im not really familiar with these forums, and i didnt know exactly where to ask this. BUT

i play an online game called Crossfire. its servers are located somewhere in Canada.


the problem im having is ping spikes, while im in game, my ping is usually 40-45. but out of nowhere my screen will freeze, than come back, and ill check my ping which has went up anywhere from 250-800.


ive played on the lowest settings, and the highest, it makes no difference.
someone tried helping me and they said i needed to buy more RAM. would this be the case?
im not good with computers, at all, but when i go to my control panel -> system -> it says "3.00ghz 2.99 ghz 1gb of RAM"

the recommended amount of ram is 1gb, so i thought id be fine. others say it has to do with my router. i have a linksys router with 2 other laptops on it.



any other info needed just ask, ill try my best

What's your computer's OS? Also, which one are you talking about? There's a couple games that I'm finding with that title name.

Along with what scff249 asked for would you mind posting the game's recommended specs and your corresponding computer specs?
Btw the router is probably not the problem unless the other laptops are doing something bandwidth-heavy, if you want to make sure just turn off those computers and try to play the game if it still has lag spikes then its not the other comps.

im using windows XP, the game is from Z8 games.

reqs (ill post recommended only)

cpu- 2.0ghz
memory- 1gig
video card- geforce6600 or better
hard disk - 1.2gb
direct x 9.0 or later

my specs:
on my first post, 3.0ghz would be my cpu i guess?
1gig RAM
nvidia geforce fx 5200 graphics card



@bass - i usually play after the owners of the laptops go to sleep, so it couldnt be that, plus all they do is surf the web.
anything else im pretty sure id need help finding.

NOTE: i notice my graphics card is alot older than the 6600, but people have told me thats not the issue. and a mod on that game is using a similar card and he does fine.

I looked up the game (at least what i think is the game) and i found this.. http://www.gameogre.com/crossfireinterview.htm

If this is the game you are speaking of then your ping problems are probably from the creator's fault, and it seems you will just have to wait for the to fix it.

that is infact the game. you dont find anything wrong with my specs? because not many people have the problem as lately as i do, mine goes from 45 then freezes to like 500 in a good 3 minute intervals sometimes.


if its the games fault, then i guess i will just wait it out, thanks for the help bass and scff

Personally i would upgrade the graphics card and add 1g of RAM at least, but i just wanted to inform you that the ping spikes are probably not from your end. In my experience RAM and Video card have never affected my ping, only the speed of my internet. And in this case the problems with the game creator.

alright thank you, the person that helped me said i should also go about 1 gig of ram more, which is good because i have a giftcard with RAM all over it.


i need to find a semi cheap but good graphics card