What is a Good Internet Speed for Gaming?

Gaming has got a crazy following these days. More people are joining this arena as they find it extremely entertaining. An unlimited number of games are on offer. When we talk of gaming and the internet, we need to know several concepts related to it. The internet service provider explains the availability of service in various terms that may seem Greek and Latin to you. You may sign up for a speed that is either not enough for you or is more for your needs. When you know the terms related to the internet you can be aware of all that goes with this concept. 

• Bandwidth: It refers to the amount of information your internet can handle. The more information it tries to handle it gets choked. For example, in a house, there may be many people using the internet at the same time. This results in heavy traffic and the service starts to stumble. The bandwidth should be more to accommodate great speed. 
• You must have heard the term Mbps when you speak of internet connection. The speed of your internet connection is expressed in Mbps, or megabits per second. When you have more to do on the internet, you need a connection with greater Mbps. The higher the Mbps, the more users can download and upload data quicker. For live streaming that is used by most gamers, more megabits per second transfer speed are required. Most games need 3 to 10 Mbps for you to enjoy a good gaming experience. 

The speed you need differs between the various devices you use. The type of speed you need for your PC is different from that you need for your gaming devices like an Xbox or a Playstation. 

• Gaming and internet speed: 

We can see that many gamers relate their performance to the speed of the internet connection. We have heard them say there was a lag in connection leading to an interruption in play. So, this means that internet speed is very important for gaming.  

The gamers can refer to resources to get to know the speed that is recommended for various types of games.  

• Ping is another common term heard when you listen to gamers. It is the time delay between the gamer’s input and the server’s response to the same. It is expressed in ms. Ping that is lower than 20 ms is considered very good for an exceptional gaming experience. A high ping is generally above 150 ms and this is not desired for gaming. A reasonable rate would be less than 100 ms to have a decent game. The lower the ping, the lower will be the lag too. This can help you play uninterrupted. Imagine you are playing a game in groups and because of ping in your connection, the others in the group are not able to reach the target, the whole group gets frustrated. 
• Fiber optic connection: This is the connection presently used for high-speed internet connection. Previously there was DSL which is quite slow compared to a fiber connection. There are various speed options available here at different price ranges. At higher speeds, you can have a great gaming time.  
• Download speed: People refer to this term commonly while using the internet. It refers to the speed with which you can pick up data from the server to your computer. Normally over the internet downloading is done and thereby download speed needs to be more. You connect with the server to get data from it. When your download speed is more you get the data faster. You must have seen your page struggling in the same place with the dots moving very slowly. This indicates that you are not able to get a good speed for downloading. 
• Upload speed: The speed with which you send data to the server is upload speed. As we saw above, the internet is not used to uploading greatly, especially during gaming. So, a speed of 1 Mbps must be sufficient upload speed.  
• Data caps: Capping as you know is limiting. You subscribe to a connection speed and pay the bills accordingly. If you are going to use more than the monthly cap of data, your ISP will start to restrict your speed. This is called throttling. The service provider reduces the connection speed when you go overboard your subscription. This can be avoided when you find a service provider who offers unlimited data. This is normally promised but still, there is a restriction on the Mbps you can use in a month. 

Tips to improve your online gaming connection 

• Stay closer to the router- when you stay closer to the router, you are sure to get good connectivity. You can opt to organize the router in your gaming room itself or if it has been positioned elsewhere try to shift your console near it. This way you can get a good speed. 
• By using a wired connection- This is similar to staying close to the router. You can use a wired connection so that your speed increases. In a wired connection, you experience better speed without any lag. This is another useful tip for gamers. 
• Try using a VPN- It is seen that using a virtual private network can also help you in improving the connection for your games. This is because the number of people using this network will be less and so less the crowd, greater the speed. 
• Internet connection upgrade- Check your internet connection and speak to your ISP if it is possible to upgrade to a better speed. There are various plans offered by your ISP. An upgrade can cost you more, so if you are ready to accommodate the increase in your budget you can go ahead and choose the plan. 
• By freeing up your bandwidth- You could try to free up your bandwidth which means restricting the number of users so that speed is maintained. First, get to know the bandwidth you will need for uninterrupted streaming. The type of usage and the number of users can help determine this. 
• Adjust your settings- You should try adjusting your game settings and then find out if you still have a slow connection. Sometimes the settings may be incorrect leading to slow connectivity. Different games demand different speeds, so you should set it up as per your need.  
• Try to reset your router- In case you do not find a proper solution, try to reset your router and then check the speed. Routers seem to work better after they are reset. There may be some issues that need resetting. 

To sum up, we can see that the recommended internet speed for gaming would be a download speed of 15-25 Mbps, and a ping rate of less than 50ms. Your upload speed can be around 5 Mbps according to Jeremy Clifford’s blog post. Anything over 100 Mbps is considered a fast connection. Many ISPs are seen offering such connection speed with their basic plan.  

If you are an avid gamer and want to experience a great game, you must ensure you look into all the aspects that could affect your internet speed. Find out the ISP who can offer you the best speed and try to follow the tips to improve the connection speed.