS:GO and check your ping.
6. Connect to a VPN Server
Using a VPN to play an online game may sound counter-intuitive, but it might help in your case. VPNs can lower your internet speed and increase your ping slightly, but they also improve your ISP’s DNS system if it’s subpar. Try CyberGhost VPN and connect to one of our gaming-optimized servers.
CyberGhost VPN offers a global network of specialized servers and user-friendly apps for all your devices. Also, it automatically optimizes your DNS settings, so it’s worth trying it out just for this feature. Bad routing can cause high ping in CS:GO and make the game nearly unplayable for you.
7. Change to a Wired Connection
Are you using a Wi-Fi connection to play CS:GO? Switch to a cable connection instead. Your router communicates much better with your system over Ethernet. You also don’t lose signal strength due to your computer’s distance from the router or due to any walls or other interference in between.
8. Set Up Router Connection Priorities
If you connect a lot of devices to your router, like smartphones, TVs, and your toaster, you need to set some priorities. Your household might be hogging all the bandwidth, preventing you from landing all those sweet headshots.
To configure your router, you’ll need to go into its menu and set your PC to high priority and everything else to low-medium priority. The steps you need to take depend on your router, so check your manual.
9. Reinstall the Game
If nothing seems to help, uninstall the game and reinstall it through Steam. Then launch a round of CS:GO and check your ping. But before you do this, make sure to try all the other solutions. Some glitches are unpredictable and an unknown combination of these fixes could fix the issue.
Final Thoughts
If you’re sick of feeling like a digital hostage every time you try to play CS:GO due to constant high ping, don’t give up hope! Use the steps we’ve outlined in this post and you’ll be back to playing with low latency in no time. Just restart your router, optimize your system, use CyberGhost VPN, and lock ‘n load.
And who knows, maybe with a little more practice you can even become one of those elite players whose skills aren’t hampered by a less-than-perfect connection. Yes, I admit I also blame everything on lag every now and then. So get out there and start fragging away!
FAQ
Check your ping occasionally because a high ping will ruin your experience and you need to know if that’s the case. You can perform a simple ping test from inside the game by opening the console and typing the “net_graph 1” command. The command will give you a list of parameters, including the ping value.
If you have a high ping, try to route your connection through a fast VPN. Try CyberGhost VPN to see if it helps and take your time testing it out with our 45-day money-back guarantee.
You can lower your ping in several ways, depending on what’s causing the high latency. Contact your ISP to see if they’re causing the issue. Try a different CS:GO server that’s closer to your location. If none of that worked, restart your router, quit all unnecessary apps, update your drivers, and connect to CyberGhost VPN.
Check out our detailed guide for more information. If you need help setting things up, contact our 24/7 Customer Support squad and we’ll help you get up and running in no time.
Aside from internet connection issues, a wide range of things can cause high latency in CS:GO, such as your router settings, the game server you choose, and out-of-date network adapter drivers. Also, if you’re running other bandwidth-draining applications, they’ll significantly raise your ping. Fix those issues and connect through one of our fast VPN servers optimized for gaming to lower your latency.
CyberGhost VPN can lower your ping in two ways. First, it will automatically route your traffic through the fastest servers in the network and use VPN protocols that prioritize speed. We have servers across the globe so you can also connect to a server closer to the CS:GO server to shorten the distance your connection has to travel.
Secondly, CyberGhost VPN can improve your connection speed if your ISP’s DNS system is subpar by making the right adjustments. CyberGhost VPN also comes with additional benefits, like our 256-bit AES encryption which secures your connection against DDoS attacks and swatters.
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