I'm having a connection problem with most of the sims when I use them online. When I connect to a server, everything starts OK with a decent ping number, usually less than 100. Before I begin to drive, everything is usually OK as well. However, as soon as I "get in the car," the ping number begins to rise; so that within five to seven seconds it's over 1000. For example in rFactor2, I start to pull out of the pit stall and soon get a "Synchronizing" message. If I press + or - to look at another car, it begins to flash, slide all over the track and then disappear. In rFactor 1 I also get the synchronizing message and invisible opponents. In both sims, my own car as I drive around the track makes sudden lurches as it synchronizes with the server. The behavior is nearly identical in GTR2. The only sim that seems to not be affected is Grand Prix Legends. I've checked this out very thoroughly and gone through many obvious suggestions. First of all the sims aren't at all affected offline. I don't have any connection problems with any other applications, such as Chrome, uTorrent, Program updates, AV updates, etc. I don't have any other activity on my internet connection. I've tested my upload and download speeds, and both are very healthy for extended periods of time. I've tested online with AV and Firewall turned off, and the sims behave exactly the same. Here's what I have: ASUS M3N72-D mobo AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE at 3 GHz 4 Gb DDR2 1066 MHz 320 Gb Seagate HD ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti OC Windows XP Pro SP 3 Comcast internet 3Mb Lynksis E3000 router Wired connection Motherboard ethernet controller: NVIDIA nForce 10/100/1000 Mbps Current driver: 67.7.6.1 2/19/2008 Background: This setup was working well before December 2012. No problems with any software nor with any sims, online or offline. Well, GTR2 was inconsistent online, but from what I've heard I was not alone. I was running 4 to 5 races online each week using all of the sims mentioned. Mid December I started to have some weird things happening with Windows Update, then my AV update, then all sorts of other things. Also my cpu cooler fell off though nothing was damaged. After running around and doing a bunch of research, it soon became apparent that it would be easier and faster to just reinstall everything, starting with a formatted HD in case there was any malware lingering. So now I've carefully reinstalled everything, and everything is humming along nicely ... except for the online sims mentioned above. I've searched online for others with similar problems and found some instances that are similar, but no one seemed able to come up with a solution for this mobo/driver. Someone suggested getting a PCIE NIC. So I got the Intel Gigabit CT PCI-E Network Adapter which was very highly rated. Unfortunately it didn't change the sim behavior at all. It also started causing some other problems, telling me the cable was disconnected when I knew it wasn't. (In fact the router was still showing a nice strong 1 Gb connection. Seems the Intel NIC wasn't getting an IP number from the router.) Since it didn't help the sims online, I'm not using it. I don't have the inclination to try to figure out it's problems right now while I'm working on this sim issue. I'm suspecting the problem is the NIC/driver combination. When I try to install the latest ethernet controller driver for the onboard nVidia controller, I get the message: Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39) This is driver 73.3.5.0 from chipset driver package 15.24. This web page: http://www.asus.com/Motherboard/M3N72D/#support_Download_17 has driver packages 15.45 beta, 15.24, 18.12.01, and 18.11. I'm leery of beta drivers and figured the newest regular package should be the best. From chipset 18.12 driver 67.8.0.0 3/25/2008 same results. From chipset driver package 18.11, driver is 67.7.6.1 2/19/2008, the current driver. So what is it about my current system that only affects sims online? What do online sims do that's different from other network applications, such that my system slows them down? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Expenses short of buying a new computer will be considered. Any questions that I forgot to address are welcome as well. Jim
I don't think your problem is 'sim' related.. It sounds to me like you need to reinstall Windows even if it's just temp on another HDD to prove it's a driver problem, or hardware problem.. Do you have another game like BF3 that will test you high ping while in an online game ?? Another thing to try, unplug the wheel and use the keyboard to exit the pits / drive around.. It's just to narrow the high latency at this stage.. My guess I think will come back to Windows needing to be installed again, preferably from scratch..
Thanks for the response, Radar. I have so much fun re-installing Windows, I can't wait to do it yet again. I've got the same high ping situation in several other online sims: rFactor1, GTR2, and Race07. The ping looks good in the lobby and looks good when I first join. Within 5 to 10 seconds though it starts to climb. I'm first going to try connecting directly to my cable modem and by pass the router to eliminate that possibility. Then I'll be diving into my BIOS settings. Any suggestions on that would be appreciated as well.
If it's only just started to happen and only on Sims, then I wouldn't suspect BIOS but hey, worth a try.. Have you got a wheel? Unplug it and load your sims.. It may have some feedback going back into the computer.. Use the keyboard to get onto the track.. Good idea about bypassing the router and using the modem, this too will narrow down the field.
I recall having some BIOS issues before re-install, and I may have a different BIOS installed now than what I had before which is why I need to take a look at it.
I got the solution to the problem! And of course it wasn't anything I was suspecting. A member skymole saw my post on SRMZ: http://srmz.net/inde...8871#entry86607 and the link he provided to the rF2 forum was the key: http://isiforums.net...ng-Game-problem I had used the NVidia control panel to OC my cpu. I know, foolish me. So I reset that to system default; and the ping problem is gone in rF2. Now I need to test it in GTR2, Race07, and rFactor1. A big thanks to skymole.