I'm so sorry to necrobump this thread, but OP did such a good job at describing my issue. I recently upgraded my system and the difference coming from an Intel NIC is night and day in terms of how fast paced shooters such as counter strike, call of duty and valorant "feel". Simply put, I don't stand a chance anymore and my KDR has dropped significantly for seemingly no reason. It's (not) like I suddenly became a much, much worse player over night.

No matter what I do, I can't get the games to feel as responsive as they used to. I've been in a loop of "uh, maybe I should try changing this setting that I've never heard of before" and using the Windows "reset network adapter" feature for about two weeks now. This problem is especially noticable in call of duty (despite all its flaws and wonky netcode) thanks to the killcam. For me the enemies BARELY peak a corner and INSTANTLY kill me with 2-3 bullets in core mode, whereas for them they're long around the corner and have landed 4-5 shots already. It's honestly driving me mad, since playing this kind of games with my e-friends is what I've been looking forward to after coming home from work or on the weekends for more than a decade at this point. I'd really like to know if anyone found a solution.
Unreazz wrote: ↑25 May 2024, 15:03
You can adjust or tinker with your NIC configuration as much as you like, but it won't significantly change your in-game experience. The only settings that might have a minor impact are flow control or interrupt moderation. NICs simply don't have the power to improve your gameplay that much. Only your ISP can do that, along with all the relevant Windows network configurations.
Always keep in mind that your internet connection comes from the outside to you, and this part of the network has to be optimal. Your PC or client is just one hop in the process, so you essentially have no control over the overall quality.
Usually I'd be inclined to agree with this 100%, but not since I experienced these problems first hand. Also it doesn't make any sense that using the Wi-Fi adapter, despite having other issues, would make the game feel so different. It's unlikely my ISP knows when I'm using the wireless adapter instead and routes my packets any differently whenever I switch between the adapters.