Mysterious WiFi Issues

[SPC McDougall]

I moved out a couple of weeks ago, and I've been using WiFi ever since because of the apartment layout (wired is not an option). In my previous place I was using Ethernet, so there were never any connection issues. I've had severe connection issues and drops starting with my squad training last Wednesday (14JUN17), and continuing to last night (18JUN17) when I was trying to fill in for TFA.

My build is as follows;

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R ATX Case
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 (OEM) (64-bit) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N53 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter

The connection is fine (and SpeedTest shows around 20-25 Mbps down / 10 up) whenever I'm not gaming or doing anything strenuous. However, when I load into ArmA with TS loaded, I get the "Connection Lost" audible notification and have issues in-game.

I've ran speed tests under load and not under load (I've used Folding@Home as the "load" rather than loading up ArmA, but I imagine it'd have a similar effect). When I'm not under load, I get the usual speeds of 20-25 down, 10 up. When it's under load, the speeds go down to a fraction of an Mbps, or a few Mbps (both up and down) at the most. It's not my ISP either, as I can use other devices easily (ie, I can use my phone all the while having drops on TS and in ArmA).

Is it possibly a power thing- will I have to get a new PSU? Or is it an interference/heat thing? The GPU runs at a decent temperature under load, but nothing abnormal from what I've seen. I've also tried a couple of different WiFi cards with similar results (a Rosewill RNX-N600PCE and a TP-Link TL-WN851ND). My router is a Netgear WNR3500Lv2 (highest protocol is wireless n). I also have a Linksys EA3500 dual-band that I've used with similar results.   

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated in getting a technically struggling soldier back to the front.

SGT McDougall

EDIT: I unplugged my CD/DVD drive to see if it would resolve the issue (by perhaps ensuring enough power could go to the WiFi card), but I still have an extremely weak connection under load.

[SSG (Ret) Donohoe]

Talk to the guys in 1-3, some were talking about possible issues you were having leading up to the OP last night, apparently windows 10 has a power saving setting that turns off your wifi card which may be your issue

[SPC McDougall]

I'm not sure if there are any other power saving settings than these, but here are two for reference;

[1LT (Ret) Burke]

Crank that power saving up to "USE ALL THE ELECTONS!"  Power saving also does crap like throttling your CPU and other nonsense that you don't want when you're on an operation.

As to your specific problem, what part of the world do you live in?  20 down should be okay-ish but isn't great. Have you updated your drivers and all of that?

[SPC McDougall]

I live in Canada, in Quebec (so relatively eastward, closest US states are VT, NY, NH). I have the latest drivers for the WiFi card and for my GPU. The card drivers are a couple of years old but they're downloaded straight from ASUS and they're listed for Windows 10 x64; Windows also can't find anything newer.

[1LT (Ret) Garcia]

God I hate wifi.

So if you're wired then it's not an issue right?

This only occurs when you load into Arma while running TS? Can you run Arma without TS just fine?

If it's the combination of those two programs, then the only thing linking them is TFAR. Have you done a full reinstallation of TS and TFAR?

[SPC McDougall]

It's not an issue when wired. I lived in a different place from August-May and had no problems on Ethernet (unless there were server problems).

It's when the PC is under load in general. If I use something like Folding@Home (which puts the CPU and GPU to work running calculations for a Stanford research project), and log onto TS, I have the same issue. So I would imagine it either has to do with power draw or with some sort of heat or electromagnetic interference.

[1st Lt (Ret) Hardman]

Might be an issue with slot/lane maybe? Can you swap the card into a different slot?

[SPC McDougall]

I've tried both viable PCI-e X1 slots (a third one is unusable as it's practically on top of my GPU). Also, one of the alternative cards I tested (the TP-Link) was regular PCI.

[SPC M. Koch]

I dont think this is PC HW related. At the point were the connection between router and computer is proven working fine, I should refer you to your provider.

However as you indicate there is no such issue when connected via ethernet-cable, there might be an issue with the router and/or transfer of data through the different layers/adapters. You can try the hints in this thread but I doubt you have set win to powersave.

I link a dokument with common wifi connection issues and transfer modes maybe this helps (just ignore the brand its a decent knowledgebase)
https://en.avm.de/service/fritzbox/fritzbox-7490/knowledge-base/publication/show/514_Slow-wireless-connections-low-throughput/

At least I would like to recommend a cable based connection to you because wifi sucks (whenever you need it the most, its like Murphys Law)

[Ellros]

  I have a friend with similar issues, but with Battlefield 1 and Discord.  Windows 10.  And it only occurs with that particular computer.  No other computer in his household has the issue.  He is pretty sure it is a Win10 issue.

[1LT (Ret) Garcia]

Is it just TS that has this issue? Or do you completely lose internet connection? Is it only the combination of a loaded CPU and TS that can trigger the issue?

[SPC McDougall]

TS is a useful benchmark because it has the persistent ping indicator at the bottom right. I don't completely lose Internet connection under load, but enough to give me extremely high TS ping at the peak (~1500+ ms) which causes the connection to be lost. I can still browse the Internet, albeit slowly. Even with TS closed, when I run a speed test at speedtest.net (on regular load vs under load), the numbers are markedly lower (20 down/10 up vs 0.5 down/2-3 up).

[2nd Lt (Ret) Chance]

I had similar issues with Rainbow Six Siege where it would cause my internet to drop. As a result I got a wifi extender/booster and plugged it in to an outlet next to my computer and direct connected it with and Ethernet cable. It is called: NETGEAR AC1900 Wi-Fi EX6400 Essentials Edition Wi-Fi range extender - 2.4/5 GHz - 1900 Mbps - Wi-Fi
Hopefully something like that could help out your internet connection

[SPC McDougall]

I had similar issues with Rainbow Six Siege where it would cause my internet to drop. As a result I got a wifi extender/booster and plugged it in to an outlet next to my computer and direct connected it with and Ethernet cable. It is called: NETGEAR AC1900 Wi-Fi EX6400 Essentials Edition Wi-Fi range extender - 2.4/5 GHz - 1900 Mbps - Wi-Fi
Hopefully something like that could help out your internet connection

Copy that, thank you PFC. I'm going to talk to my roommates and see if I can run a long-ass Ethernet cable across the apartment somehow. If not, I'll go the extender route.

Thanks for the help everyone.