InputLag SOLVED Realtek USB / TP-LINK UE300 USB 3.0 Adapter

[Sygey3]

Author, what version of the network adapter do you have? Version 5.0 or 5.2? It should be written on the box.

[wasted42]

yes man, https://prnt.sc/EmZBVo_huaNK (Tp-link UE300 USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter)

Still nobody knows anything more about this?

which usb model is considered the best for gaming/cs, and should the drivers be updated?
if so whats the proper way to set everything up?

Could you please share the Version of your TP-Link UE300 USB 3.0 ? It should be somewhere on the box next to the barcode.

Is it 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 or other?

And yes this is a known issue. Some motherboard topology are not as good as others. Sometimes some components can shares PCIE lanes / interrupts with each other, or it can simply be a poor Ethernet implementation. This is not linked to a motherboard brand or anything, as each model from each brand will perform differently depending on how the motherboard topology has been engineered.

It has been discussed in great lengths in the past on this forum check here { viewtopic.php?t=10624 }

Can you also share what is your current motherboard?

Finally someone understands Thanks for the reply bro, I'll go through that topic in detail when I have time!

My motherboard is: MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI.

I'm not sure about the exact version since I threw the box away a long time ago… Is there any other way to check it besides the box?

Also, do you know which drivers are the best and what settings I should use?

Thanks again for your reply and for the topic you sent!

Did you not try turning off ethernet settings and playing on wifi? Was there difference?

No i didnt try that, should i?

Hey everyone, I'm one of you who's been dealing with this same issue for years. I'll try to keep it as short as possible and just share what I've noticed in the last 10 days and no, this is not placebo.

For the past ~5 years I've had an input lag problem.
To put it simply: 600–700 FPS @ 400Hz BenQ monitor still feels like I'm playing on 60Hz with 100 FPS. Mouse sensitivity constantly feels like it's changing even though it's always the same (2SENS@400 DPI@1000Hz). The screen feels shaky, no real mouse control, and I can't move properly in-game. I only play CS.

PC specs:
Ryzen 9800X3D, RTX 5070 Ti, 6000MHz CL30 EXPO RAM

I've tried literally everything. I moved houses (apartments) multiple times, bought UPS, tried 3 different monitors (240Hz, 360Hz, 400Hz), replaced every single PC component 3–5 times, mouses, keyboards.. Nothing helped.

Then I read here on the forum about trying a TP-Link UE300 USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

I bought it and started testing, BUT AT FIRST I MADE A MISTAKE I updated it to the latest driver, so I didn’t really feel any improvement.

Later I did a completely fresh Windows 11 install. I blocked automatic driver updates and installed drivers manually, except for the USB Ethernet adapter.
So:
Driver date: 26/09/2015
Version: 11.4.211.2022
When I open Advanced Settings for the Realtek USB GbE Family Controller, I don’t even have all the usual options like transmit/receive buffers, etc. I only see a few basic ones:
https://prnt.sc/5pKrulGmkCFJ

And now the important part:

Since I left it on that default/old driver - the difference is HUGE. The image is no longer shaky, everything feels smooth, I finally have proper mouse control. I’m not exaggerating , this is not placebo. I literally realized I wasn’t crazy.

The only downside is that sometimes bullets feel a bit “weird” in-game when shooting, but honestly I’d rather play like this than go back to how it was before. (repeat sometimes feel not non stop)
My image is smooth all the time, I feel it in the mouse. Only sometimes the recoil is a bit strange, but I think that can be fixed with a better USB adapter or the right settings. So I'm asking someone to share their opinion.

That’s why I’m posting this:

Maybe someone can try this since the adapter is cheap or they already have it / test it with older drivers
If anyone has a recommendation for a better or higher-end USB Ethernet adapter, PLEASE SHARE
If anyone knows how to properly tune the Realtek USB GbE Family Controller or unlock full advanced settings, I'd appreciate advice

If anyone else had similar experience or knows more about this adapter, please share. I really want to understand this better and test more things.

At this point I'm convinced my issue was actually internet/adapter related, not electricity or anything else.

Thanks!

Bought it for myself today. It's way worse than a good mobos realtek nic with netadaptercx drivers. Pls dont waste your money and time on this. Regardless ty for the post

Maybe you and I don’t have the same issue. I'm not spreading any misinformation and I'm completely convinced about what I'm saying there's no placebo effect here.
This has been going on for almost two weeks now

Author, what version of the network adapter do you have? Version 5.0 or 5.2? It should be written on the box.

I already wrote above that I threw away the box, is there any other way I can tell you the exact model?
It’s Realtek anyway
https://prnt.sc/EmZBVo_huaNK (Tp-link UE300 USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter)

[vnb]

Finally someone understands Thanks for the reply bro, I'll go through that topic in detail when I have time!

My motherboard is: MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI.

I'm not sure about the exact version since I threw the box away a long time ago… Is there any other way to check it besides the box?

Also, do you know which drivers are the best and what settings I should use?

Thanks again for your reply and for the topic you sent!

You are welcome. If it shows as Realtek then it is the good version you got (it's a Realtek RTL8153 chip) which the OP on the topic i linked before said was the best in his testing. Newers revisions use a ASIX chipset, which is also good... If it's working for you, then i would not change anything.

You also asked about 'best drivers' this my friend is a question that is very hard to answer.

Personally, I have spend lot of time testing different firmwares and truth is some performs better on some motherboard compared to others.

Realtek provides the "stock" firmware to motherboard manufacturers and they can slightly tweak it to their needs. For example i noticed that MSI always force highest RSS settings on the NIC firmwares they put on their motherboard drivers page. Asus always use higher numbers for Buffer receive and Buffer Transmit, etc. Most of Realtek firmwares are good, honestly. You have to be very unlucky to get a "bad" firmware.

At the end of the day, it is more a trial and error thing, you know? Testing dozens and dozens of firmwares is really time consuming; so best advice i can give you is when you feel like it’s working as it should, just keep it that way.

[Inputlagger91]

Hello everyone, I'm from Russla, I used to have short posts, so I'll say that it was all bullshit. Now I've done everything, as the author wrote, I bought it for 10 dollars, if on yours, ver. 5.0 . I installed windows 11, installed only the driver on the nvidia video card the latest. Feeling the difference in mouse control, not placebo, the sense became faster, reg, it became more pleasant to play. I continue to test, but I advise you to try. The card is not expensive and you can try it

[Inputlagger91]

I apologize for my English, I used an iphone translator

[Sygey3]

Inputlagger91:
Do you have version 5.0 or 5.2? What driver do you have in the network adapter properties? Have you updated it? Have you disabled updating the network card driver?

[simon]

BS!
This looks like some kind of marketing and the replies are also bot-like. Whenever there is a promise of a quick fix with a device you can buy you know it's bs. Real legit discussion about the issue never gains traction.

[vnb]

BS!
This looks like some kind of marketing and the replies are also bot-like. Whenever there is a promise of a quick fix with a device you can buy you know it's bs. Real legit discussion about the issue never gains traction.

i hope you know that screaming for BS could easily get you banned on this forum

if anything the only reply that sounds like a bot is you. There is no promise made anywhere.

Chief already confirmed in the past that some motherboard topology are worse than others, thus making the Ethernet implementation in certain motherboard bad, due to lane sharing, poor implementation, bad topology.

If this is not the case for you, good for you. Avoid screaming BS like that or you could get banned pretty fast.

[Inputlagger91]

Inputlagger91:
Do you have version 5.0 or 5.2? What driver do you have in the network adapter properties? Have you updated it? Have you disabled updating the network card driver?

My version is 5.0 . I disabled the automatic update of drivers immediately after installing the fresh windows 11. Then I installed the latest nvidia drivers. The drivers of the network pdapter are exactly the same as the author's

[wasted42]

Finally someone understands Thanks for the reply bro, I'll go through that topic in detail when I have time!

My motherboard is: MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI.

I'm not sure about the exact version since I threw the box away a long time ago… Is there any other way to check it besides the box?

Also, do you know which drivers are the best and what settings I should use?

Thanks again for your reply and for the topic you sent!

You are welcome. If it shows as Realtek then it is the good version you got (it's a Realtek RTL8153 chip) which the OP on the topic i linked before said was the best in his testing. Newers revisions use a ASIX chipset, which is also good... If it's working for you, then i would not change anything.

You also asked about 'best drivers' this my friend is a question that is very hard to answer.

Personally, I have spend lot of time testing different firmwares and truth is some performs better on some motherboard compared to others.

Realtek provides the "stock" firmware to motherboard manufacturers and they can slightly tweak it to their needs. For example i noticed that MSI always force highest RSS settings on the NIC firmwares they put on their motherboard drivers page. Asus always use higher numbers for Buffer receive and Buffer Transmit, etc. Most of Realtek firmwares are good, honestly. You have to be very unlucky to get a "bad" firmware.

At the end of the day, it is more a trial and error thing, you know? Testing dozens and dozens of firmwares is really time consuming; so best advice i can give you is when you feel like it’s working as it should, just keep it that way.

Thanks, vnb, for all the replies. I’ve got one more question for you since you seem to know stuff about internet.
Could you share your advanced Ethernet adapter settings?
https://prnt.sc/w6U4h098Vuoz
https://prnt.sc/YkHz3Hyxb-FJ
https://prnt.sc/VyGu5tJshThh

I'd like to do some testing using a LAN cable with my Realtek 5GbE adapter, instead of the USB TP-Link adapter.

One very important thing I've noticed: whenever I change the Transmit Buffers and Receive Buffers values, the game always feels different. Because of that, I'm curious what the optimal values are for CS2 or gaming in general.
Thanks!

BS!
This looks like some kind of marketing and the replies are also bot-like. Whenever there is a promise of a quick fix with a device you can buy you know it's bs. Real legit discussion about the issue never gains traction.

hahahahahhahaa what's up with this guy? Marketing bot? WTF?
Glad that someone like @Inputlagger91 chimed in and said they actually tried it and noticed a difference.

And thanks, vnb, for all the replies, one more time!

Hello everyone, I'm from Russla, I used to have short posts, so I'll say that it was all bullshit. Now I've done everything, as the author wrote, I bought it for 10 dollars, if on yours, ver. 5.0 . I installed windows 11, installed only the driver on the nvidia video card the latest. Feeling the difference in mouse control, not placebo, the sense became faster, reg, it became more pleasant to play. I continue to test, but I advise you to try. The card is not expensive and you can try it

Thanks for the reply, and I'm glad you gave it a try and noticed an improvement, keep us updated after 2–3 days and let us know if it still feels better.