How Much Internet Speed is Good for Gaming?
We can relate with internet speed in our daily life. Internet speed is the main factor in how much data you can download in a specific time or how much work you can do in a day. Internet speed can also affect your mood. Think about when you are downloading a game and you have waited hours to play it but something happens and you lost all the downloading. You must be very angry when this happens. It happened to me quite a few times. Slow internet can even frustrate the most patient people.
Okay, you can redownload the game or wait a little more to complete your work but when it comes to gaming there is no compromise on internet speed. Online gaming is all about a good internet speed and low ping. Even if you are a skilled gamer, smallest lag can be the difference between winning or losing a match in the game. It doesn’t matter how powerful is your Gaming PC, a slow and laggy internet connection will cause a bad gaming experience.
In this guide, we will look at the different aspects of internet speed for gaming that you should know about. It includes some basic requirements for console gaming that will help you understand the internet speed better.
What is a Good Internet Speed for Gaming?
Before going into the depth, here is the short answer straight to the point:
A good internet speed for gaming is generally considered to be at least 3 Mbps (megabits per second) for download and 0.5 Mbps for upload. These speeds will allow for a smooth gaming experience with minimal lag. However, if you want to play games online with other people or stream your gameplay, you’ll need faster speeds.
For online multiplayer gaming, you should aim for speeds of at least 5 Mbps for download,1 Mbps for upload, and ping should be under 80ms. This will ensure that your gameplay is smooth and that you can easily communicate with other players.
If you want to stream your gameplay, you’ll need even faster speeds. Streaming in 1080p requires at least 9 Mbps for download and 2.5 Mbps for upload, while streaming in 4K requires at least 25 Mbps for download and 6 Mbps for upload.
It’s also important to note that the internet speed you have at your home is not the only factor that affects your gaming experience. Other factors such as the distance from your router, the number of devices connected to your network, and the quality of your router can also play a role in determining the quality of your gaming experience.
If you want to know more about how different term relate to the internet speed, read down below. We will start from the very beginning which includes Mbps, latency and connection.
Downloading Speed VS Ping
The speed at which you can download data from a server is called the download speed, while the speed at which you can upload data to others is called the upload speed. Download speed is typically faster since most online activities, such as loading web pages and streaming videos, require downloads. The term “ping” or “ping rate” refers to how quickly your internet connection responds to a request.
Your game’s performance and response time are more affected by latency than your upload or download speed. Latency, which gamers refer to as “ping,” is the delay between your action in the game and its display on your screen. A high ping rate can make it difficult to play online games, as another player’s moves may register before yours if their ping is lower. In fast-paced games like “Street Fighter V” or “Mortal Kombat X,” having low ping is crucial. To improve your gaming experience, it’s important to consider the number of devices connected to your network. If your network is highly utilized, subscribing to a higher speed tier can reduce latency and improve overall gameplay.
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Learning a little about Mbps
Mbps stands for megabits per second and it determines how quickly you can download or upload anything. The higher the Mbps connection the higher your downloading or uploading speed will be.
For example, if you are downloading a 1GB file over a 1MB connection then it will take 2 hours and 13 minutes. But if you are downloading the same 1GB file over a 10MB connection then it wll only take 13 minutes to download.
Keep in mind that there is a difference between Mbps and MBps. MBps stands for megabytes per seconds. Your 10MB connection doesn’t mean that it will download 5MBs per second. You have to divide the connection speed by 8 to determine the actual data it will download in a second. For example, 1MB connection has a download speed of 128kbs per second (1MB = 1024 / 8 = 128Kb).
Different devices need different Internet speed to perform seemingly. In actual it depends on how may users and devices in your home and how much downloading is going on.
We will try to help determine how much internet speed is best for you according to how many users and devices are in your home.
Also Read: Common Concerns Relative to Free Proxies
How much speed you really need?
Here are some general internet speed recommendations based on the usage.
- Browsing the internet or checking mails: 1-3Mbps minimum
- Streaming HD 1080p videos: 5-10 Mbps
- Steaming 4K content: 10Mbps +
- Online gaming: 5MBps +
- Downloading very large files 15Mbps +
“Good internet speed” depends on several different factors like:
- Number of devices connected and using internet simultaneously.
- What are the users browsing?
- What kind of router it is?
- Is there any downloading going on?
Good internet speed can be different for every home. For example, if there are 2 to 3 users and they only browse the internet and scroll down the Facebook, a 5Mb internet can be speedy enough for you.
On the other hand, if there are multiple users that are streaming Netflix or download large file, even a 10MB connection will feel slower. According to the FCC a “broadband” connection is the one that provides at least 25Mbps downloading speed and for uploading 3Mbps is recommended.
Different Types of internet Connections
There are two types of connections, one is wired and the other is wireless routers. Let’s dig into Which type is best for you.
Wireless connection is a good option as long as you are within the range of router. Walls between you and the router can disturb the connection. With the advancement of technology and competition between tech companies, you can now get gaming routers in cheap price.
Wired connection is more reliable and provides stable connection, since the placement and signals are not a problem.
Here are some of the internet connection types.
Fiber Optic Cable
Fiber optic cables are faster and have more advantageous over the regular internet cables. Fiber optic can provide higher bandwidth meaning faster downloads and uploads. Most of the internet companies are using traditional copper cables because they are already laid out. Fiber optic is only available in fewer areas. If the fiber optic is available in your area then opt for it and you won’t regret.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
This type of connection uses the telephone lines that are usually copper cables. Speed of DSL connection can reach up to 100MBs but in actual it is lower than that.
Coaxial Cable
It is also a type of copper cable but it is specially designed to block signal interference. This is mostly used by cable internet service. This is a same cable as used by cable television network. This technology is used by internet service providers after the DSL grew outdated. It provides much higher bandwidth than telephone lines.
Satellite
Satellite internet is based on a wireless connection. It involves 3 satellite dishes; one at the internet service providers hub, one in space and one attached in your home. Other than satellite dish you also need a modem and cables that connects your dish to your modem. DSL connection is faster than the satellite internet but the difference in some areas is negligible. The satellite technology is improving rapidly and catching up with DSL.
How does Latency Impact my internet experience?
You may know latency as ping when it comes to online gaming but actually latency is how fast your system can respond to an action that you input. There are several factors that affects ping such as the distance from server, your connection and even the host’s network.
Best internet speed for Gaming for you
The lower the ping the faster will be your response time. Ping is measured in milliseconds. For example, if you have a 30 or lower ping it will give you a better response than if you have a 150 ping. My experience from competing online games is that your ping should be lower than 50. Ping above 80 will put you at disadvantage as you will start to feel some lag. Anything above 150ms is not playable.
To play online games you should at least meat these minimum requirements. Also read this article to find gamer friends.
PC, Xbox One & PS4:
- Minimum Download Speed: 4 Mbps
- Minimum Upload Speed: 1 Mbps
- Maximum Ping Rate: 100ms
If you want to perform better and be a champion squad in Apex legends then you have to meet these minimum requirements or your in-game performance is going to suffer. Better internet speed means better performance but the lower ping means excellent performance and smooth gaming experience.