The Wifi Testing Thread

[Discussion]

Hi everyone,

I'm making this thread to hopefully pool everyones various tests using different routers and wifi bands.

First off, all of my tests are done with a wired desktop as a host and a wireless Macbook Pro running OSX Mavericks as the client.

Every test I did with b/g routers were barely playable in even the best test cases. Only games that aren't latency dependant (XCOM, Civ, etc) were playable.

However once I swapped to a full 5ghz band N router the experience greatly improved given the increase in bandwidth. Borderlands, a very busy game visually can run at 1080p 60FPS nearly flawlessly with only a few dips and minimal latency.

Realistically, in a working household full of Wifi devices I expect b/g routers to be pretty much useless given the extra in-house bandwidth taken up by avid Netflix / YouTube users.

I assume the majority of users are going to use Steam in-home streaming over Wifi, hopefully we can get a good knowledge base going to help Valve improve the experience.

[Silverwolf_7®]

I used wi-fi for my first test with Skyrim:The Elder Scrolls V. It reached the loading screen but hung there for quite a while and never reached the game itself. Portal 2 was playable but after a few minutes controls froze and left me spinning in circles. My internet isn't that great so I would blame that for most of the lag. It will probably just be a matter of time before Valve gets it worked out.

My Specs:
Host Machine:
Alienware Aurora R4
CPU: Intel i7-3820@3.60GHz overclocked to 4.1GHz
Graphics:Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2gb OEM overclocked
Ram:8Gb
Wireless:D-Link USB wireless adapter

Play Machine
HP-Pavilion DV-15
CPU:Intel i5-3230m@2.66GHz TurboBoosted to 3.00GHz
Graphics:AMD 8670M 1gb Discrete Graphics
Ram:6gb
Wireless:Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230

Network:
Verizon Fios
Actiontec Fios Router
MI424WR

[janjitse]

Host:
Windows 7
Core i5-3350P @ 3.1 GHz
16GB Ram
Geforce 660 GTX
100 Mb Ethernet to D-Link DIR-605L

Client:
Windows 8.1
Core i5- @1.7 GHz
2 GB Ram
Intel HD 4000
Wireless 802.11n connection to D-Link router (1 m distance, no obstacles)

--------------------------------------------------
Games tested:
Assassin's Creed II: didn't work due to some business with UPlay, will try again later
Titan Quest, Just Cause 2, SuperMeatBoy,Super Hexagon: work mostly perfectly. Total lag of 75ms, input lag is around 4ms, most is display lag. Frame loss is around 40-50%, but I can't seem to see it. Packet loss is 0%.

First observations
- UPlay doesn't seem to work with the system... will try again later.
- Super Hexagon doesn't see the wired Xbox-360 controller attached to the client.
- I set a new record (for myself) in one try with Super Hexagon, so the lag can't be that bad.
- The intro video in Titan quest wouldn't skip for any control from the client, but did for the control of the host (a mouse click on host would skip the video).

[WiseDevil7569]

Publicado originalmente por janjitse:

Host:

First observations
- UPlay doesn't seem to work with the system... will try again later.
- Super Hexagon doesn't see the wired Xbox-360 controller attached to the client.
- I set a new record (for myself) in one try with Super Hexagon, so the lag can't be that bad.
- The intro video in Titan quest wouldn't skip for any control from the client, but did for the control of the host (a mouse click on host would skip the video).

I played far cry 3 and it has uplay, check it out again.

[RainBroDash666]

Slave:
AMD FX6350
AMD HD6850
8gb ddr3 1600
10/100/1000 lan.

Client:
hp sleekbook
AMD A10-5745M
b/g/n wifi

plays ok at 720p/30
with noticeable input lag.
2 to 3 other computers on wifi at the time.

tried super hexagon, farcry 3, and diablo 3. all were playable

next will try an older HP dv6 core 2 duo laptop. :EDIT: un playable on this laptop even with a wired connection.

[Dazog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2TysxQPgtM&feature=youtu.be

Streamed to ASUS ZENBOOK UX32VD
Steam Sharing Beta Wireless intel 7260 AC
1080p at Bandwidth Limited to 10MBit/s
Framerate: Automatic

[The Robitussy Knockout]

Hey guys, here's what I got: I'll start with my client 1's specs:
quad-core 3rd gen i7 @ 3.4 Ghz
GTX 660
8 gbs ram
I think it works really well and handles all my games well and with max or near max settings

Network: AT&T 0.65 Mb/s a second (YES I KNOW IT'S SLOW!)
Router: dlink DIR-615
Distance: client 1: about 5- 10 feet away from my router

I played 3 sessions of portal 2 single player on the 23rd:
the first session I put my laptop about 5-10 feet away from my router and I got about 15 fps and sometimes 30.

the second session I hooked it up to my TV which was 20-30 feet from my router, and for some reason it worked a lot better! about a constant 30 frames a second!

Third session I still had it at my TV and I had about 15 FPS similar to my first session

I hope you find my feedback useful and thank you for inviting me to this beta!

[pat_trick]

Host:
Windows 7
Intel i7-3770 @ 3.4 GHz
GeForce GTX 680
16 GB DDR3
GB LAN connection to Router

Router:
ASUS RT-N16 with DD-WRT custom firmware loaded
Supports b/g/n WiFi

Client:
Asus R3700
Windows 7
Intel Atom D525 Processor @ 1.8 GHz
NVidia ION 2 GPU
4 GB DDR3 RAM
126 GB SSD HDD
Wireless N connection to Router with full connection strength

Played a bit of EP: Sword and Sworcery, Auto Bandwidth, Auto Framerate, Resolution capped at 1080p. The game had slight input lag; video and audio was smooth while at a standstill, but had minor choppiness when moving around or performing other actions. Might work better if tested at 720p instead, but haven't tested yet.

Took a screenshot and there was a huge latency spike for about 7 seconds. After it died down, back to normal gameplay. Seems that Steam stored the screenshot in a zip file in the streaming folder, but the Steam interface won't let me upload it.

[Dark Skull]

Publicado originalmente por SG1_Oneill:

I haven't gotten in on the beta yet but I am hopping they will let me try it before the official release.

I have a very typical setup in that I have a main Gaming PC in an office directly below my home theater about 25ft away in an upstairs loft.

I want to test how wireless 802.11ac will perform. Currently 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz offer okay performance. Most high end routers however offer substantially improved performance using 802.11ac. Since most devices still only support up to wireless N protocols and USB 802.11ac solutions are not much better than wirless N, I want to try game streaming using an 802.11ac bridge.

I am running an Asus RT-AC66U wireless router. To bypass the poor ac performance of USB dongles I am planning on just buying a second RT-AC66U router and setting it up as a bridge. Then I will just connect my laptop to the bridge.

Testing I have seen online shows throughput around 300-350 Mbps at a range of 20 ft when using the bridge. as opposed to 80-150 Mbps using a none bridge solution.

This to me seems the best speed option if you really want to avoid drilling holes in your walls or running excessive wires. The downside is the cost of buying 2 high end wireless routers though the RT-AC66U is a little older now so it isn''t 200 dollars anymore.

If no one has tried this setup by the time I get beta access I will post some results or opinions of its performance. I want to avoid running CAT-5 through my attic, too much damn fiber glass insulation :(

Oneil, Why not buy a the asus AC68 wireless pci card? I've got that card in tandem with AC68u router... Haven't gotten on the beta yet but I will let you know. I stream with my nvidia shield and so far the AC68 pci hasn't made a big impact :( I will let you know how in home streaming works though, I'm excited.

[Beardedalpacaheart]

Network:
AVM Fritz!Box 7390
1GBit/s Ethernet
300MBit/s W-LAN

Host:
Samsung R560
Core 2 Duo P8400 2x2,26 GHz
8GB RAM
GForce 9600m GT
256GB SSD Samsung 830
1Gbit/s Ethernet -> Router


Client
Lenovo Ideapad S400
i3-2365
Intel HD 3000
4GB RAM
W-LAN 300 MBit/s -> Router

- Framerate under 25 FPS
- Sound is unbearable
- Ping Rate is not constant
- After changing the Network Port from Host, from W-LAN to Ethernet Port, Steam needs a restart for reconnecting to Client
- Can't install Games from Client on Host

[HoldenTB]

Host
====
PC
OS: Windows 8.1
Memory: 16 GB DDR3
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K @ 3.4 GHz
Graphics: GeForce 560 Ti
Connected via wireless N dual band network

Client
====
PC
OS: SteamOS
Memory: 8 GB DDR2
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad @ 2.4 GHz
Graphics: GeForce 9800 GTX
Connected via ethernet directly to router

Router
=====
Linksys E2500 Wireless N

Results
======
- all games that ran were playable(!)
- left resolution and framerate settings to "automatic," most games chose 30 FPS and 1080p
- the lag breakdown was 1-2ms for input, 20ms for the game, and 40ms for display
- total lag fluctuated between 60 and 80ms for most games
- lag was not very noticeable when playing games with a controller, but just annoying enough to be not worthwhile when using a mouse
- very rare frame drops. I was able to play a match in Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed with no trouble, and also was fine with Everyday Shooter - two somewhat twitchy games.

SteamOS vs Windows 7
======
I initially tried streaming from Windows 7 on the client, and got not-so-great results with lag times in the 150ms range and frequent frame drops. Streaming through SteamOS on a partition reduced the lag times by almost half, probably because Windows was being Windows and had a ton of stuff going on in the background. If my rig was more powerful to begin with, I bet the difference between the two would be smaller.

My "Steam Box" is my old gaming rig, and it's connected directly to my router along with my consoles. My main gaming desktop is connected over wireless because it's the only device in that room. It's probably about 40 feet away from the client. I was impressed enough with the performance over wireless that I picked up a 100 foot ethernet cable to connect my host directly to the router too, and I'll provide and update for the performance difference after that!

[Amiibola]

Okay, here are my results so far

Router: Comtrend AR-5387un
Wifi: N

Host: PC
AMD Athlon X2 2.5 Ghz
AMD HD5570 1GB DDR3
4 GB DDR2
Connected to router via USB Adapter TP-LINK TL-WN722N (router is too far to connect via Ethernet)

Client: Netbook
Intel Atom N450 1.6 Ghz
Integrated Graphics
1 GB DDR2
Connected to router via integrated Wifi

After an abysmal first test i waited until today to run a few more tests and these are the results

Note that, before starting, i limited the bandwitch to 5 Mbps and disabled hardware decoding. All games configured to 800x600

Non graphics intensive games

Guilty Gear XX #Reload (non-Steam) Gave me a Time-out error, no wonder since it takes its time for switching to 480p, wich is the only res. it runs

Toki Tori: Few framerate hiccups, slow encondig, slow decoding, almost no input lag

Super Meat Boy: Very inconsistent framerate, slow encondig, slow decoding, almost no input lag

Rogue Legacy: Inconsistent framerate, slow encondig, slow decoding, almost no input lag

Demanding games (for my rig)

Super Street Fighter IV AE: Inconsistent framerate, slow encondig, slow decoding at times, surprisingly almost no input lag

CastleVania Lords of Shadow: Unplayable framerate, slow encondig, slow decoding, high input lag

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance: General slowdown (the game ran at slow-mo) with few hiccups, slow encondig, slow decoding, input lagging as hell

Forcing 30 fps softened a few issues, but it was still bad. I gess the problem is simply my PC, wich i can't give any solution right now. I could get a 15m. ethernet cable to try if connecting the host to the router helps

[Tardbarn]

Host PC:
i5 3570K
Asus GTX 670
16GB RAM
WIndows 7 Premium
Asus PCE-AC66 Wireless AC Adapter

Client PC:
Macbook pro
Wireless N 5GHz
Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz

So far I've only managed to try the following:
- Saints row IV - looks perfect, frame rate is good, but very laggy, even when I put the resolution down from 2560x1440 to 1280x720
- Don't starve - same issue, looks perfect, but very laggy.

I'll try more games soon and report back.

[Irishlad147]

I would love to try this out for you Valve. I have an X51, Nvidia Shield, multiple tv's in my home. I have a very good knowledge of game streaming with the Nvidia Shield and the strengths and weaknesses regarding streaming via wifi etc. The problem with Nvidia Gamestream is that there is no official Xbox 360 controller support. This is we're steams Gamestream is so much more appealing to me. I think I can give you some valuable feedback if given the opportunity to test this out for you. I have a youtube channel with over a thousand subscribers. I make videos on all things pc gaming related. Cheers

[Tardbarn]

Ok so I just retried Saints row IV with the following computers:
Host PC:
i5 3570K
Asus GTX 670
16GB RAM
WIndows 7 Premium
Asus PCE-AC66 Wireless AC Adapter

Client PC:
Macbook pro
Wireless N 5GHz
Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz

For whatever reason it seemed to run a lot less laggy and was very playable at 1080p at 60Hz, maybe becuase no one was on the 5GHz band this morning. I'll switch everyhing over to 2.4GHz and see how laggy it is while the host and client PC are the only one's on the 5GHz band.

[wowbagger]

It's not workling via WiFi. Wired and next to my Host PC it works quite well.
Host has solid FPS. the Laptop in my Livingroom has a latency of 500ms. Additonaly Low Framerate on the Laptop connected to my TV.