How to test DNS speed For PS4
Changing the DNS settings and using a new DNS for your PS4 is a method to boost your PS4 internet connection. Yes, it doesn’t always work, but it does often.
Here we’ll learn how to test a DNS speed in order to pick the fastest one for your PS4.
In fact, you can test the available DNS servers in one of two ways to see which one is the fastest for you.
- Automated: You will need here to use a third-party software utility on your computer called “Namebench”. Use this 2010 Google-developed tool to automatically (and repeatedly) test a number of DNS servers to gauge their responsiveness and speed.
- Manual: On your PS4 console, swap out the DNS servers one at a time, then test the speed of each one separately.
If you’re really committed to speed, you might wish to combine these two approaches. Run Namebench first to determine the three quickest solutions, then physically test each one on your gaming system to determine which performs best under actual usage scenarios.
The steps listed below should be followed to install and utilize Namebench. Implement the instructions in the following section to learn how to modify the DNS settings on your Ps4 console for manual testing.
Speed-testing DNS servers using Namebench
A small side project from Google called Namebench was made available to the public for free. Although there are a few oddities because the code hasn’t been modified since 2010, it still serves our needs nicely.
1. Download and Install Namebench
There are two releases for Namebench available for download, one for MAC OS systems and the other for Windows, or you can visit the official downloads page to set up the version of your choice.
To install Namebench, extract it and start the installer (Windows), or drag the.dmg file into your programs folder (Mac).
2. Executing The Test
Simply copy and paste (or enter) the IP addresses into Namebench’s ‘Nameservers’ field to test your list of selected DNS servers. A comma and a space should be used to separate the IP addresses.
You have the option as well to check the boxes in order to automatically test the most popular global DNS providers in 2010 such as GoogleDNS and OpenDNS, or test regional (non-global) DNS servers, which will take a longer time.
Query Data Source: Pick the number of websites and metrics want to test. We recommend the “Top 2,000 Alexa (33575)” option here.
Number of Queries: How often will each server be tested (to improve accuracy)?. A good starting point is 50. The test will take longer the higher the number.
3. Illustrating The Results
The findings will load in a new browser window after the test is finished (which, depending on the settings, may take well over an hour).
Despite not being the default browser, Microsoft Explorer may load the results in your case for some reason. I suppose these are the oddities of old software.
A few quick notes regarding the outcomes:
- The “Avg (ms)” column is what matters to us.
- You disregard all of the remarks in the right column about “hijacked” DNS. It’s because those websites’ IP addresses have changed since 2010 (the last time Namebench was updated).
- UltraDNS has a cost. Although it’s not a true option, UltraDNS, one of Namebench’s presets, had the best response time in tests. Large enterprises utilize this professional DNS server, which is not free of charge.
- The server that produces the best gameplay speeds won’t always be the one with the quickest response time.
What To Do Now?
Find out which of your top 3–4 results produces the fastest speeds by manually testing them on your PS4 (Learn how to do this in our Fastest PS4 DNS Guide). Then set the Primary and Secondary IP addresses for that service to be your DNS servers.
Conclusion
Finally, remember that DNS settings are just one part of your game speed stack (and not the most significant part, at that).
While your total connection speed cap is undoubtedly the most crucial factor, if you want to make the most of your available bandwidth for online gaming, you should ideally connect your device to the internet using an ethernet cable rather than a wireless network. I can almost guarantee that no professionals are using WiFi due to the tremendous speed loss, interference, and latency associated with it.