Gaming’s come a long way from the humble beginnings of Pong and PacMan. Once a simple pursuit, the advent of online gaming has spawned a global community, bringing people from all walks of life together to play their favourite games. Gaming broadband keeps the community connected.
From your bedroom, you can team up or lock horns with someone on the other side of the planet. All you need is a console, a game, and (most importantly) reliable broadband.
In this guide, we’ll outline everything you need to consider when choosing internet for gaming. From good download speeds to types of broadband, you’ll be armed with all the information you need to ensure each clash is determined by skill rather than connectivity constraints.
What Is Gaming Broadband?
Gaming broadband is connectivity that meets the exact needs for online gaming. Choosing the best gaming broadband can make or break your experience. Much like buffering can ruin a movie, an unreliable gaming connection can bring the immersion to a grinding halt.
Things To Consider When Looking At Internet For Gaming
There are two key pieces to the gaming broadband puzzle, namely speed and connection. You want broadband speed that’s fast enough to keep up with the demands of the game coupled with a connection that doesn’t make it look like you’re constantly rage-quitting.
A consistent connection is arguably the most important factor, as the right type of broadband will keep you securely on the server. Full fibre broadband, backed by its contemporary infrastructure, will offer bucketloads of reliability compared to less advanced connections.
Whether you’re a casual gamer or have your sights set on the heights of Esports, you need to be considering fibre broadband. This will avoid the painfully slow, laggy gameplay that old-school ADSL connections are known for.
What Is A Good Broadband Speed For Gaming?
As a general rule of thumb, anything over 20Mbps is a good internet speed for gaming, with many large-scale multiplayer games needing 50Mbps. That said, there are factors such as the type of game or the amount of people using the internet to consider.
With speeds below that 20Mbps sweet spot, you run the risk of lagging during multiplayer games. To avoid that heart-wrenching buffering spiral just as you’re about to wow your teammates with the winning shot, the more Mbps your internet has the merrier.
What Is The Minimum Internet Speed For Gaming?
5 is the minimum Mbps for gaming online at a smaller scale, although you can’t expect anything resembling a strong connection on bigger games with such a low speed. It’s all about understanding the requirements of the platform and game you want to play.
If you’re playing casually, 10Mbps can also be a good download speed for gaming. For online multiplayer, however, it likely won’t give you the slick performance that you’re after.
Downloading Games With Full Fibre Broadband
While download speed refers to how fast data is pulled from the server, there’s also the downloading of game files to consider. The days of popping a disk into the console and getting underway in seconds are long gone.
The expanding size of video game files shows no signs of slowing down due to the complexity of modern graphics and features. Especially for video games featuring high-resolution graphics, or those designed for 4K gameplay, significant demands are placed on your home broadband. This is why full fibre is a must-have to provide an ideal download speed.
For context, attempting to download Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on a 3Mbps connection would take approximately 132.7 hours. This translates to a whopping waiting period of five and a half days before you can start playing the purchased game. The comparable power of full fibre will have you getting stuck into the game quicker than before.
Does Upload Speed Affect Gaming?
Upload speed does play a role in online gaming, although it's not as critical as download speed. While download speed is crucial for retrieving game data from the server, upload speed is important for sending your actions and inputs from your gaming device to the game server.
In online multiplayer games, your actions and inputs need to be transmitted to the game server in real-time. A higher upload speed ensures that your commands are sent quickly, contributing to a more responsive and smoother gaming experience. For online multiplayer gaming, an upload speed of 5Mbps or more is recommended for a smooth experience.
Broadband For Gaming Streaming Services
The modern-day gaming community doesn’t start and end within the confines of the console. Platforms like Twitch have revolutionised streaming, inspiring newbies and seasoned gamers alike to show off their skills. Streaming requires a little extra bandwidth than simply playing the game.
Minimum download and upload speeds of 25Mbps are expected across mainstream streaming services, depending on the video quality you’re looking to broadcast. As with playing or downloading games, the more wiggle room the better when it comes to streaming.
Understanding Latency
Our final gaming broadband factor to keep in mind is latency. Also known as ping, you’ll likely have come across both terms if you’re familiar with online multiplayer gaming, particularly if you have a weak connection. This section will outline what the term means and why it’s important.
What Is Latency In Gaming?
Latency is the duration it takes for data to travel from your gaming device to the game server and return. This metric is usually expressed in milliseconds (ms). Low latency is important for achieving responsive gameplay. In fast-paced and competitive games, a delay in the transmission of your actions to the server and the server's response back to you can result in lag.
What Is A Good Ping For Gaming?
A good ping for gaming is below 50ms. Lower ping indicates a shorter round-trip time for data to travel, resulting in a more responsive and lag-free gaming experience.
Here's a breakdown of ping values and their implications for gaming:
- 0-50 ms (Low Ping): Excellent for gaming. This range provides a very responsive gaming experience with minimal lag.
- 50-100 ms (Moderate Ping): Still acceptable for most games. While there might be some delay, it's generally manageable for casual and non-competitive gaming.
- 100+ ms (High Ping): Higher ping values can lead to noticeable lag and may impact the gaming experience, especially in fast-paced or competitive games.
Try Out Gaming Broadband From Connect Fibre
There you have it, everything you need to know about broadband for gaming. Whether you’re an Xbox expert or a PC player, you can kick back and enjoy a seamless, lag-free connection if your internet ticks all the boxes.
Here at Connect Fibre, we help fuel passions like gaming by providing reliable full fibre gaming broadband for everyone. This commitment to fair and fast internet makes us one of the best UK internet providers for gaming. Our broadband packages can be tailor-made for the demands of online multiplayer games.
