Pretty OT but i'm sure theres a computer geek somewhere in the forum. I've just dug out my old copy of counterstrike and tried to play it online. I've moved house since the last time i used it where it was running perfectly fine and smooth, but although i have much quicker internet now (15mb v 2mb)my ping is much worse in online gameplay. So much so i get kicked out of the server because of poor latency. I took a 'ping test' at pingtest.net but i got an A/excellent so whats going on? and how can i solve it?

So what was your actual ping on the test and what are you pinging to game servers? Are the game servers UK based? Could be your router, local exchange kit, ISP, poor peering between your ISP and other ISPs etc. Doing a trace route to the game server's IP address might show at what stage you get a big jump which can help track down who's fault it is (if it's peering then chances are you're stuck with it). There's lot of articles on reducing CS pings to which might help (not played it in years myself though).

Firewall?

Could be that your CS is configured for 56k rather than broadband, this sometimes used to be the case.

Try changing some settings

In the console type

cl_cmdrate 100
cl_updaterate 100
rate 20000
fps_max 100

or something like that, havent played for years so cant remember the good settings off the top of my head and it varies with pc to pc. But if you've got a decent connection and can get a decent fps then these settings should work.

+1 for a firewall on your router. But worth doing a tracert before messing with router settings.
Counter Strike runs on TCP Ports 27030-27039 and UDP Ports 1200,27000-27015 (thats according to Vivendi). Make sure that those ports are open on your router.

Call of Duty is much better 🙂

Try this also:

get the CS servers IP address
Go to the start menu then run
Type cmd and hit enter to bring up the command console
Type PING then a space and type the CS servers IP address and hit enter

If its comes up with a good ping then you know your CS settings are knackered.

It all depends where the server you are playing on is.

If you are trying to play on a US server you'll get kicked for high ping.

Try and stay within the UK or wherever you are and you'll be fine.

When you do a ping tets it probably uses a local ip address to check thats why there is no problem there.

Oh and get CoD.

and if you're wireless in your house go wired.
i'm using devolo av200 kit to convert our mains system into a network. not too cheap at about 70 quid for a basic kit, but better bit rate even than the new 'h' wireless standard i believe.

Thanks for the helpful reply guys, i've actually browsed alot of articles on CS ping already but many of them actually focus on how to get perfect 99FPS and not get ping down to a playable level.

I'm playing mostly on european servers that were running fine at my previous home even at 2mb. My ping ranges between 100-200 before i get kicked.

I've tried plugging a LAN cable instead of wireless but its still the same story. Some friends at work have said that my router/modem (a basic netgear so it won't have a firewall) isn't 'powerful enough' and that even if i plug in a cable it'd still be the same. Is there a way to get pass this without spending too much money on an expensive N-speed router? How awill ibe able to 'open' TCP ports up?

Another thing i noticed is that when i tried to play the game on my own offline, i found movement and response quite laggy to what it used to be. Could it actually be that my graphics card on my laptop (128mb) can't cope therefore its causing such low ping?

Will try the traceroute and commands tonight when i'm back home.

P.S COD4 would destroy my laptops graphics card!