Fixing CS2 jitter / network issues

Say goodbye to jitter and hello to smooth gameplay in CS2. This guide will walk you through a simple process of tweaking settings to keep your connection rock-solid for a seamless gaming experience!

Understanding the Issue

With the recent Armory update in Counter-Strike 2, players have noticed issues with their network stability. This update introduced changes in how networking is tracked and displayed to the user, providing a clearer view of connection quality.

Previously, some network issues went unnoticed or were attributed to the game engine, but now they’re highlighted more accurately. This has led many players to realize that their connectivity issues stem from their own networks, rather than from CS2 itself

Excerp from the Armory update released on Oct 3. 2024

NETWORKING

• Added telemetry option to display graphs of network jitter and misdelivery
  
• Changed how packet misdelivery is measured. Previously, if packets arrived out of order, this could be counted as misdelivery even if it was corrected and did not impact gameplay. Also, jitter was not considered, even though excessive jitter can disrupt smooth gameplay. The new measurement method will only count reordered packets as misdelivered if they impact gameplay. Furthermore, if network jitter exceeds a threshold where gameplay is affected, the packets are counted as misdelivered even if they are not dropped and arrive in order

What You Need to Fix It

To tackle your network issues and reduce jitter in Counter-Strike 2, the first step is updating your ethernet network driver. This process requires administrative access on your Windows machine, so make sure you're logged in with an admin account on that computer

• Begin by opening the Device Manager. You can do this by right-clicking on the Start menu and pressing CTRL + SHIFT and clicking "Device Manager."
  
• Once you're in Device Manager, locate your network driver by expanding the "Network adapters" section.
  
• Find the ethernet adapter you're using, (usually Realtek or Intel) and right-click on it to check its properties.
  
• Here, you can view the current driver’s details, in the Driver tab, including the date it was last updated.

If the driver is outdated, it’s time to update it. You'll need to visit the manufacturer's website to download the latest driver version. Make sure to follow the prompts carefully during the installation process. Once the update is complete, you’ll be one step closer to achieving a smoother gaming experience in CS2!

Doing the driver update

Now that we know what we need, let’s get started with updating your ethernet network driver. The process is straightforward, and even if you’re not a tech expert, these steps will help you through it.

Copy or type out the name of your ethernet adapter from the Device Manager into Google or your search engine of choice. (**1)

Make sure to download the driver directly from the manufacturer’s website to avoid any unwanted software. Choose the driver version that matches your Windows version (e.g., Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit).

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Install -> next -> next

Install process is fairly easy and you can select the default options including the repair type of installation.


After installing the updated driver, restart your computer to ensure the new settings take effect. This simple step can often make a big difference in ensuring the changes apply properly.
After restart you can check your driver version like shown in the previous steps, and if it shows the new drivers there your update has been successful.

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(**1) - (note -- most network adapters are made by Intel, Realtek, Broadcom, or Qualcomm. If you see these names, it’s a good sign that you’re on the right track. Look for results that lead to the official website of the manufacturer (e.g., Intel or Realtek's support page).

Tweaking Power Saving Settings

To ensure your ethernet connection remains stable and uninterrupted during your Counter-Strike 2 sessions, it's crucial to disable certain power-saving features. These settings can cause your network adapter to reduce its performance to save energy, leading to unwanted spikes in latency and jitter. Here’s how to tweak these settings:

• Open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting "Device Manager."
  
• Find your network adapter under "Network adapters" and right-click on it, then select Properties.
  
• Navigate to the Power Management tab.

Access the Power Management Tab

Uncheck the box that says, "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."
(in the preview mine are already unchecked so make sure all checkboxes are empty here)

Adjust Advanced Properties from Advanced Tab

There is a lot of settings here, and if you want the best stability its safe to disable most of the settings. To save time I've created a gif that goes through my settings which you can copy.

Settings listed below can remain unchanged and on their default values for now and everything else can be disabled.

• Maximum Number of RSS Queues
  
• Network Address
  
• Recieve buffer
  
• Transmit buffer
  
• VLAN ID

Let me know if it worked

This helped me a lot with gameplay I hope it helps you too. Share this guide with others if it helped you and lets try to make CS2 a more enjoyable game to play.

Here is screenshot proof that it helped me, and a YouTube video is comming soon ™


👇If you have any issues or thoughts feel free to let me know in the comments.👇

💖Thank you for your time and see you around.💖

Rate, Reward & Add To Favorite!💖

Community Ideas and Suggestions

First i'd like to thank everyone that read the guide, the people that gifted points, and especially people that said thanks and/or commented, because that interaction is truly what matters to me and that is where I see the value of my time invested in creating this guide. Thank you all everything it really made me happy to be a part of this.

Now, I want to add a very simple yet effective solution that some members of the community mentioned in the comments below notably:
s0mething VasH and astralaquaria

Disabling Anti Virus

They mentioned Norton by name, but any Anti Virus can potentially sniff out the connection packages that you are transmitting which are going from you to the server and vice-versa while playing Counter Strike. Then if they see a cause for concern they could potentially intervene and create irregular spikes, delay and jitter.
I have not tested this, but I do see it as a valid concern so if all else fails try disabling the anti virus as well.
Do keep in mind that if you are playing on community server that you connect to with an IP that are not valve official servers malware could be a potential risk. So make sure that if you do disable the antivirus you have some protection like Windows Defender or BitDefender installed especially if you like custom maps or highly modded servers.


If I find more community suggestions that make sense or get referenced in the comments a lot I will add them to the guide as well.

[M☈ Ⓜⓘⓓⓔ ™]

Some people are adding the antivirus could be a part of this. I will add this to the guide as well since I didn't cover that part. Honestly that's something that never crossed my mind since I don't use software like that. @s0mething VasH and @astralaquaria will get the credits for the idea :)

[astralaquaria]

just... don't use norton...

[Tom Cruise]

worked perfectly, tk you very much

[IamCristiano7]

Did not work!

[s0mething VasH]

TURN OFF NORTON GAME OPTIMIZER ....!!!!!! THAT FIXED IT FOR ME !!!!!!......

[MOKKA]

doesnt work

[M☈ Ⓜⓘⓓⓔ ™]

Great to hear some positive news from you 3.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, honestly I am glad to see that within the huge pile of digital work I do everyday something as simple as this guide can improve someone else's day by even a little bit.

[нoʀιz]

I followed your method and tried updating my network driver. I didn't make any changes in the Advanced tab since mine looked different from yours. But the effect was immediate! I played a few casual and deathmatch games, and everything was extremely stable. I can't believe it—I was about to buy ping and lag reduction software, but now it seems unnecessary. Thank you so much!

[Nutty]

So far after performing these fixes CS2 finally feels like it works. Still experiencing microstutters here and there, but it's actually playable. Thanks for making this guide!!

[ma4ve]

@mr somehow my problem just went off, idk how.
I did change my network provider and at begining the problem were the same.
But since 3 days, jitter problem is gone, idk how, do the internet provider did smth right after i did a ticket about that? Idk either cuz they didnt responded to it XD