What's a good internet speed for gaming?

Question

I'm currently changing providers and the one I'm looking at is offering both an 8mbps and an 11mbps speed, but I'm not sure which one would be good for gaming (or if it's good enough to game at all). Any advice?

Answer 1

Ping time is what matters most. Although it's related to your connection speed, it also depends on other factors. Like how many router hops there are to get to a server. But a high speed connection can have a higher ping time if the signal has to bounce around though a dozen routers before it gets to your game server. Also see the comments about using wfi. It will work, but it's an extra hop, and potentially a slow one before your packet even gets to your router.



Because the actual amount of data being transmitted by the game is relatively small you can game on a good reliable 1 mbit connection if you have to. Of course faster is better.



If you aren't a serious gamer, and you don't have to share the connection with others, then the 8mbit will work fine and keep some money in your pocket. Yes large updates and downloads take a little longer, but you just schedule those for when you are asleep or at work. You ISP will always upgrade you to the faster plan later if you ask (mo money for them)



If you have to share your connection with others, then go with the faster one. That way a couple of other people can be watching youtube or skyping, and still leave you with some bandwidth to play with.

Answer 2

There are two measures of internet speed - the headline measure usually used is the bandwith, or how much can be sent across the link in a given time (measured in Mbps) which isn't particularly important for gaming since the amount of traffic sent tends to be quite low. Far more important is latency or how quickly the information arrives at its destination. That isn't as easy to predict in advance and varies depending on network conditions. However, ISPs and packages that use traffic shaping and prioritize real-time traffic such as gaming will tend to have the edge. Best approach would be to search forums discussing people's gaming experiences with the ISPs available to you, ideally in your local area.

Answer 3

These speeds are quite low for today's standards. I'm currently on a 60 mbps broadband connection and I find it slow for downloads. I'd say go with the 11 mbps version, the games will probably run fine, but it'll make you go nuts when you'll have to download a game, movie or wait for games to update.

Answer 4

for gaming, the lowest speeds my internet provider provides is good enough when playing an online game, its the downloading of game apps or updates within the game that gets really slow (but outside the game downloads would be normal speeds). I dont understand it but so long as the game doesnt lag i dont care about the download speeds within the game client. So for playing , whether it be the fastest or a mere 512kb/s internet connection, it will suffice.

Answer 5

11Mbps should be enough for gaming. However, other users online at the same time may affect game play, even if you had faster speeds....

Also, do not use wireless for gaming, that adds a lot of latency to the overall response. With a 11Mbps link, you want to keep that as fast as you can, so play with a wired Ethernet connection if possible for best results.

Answer 6

When you say mbps do you mean megabytes or megabits? I would say at the very least 5 megabytes up and 20 down but that's the very least. It would be ideal for 10 up 30 down.

Answer 7

5 MBPS is good internet speed for gaming.

Answer 8

I've gamed on 300Kbps, but I prefer 3MBs, which is 24Mbps

Answer 9

o que importa e o tempo ping e Upload ai vc vai jogar bem

como nas adsl não são boas link dedicados muito boas