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The secret to making your Xbox One snappier and quicker!

le.phat

Member
I just want to give everyone a headsup that this also work for the PS4, or any console where you can manually enter a DNS server.
 

E92 M3

Member
So I'm a networking idiot, but If I have a 100 MB Up/Down Fiber Optic service should I even bother? Or is this DNS thing independent of my internet speeds.

I have 75/75 on FIOS and it helped considerably. Just try out namebench and see the results. Mines were considerable.

In fact, everyone try namebench. You don't have to implement the DNS change network wide, but try it out on the One first.

VERY SIMPLE
 

Izayoi

Banned
That's good UI design actually. The other option is for the UI to completely freeze while data loads.
????

PS4 and WiiU aren't dependant on an internet connection in order to make their UIs work quickly.

I think that is absolutely horrible on Microsoft's part. The UI should load independently of the live data that it displays.
 

artsi

Member
just did the test with the app and OpenDNS was 35% faster than my ISP DNS

Will I really see a difference ?

Depends how well the server your ISP provides works.

35% faster than 10ms? 0.0035 seconds faster.
35% from 100ms? Very slow resolve speed, yet only 0.035 seconds faster.

DNS is made to be very fast and unnoticeable so probably no difference.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
I changed my settings on my router using namebench when my ISP's DNS servers went down and it made a *slight* improvement in loading HTML pages.

I can't see how it can be a number of times faster - DNS is simply a lookup/match server for urls to ip addresses. Google's are probably more robust than most - but once the match is made there will be no difference in how fast data/content is transferred between you and the identified source.

Right, but in situations where you are constantly making new queries such as the Xbox One OS it could have a limited impact.

I run namebench about once a week to make sure I'm still at the fastest one and have been really happy with the results on web browsing being a bit punchier.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
????

PS4 and WiiU aren't dependant on an internet connection in order to make their UIs work quickly.

I think that is absolutely horrible on Microsoft's part. The UI should load independently of the live data that it displays.

The UI isn't impacted from a usage standpoint. It is the data pull to load certain apps upon opening that is impacted.
 

driver116

Member
But if your ISP's DNS servers are slow as shit (i.e. Charter) then this can be a nice improvement, despite the further distance the packets travel. It's best to use the tool to test and see.

I did say that in a previous post, and I'm not dissuading anyone from trying this tool out. I merely stated a fact based on theory and got caught up trying to prove that instead.
 

justino

Neo Member
Right, but in situations where you are constantly making new queries such as the Xbox One OS it could have a limited impact.

I run namebench about once a week to make sure I'm still at the fastest one and have been really happy with the results on web browsing being a bit punchier.

I think traditional web browsing is where the biggest benefit will be.
Also - I change the router settings not the end device. Easier to manage!
 

dallow_bg

nods at old men
Weird, it says my ISP DNS (which I had removed and changed to google some years ago) is 158% faster.

But when I had used it previously, stuff like Netflix would slow so much slower.

Maybe they've improved since then?
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
I think traditional web browsing is where the biggest benefit will be.
Also - I change the router settings not the end device. Easier to manage!

Same.

Updating the router is the obvious way to go as any connected device will see the benefit. It's also much cleaner to keep up with as a DNS server could go down and need to be flipped.

If you've run around updating individual devices it could be a nightmare to clean up.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Weird, it says my ISP DNS (which I had removed and changed to google some years ago) is 158% faster.

But when I had used it previously, stuff like Netflix would slow so much slower.

Maybe they've improved since then?

Very likely the case.

I use namebench weekly when I wake up on Saturday just to make sure someone out there hasn't improved or the one I'm on hasn't degraded because these things can change.

Honestly, I think the benefit is overstated a bit by google, but if I can load a new query 20% quicker (even if that is a matter of seconds) I'll take it because I'm a nerd.
 

E92 M3

Member
Same.

Updating the router is the obvious way to go as any connected device will see the benefit. It's also much cleaner to keep up with as a DNS server could go down and need to be flipped.

If you've run around updating individual devices it could be a nightmare to clean up.

Yes, but I recommend everyone testing it first on their Xbox One. Not only does it keep it relevant to the gaming forum, but also can save some time down the line if the change wasn't drastic.
 

nullset2

Junior Member
The secret to making your Xbox One snappier and quicker!

Microsoft HATES him!
Kind gaffer discovers a weird trick to make your Xbox One up to FIVE SECONDS faster!
Try this weird trick and get more Xbox One action in your life!
 

dallow_bg

nods at old men
Same.

Updating the router is the obvious way to go as any connected device will see the benefit. It's also much cleaner to keep up with as a DNS server could go down and need to be flipped.

If you've run around updating individual devices it could be a nightmare to clean up.

Damn, I didn't think of that.
If I change my router now, I'll need to go back to "auto" DNS on my devices correct?
 

watership

Member
So I'm a networking idiot, but If I have a 100 MB Up/Down Fiber Optic service should I even bother? Or is this DNS thing independent of my internet speeds.

Yes. Name service look ups are a server load dependant thing. Say your ISP is smaller, has a older or overloaded server. Name resolution will take a few seconds more as an older/slower/misconfigured ns server queries root servers or has to look at its cache.

I always use Google dns, and my ISP as a secondary or tertiary.

YMMV. Do that dns test. Also keep in mind that your ISP may filter port 53(dns lookups) and force them through their ns anyway. Again, Comcast has done this. Namebench will alert you to this.

This will help all devices. Also if your Xbox is on your home/school Nat, which most are, your probably routing all ns queries through that router as a gateway, using a direct NS speeds things up.
 

udiie

Member
The secret to making your Xbox One snappier and quicker!

Microsoft HATES him!
Kind gaffer discovers a weird trick to make your Xbox One up to FIVE SECONDS faster!
Try this weird trick and get more Xbox One action in your life!

these are killing me lol
thanks op, will give this a shot. i think my least favorite thing by far is how slow to load the xb1 os is (aside from the other network issues that i never had with 360)
 
So apparently this will help with browsing speed on ps4 as well? What about loading friends list and messages or the PlayStation store?
 

watership

Member
So apparently this will help with browsing speed on ps4 as well? What about loading friends list and messages or the PlayStation store?

It will help name/ip resolution of various systems/services. If it remains slow after, it's the servers/services that are slow.
 

LilJoka

Member
Google DNS slows down a lot a peak times too. This is an odd solution, my ISP DNS is the most reliable and overall equally as fast compared to others.
 

dallow_bg

nods at old men
Streaming wouldn't be improved by DNS

It definitely did, on all my devices.
I almost never got an HD stream before the switch (despite a 50/25 connection) and magically after switching, it was perfect.

And the only reason I switched was because I saw multiple places state the same.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
Basically what I need to do is only download the file, click on "start benchmark" and wait for the results to get the recommneded DNS configuration?

Cause I have 0 knowlege of networks, so I dont know if I need to ocnfigure anything there before running it.
 

E92 M3

Member
Basically what I need to do is only download the file, click on "start benchmark" and wait for the results to get the recommneded DNS configuration?

Cause I have 0 knowlege of networks, so I dont know if I need to ocnfigure anything there before running it.

Yes, wait for the results and they will show you what's up. No need for any intensive network knowledge.

Maybe with this update, the ninjas at Konami can get PES running at the 900p sweet spot for games.

Wut?
 

FrankT

Member
I've used the Google DNS for awhile. I haven't tried benchmark. Are there any security issues using some random DNS off it?
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
Yes, wait for the results and they will show you what's up. No need for any intensive network knowledge.

Thanks! It recommended me one that is 26.4% faster! =o
Should I configure this only on XB1 or would be a good idea to configure it on router for all devices?
 

artsi

Member
Streaming wouldn't be improved by DNS

Yeah, traffic doesn't go through the DNS server, it just resolves names.

For example, you want to visit website.com

1) Your computer asks DNS where website.com is
2) DNS says 123.456.78.9 (which should be VERY fast, as it's his only job)
3) Your computer proceeds to talk with 123.456.78.9 about business, dumps DNS until he's needed again

In addition to this your computer puts the "website.com -> 123.456.78.9" information to it's own cache so it doesn't need to ask DNS again for a while, in case it needs information again soon.

I don't know if PS4 / X1 have any local caching though, every other modern OS has so I hope so.

I've used the Google DNS for awhile. I haven't tried benchmark. Are there any security issues using some random DNS off it?

You have to trust the DNS server. If it's malicious it might tell you google.com is located at [hacker's server infected with nasty stuff].
 
Jesus its found one thats 120% faster than what im using now! Bout to say good bye to the dark ages of internet friends. Now someone help me set this up for my laptop haha
 

justino

Neo Member
It definitely did, on all my devices.
I almost never got an HD stream before the switch (despite a 50/25 connection) and magically after switching, it was perfect.

And the only reason I switched was because I saw multiple places state the same.

that would be a surprise to me - bad latency is the main cause of poor streams, not the server lookup. A stream may carry out ongoing occasional DNS lookups but it will not be the main cause of a bad stream.
A remote DNS server will likely use a CDN IP close to it (and far from you) which could cause bad latency. I would be surprised if your ISP DNS was highly remote from you.

The namebench is optimised based on fastest AND nearest which is what the OP is recommending
 
Just tested my DNS settings with namebench, says that my current primary DNS is fastest. So no need for me to switch my settings... hurray I guess.
 
What a poor design. WTF Microsoft.

This is actually excellent design.

Nearly every data-heavy web app uses this method. Facebook, for instance, loads it's UI separately from the data that is feeding it's UI across the whole site (and individually per element)... This is why you may notice that the frame of Facebook loads, and then your newsfeed comes in, followed up by your chat window. Facebook does this because many elements throughout Facebook use a different programming language and are functioning independent from one another. It's a much better user experience than waiting for everything to load and then displaying everything, fully loaded, at once.

Google, Twitter, most apps on your iPhone/Android/W8, your internet browser. Almost every modern UI allows elements to load independently, with data intensive applications loading their 'chrome' first, and then having the data fed in.

????

PS4 and WiiU aren't dependant on an internet connection in order to make their UIs work quickly.

I think that is absolutely horrible on Microsoft's part. The UI should load independently of the live data that it displays.

That's actually exactly what it's doing.

--

I'm one person where Google DNS is not a speed improvement for resolving a DNS. One key improvement with Google DNS over, for instance, Charter's DNS is that Charter will often resolve a custom error page in certain browsers when the DNS does not resolve. This is very annoying if you are a developer and you're trying to smoketest something across multiple browsers.
 
Hmm well after trying this out on my ps4 and testing my internet connection it shows my speed as 15 down and 1 up. Whereas before the dens change the check would show up as 50 down and 5 up. These aren't indicative of my actual isp speeds though which is 50up50down. Also cant really tell a huge difference in loading.
 

see5harp

Member
????

PS4 and WiiU aren't dependant on an internet connection in order to make their UIs work quickly.

I think that is absolutely horrible on Microsoft's part. The UI should load independently of the live data that it displays.

That's how every device I own works, including my PS4 and PS3. The UI is already there and loaded. We're talking about fetching friends list status, and stuff like that.
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
I don't mess with my router overall a ton. Are there any good tips somewhere for the best way for a router to be set up? I have one of the ~$100 Netgear routers.

For this specific topic, I just log into the router page, go to the DNS area and add a manual DNS?
 
Hmm well after trying this out on my ps4 and testing my internet connection it shows my speed as 15 down and 1 up. Whereas before the dens change the check would show up as 50 down and 5 up. These aren't indicative of my actual isp speeds though which is 50up50down. Also cant really tell a huge difference in loading.

Using a different DNS than your ISP's default should not effect your down/up in any meaningful, predictable way. It's all about resolving the initial IP address when establishing a connection.

Here's a better explanation:

https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/performance

Switching your DNS will not always improve your experience. The reason it can improve your experience is if your ISP routes it's DHCP traffic to a centralized location that may be further away or more congested than what something like Google Public DNS, UltraDNS, etc., could be.

ALso, here is another article from 2006 explaining how it can improve performance but not necessarily:

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/09/speed-up-your-internet-connection-with.html

in any event, your up/down should not be effected.
 

Zoopa

Member
You have to trust the DNS server. If it's malicious it might tell you google.com is located at [hacker's server infected with nasty stuff].

Also, the DNS server can obviously see all the queries you send. So a malicious DNS server could track all the websites you visit.
 
Ran this last night after seeing it on r/xboxone and surprisingly my Charter DNS is the fastest.

Unsure if it's because my router is awesome, but I'm pleasantly pleased.

It's also interesting to learn that changing DNS settings is what resolves many people's issues with the OS being sluggish. I never experienced that, and now understand why.
 
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