brand new, second pc, lagging

UkayJ · 26 Mar 2021 at 18:12

Hello, I have recently built a new pc, the motherboard was purchased from OC's 4 months ago as it was on offer; MSI B450 Mortar MAX, the box was unopened until the last part (cpu) arrived 2 weeks ago, then it was all built.
It's plugged in via Ethernet but keeps lagging while gaming and just internet browsing it will "lose conection" for a few seconds then reload the page, so someting clearly wrong with it's internet connectivity.
I've spoken to my ISP (Zen) twice and they say we have a good router and as it's the only device in the house having problems so it must be the pc itself; makes sense.
Any ideas please?

BigT · 26 Mar 2021 at 18:26

Or maybe the cable. Do you have another you can try?

UkayJ · 27 Mar 2021 at 08:54

Yes I bought another one, a different one, same problem.

Avalon · 27 Mar 2021 at 10:57

How *exactly* is this connected to the router? Eg one cable direct to the router or cable to power line adapter, then another power line adapter to the router? If you have a spare NIC, now may be a good time to try it to see if it's an issue with the onboard (hardware/drivers/config) or if it's OS based.

UkayJ · 27 Mar 2021 at 11:39

Ethernet straight into router from motherboard.
What's an NIC?

Avalon · 27 Mar 2021 at 11:42

UkayJ said:
Ethernet straight into router from motherboard.
What's an NIC?

Network Interface Card.

UkayJ · 27 Mar 2021 at 12:13

Do I need to get one of those to diagnose the problem?

mickyflinn · 27 Mar 2021 at 12:19

UkayJ said:
Ethernet straight into router from motherboard.
What's an NIC?

Tried a different port on the router ?

UkayJ · 27 Mar 2021 at 13:32

yes tried that

Avalon · 27 Mar 2021 at 19:17

Need? No, but if you had one to test with, it would have been useful.

Randomface74 · 27 Mar 2021 at 19:45

I'd be buying a network card, Intel ideally. Think it was about £20 last time I checked.

Duke · 27 Mar 2021 at 19:46

Could be Windows / software / antivirus issue. Open Task Manager and go to the Startup tab. Disable anything on there you don't need starting up would be a good starting point.

Also ensure you're running the latest motherboard (chipset) and network card drivers. You can get them from the MSI website.

Rainmaker · 28 Mar 2021 at 02:19

Duke said:
Also ensure you're running the latest motherboard (chipset) and network card drivers. You can get them from the MSI website.

Mobo manufacturer websites usually have woefully outdated drivers. The chipset drivers will be much better coming direct from AMD and the NIC should be fine with whatever Windows Update gives out.

OP, try a Linux live USB like Ubuntu. It'll tell you whether the OS is at fault or the hardware.

UkayJ · 28 Mar 2021 at 11:31

I checked chipset driver again, it's there. I will consider buying an NIC, I remember what the are now. I have been uninstalling things I don't need although there's not much on there because it's new; I got rid of all the Asus lighting programs, nothing has helped so far.
One thing to consider is : I have played several games solo (just me on the new pc, nobody using the main pc) and there's been no lag; is that not the router not liking 2 Ethernet connected devices or something?

Avalon · 28 Mar 2021 at 11:38

Easy to test, with the other PC turned off, does it still happen? In simple terms, if the other PC was downloading or uploading enough data it could cause the other to lag for online activities.

UkayJ · 28 Mar 2021 at 15:31

I tested it with the main pc off but the new one still lagged, Overwatch appears to be worse than Apex Legends

I've uninstalled everything that I can really so going to try an ethernet network card;

would this be ok for gaming?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x TP-Link Gigabit PCI Express Network Adapter (TG-3468)= £9.95

Total: £13.43 (includes shipping: £3.48)

UkayJ · 28 Mar 2021 at 16:13

Rainmaker said:
OP, try a Linux live USB like Ubuntu. It'll tell you whether the OS is at fault or the hardware.

I'll try an NIC first as it's easier for me

BowdonUK · 29 Mar 2021 at 11:10

It could be quite a lot of issues as its a newly built pc.

Do you have a graphics card? Maybe change the setting in windows so it uses the original motherboard graphic driver. I *think* you can do this by using safe mode. Make sure you select to use safe mode with an Internet connection.. Then use the browser, though remember your a/v might not be working, so keep to the mainstream websites. See if there is any browser lagging.

Sp00n · 29 Mar 2021 at 11:41

You got anything else connected on the network that could have a conflicting IP perhaps, although I would expect a windows error detecting a conflicting IP, doesn't always happen though.

If you open up 2 command prompts and run a ping to the router and to an external IP, do you see packet loss to the router AND to the external IP?

By process of elimination, you have confirmed:

Not network cable - replaced cable
Not network port - used different port

So it's either:

Hardware / network card = try a different nic
Software / operating system = try a live linux distro (very quick to check with a live usb)
Configuration / IP conflict = try manually configuring an IP

Also, you installed it OK and haven't got the io shield tab touching the port like this? https://www.overclockers.co.uk/foru...mortar-max-lan-issue-i-o-shield-tab.18874728/

UkayJ · 29 Mar 2021 at 12:17

billysielu said:
I'd be buying a network card, Intel ideally. Think it was about £20 last time I checked.

Just ordered an Intel Pro one, I have high hopes as some of the reviews say they bought it to solve the same problem I'm having.

BowdonUK and sp00n : I'll try your suggestions if this Nic doesn't sort it thank you