Why is My Ping So High in CSGO?

Counter-Strike Global Offensive, or CSGO for short, is currently at its peak. With the highest player base in the world, it’s been topping the Steam charts for a while now. But as impressive as these stats undoubtedly are, it’s worth mentioning that they only cover games on Steam, which is a hugely popular platform.

There are players from all over the world, and the CSGO servers are also located in many locations. Your physical distance from the game server is just one of many reasons why your ping may be high in CSGO. Read on for other reasons, and more importantly, fixes for all of them.

High Ping in CSGO Explained

Ping refers to the delay, or latency, of response time between your computer and a game server. In this case, in CSGO. Ping is always expressed in numbers, and this number actually shows the milliseconds or ms.

It’s difficult to determine an ideal ping, but here’s a rough outline. If your ping is anywhere between 0 and 40, at least in CSGO, the game will run incredibly smoothly. After that, you might notice a slight if insignificant delay.

This delay becomes more apparent and game-breaking when your ping is over 100ms. At this point, you’ll experience lag that will affect your gameplay. Your opponents may see you crossing corners before you even notice them on your screen.

Since you’re lagging, bullets may also register differently than normal, sometimes even giving you an advantage over the opponent. Not that we recommend intentionally lagging, also known as lag switching, because it’s game-breaking and unfair.

How to See Your Ping in CSGO

Before we begin explaining the fixes for high ping, you should know how to see your ping at all times in CSGO. This is easy, just follow these steps:

1. Launch CSGO on your computer.
2. Click on the gear (settings) icon to the left of your screen.
   
3. Click on Game Settings, and then Game.
4. Scroll until you find the Enable Developer Console option. Click on the dropdown arrow and select Yes.
   
5. Exit this window and press the console key on your keyboard (` mark located below ESC).
6. Type in net_graph 1 in the console window. If you wish to disable this, just type in net_graph 0.

Now many values will appear at the bottom of your screen. These are all useful and include fps, server tick rate and ping. Frames per second (fps) are equally important as ping in CSGO, but that’s a topic for another time.

Potential Reasons and Fixes for High Ping in CSGO

Before going into a competitive match of CSGO, check your ping when you launch the game, or even better, launch a casual or deathmatch server. If your ping is below 70, you’ll be able to play, but ping below 50 is recommended for smooth gameplay.

Prior to any fixes, make sure that you have a stable internet connection. We recommend an internet package with at least 20 Mbps, and an Ethernet connection. Cable connection always beats Wi-Fi, no matter which game you play.

If your ping is high, always start with your router. This is the easiest fix – just unplug your modem and router. Wait for a minute, and plug the modem and router back in again. Make sure that their light indicators are glowing green (or their other normal color). Check your ping in-game.

Make Sure You Have All the Latest Updates

Your system needs to have all the latest updates so that CSGO can run smoothly. This includes your Windows or other system updates, but also your hardware updates. Update your graphic card drivers regularly, even though they affect your fps rather than your ping.

Update the network card drivers, as these have more to do with ping. Make sure that all your router firmware is updated too. Just Google search the manufacturer of your router and search for updates online.

If you have trouble updating drivers, you can use one of many driver updating software. These programs are widely available online, some of which are free to use (SlimDrivers, for example).

Naturally, you should update CSGO regularly as well. Whenever there’s an update, close the game if it’s running and download it (except, of course, if you’re in a match already).

Close Everything Else

If you want to have the best gaming experience, close down every app except Steam and CSGO. You can do that using the Task Manager. This works for all visible processes. However, here’s a more advanced solution you can try for pesky apps that hog all the resources (for Windows):

1. Hold the Windows and R keys on your keyboard simultaneously.
2. Click on the Run window that appears and type in resmon. Click OK.
3. This will open the Resource Monitor. Click on Network.
4. Look at the Total tab. See if any process is taking too much of your resources.
5. Right-click the most demanding processes and select End Process. Repeat until all of these processes are terminated. Make sure that you know what you’re dealing with. If you don’t know what some process does, leave it be.

The software that hogs most of the resources is usually an antivirus or antimalware program. We recommend disabling these when gaming, or perhaps even deleting them entirely. Windows Defender or Mac firewall is usually enough protection against unfamiliar third-party programs and sites.

Final Piece of Advice

These were all the easy tips for improving your ping in CSGO. As a last resort, you can try reinstalling CSGO, and the Steam app on your computer. Please don’t use third-party “solutions” that offer miracles for your ping in various games.

These are mostly scams, which will infect your computers with malware, or scam you into paying them. If you’re a tech-savvy user, you can also try changing your IP address, DNS server, and your registry settings.

Look into these fixes and carry them out only if you’re competent enough. These are serious settings that can cause more harm than good if you don’t know what you’re doing. Comment below if you have any suggestions or questions.