Internet connectivity, especially during gaming, has never been a strong suit for Windows. Whether it was the Teredo translation layer back in Windows 8.1 and 10 days, or the current Xbox Gaming Services on Windows 11, online connectivity has always been one of my biggest issues with Microsoft’s OS. However, there are some really cool old-school tweaks that I recently found out about, which claim to vastly improve online connectivity for games on Windows systems.
Now, to prove said claim, I ran my own tests using Nagle’s algorithm and network throttling index on Windows to see which one offered the most impressive results.
Surprisingly, only one of these tweaks ended up improving my ping and latency in games that I tested.
Nagle’s algorithm still works on Windows 11
But for very specific games
Nagle’s algorithm is essentially a Windows networking feature that combines several small data packet fragments into a larger one. This basically improves transmission efficiency and has been reported to reduce latency in some cases. Now, in a fresh installation of vanilla Windows 11, Nagle’s algorithm is enabled by default. Much like other core services of the OS, you aren’t technically meant to enable or disable Nagle’s algorithm.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t tweak it. According to some users on Reddit, disabling Nagle’s algorithm selectively has helped improve latency and ping across titles like DOTA 2 and Grand Theft Auto Online.
To tweak Nagle’s algorithm on your PC:
- On your desktop, hit Windows+R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type Regedit in Run and hit Enter.
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Navigate to – HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services > Tcpip > Parameters > Interfaces > {NIC-id}
- For the {NIC-id} value, look for the string that resembles your IP address.
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Under the {NIC-id}, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value with the following strings:
- TcpAckFrequency and set it to 1 to disable Nagling, but only for gaming.
- TCPNoDelay and set it also to 1 to disable Nagling globally.
- TcpDelAckTicks and set it to 0 to revert Nagling settings to default.
If you’re scared of making changes to your PC’s registry, you can always use Windows Safe Mode to make the changes. And if you’re unsure, you can simply delete the newly created DWORD Value to revert the string to its original state.
Disabling Nagle’s Algorithm only affects games that use TCP connections, of which there aren’t many.
In my case, I tested two games in particular, Marvel Rivals and Monster Hunter Wilds. In Marvel Rivals, I did not see any major improvement, regardless of whether I disabled Nagle’s algorithm or kept it at its default settings. I also tried out Elden Ring Nightreign, where my ping remained mostly unchanged.
Although I did notice some improvement during online sessions in Monster Hunter, it could’ve just been a placebo.
That said, I wasn’t really surprised that disabling Nagle’s algorithm didn’t offer me any tangible results in any of the games I tested. You see, Nagle’s algorithm is specifically meant for TCP connections, which, in this day and age, very few games use. Other than World of Warcraft Classic, there aren’t any new games that use TCP.
The network throttling index is where I got the best results
But only in one of the games I tested
Network throttling tweaks are also a great way to get some additional processing headroom, which in turn can result in better network latency during gaming. However, based on my testing, the results vary depending on the games you play. Windows, by default, implements a network throttling mechanism which is meant to reduce the stress of processing network packets. However, the same mechanism can be a cause for increased latency during online sessions.
Thankfully, with a simple registry tweak, you can easily disable the network throttling index.
- Head to the Registry Editor (Windows+R > regedit).
- Inside the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion > Multimedia > SystemProfile.
- Under SystemProfile, create a new DWORD (32-bit) value (right-click > select DWORD (32-bit Value).
- Rename the DWORD value to NetworkThrottlingIndex.
- Next, right-click on the DWORD value and go to Properties.
- Under Properties, you want to change the Hexadecimal value to ffffffff.
The ffffffff value essentially completely disables the network throttling index and increases max throughput. And surprisingly enough, this did have a tangible impact on my ping and latency in Marvel Rivals. It jumped from roughly 110ms to 80ms, which is quite noticeable. However, the same didn’t happen in the other games I tested.
In both Monster Hunter Wilds and Elden Ring Nightreign, I did not see any difference upon disabling the network throttling index.
Network tweaks on Windows are fine and dandy, but aren’t a replacement for good hardware
I had very little faith in these tweaks, especially since they were written based on Windows 10’s networking index. And unsurprisingly, these tweaks didn’t really offer any substantial uplift to my online multiplayer experience. While the tweaks can work in some very rare cases, if you’re having network issues, perhaps it’s best to switch to a better ISP or a VPN service. In games like Final Fantasy XVI, a good VPN makes way more of a difference than any random network settings tweak.
Additionally, with some clever in-game settings tweaks, you can vastly improve your latency. Even on 4GB GPUs, which, by today’s standards have become obsolete, you can get decent frame rates with minimal latency with some tweaks and the use of upscalers.
You can also try some network adapter tweaks, which can improve latency in certain games. However, it still won’t make a substantial difference compared to a faster connection or a more powerful GPU to run said game.