What Internet Speeds are Best for Online Gaming
Your Internet connection makes a great difference in online gaming. Most game manufacturers recommend at least 0.5 Mbps of upload speed and 3 Mbps of download speed. Since we are a connected world and there are millions of connected devices on the network, choosing the right ISP from the sea of Internet providers can be a challenging and time-consuming process. Having a good deal and a package that offers multiple perks can impact your gaming experience greatly. We’ve decided to dedicate this article to elaborate on which Internet speeds are best for online gaming and how you can achieve the most out of it.
The Download Speed
Download speed is how fast the data is pulled from the server and it’s faster than the upload speed. Download speed is crucial because you often download files on the web, play games, browse, etc. Upload speed on the other hand is how fast the data is sent to others on the network. “Ping” is how fast you receive a response from the internet connection after you’ve sent a request. All of these factors influence the download and upload speeds.
We must mention latency which has a great impact on the online gaming industry. Latency is the delay between the display on the screen and the action in the game. So basically, you make a move with your character, and that move is going to be displayed on the screen. That delay between the display is called latency. If there is a high ping rate, the multiplayer option is almost always impossible. And if your ping is higher than the other player, their moves will be registered and displayed first.
In games like “Mortal Kombat X” and “Street Fighter V” where the pace of the gameplay is increasingly fast, you will need a little ping. Another thing you can consider when evaluating your Internet speed is the number of connected devices you have on your network. If you are subscribed to a highly utilized network, you’ll need a tier with a higher speed. This will improve the overall online gaming experience.
The Upload Speed
The upload speed plays an important role too. Since games are interactive, you need an upload speed of at least 1-2 Mbps. This is the speed at which information travels from the console to the remote server, so a poor connection will cause disruptions. And if you are facing an Internet downtime, you won’t be able to meet the necessary download and upload speed.
What is Good Internet Speed for Gaming?
A good Internet speed for online gaming includes high download and upload speeds. This will prevent the latency or the so-called “lag” in the delay of action and display. An Internet speed higher than 20 Mbps is ideal for online gaming, especially if you are into “competitive” or “multiplayer” gaming. An Internet speed lower than 20 Mbps will cause increased lag and you’ll fall into the danger of delayed actions. Ping, latency, and Internet speed can affect your gaming performance and are crucial when it comes to online gaming.
Speeds on Different Game Platforms
Each game platform has different requirements when it comes to latency, upload, and download speed. For example, Nintendo Switch has a minimum download speed of 3 Mbps, while the minimum upload speed is 1 Mbps. Xbox on the other hand has the same minimum requirements for the minimum download speed as Nintendo Switch, with a slight difference in the upload speed which is 0.5 Mbps. and 150 ms of latency.
PlayStation requires at least 2 Mbps min. Download speed and 2 Mbps min. upload speed. Steam has 1 Mbps of min. Download speed and 1 Mbps of upload speed. As long as your connecion has these requirements, you are good to go!
As a side note, our speed recommendations are 5 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speed. The latency can vary between 50 and 100 ms.
High Latency Is Bad
As we mentioned earlier, latency is the time taken for data to make a round trip from your computer to the server. If the latency is too high, you’ll experience lag. For example, if you move with the mouse, the server will acknowledge the movement, send a response and render it. The problem is, that the movement will be rendered at the same time as the other players movements. And this movement will appear delayed when compared to other movements.
Some factors impact the latency, like your Internet connection type and the physical distance between the server and your location. Games that support multiplayer and co-op use regional servers because the geographical location of the players is important. Regarding the Internet connection type, satellite internet has the highest latency while insulated cable connections have lower latency.