Whats Important When Playing Online Games

How Much Speed Do I Need for Online Gaming?

Mar 18, 2022 Share
Make Guides, Gaming, Internet Speed Guides

You don't need a lot of speed to play games online. It'southward not a bandwidth-intensive activity, so all you need is a 5 Mbps connexion or faster.

But keep in heed that no corporeality of speed is going to stop your game from lagging if your latency ranges into hundreds of milliseconds. There's a lot more to having a skilful gaming experience online than signing upwards for the fastest internet plan on the planet.

We've boiled down the almost important points of internet speed for gaming online, then you know exactly what kind of connexion you lot need to get the most out of your online gameplay.

Looking for the best internet provider for gaming?

Verizon Fios has the lowest latency in our tests. If it's not in your area, see if ane of our other all-time internet providers for gaming is.

Download speed and upload speed

Playing games like Halo Infinite and Fortnite online doesn't require a lot of bandwidth. Unlike an online video—which is streamed over the cyberspace to your device—the graphics chip in your computer, game console, or mobile device renders (draws) the virtual world locally and displays it on your screen. In fact, very little data passes between the gaming server and the gamer. Both sides substitution the following data:

• Keyboard input
• Mouse input
• Controller input
• Player location (you and everyone else)
• The current world state
• Role player communication
• Server notifications (like in-game announcements)

Out of the items on the above list, player location tin can introduce slowdowns, especially in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. These games can have more existent on-screen players than the typical online gaming scenario, causing frame rate drops and "teleporting" players.

Overall, many mod games with high-definition graphics demand a download speed of at least 3 Mbps to play online.^1,ii,3

Upload speed plays an important role too

Since games are interactive, you also have to consider the speed at which data from your computer or console travels to a remote server. Fifty-fifty a poor connection tin usually encounter the necessary speeds, which is why upload speed often takes a backseat to more important factors.

The typical game with high-definition graphics needs an upload speed of at least one–2 Mbps.^1,ii,three

Do y'all need a connectedness with better upload speeds?

We prefer cobweb over other internet connections because information technology has symmetrical speeds. Enter your zip code to find out which options are available to y'all.

Minimum speed requirements across game platforms

* Based on suggestions fabricated by Bungie for Destiny 2 on PC. ¹⁰

As long equally your net connexion meets these requirements, you lot can play games online. However, if you lot want to have a consistent online experience, we suggest having a slightly better connection.

Our speed recommendations for playing games online

Since the actual speed requirements are so low, games and game systems oft don't give specific recommendations. Instead, they but require a "broadband internet connectedness."

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines a broadband connection as having a download speed of 25 Mbps and an upload speed of iii Mbps—more plenty for you to have several consoles playing online simultaneously.⁵

If you're not sure y'all accept a broadband connection, yous can take a speed exam to make certain. Unfortunately, speed requirements don't impact the critical question for playing games online: latency.

High latency is your worst enemy

Latency is the amount of time a data parcel uses to make its trip to a remote server and back. Pic a racquetball billowy off a wall—how long does that brawl take to come back to you?

The ping utility answers this question by throwing a brawl of data at a specific destination and recording the unabridged trip's duration—in other words, it pings the server. Latency is besides referred to equally "ping rate."

So, if your latency gets besides high when you lot're playing a game online, you beginning to feel lag.

For instance, you move a mouse and your game reports that motion to a remote server. The server acknowledges the motility and sends a response showing your movements along with all the other player movements. Your game renders the response, but because your latency is high, your movement appears delayed compared to the other players.

Factors that bear upon latency

There are a number of factors that impact latency. These include the following:

The physical distance between you and the server

Games that support co-op and multiplayer use regional servers considering geolocation does matter, even if a server is just a few states away.

Why? Because y our signal moves through multiple "hops" equally it travels between you and the server. The more hops your point must traverse, the longer its journeying takes—which translates to a college latency. Traffic congestion between you and the remote server tin can also cause a slowdown, too, delaying your controller input.

Your internet connection type

Sure types of internet connections inherently have more than latency than others.

For instance, satellite net has the highest latency because it'southward a wireless transmission that travels int o infinite and back to reach a remote server. Insulated cable connections have lower latency than uninsulated phone lines, while fiber optic cables take lower latency than both.

Proceed in mind that the speed at which your signals travel back and forth is unlike from your download speed or bandwidth. A pic will download at a slower rate over a five Mbps DSL connection than it will over a 50 Mbps satellite connection.

When playing games online, yet, the DSL connection would exist much more responsive than satellite because the gaming data doesn't launch into infinite and back. The loftier latency of the satellite connection would cause so much lag that almost fast-paced games wouldn't even be playable online.

The best internet connections for gaming online

A fiber-to-the-home (or building) cyberspace plan from a provider like AT&T, Google Fiber, or Verizon Fios is the best connexion for playing games online. Cablevision internet comes in at a close second, with some 5G networks also providing stable connections with low latency. Other wired connections generally innovate more than latency but are still better for gaming than wireless connections.

Consistent and reliable latency data is difficult to assemble. The FCC was a source for some of the most comprehensive studies of net latency. However, the agency has since stopped including latency in its annual broadband reports, and then newer technologies like 5G and home 4G LTE are not included.

Although 5G is nonetheless an emerging wireless applied science —especially its gigabit millimeter-moving ridge connections— it promises to have lower latency than any other wireless connection . 4G and 4G LTE connections more often than not have much more lag than wired connections only are capable of reaching our recommended latency of below 100 ms.

How to reduce lag

If your latency is high enough that you're starting to experience lag when playing games online , you lot tin can accept a few steps to help reduce your latency and go on your game running smoothly.

Don't use Wi-Fi if you can

Wireless connections, even fast ones, will add together a bit more delay to your connection. Wi-Fi is convenient, but it adds an additional translation footstep between your gaming devices and your internet connection. Plus, yous'll see a delay if in that location are more wireless devices connected to your router than information technology tin can handle at once.

To bypass this delay, connect your gaming device to your router using an Ethernet cable. You won't see the latencies associated with Wi-Fi or the dramatic speed fluctuations, making your connection that much more than responsive.

If you must use Wi-Fi, connect your wireless device to the 5 GHz band. Information technology has a shorter range than a 2.four GHz connection just is faster and less congested, resulting in reduced latency. Stay close to your Wi-Fi router, too—within 50 feet or then, depending on the router—and go along a clear line of sight to the router with every bit few obstructions as possible for a better connectedness.

With the Nintendo Switch, we recommend playing it docked and using a USB-based Ethernet adapter to connect it to your network. The Nintendo-approved Dual USB Playstand works with the Switch and Switch Lite.

You can use a similar adapter on a notebook or desktop that doesn't take an Ethernet port.

Power bicycle network devices

Ability cycling your router and modem can sometimes improve their operation. Since very pocket-size differences in latency tin can brand a big impact on the amount of lag you feel in a game, information technology's worth restarting your equipment.

To power bicycle, unplug your modem or wireless gateway, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. Practice the same with a standalone router when your modem comes back online.

Update drivers and firmware

Hardware manufacturers release updates to improve device operation. Updates typically include security fixes, code optimizations, improved device compatibility, and increased stability. You should ever keep your firmware and drivers electric current to prevent issues that can slam the brakes on your internet connectedness. Be sure to do the following:

• Update your calculator'due south drivers and operating system, especially the graphics drivers
• Update your panel's operating organisation
• Update the firmware for all controllers and peripherals
• Update your router'due south firmware

Turn off unnecessary applications and devices

If your connection still struggles while playing games online, try to reduce the amount of traffic on your dwelling network. Brand sure that someone isn't streaming 4K video in another room when you lot're about to start a new match.

Y'all can besides preclude other devices from bogging down the network past turning off smart devices and pausing software and Bone updates while you lot play—just remember to reactivate everything when you're done.

Use the closest server

Distance is one of the biggest factors in latency. Even if every device on your connexion is running at peak efficiency, information technology still takes time for a signal to travel to a remote location and dorsum.

Games almost ever connect you to the nearest server, merely if you're experiencing unexplained latency issues, double-check that you're not connecting to the European server when you lot're playing in North America. You may need to switch servers if the current one is experiencing issues.

Employ port forwarding

Online gaming networks similar Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network suggest that gamers assign "static" IP addresses to their consoles and road incoming and outgoing traffic to those addresses. While routers typically assign dynamic addresses to your devices which alter over time, a static address never changes.

When you assign a static IP accost, you can tell the router to forward information to that address through specific ports. A port is simply a "dock" that handles a specific blazon of "send" (information) arriving to and leaving from your router. Gaming networks typically transport and receive net data through specific ports.

To create a static IP address and open ports to that accost, you must make the changes in your router or wireless gateway. Port forwarding works with any device—non but gaming consoles.

Utilise Quality of Service (QoS) controls if bachelor

Yous may exist able to allocate more bandwidth to your gaming devices by making a few adjustments in your router or wireless gateway. The router will consider this traffic as "critical" and will prioritize your gaming data over other applications, similar Netflix and YouTube.

On some routers, you tin can only establish ane specific bandwidth amount and list the devices that tin can use that bandwidth. There are no means to prioritize specific traffic, like gaming or streaming.

Avoid tiptop hours

Yous may see a slowdown during top hours when everyone in your dwelling accesses the internet at the same time. Plus, a router is express to how many wireless devices information technology tin can handle simultaneously earlier slowdowns occur. This heavy load is why we always advise using a router with iv or more streams to better handle busy homes.

Peak hours are too associated with cable internet, merely it'southward no longer the case at present that providers like Spectrum and Xfinity use fiber equally their network backbone. Rural areas that are still 100% cablevision may all the same feel meridian hour slowdowns, however.

We suggest that you play games later in the evening, or upgrade your router if it has less than four streams.

Check your connections

A bad Ethernet cable tin atomic number 82 to gaming lag woes, whether it's the cablevision connecting your router to your modem or fiber ONT, or the one tethering your figurer to the network. Too, check your modem's net connection, as a loose cable volition crusade lag-inducing instability.

Upgrade your cyberspace

If y'all've tried all these steps and are even so experiencing more than lag than you can tolerate, yous may need to upgrade to a amend net connection.

Want to encounter what providers are bachelor in your expanse? Enter your cypher lawmaking below.

Downloads can also strain your connexion

Playing your games online will push the limits of your internet connectedness more than than any other online activity, merely it'south non the merely way that games tin can put a strain on your connection.

Many modern games accept up a lot of storage space on your computer or console . This means that downloading games from an online distributor like Steam or the Microsoft Store tin take a long time. It can also swallow through monthly data caps in no time apartment.

Updates tin can be data hogs too. For case, Bethesda'due south Steel Reign update for Fallout 76 weighs a hefty 15.nine GB when downloaded from the Microsoft Store, and vii.1 GB when downloaded from Steam. ⁸  Bethesda's long-awaited Doom Eternal Update 6 patch adding ray tracing to the visuals is around 4 GB on Steam.

Latency should still exist your number-one priority in choosing an internet programme for playing games online , but choosing a plan with unlimited data will salve you lot a lot of headaches. Fast download speeds likewise assist out with those big new games. Afterward all, having extremely long download times on Day One isn't much fun.

Livestreaming

Your internet needs get a bit more complicated if you stream your games on Twitch or YouTube. Streaming has all the normal requirements for a low-latency connection for playing games online, plus the additional upload speed you need to keep a steady bitrate on your livestream.

For more data on what to wait for in an internet connection for livestreaming, bank check out our guide to internet speed for live video game streaming. We also provide a guide on how to stream on Twitch that offers all the information you need.

Game streaming

Deject gaming services like Stadia and PlayStation At present store and run their games in a virtual machine you stream from their servers. Rather than download and run these games locally on your calculator, console, or mobile device, y'all stream them from the cloud. This eliminates whatsoever hardware bottlenecks that could prevent a game from running at its highest quality on your device.

That said, you don't need a $4,000 desktop or the latest console to play these games. Instead, you lot just demand a browser or an app, depending on the platform. For instance, yous can stream Stadia on a low-terminate Chromebook or a Chromecast—Google'due south servers do all the heavy rendering, not your devices.

The downside to game streaming is that games are rendered on the server and so streamed beyond the internet in Full Hard disk drive or 4K resolutions. And because these experiences are interactive and non passive (similar Netflix and Hulu), input latency tin can be an effect.

To play these services without whatever major issues, yous demand a good cyberspace connection to support game streaming. Here are the internet speed requirements for the 4 major gaming streaming services:

Note that Microsoft suggests an upload speed of at least 4.5 Mbps for Xbox Remote Play. An upload speed of ix Mbps or more is ideal.⁹

What nigh Steam Remote Play?

Valve Software suggests speeds only in regards to Steam Remote Play Together. This service allows 1 Steam gamer to run a purchased multiplayer game locally on a PC and so invite iv or more Steam friends to play remotely. It's optimized to stream games to four other players at 1080p and 60 frames per 2d, so Valve suggests using a connection of 10–30 Mbps at the least.

This speed suggestion probably also applies to Remote Play Together+Anywhere, which however streams the multiplayer game from a PC, merely now the game owner is streaming remotely too. Meanwhile, Remote Play Anywhere streams to one client only, and so the necessary net speeds shouldn't demand to go across 10 Mbps.

Online games vs. playing games online

Nosotros spend a lot of fourth dimension discussing games yous tin can play online, which are games that target the single-player experience first and include multiplayer components. Games that autumn under the "play games online" umbrella would include Doom Eternal , Pokemon Sword and Shield , Destiny 2 , and Halo Space . They tin feel latency when played in co-op and multiplayer modes, especially when more than a few players are moving on the screen.

Online games, however, can be highly susceptible to latency. These include The Elder Scrolls Online , World of Warcraft , and like MMOs. The player count is typically high, which means both the server and the client (your game) must keep track of every actor. This can be a huge processing load even if you take the best connection available. Your frame rate may drop and your input may feel slow.

The bottom line: keep your latency low

If gaming online is your master business organisation when choosing an cyberspace plan, pick the one that gives you the lowest latency, similar Verizon Fios. Only keep in mind that other online activities like downloading games, livestreaming, or cloud gaming (non to mention things similar watching video, working online, or doing schoolwork) take their ain requirements that you should consider.

Sources

1. Nintendo Customer Support, "Troubleshooting Tiresome Download and Upload Speeds," Accessed December 3, 2020.
2. Xbox Support, "Troubleshoot your network connection speed," Accessed December 4, 2020.
3. PlayStation Help & Back up, "PS4 Error Code NP-37667-nine," Accessed Dec 4, 2020.
4. PlayStation Aid & Support, "PS4 Error Code NP-38497-1," Accessed December iv, 2020.
5. Federal Communications Committee, "2015 Broadband Progress Written report," February four, 2015. Accessed Dec four, 2020.
6. Stadia Help, "Bandwidth, data usage, and stream quality," Accessed December 5, 2020.
7. Federal Communications Commission, "7th Measuring Broadband America Fixed Broadband Report: Appendix F-ane," May xx, 2011, Accessed December xvi, 2020.
8. Bethesda, " Fallout 76 Update Notes ," July seven, 2021. Accessed July xiii, 2021.
9. Microsoft, "Agreement Your Remote Play Setup Exam Results," Accessed December 22, 2021.
10. Bungie, "Network Setup: Wifi vs. Wired Connections," Accessed December 22, 2021.

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Author - Peter Christiansen

Peter Christiansen writes nearly satellite internet, rural connectivity, livestreaming, and parental controls for HighSpeedInternet.com. Peter holds a PhD in communication from the University of Utah and has been working in tech for over 15 years as a computer programmer, game programmer, filmmaker, and author. His writing has been praised by outlets like Wired, Digital Humanities Now, and the New Statesman.

Editor - Cara Haynes

Cara Haynes has been editing and writing in the digital infinite for seven years, and she's edited all things internet for HighSpeedInternet.com for 5 years. She graduated with a BA in English and a minor in editing from Brigham Young University. When she's not editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands similar Pluralsight. She believes no i should feel lost in internet land and that a adept internet connexion significantly extends your life span.

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