Are USB-ethernet adapters worth the expense?

[Marco]

Hello,

I used to play old-school shooters online a long ago and this month I came back to them as I changed internet connection: I just switched from ADSL to wireless fibre with PoE dish on the roof or whatever it's called.

My PC has an integrated ethernet adapter on the mobo, it's a common Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller you can find in almost every desktop/notebook mobo.

Now the point is, I think this adapter is mediocre and utter trash. I used different CAT5E cables, but none seems to solve my issue: basically I get huge delays, despite low ping, when playing with certain players who have 55 ms or even russians with 100+. It's just a delayed actions problem, otherwise Hit-Reg works fine.

It's like I see my opponent, I switch from knife to minigun and it takes a whole second to change weapon. In the meantime I'm already dead. Sometimes, I see my opponent's projectiles and try to dodge them but I get hit anyway. Sometimes I notice a rocket in my face when it's too late. Or I see my opponent's movements are quite predictable but they were clearly previous actions and I die anyway and so on.

I've read on the internet that looks like low buffers, a strict NAT or unopened TCP/UDOP ports (your traffic goes to Steam servers, which will add delay) can cause that.

But I'm unlucky with the router the technician installed at home: it's a MikroTik with that horrible bug that refuses access requests despite having no password at all; I should reset it, but I'm afraid to loose password and connection name (it's not for me, but for my relatives who use Wi-Fi) and my technician has that data so I'm waiting for him in the next days.

Regarding buffers, let's come back to the point: my integrated Realtek adapter is capped at 128 for transmit and 512 for receive as their highest values, while there are other adapters that are capable of 2048 or even 4096 symmetrical. Some say they replaced their integrated adapter with an USB 3.0 one and they got better gaming performance.

So here is my question: are USB-ethernet drives better than an old card from 2006? Which ones are capable of higher buffer size?

I've found some on Amazon, but this crucial information isn't specified. On Amazon answers I've got no replies at all.

Extras:

My old ADSL connection had speeds of 4.61 Mbps (download, but with bad weather it eventually dropped to 2 or even 1.14) with download latency of 161 and 0.86 (upload) with upload latency from 789 to 953 or even above 1000 ms. Ping 72-78 ms.

My new connection gives me all the speed I pay for, instead. It's 30.42 Mbps (download, regardless of the weather) with a download latency of 88 (but fell to 68 once I turned RSS OFF) and 5.49 (upload) with an upload latency of 133. Ping 50-62 ms.


Since on Quake Live/Serious Sam series there are no servers in Italy, I have to choose german servers. So my speedtests have always been ran in Germany.

Thank you.

[_I_]

no
just use the onboard nic
the realtek 2.5g or gigabit port will be way faster and more reliable than any usb nic

you are probably running into the limits of the modem or router

satellite is going to be laggy no matter what
it takes a long time for signal to bounce to space and back to earth again
dsl isnt great either

get cable or fiber if you can


you are mixing up speeds and ping, they are not related at all
speed is how much traffic can be on a road (how many lanes), ping is the time for a round trip for each packet(car)

check with speedtest.net to show upload, download speeds and ping

[Marco]

Цитата допису _I_:

no
just use the onboard nic
the realtek 2.5g or gigabit port will be way faster and more reliable than any usb nic

you are probably running into the limits of the modem or router

satellite is going to be laggy no matter what
it takes a long time for signal to bounce to space and back to earth again
dsl isnt great either

get cable or fiber if you can


you are mixing up speeds and ping, they are not related at all
speed is how much traffic can be on a road (how many lanes), ping is the time for a round trip for each packet(car)

check with speedtest.net to show upload, download speeds and ping

No, it's not a dish pointed to a geostationary satellite (those have 500 to 2000 ms ping as far as I know), it's a dish pointed to my ISP's tower which is built on a mountain 10-15 km away from home, but there are no obstacles in the path.

The speeds I refer to are exactly from speedtest by OOKLA, it's just they recently added upload/download latencies besides the ping with yellow symbol shown at the beginning of every test, as you might have noticed. Do I have to ignore those or how do I read them correctly?

[_I_]

50+ms to the isp is still pretty high
better than dsl, but cable/fiber should be <10ms

try this
winkey+r -> cmd -> tracert google.com
and paste the results
first hop is your router, maybe combo router+modem
next is modem if not a combo
then its to the isp
and isp network
then internet backbone
then to google servers

see where the numbers start getting bigger
if the first hop is over 1ms, then its a lan issue
wifi may be 1-10ms

[mtono]

did you talk to your internet service provider, yet, mr threadsarter? i think them could tell you, what the problem is. it is not with yout pc as far as i know.
my2ct

[Lord Flashheart]

The onboard nic should be fine for your needs.
In my experience, USB nics are problematic, in that they can cut out much more.
I suggest you look into your router status. If using an ISP provided one, then expect issues.
There are more robust option like pfsense, opnsesne & openwrt.

[Marco]

Цитата допису secret_agent_man:

did you talk to your internet service provider, yet, mr threadsarter? i think them could tell you, what the problem is. it is not with yout pc as far as i know.
my2ct

Not yet, but I'm going to collect more info prior to contact them. See below.

Цитата допису _I_:

50+ms to the isp is still pretty high
better than dsl, but cable/fiber should be <10ms

try this
winkey+r -> cmd -> tracert google.com
and paste the results
first hop is your router, maybe combo router+modem
next is modem if not a combo
then its to the isp
and isp network
then internet backbone
then to google servers

see where the numbers start getting bigger
if the first hop is over 1ms, then its a lan issue
wifi may be 1-10ms

Hello, below is my tracert from my pc linked to router with an ethernet cable:

C:\Windows\system32>tracert google.com

Traccia instradamento verso google.com [216.58.209.46]
su un massimo di 30 punti di passaggio:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  192.168.99.1
  2    25 ms    28 ms    19 ms  46.102.189.116
  3    24 ms    29 ms    29 ms  172.18.0.53
  4    37 ms    29 ms    29 ms  xe-11-3-2.cr1-rom2.ip4.gtt.net [212.221.82.205]
  5    32 ms    49 ms    49 ms  ae16.cr1-zur1.ip4.gtt.net [213.200.115.78]
  6    94 ms    69 ms   139 ms  72.14.197.90
  7    41 ms    41 ms    48 ms  74.125.243.135
  8    61 ms    45 ms    69 ms  142.250.234.84
  9    73 ms   139 ms    69 ms  142.251.227.1
 10    63 ms    63 ms    54 ms  108.170.255.211
 11    60 ms    64 ms    53 ms  108.170.232.169
 12    47 ms    46 ms    41 ms  waw02s05-in-f14.1e100.net [216.58.209.46]

Traccia completata.

I've also ran a ping test with 25 hops:

C:\Windows\system32>ping google.com -n 25

Esecuzione di Ping google.com [216.58.209.46] con 32 byte di dati:
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=44ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=32ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=44ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=38ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=82ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=38ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=46ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=47ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=42ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=47ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=68ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=50ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=46ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=115ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=38ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=43ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=39ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=41ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=73ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=58ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=45ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=39ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=44ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=41ms TTL=117
Risposta da 216.58.209.46: byte=32 durata=39ms TTL=117

Statistiche Ping per 216.58.209.46:
    Pacchetti: Trasmessi = 25, Ricevuti = 25,
    Persi = 0 (0% persi),
Tempo approssimativo percorsi andata/ritorno in millisecondi:
    Minimo = 32ms, Massimo =  115ms, Medio =  49ms

Цитата допису Lord Flashheart:

The onboard nic should be fine for your needs.
In my experience, USB nics are problematic, in that they can cut out much more.
I suggest you look into your router status. If using an ISP provided one, then expect issues.
There are more robust option like pfsense, opnsesne & openwrt.

Цитата допису RMJ:

USB = speed limitations - NUFF said

I see, so better not purchasing that stuff. Thank you guys.

[_I_]

so ping to the modem is 0ms, thats great it means its not a problem with your nic or router
on your side of things

but 30+ and spikes to 115+ adds alot of jitter
dsl may be higher average ping, but much more consistent which is better for gaming
cable or fiber are better options for high speed with low ping

repeat the pingbomb to the router just to verify
ping -n 25 192.168.99.1
and the first hop to see if its the router/modem combo to the isp problem
46.102.189.116

if thats where it starts the high numbers contact the isp and have them send someone to help with the connection problem

[Cathulhu]

To diagnose latency issues you can also use the Windows command PATHPING:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PathPing
Takes longer to run, but helps isolating misbehaving hops.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

As long as your adapter supports 1000 Mbps Full Duplex; it should be fine; Realtek or not.

USB Ethernet Adapters would be junk and slow you down.

If you really need and/or for whatever reason find a need to have a different or just more then one Ethernet LAN NIC in your Desktop PC, buy a PCIE Card w/ Intel based Chipset.

If you buy some cheap-o PCIE card (Wired or WiFi) or a USB adapter; all you going to end up with is mostly junk no better then onboard Realtek stuff. And plus with it being USB it might slow you down or cause issues with other devices, it might even randomly restart or drop out due to how unreliable these adapters via USB can be.

[Marco]

Цитата допису _I_:

so ping to the modem is 0ms, thats great it means its not a problem with your nic or router
on your side of things

but 30+ and spikes to 115+ adds alot of jitter
dsl may be higher average ping, but much more consistent which is better for gaming
cable or fiber are better options for high speed with low ping

repeat the pingbomb to the router just to verify
ping -n 25 192.168.99.1
and the first hop to see if its the router/modem combo to the isp problem
46.102.189.116

if thats where it starts the high numbers contact the isp and have them send someone to help with the connection problem

This is to the router:

C:\Windows\system32>ping 192.168.99.1 -n 25

Esecuzione di Ping 192.168.99.1 con 32 byte di dati:
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64
Risposta da 192.168.99.1: byte=32 durata<1ms TTL=64

Statistiche Ping per 192.168.99.1:
    Pacchetti: Trasmessi = 25, Ricevuti = 25,
    Persi = 0 (0% persi),
Tempo approssimativo percorsi andata/ritorno in millisecondi:
    Minimo = 0ms, Massimo =  0ms, Medio =  0ms

And this is to the first hop:

C:\Windows\system32>ping 46.102.189.116 -n 25

Esecuzione di Ping 46.102.189.116 con 32 byte di dati:
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=47ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=25ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=23ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=24ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=47ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=17ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=16ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=12ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=22ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=25ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=9ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=39ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=19ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=17ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=14ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=23ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=16ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=14ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=19ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=6ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=12ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=21ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=16ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=24ms TTL=63
Risposta da 46.102.189.116: byte=32 durata=43ms TTL=63

Statistiche Ping per 46.102.189.116:
    Pacchetti: Trasmessi = 25, Ricevuti = 25,
    Persi = 0 (0% persi),
Tempo approssimativo percorsi andata/ritorno in millisecondi:
    Minimo = 6ms, Massimo =  47ms, Medio =  22ms

Цитата допису Cathulhu:

To diagnose latency issues you can also use the Windows command PATHPING:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PathPing
Takes longer to run, but helps isolating misbehaving hops.

Hmm, compared to Wikipedia's example I get step 0 which is my router's address and then a step 1 which ends in * * * with the -g parameter, whatever the domain is (tried my first hop, google and cloudflare).

Цитата допису Bad 💀 Motha:

As long as your adapter supports 1000 Mbps Full Duplex; it should be fine; Realtek or not.

USB Ethernet Adapters would be junk and slow you down.

If you really need and/or for whatever reason find a need to have a different or just more then one Ethernet LAN NIC in your Desktop PC, buy a PCIE Card w/ Intel based Chipset.

If you buy some cheap-o PCIE card (Wired or WiFi) or a USB adapter; all you going to end up with is mostly junk no better then onboard Realtek stuff. And plus with it being USB it might slow you down or cause issues with other devices, it might even randomly restart or drop out due to how unreliable these adapters via USB can be.

You mean 1.0 Gbps & Full duplex? Yes, that option appears in my adapter's adavanced properties.

As for PCIe net cards, noted. Thanks for the info.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Yes 1.0 Gbps
Which is the same as 1000 Mbps

What are the issues you have with Realtek LAN? Maybe it's the way you have it configured. You do know you have to make some manual changes right? It's not going to be great left on the defaults.

Go to the Network Adapter > Properties in Device Manager.

If you change or update the driver all of that config gets reset back to defaults; FYI

[_I_]

the dns just changes name to numbers
only asked when resolving a name once, then the pc remembers that for a while

you can log into the router, and change the dns to 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4, 1.1.1.1
for google and cloudfare, they are faster than isp dns servers
but it will not speed up ping or anything else

i would contact isp support and see if they can do anything to help make the connection more consistent

[Talby]

Can't say I would even consider a usb nic outside of an Rpi...

[C1REX]

Why USB and not a proper high end PCIe card?

[_I_]

op has no problem with his nic, its the isp