Welcome to the Streamers Club
Welcome, streamers! You have officially joined the largest club of gamers who are dedicated to broadcasting their gaming experiences and getting their favorite games streamed live for thousands, if not millions of viewers. You’ve taken a bold step, and now it’s time to deal with one of the biggest challenges of streaming PC games: internet lag.
Whether you’re playing a competitive game or just a casual adventure, lag can easily ruin your gaming session and make it extremely frustrating to even watch your own stream. Lag is caused by a lack of communication and synchronization between your computer and the game’s servers, resulting in extremely slow loading times, distorted graphics, and occasionally game crashes. In other words, lag is your enemy and if you want to run a solid and professional stream, then you need to deal with it.
In this blog post we’re going to discuss some of the most common causes of lag, how to diagnose and prevent it, and then outline some practical steps you can take to make sure your stream runs smoothly.
What Causes Lag?
The most common reasons for lag are a slow internet connection, inadequate PC hardware, and poor optimization of the game itself. Let’s go over each of these causes in a bit more detail.
Slow Internet Connection
If your internet connection isn’t fast enough to handle the amount of data that’s being sent and received between your PC and the gaming server then you’ll most likely experience lag. This can happen if your connection is to slow or if you’re too far away from the server, meaning that there’s more physical distance for the data to travel.
The easiest way to diagnose this issue is to download a bandwidth meter and test how fast your connection is. If you don’t have access to a bandwidth meter, then you can also check your connection speed by doing a speed test.
If your connection is to slow, the most obvious solutions are to upgrade your current router and purchase a faster internet package. While these solutions do come with price tags, if streaming is your primary goal then they are worth the investment.
Inadequate PC Hardware
No matter how fast your internet connection is, if your PC lacks proper hardware then you won’t be able to handle the amount of data that’s being sent and received in your game. If your PC is unsure of how to deal with this data then the result is lag.
In order to diagnose this issue, you’ll need to check your system’s task manager and see what kind of load your PC is actually taking on. If you notice that your GPU or CPU is consistently spiking, then this could be a sign that your current hardware isn’t up to the task.
The simplest solution would be to upgrade your hardware, but this can be costly. A more affordable option is to make some adjustments to your game’s settings and lower the graphics quality. This won’t affect the game’s performance as much, but it will give your hardware a bit of room to perform better.
Poor Optimization of the Game
Lastly, if the game you’re trying to stream isn’t adequately optimized, then this can be another potential cause of lag. If a game’s code isn’t efficient then this can put extra strain on your PC’s hardware, resulting in increased lag.
The best way to diagnose this issue is to check the game’s forums and see if anyone else is having similar problems. If so, then there’s a good chance that the game itself needs to be optimized.
The best way to fix this is to contact the game’s developers and ask if they have plans to optimize the game in the near future. However, if this isn’t an option you should instead look for third-party optimization tools and resources that can help you get the job done yourself.
How to Prevent Lag
Now that you know what causes lag, let’s move onto the more important part: how to prevent and avoid lag.
Check Your Network Settings
The first step you should take is to check your network’s settings and make sure everything is running properly. If you have any security features or parental controls enabled, it can be a good idea to disable them temporarily as they can sometimes interfere with your gaming connection.
It can also be useful to look into troubleshooting tools like ping testers and speed tests. These can help you narrow down any issues with your connection and help identify the source of the lag.
Check Your Computer’s Performance
The next step is to take a look at your computer’s hardware and software performance. Make sure all of your drivers are up to date and that no processes are running in the background that could be slowing down your PC.
If you’re running an older computer, it may be time to look into upgrades or even a new computer if your current one is reaching its limits. While this can be expensive, it could be worth the investment since a newer PC would be able to handle streaming with ease.
Game Optimization
Finally, you should turn your attention to the game itself. If your game isn’t optimized then this could be causing a large portion of the lag. To make sure the game is running properly, you should look into optimization guides or use third-party software to adjust the graphics settings.
If you want to take your optimization to the next level, then you can look into third-party game boosters which can significantly improve the performance of the game. A game booster is a piece of software that removes unnecessary processes and cuts down on any background activities that could be causing lag.
Take Advantage of Streaming Services
Finally, one of the best ways to make sure your stream runs smoothly is to use streaming services like Twitch and Mixer. These services offer a feature called “streaming quality” which allows you to change the quality of your stream to fit your connection.
You can also use platforms like Microsoft Stream and YouTube to broadcast your stream in different quality settings. This can help you ensure that you’re broadcasting the content in an ideal resolution for your viewers and that you’re not experiencing any unnecessary lag.
Conclusion
Lag can be a big issue for streamers but with a bit of knowledge and preparation, it can be fairly easy to avoid or reduce. From checking your network settings and computer performance, to taking advantage of streaming services, there are a number of steps you can take to make sure your streaming experience is as enjoyable and smooth as possible.
So don’t let lag ruin your stream and instead make sure to follow the steps outlined in this post. With a bit of effort, you can easily make sure your gaming sessions are lag-free and that you can keep your viewers happy and engaged.
Happy streaming!
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