Is Faster Upload Better For Installing Games

How Much Speed Do I Demand for Online Gaming?

Mar 18, 2022 Share
Brand Guides, Gaming, Net Speed Guides

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

Merely proceed in mind that no amount of speed is going to stop your game from lagging if your latency ranges into hundreds of milliseconds. There'due south a lot more to having a good gaming experience online than signing upwards for the fastest internet programme on the planet.

Nosotros've boiled down the well-nigh of import points of internet speed for gaming online, then you know exactly what kind of connexion you lot need to become 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, meet if one of our other best cyberspace providers for gaming is.

Download speed and upload speed

Playing games like Halo Infinite and Fortnite online doesn't crave a lot of bandwidth. Different an online video—which is streamed over the internet to your device—the graphics fleck in your computer, game console, or mobile device renders (draws) the virtual world locally and displays it on your screen. In fact, very niggling information passes betwixt the gaming server and the gamer. Both sides exchange the following information:

Keyboard input
Mouse input
Controller input
Player location (you lot and everyone else)
The current world country
Thespian communication
Server notifications (like in-game announcements)

Out of the items on the above list, histrion location tin can introduce slowdowns, especially in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. These games tin can have more real 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.^ane,2,3

Upload speed plays an important role also

Since games are interactive, you also have to consider the speed at which information from your reckoner or panel travels to a remote server. Fifty-fifty a poor connection can usually see the necessary speeds, which is why upload speed oftentimes takes a backseat to more important factors.

The typical game with high-definition graphics needs an upload speed of at to the lowest degree i–two Mbps.^1,ii,3

Practice you need a connection with meliorate upload speeds?

We prefer fiber over other net connections because it has symmetrical speeds. Enter your zip code to notice out which options are available to y'all.

Minimum speed requirements across game platforms

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

As long equally your internet connexion meets these requirements, you can play games online. However, if you want to take a consistent online experience, we advise having a slightly ameliorate connection.

Our speed recommendations for playing games online

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

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines a broadband connection as having a download speed of 25 Mbps and an upload speed of 3 Mbps—more than enough for you to have several consoles playing online simultaneously.^five

If you're not sure you have a broadband connectedness, you tin take a speed exam to make certain. Unfortunately, speed requirements don't impact the critical question for playing games online: latency.

Loftier latency is your worst enemy

Latency is the amount of fourth dimension a data package uses to make its trip to a remote server and back. Picture a racquetball bouncing off a wall—how long does that ball accept to come back to you?

The ping utility answers this question by throwing a ball of data at a specific destination and recording the unabridged trip'south elapsing—in other words, it pings the server. Latency is also referred to as "ping rate."

So, if your latency gets too high when you're playing a game online, you start to experience lag.

For example, yous move a mouse and your game reports that movement to a remote server. The server acknowledges the movement and sends a response showing your movements forth with all the other player movements. Your game renders the response, simply because your latency is high, your movement appears delayed compared to the other players.

Factors that impact latency

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

The concrete distance between you lot and the server

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

Why? Considering y our signal moves through multiple "hops" as it travels betwixt you lot and the server. The more than hops your signal must traverse, the longer its journey takes—which translates to a higher latency. Traffic congestion between yous and the remote server can also crusade a slowdown, besides, delaying your controller input.

Your internet connectedness type

Certain types of cyberspace connections inherently accept more latency than others.

For example, satellite internet has the highest latency because information technology's a wireless transmission that travels int o space and back to reach a remote server. Insulated cable connections accept lower latency than uninsulated phone lines, while fiber optic cables accept lower latency than both.

Keep in mind that the speed at which your signals travel back and forth is unlike from your download speed or bandwidth. A movie will download at a slower rate over a 5 Mbps DSL connectedness than it will over a 50 Mbps satellite connexion.

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

The all-time internet connections for gaming online

A fiber-to-the-home (or building) internet plan from a provider like AT&T, Google Fiber, or Verizon Fios is the all-time connection for playing games online. Cablevision net comes in at a close second, with some 5G networks likewise 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 gather. The FCC was a source for some of the most comprehensive studies of internet latency. However, the agency has since stopped including latency in its annual broadband reports, so newer technologies like 5G and dwelling house 4G LTE are not included.

Although 5G is still an emerging wireless technology —especially its gigabit millimeter-moving ridge connections— it promises to have lower latency than whatsoever other wireless connexion . 4G and 4G LTE connections generally have much more than lag than wired connections but are capable of reaching our recommended latency of below 100 ms.

How to reduce lag

If your latency is high enough that y'all're starting to feel lag when playing games online , you lot can have a few steps to assistance reduce your latency and go on your game running smoothly.

Don't utilise Wi-Fi if you can

Wireless connections, fifty-fifty fast ones, will add a bit more than filibuster to your connectedness. Wi-Fi is convenient, but it adds an additional translation step between your gaming devices and your internet connection. Plus, you'll meet a filibuster if there are more than wireless devices connected to your router than it tin handle at once.

To featherbed this delay, connect your gaming device to your router using an Ethernet cablevision. You won't meet the latencies associated with Wi-Fi or the dramatic speed fluctuations, making your connectedness 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 two.4 GHz connection merely is faster and less congested, resulting in reduced latency. Stay shut to your Wi-Fi router, also—within 50 anxiety or so, depending on the router—and go on a clear line of sight to the router with as few obstructions as possible for a better connection.

With the Nintendo Switch, we recommend playing it docked and using a USB-based Ethernet adapter to connect information technology 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 have an Ethernet port.

Power cycle network devices

Ability cycling your router and modem tin can sometimes improve their performance. Since very modest differences in latency can brand a big bear on on the corporeality of lag you feel in a game, it's worth restarting your equipment.

To power bike, unplug your modem or wireless gateway, wait 30 seconds, and plug information technology back in. Do the same with a standalone router when your modem comes back online.

Update drivers and firmware

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

Update your figurer's drivers and operating system, especially the graphics drivers
Update your console's operating system
Update the firmware for all controllers and peripherals
Update your router's firmware

Turn off unnecessary applications and devices

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

You can also prevent other devices from bogging downwards the network by turning off smart devices and pausing software and OS updates while you play—only retrieve to reactivate everything when you're done.

Use the closest server

Altitude is ane of the biggest factors in latency. Even if every device on your connectedness is running at superlative efficiency, it still takes time for a point to travel to a remote location and dorsum.

Games near always connect yous to the nearest server, but if you're experiencing unexplained latency bug, double-check that you're not connecting to the European server when you're playing in Due north America. Y'all may need to switch servers if the current ane is experiencing bug.

Employ port forwarding

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

When you assign a static IP address, y'all can tell the router to forward data to that address through specific ports. A port is merely a "dock" that handles a specific type of "ship" (data) arriving to and leaving from your router. Gaming networks typically send and receive internet data through specific ports.

To create a static IP accost and open ports to that address, you lot must brand the changes in your router or wireless gateway. Port forwarding works with whatsoever device—not just gaming consoles.

Apply Quality of Service (QoS) controls if available

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

On some routers, y'all can only plant one specific bandwidth amount and list the devices that can utilise that bandwidth. In that location are no means to prioritize specific traffic, like gaming or streaming.

Avoid peak hours

You may see a slowdown during tiptop hours when everyone in your home accesses the net at the same time. Plus, a router is limited to how many wireless devices it can handle simultaneously before slowdowns occur. This heavy load is why we always suggest using a router with four or more streams to better handle busy homes.

Peak hours are besides associated with cable net, just it'due south no longer the case now that providers like Spectrum and Xfinity utilize fiber every bit their network backbone. Rural areas that are still 100% cable may notwithstanding experience peak hour slowdowns, all the same.

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

Check your connections

A bad Ethernet cable can lead to gaming lag woes, whether it's the cable connecting your router to your modem or cobweb ONT, or the ane tethering your computer to the network. Besides, bank check your modem's internet connectedness, as a loose cablevision will crusade lag-inducing instability.

Upgrade your internet

If you've tried all these steps and are still experiencing more lag than you lot can tolerate, you lot may need to upgrade to a better internet connection.

Want to run across what providers are bachelor in your area? Enter your zero code below.

Downloads can also strain your connection

Playing your games online will push the limits of your internet connection more whatever other online activity, but it'southward not the but style that games tin can put a strain on your connection.

Many modern games take up a lot of storage infinite on your figurer or console . This ways that downloading games from an online benefactor similar Steam or the Microsoft Store can have a long time. It can also eat through monthly data caps in no time flat.

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

Latency should still be your number-i priority in choosing an internet plan for playing games online , but choosing a program with unlimited data will save you a lot of headaches. Fast download speeds likewise assistance out with those big new games. Afterwards all, having extremely long download times on Day Ane isn't much fun.

Livestreaming

Your net needs get a bit more than complicated if yous 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 yous demand to go on a steady bitrate on your livestream.

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

Game streaming

Cloud gaming services like Stadia and PlayStation Now store and run their games in a virtual machine you stream from their servers. Rather than download and run these games locally on your computer, console, or mobile device, you lot stream them from the deject. This eliminates any hardware bottlenecks that could prevent a game from running at its highest quality on your device.

That said, you don't need a $four,000 desktop or the latest panel to play these games. Instead, you lot only need a browser or an app, depending on the platform. For example, yous tin can stream Stadia on a low-end Chromebook or a Chromecast—Google'south servers practise all the heavy rendering, not your devices.

The downside to game streaming is that games are rendered on the server then streamed across the cyberspace in Full Hd or 4K resolutions. And because these experiences are interactive and not passive (like Netflix and Hulu), input latency can exist an effect.

To play these services without whatever major issues, you lot need a skillful internet connection to support game streaming. Hither are the internet speed requirements for the four major gaming streaming services:

Note that Microsoft suggests an upload speed of at to the lowest degree 4.v Mbps for Xbox Remote Play. An upload speed of 9 Mbps or more than is ideal.⁹

What about Steam Remote Play?

Valve Software suggests speeds but in regards to Steam Remote Play Together. This service allows 1 Steam gamer to run a purchased multiplayer game locally on a PC then invite 4 or more than Steam friends to play remotely. It'south optimized to stream games to four other players at 1080p and lx frames per second, and so Valve suggests using a connection of 10–xxx Mbps at the least.

This speed suggestion probably also applies to Remote Play Together+Anywhere, which nonetheless 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 internet speeds shouldn't demand to go beyond 10 Mbps.

Online games vs. playing games online

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

Online games, nevertheless, tin 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 role player. This tin can be a huge processing load fifty-fifty if y'all have the best connection available. Your frame rate may drib and your input may experience slow.

The bottom line: keep your latency low

If gaming online is your principal concern when choosing an internet plan, pick the ane that gives y'all the lowest latency, like Verizon Fios. Just keep in heed that other online activities like downloading games, livestreaming, or cloud gaming (not to mention things like watching video, working online, or doing schoolwork) accept their ain requirements that you should consider.

Sources

Nintendo Client Support, "Troubleshooting Dull Download and Upload Speeds," Accessed December three, 2020.
Xbox Support, "Troubleshoot your network connectedness speed," Accessed December four, 2020.
PlayStation Help & Support, "PS4 Error Code NP-37667-9," Accessed December 4, 2020.
PlayStation Assist & Support, "PS4 Mistake Code NP-38497-ane," Accessed December 4, 2020.
Federal Communications Commission, "2015 Broadband Progress Report," February 4, 2015. Accessed December four, 2020.
Stadia Help, "Bandwidth, data usage, and stream quality," Accessed December v, 2020.
Federal Communications Commission, "Seventh Measuring Broadband America Fixed Broadband Written report: Appendix F-1," May xx, 2011, Accessed December 16, 2020.
Bethesda, " Fallout 76 Update Notes ," July 7, 2021. Accessed July 13, 2021.
Microsoft, "Understanding Your Remote Play Setup Test Results," Accessed December 22, 2021.
Bungie, "Network Setup: Wifi vs. Wired Connections," Accessed December 22, 2021.

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Writer - Peter Christiansen

Peter Christiansen writes about satellite net, rural connectivity, livestreaming, and parental controls for HighSpeedInternet.com. Peter holds a PhD in advice from the Academy of Utah and has been working in tech for over 15 years as a calculator developer, game developer, filmmaker, and writer. His writing has been praised past outlets like Wired, Digital Humanities Now, and the New Statesman.

Editor - Cara Haynes

Cara Haynes has been editing and writing in the digital space for vii years, and she'southward edited all things net for HighSpeedInternet.com for five years. She graduated with a BA in English and a pocket-sized in editing from Brigham Young University. When she'due south not editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands similar Pluralsight. She believes no one should feel lost in internet land and that a good cyberspace connexion significantly extends your life span.

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