I just wanted to know if switching to a different server would help reduce my lag. I’m in the EST time zone, so I was wondering if switching to an EST server would help. OR if possible if switching to a lower populated server would help.
There are a lot of things that can cause different kinds of lag.
A server closer to your physical location COULD help, but we don’t have enough information about your computer to know if maybe THAT is the cause of your bottleneck.
My PC should be more than capable of performing, Ryzen 5 3600 XT, Red Devil Radeon RX 580, B550M pro, not having frame stutters ever, it’s just latency. My ping in Stormwind just idle is at 84 on Moon Guard. I notice that a full pop est realm like Stormrage that number goes down to 60.
Your video card MIGHT be an issue. It’s about 4 years old (almost 5 I think). A struggling video card could cause strain on other parts of your system.
Also, how is your router/modem? Is it fairly new or have you had it for a few years? You should be using an AC or AX router now, and make sure you are using a wired connection. Wired is always better than wireless.
I don’t see an issue with your CPU, but how much memory does your system have? That could cause your computer to bog down. You should probably be running at least 8, and 16 or more would be ideal. I generally go with 32 when I build new and that usually lasts a good few years.
Nah I can play other high res titles on ultra at 60 fps incl DOOM and stuff, the poly count in wow is super low and easy to run with ultra settings.
Numbers like 60ms and 84ms are completely acceptable. What kind of numbers are you getting?
Note that I am assuming you’re talking about latency, since you said lag. Frame rates (FPS) are virtually never affected by latency; if you are indeed experiencing low framerates rather than high latency, i.e. “lag”, then the troubleshooting needs to go in a different direction.
Someone could have a solid 60 or 120fps, but have horrible lag, causing the graphics to remain smooth, while abilities are delayed after a button press. If you are getting bad latency (“lag”), such as measurements into the hundreds of milliseconds, or in bad cases even thousands, then your connection needs to be examined and troubleshooting the connection needs to be done. What kind of processor and video hardware you have is moot in a discussion about latency. A Pentium-90 from 1995 could be connected to the internet today with less than 10ms lag to such-and-such server.
Conversely, someone could have excellent latency, at something like 9ms, but be getting horrible frame rates like 8fps, 13fps, or 22fps. If you are getting bad frame rates, your connection is not at fault; therefore trying to get “lower ms” or looking for a better connection is futile. Your frame rate is a function of your computer’s ability to draw a certain number of frames per second, and it’s entirely independent of your latency (“lag”).
Moving servers is likely to not help either problem. If you have a low framerate issue, changing servers will have no effect (except, perhaps, that if you’re hanging out in city hubs and there are fewer players around, the strain on your system would be reduced), and if you have a latency (“lag”) issue, it’s unlikely changing servers would help either (all servers are physically located in Los Angeles and Chicago, the distance between them is travelled by light in 9ms… it’s not a make-or-break for any decent connection.)
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There are two datacenters for WoW in the Americas: Los Angeles and Chicago. No EST server exists. If you’re currently playing on Moon Guard, which is the server of the character you’re posting on, then you are connecting to Los Angeles from your location.
Depending on your EST location (city/state) you may have a quickjump node to Los Angeles, which provides good latency, or a physical advantage if you’re close to Chicago. You can run a WinMTR to see the ping for both server locations to help make a decision about that.
- Los Angeles: 137.221.105.2 (US West)
- Chicago: 24.105.62.129 (US Central)
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