PingPower is a new service brought to you by SingNet BroadBand. You will experience a significantly lower latency from as low as 10 milliseconds when you are gaming on these game titles :“Battle Field 2”, “Counter Strike 1.6”, “Counter Strike Source” and “Day of Defeat”.
 

 

For existing subscribers, you can subscribe for PingPower as a value added service at just $9.90 a month (with GST). Upon application, your PingPower VAS will be turned on the following day if you signup online or 3 working days for walk-in applications.

For new subscribers, you need to signup for any SingNet BroadBand plan.

And simply add $9.90 a month to signup for PingPower as a value added service to get started!

 

Once you have applied for PingPower, your broadband line will be turned on to enjoy the low latency.
To get started, you will need to have the games installed in your desktop or laptop. Then select “GXL” PingPower” game server.
 

 

Terms	Ping (ICMP PING)	Game Latency (in-game latency)	Client Latency
Definition	A method to measure latency.	A measurement of latency within the game environment.	Latency caused on a gamer's local machine.
Method	Network tools like ping and trace-route measure latency by determining the time it takes a given network packet to travel from source to destination and back, hence termed as “round-trip time”	Game Programmers determine ping times not by using methods such as traditional ICMP echo request and reply packets, but instead piggyback the functionality onto existing game data packets (often using UDP).	Latency can be caused by number of reasons, including lack of CPU power, lack of Video Card/GPU processing power, lack of RAM. It could also be due to too many programs running on the system

Standard game tests in a populated game server will reveal that ICMP ping results (as a single measure of latency) is different from the in-game latency figures. In-game latency figures are higher than actual ICMP Ping figures or if not at only certain times similarly close.

 

Games	PingPower Performance
CounterStrike 1.6	13 - 17
CounterStrike Source	8 - 10
Battlefield 2	8 - 10
Day of Defeat Source	8 - 10

Disclaimer : Above results are conducted by gamers during our Beta Phase of the service.

 

 

In windows XP or 2000 :
1) Go to Start > Run, Type in ‘ command ‘ and press enter.
2) In DOS prompt, type in ‘ping ‘. (eg . 202.176.203.236)
3) The results that is shown on screen will reflect your ping results


Ping / Latency numbers shown or listed inside game environment does not truly reflect the actual latency and ping performance of a broadband connection to a particular game server. Overall real-time participation of other gamers within the same instance of the gaming server will also influence each otr’s network performance. ‘Lagging’ is a factual example of a high latency connection causing an imbalance in network code and creating a high defiency in the overall gaming performance.

However, not all multiplayer games has ‘compenstation’ in this inbalance of network code. Some games are greatly affected (Multi-Player First Person Shooters) and other games do not (MMORPGs).

a.	Will I experience the same game performance when I play on overseas sites? No. Ping Power plans are catered for local SNBB subscribers playing on GXL PingPower server.
b.	What are the games applicable to PingPower? PingPower grants you access to the ultimate gaming environment with these servers* Title Publisher Description Counter Strike 1.6 Counter Strike Source Sierra Studios Counter Strike is a fast-paced shooting game pitting some of the world's top elite forces against terrorists. The game is oriented mainly towards multi-play and has a training mode where the user can become familiar with the features of the game. This game offers a strong, almost unsettling, sense of realism, which makes it that much more exciting to play and watch. Battle Field 2 Electronic Arts Battlefield 2 (BF2.) is the latest installation in the Battlefield series, set in the modern day, players will recognize various weapons and vehicles being used by the military today. Three armies are present in BF2, they are the United States, the Chinese and the Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC.). Each army has weapons and vehicles specific to them. For example, the Americans have the F-15 fighter jet, the MEC have the Mig-29, and the Chinese have the Jian-10. Players battle in one of two teams in a map for command and control of various flags and their resources. Day of Defeat Sierra Studios Day of Defeat (DDO) Source features multiplayer, team-based gameplay set in the WWII European theatre of operations. Players choose a role and tackle goal-oriented missions based on historical operations
c.	As a SingNet BroadBand subscriber, if I log-in using my complementary 56K dial-up account, do I experience the same PingPower? No. The experience is best enjoyed with SingNet Broadband.
d.	How many game session can I play on a single SNBB connection concurrently? Gamers can game concurrently on a single SNBB network. However, the more gamers playing on the connection, the higher the network latency. Other applications and activities such as p2p, downloading and wireless connections will also increase the network latency and hence causing higher ping performance.

 

Yes, minimum contractual period is 3months for PingPower value added service.
Minimum subscription of 12/24months apply for the respective SingNet BroadBand plans that you sign-up to.
 

 

You will need to pay the fee of $9.90 x the number of remaining months of your contract.
 

 

The service will be activated the next day if you apply online. For applications via walk-in, your service will be activated after 3 working days.
 

 

Just login to SingNet Broadband line with your SingNet user ID and @singnet domain as per normal use. For example: UserID@singnet. Simply start your game play to PingPower game server.
 

 

Counter-strike 1.6

• 512k - 1Mbit DSL or Cable Internet Connection or equivalent
• Pentium-III 1GHz or better, Direct-X 8.1 Compatible Graphics Card with 64MB video memory, 256MB system memory, 4X/24X DVDROM/CDROM,
• 1.6GB Hard Disk Space free
• Windows 98/2000/XP Home or Pro Edition, Direct-X 8.1b - 9.0c

Suggested Overall Visual Quality : Medium - High

For more information about gameplay and other details, please visit the official website FAQ here > http://www.counter-strike.net/faq.html For technical support visit > http://www.sierra.com or http://www.half-life.com

Counter-strike Source

• 2 - 4Mbit DSL or Cable Internet Connection or equivalent
• Pentium-4 2.4GHz or better, Direct-X 9 Compatible Graphics Card with 128MB video memory with Hardware T&L, 1GB system memory, 4X/24X DVDROM/CDROM,
• 3.2GB Hard Disk Space free
• Windows XP Home or Pro Edition, Direct-X 9.0c

Suggested Overall Visual Quality : Low - Medium Note - HDR (high dynamic range) should be disabled on cards without hardware support.

Compatible Graphic Chipsets :
- ATI Radeon 9500,9600,9800, X600, X800, X850, X1600, X1800, X1900 series
- Nvidia 6600, 6800, 7600, 7800, 7900 series For latest graphic hardware drivers, please visit http://www.nvidia.com for nvidia chipsets and http://www.ati.com for ati radeon chipsets.

For more information about gameplay and other details, please visit the official website for tech suport > http://www.steampowered.com or http://www.half-life.com
 
 

Battlefield 2

• 2 - 8Mbit DSL or Cable Internet Connection or equivalent
• Pentium-4 2.8GHz or better, Direct-X 9 Compatible Graphics Card with 256MB video memory with Hardware T&L, 1GB system memory minimum, recommended 1.5GB,
• 4X DVDROM, 5 GB Hard Disk Space free, 7200rpm ATA/SATA Harddrive 2mb cache.
• VOIP requires a voice headphone or microphone, VOIP incurrs more internet bandwidth while playing online
• Windows XP Home or Pro Edition, Direct-X 9.0c

Suggested Overall Visual Quality : Low - Medium

Compatible Graphic Chipsets :
- ATI Radeon 9800XT, X600, X800, X850, X1600, X1800, X1900 series
- Nvidia 6600, 6800, 7600, 7800, 7900 series

For latest graphic hardware drivers, please visit http://www.nvidia.com for nvidia chipsets and http://www.ati.com for ati radeon chipsets.

For more information about gameplay and other details, please visit the official website FAQ here > http://www.ea.com/official/battlefield/battlefield2/us/
 
 

 

Windows operating system consumes additional resources after booting up and it is recommended to boot up with running minimum required applications in the backup to preserve system memory. Here are some ways to achieve top operating system performance:

• Switch off all anti-spyware or code blocking applications before attempting to go online for multi-player games.
• Perform disk fragmentation and optimize your disk by using tools, like diskeeper or similar to defragment your hardware. Note that games contain files over thousands of megs and disk optimization will improve performance.
• Get the latest drivers for the motherboard. You can get this from your motherboard manufacturer’s website to download latest bios firmware updates, motherboard drivers, onboard integrated component drivers.
• Check that your AGP (accelerated graphics port) is fully enabled and enhanced values are enabled. Disabling certain AGP modes on some problematic motherboards will severely cripple the performance of graphic cards.
• Get the latest drivers for your graphics card. Download from your graphic card manufacturer’s website the latest driver packages. Be sure to always troubleshoot the current latest drivers with a previous build to ensure compatibility with latest games.
• Get the latest drivers for your sound card. Download the latest driver packages from your sound card or audio chipset manufacturer’s website. A creative-based (sound-blaster audigy or audigy2) is recommended for gaming systems.
• Check that your operating system is installed in the most orderly manner with abrupt system reboots or error messages. Download from windows update website the latest operating system updates and patches. Visit game manufacturer’s websites to look out for intermediate patches that maybe the cause of the operating system and requires certain hotfixes or update.
• Abstain from using older DOS file systems. For gaming systems, either NTFS or FAT32 file systems are recommended. File system cluster sizes do help in slight performance but it is still recommended to use the default setting for all purpose gaming.
• Test your system memory/RAM. Use memory diagnostic programs to ensure 100% stability with your memory. Run memory at SPD or specified memory timings and do not ‘overclock’ your system to think it will give you extra performance. Each and every hardware are made with a ‘buffer’ whereby to keep it stable at optimized for everyday use. Install heatspreaders if you think your memory chips are giving too much heat
• Make sure that your system has good cooling systems and ventilation catered for your system. Install system exhaust fans to improve the airflow in your system to prevent ‘static hot air’ from causing your system to overheat. Overheating will cause permanent damage or long-term instability to the overall hardware within the system.
• Obtain System stability for your computer system. It is very important to observe abnormal system activity, e.g. abrupt system crashes not pertaining to operating system etc. These activities could be the indicators of system stability and be sure to review your system power supply parameters. For starters, please visit http://www.futuremark.com for 3D/System benchmarks like ‘3Dmark 2003 ‘ or newer versions like ‘ 3Dmark 2005 and 3Dmark 2006’.
• Use certified power sources or power plugs when plugging in your computer system.
• If you experience game lags or poor ping performance during online gaming. It could be due to client latency and the overall / average data transfer speeds and conditions of all connections to the game server. If your system configuration or specification has already superceded the recommended requirements, you should be looking at possible network issues. Make sure that your router isn’t faulty and blocking data from the game servers. Game servers on the internet run independently and therefore if the particular server is producing performance issues, switch to another server to try otherwise. If the problems continue, be sure to contact the server administrator.

 

• A dedicated internet connection would be recommended for gaming. Shared internet connections produce inconsistency in data flow and network performance. If you are using a shared internet connection (within another network or using shared broadband), peak hour usage and related network activities or sudden loads will cause your connection to game servers to become incapacitated. Wireless internet connections might also produce inconsistency in performance due to varying coverage range of different wireless card.
• A good and uninterrupted internet connection is important to ensuring good internet game play experience. Internet that constantly drops or disconnects will definitely not be a good condition to conduct online gaming.
• Other network protocols or applications during intensive online gaming will affect the performance of internet connection. Downloading files or any inconsiderate use of data transfer will disrupt the flow of the core gaming internet application.
• Other network devices such as routers also play a part in ensuring optimal performance. Your router acts as a protective layer whereby a firewall is present to block incoming data going through ports or protocols. It also allows your network to be shared among many computers (where routers have LAN switching capabilities or Wireless LAN).
• Port-forwarding is a feature or function on routers whereby it forwards specific ports to your system (bearing your own IP address). Port-forwarding allows ports to be specifically passed or mapped to your IP address. Various game titles require different ports or port ranges to facilitate the game clients to ‘talk’ to the game servers. Unblock or port forward these ports to ensure your game to be working or functioning correctly. If you have issues with port forwarding, try disabling your system’s software firewall or the router’s hardware firewall but bear in mind that you are decreasing network security. Do this only for troubleshooting purposes.
• For more networking basics, be sure to visit:
  - http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/router.html
  - http://computer.howstuffworks.com/router.htm
  - http://www.portforward.com/

 

Overall good performance relies on all the factors that make up your gaming system setup and internet connection. Review your setup constantly and troubleshoot for possible human errors or disturbances that may be causing gaming performance to degrade. Here are ways to ensure that your system performs well for gaming:

• Using software tools or constant monitoring of your system to ensure best system throughput always.
• Always update drivers and read up on forums and message boards for possible issues with particular game titles with certain hardware.
• Do not over-clock your system to gain extra performance as it will be also the stumbling block of optimum performance. Hardware manufacturers make their hardware within a marked specification and anything over these specifications do not guarantee safe and uninterrupted operation.
• Most internet connections have an upload limit of data transfer. This upload limit if being too low will cause your network performance during multiplayer gaming to degrade. Upgrade your internet subscription or packages to better bandwidth and go for higher upload speed limits.
• Compare another system to yours if you are facing problems with playing online games. Review the status of this comparison to find out if the limiting factor is your system or network connection. It is highly possible to isolate the problem to your client system and internet connectivity if other gamers are not facing the same problem.
• Real-time frame-rates DO NOT relate to performance. E.g. Low frame-rate with smooth network performance does not mean poor performance. Frame-rates, screen refresh rate and graphics quality are factors that do not relate to performance.