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My computer lags horrendously whenever I click on the LAN or multiplayer tab and it connects to the internet. I have a feeling it might have something to do with my new video card and/or hard drive that were recently installed in the last 2 weeks. My firewall is turned off too by the way. 3 weeks ago, I was able to play these games perfectly online, no lag.

My computer can handle Half Life 2 on max settings, yet it lags when I play Starcraft on multiplayer, so obviously somethings wrong.

Hi

your problem isnt anything to do with a video card, the problem lies in the link between you and the game server you are using.

A packet of information leaves your PC travels through your internet connection to your ISP server and from there via several stages to the game server.

Somewhere in this link of multiple PC's, cables and the like the packet is hitting congestion.

There is no cure other than to change game servers to one closer to you, the one your using may be based somewhere on the next continent add to this that there may be several thousand people all using it at the same time as you and it suddenly becomes clear.

People closer to the game server will see less Lag as there packet of information has less distance to travel.

Most game servers have FAQ's and help sections with hints on which servers are best dependant on where you are in the world, and a lot of players in your country will run there own server.

I use Unreal tournament on line and the various servers list the ping time from my PC to the game server, I pick the best one for me and use that however I still suffer a slight lag and I have a 4meg connection.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Well there may be another possibility...
Are you using a router or a wireless broadband modem? If so you may need to configure it to forward to the proper ports mentioned on your game's website. You may then also configure these same settings on your firewall and turn it back on. If you need information on configuring your router/modem the manual or maker's website should have everything you need. If it is a modem and you have trouble logging in you will have to contact your ISP for the details. Good Luck!

Found out that it was a downloading virus. Installed kaspersky and did a full system scan, it got rid of it and now it runs fine.