On 20 Jul 2005 at 21:53, Jorge Ocasio wrote:

> I'm hoping that someone on the list can answer this for my son.
>
> First my system:
>
> Dell 4600i, P4 (?) 2.8 MHz
> 512 MB RAM
> Geforce FX 5200 128 MB
>
> We also have a DSL connection.
>
> The situation:
> My son plays online games, mostly World of Warcraft.  Whenever his
> character is in a populated area the movement is almost stop motion,
> frequently stopping for many (10+) seconds before moving a short
> distance and stopping again.   Lag adds to this problem and ping time
> can be as high as 3000 ms.  However, the majority of the time ping
> time is between 75 to 150 ms.  So I don't think lag is the main issue.
>
> Since he can't afford a new computer, he wants to upgrade some
> hardware to eliminate this problem, or at least minimize it.  He has
> some money he saved from his birthday.  If he needs it, I will help
> with a little extra cash.
>
> My question:
>
> Should he add another 512 RAM or buy a better video card?  I also have
> an option to switch to cable.  If it's the card, he has a $150 (plus
> $50 more from me if he needs it) limit.
>
> I'm not sure which item or combination will help.  Any suggestions?
> TIA
> Jorge Ocasio

  I do not believe that more RAM or a fancier video card will improve ping
times, nor that what you've got should have any trouble keeping up with
online play.
  It might be interesting to try "tracert" rather than "ping" to try to
determine if the high ping time is due to your ISP, the server's, or
somewhere in between.

  One of the problems with online play is that some players may resort to
attacking competitors' connections to drive up their ping times....  (Most
of the DoS attacks into (and out of...) the college where I work seem to be
associated with online play.)

David Gillett

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