Is An Upload Speed Of 10 Mbps Good

How Much Speed Do I Demand for Online Gaming?

Mar eighteen, 2022 Share
Brand Guides, Gaming, Internet Speed Guides

You lot don't demand a lot of speed to play games online. Information technology's not a bandwidth-intensive action, then all you need is a 5 Mbps connection or faster.

Merely keep in heed that no amount of speed is going to stop your game from lagging if your latency ranges into hundreds of milliseconds. At that place'southward a lot more to having a good gaming experience online than signing up for the fastest internet program on the planet.

We've boiled down the nigh important points of internet speed for gaming online, so you know exactly what kind of connection y'all need to get the nigh 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 one of our other best cyberspace providers for gaming is.

Download speed and upload speed

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

Keyboard input
Mouse input
Controller input
Player location (yous and everyone else)
The current earth state
Thespian communication
Server notifications (similar in-game announcements)

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

Overall, many modernistic games with high-definition graphics demand a download speed of at least three Mbps to play online.^1,2,3

Upload speed plays an of import role as well

Since games are interactive, you also take to consider the speed at which information from your computer or panel travels to a remote server. Even a poor connection can usually meet the necessary speeds, which is why upload speed often takes a backseat to more important factors.

The typical game with loftier-definition graphics needs an upload speed of at least one–2 Mbps.^1,2,3

Practise you need a connectedness with improve upload speeds?

We prefer fiber over other internet connections because it has symmetrical speeds. Enter your nix code to observe out which options are available to you lot.

Minimum speed requirements across game platforms

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

Every bit long as your internet connection meets these requirements, you lot can play games online. However, if you want to have a consistent online experience, we suggest having a slightly meliorate connection.

Our speed recommendations for playing games online

Since the bodily speed requirements are so depression, games and game systems ofttimes don't give specific recommendations. Instead, they simply require a "broadband internet connectedness."

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines a broadband connection every bit having a download speed of 25 Mbps and an upload speed of 3 Mbps—more than than plenty for you to accept several consoles playing online simultaneously.⁵

If you're non sure yous have a broadband connection, you tin accept a speed test to make certain. Unfortunately, speed requirements don't impact on the disquisitional question for playing games online: latency.

High latency is your worst enemy

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

The ping utility answers this question by throwing a ball of data at a specific destination and recording the entire trip'due south duration—in other words, it pings the server. Latency is too referred to equally "ping charge per unit."

And then, if your latency gets too high when you lot're playing a game online, you first to experience lag.

For case, you 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 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 affect latency

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

The concrete distance between you and the server

Games that back up co-op and multiplayer use regional servers because geolocation does affair, even if a server is merely a few states away.

Why? Considering y our signal moves through multiple "hops" equally information technology travels between yous and the server. The more than hops your indicate must traverse, the longer its journey takes—which translates to a higher latency. Traffic congestion between yous and the remote server can also cause a slowdown, also, delaying your controller input.

Your internet connection type

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

For example, satellite internet has the highest latency considering information technology's a wireless transmission that travels int o infinite and back to accomplish a remote server. Insulated cable connections have lower latency than uninsulated phone lines, while cobweb optic cables have lower latency than both.

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

When playing games online, however, the DSL connection would be much more responsive than satellite considering the gaming data doesn't launch into infinite and dorsum. The high latency of the satellite connection would cause so much lag that nigh fast-paced games wouldn't even be playable online.

The all-time internet connections for gaming online

A fiber-to-the-home (or building) cyberspace program from a provider like AT&T, Google Fiber, or Verizon Fios is the best connectedness for playing games online. Cable internet comes in at a shut second, with some 5G networks likewise providing stable connections with low latency. Other wired connections generally introduce more latency but are even so better for gaming than wireless connections.

Consistent and reliable latency data is difficult to assemble. The FCC was a source for some of the nearly comprehensive studies of cyberspace latency. Nevertheless, the bureau has since stopped including latency in its annual broadband reports, so newer technologies like 5G and home 4G LTE are non included.

Although 5G is still an emerging wireless technology —especially its gigabit millimeter-moving ridge connections— it promises to have lower latency than any other wireless connectedness . 4G and 4G LTE connections generally take 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 loftier enough that you're starting to experience lag when playing games online , you can take a few steps to help reduce your latency and continue your game running smoothly.

Don't use Wi-Fi if y'all tin can

Wireless connections, even fast ones, will add a fleck more delay to your connection. Wi-Fi is convenient, but information technology adds an additional translation step between your gaming devices and your net connexion. Plus, you'll see a delay if at that place are more wireless devices connected to your router than it can handle at in one case.

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

If y'all must employ Wi-Fi, connect your wireless device to the 5 GHz band. Information technology has a shorter range than a two.4 GHz connection just is faster and less congested, resulting in reduced latency. Stay shut to your Wi-Fi router, as well—within fifty feet or so, depending on the router—and keep a articulate line of sight to the router with as few obstructions as possible for a better connexion.

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

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

Power bike network devices

Ability cycling your router and modem can sometimes improve their performance. Since very small differences in latency tin can make a large touch on on the amount of lag you experience in a game, it's worth restarting your equipment.

To ability cycle, unplug your modem or wireless gateway, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. Do the same with a standalone router when your modem comes dorsum online.

Update drivers and firmware

Hardware manufacturers release updates to improve device functioning. Updates typically include security fixes, lawmaking optimizations, improved device compatibility, and increased stability. Yous should always keep your firmware and drivers electric current to prevent bug that can slam the brakes on your internet connection. Be sure to do the following:

Update your figurer's drivers and operating system, specially the graphics drivers
Update your panel's operating organization
Update the firmware for all controllers and peripherals
Update your router's firmware

Turn off unnecessary applications and devices

If your connection withal struggles while playing games online, endeavour to reduce the amount of traffic on your habitation network. Make sure that someone isn't streaming 4K video in another room when you're nearly to start a new match.

You can besides preclude other devices from bogging down the network by turning off smart devices and pausing software and Bone updates while yous play—only retrieve to reactivate everything when you're done.

Apply the closest server

Altitude is 1 of the biggest factors in latency. Even if every device on your connectedness is running at peak efficiency, it however takes time for a betoken to travel to a remote location and dorsum.

Games almost always connect you to the nearest server, only if you're experiencing unexplained latency problems, double-check that you're not connecting to the European server when y'all're playing in North America. Y'all may need to switch servers if the electric current 1 is experiencing issues.

Utilise port forwarding

Online gaming networks like Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network propose 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 change over time, a static accost never changes.

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

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

Use Quality of Service (QoS) controls if available

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

On some routers, you tin simply establish i specific bandwidth amount and list the devices that tin can utilize that bandwidth. In that location are no ways to prioritize specific traffic, like gaming or streaming.

Avoid peak hours

You may see a slowdown during peak hours when everyone in your dwelling house accesses the internet at the same fourth dimension. Plus, a router is limited to how many wireless devices it tin handle simultaneously before slowdowns occur. This heavy load is why we always suggest using a router with four or more than streams to better handle decorated homes.

Peak hours are as well associated with cable cyberspace, but it'due south no longer the case now that providers like Spectrum and Xfinity employ fiber as their network backbone. Rural areas that are yet 100% cable may withal experience acme 60 minutes slowdowns, yet.

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

Bank check your connections

A bad Ethernet cable can pb to gaming lag woes, whether it'due south the cable connecting your router to your modem or fiber ONT, or the ane tethering your computer to the network. Also, check your modem's internet connexion, as a loose cablevision will cause lag-inducing instability.

Upgrade your internet

If y'all've tried all these steps and are even so experiencing more lag than you tin tolerate, you may demand to upgrade to a ameliorate net connection.

Want to run across what providers are available in your expanse? Enter your cypher code below.

Downloads tin also strain your connexion

Playing your games online will button the limits of your internet connectedness more whatsoever other online activity, but it's not the but way that games tin can put a strain on your connection.

Many modern games take upwards a lot of storage space on your computer or console . This ways that downloading games from an online distributor like Steam or the Microsoft Store can have a long time. Information technology can also consume through monthly data caps in no fourth dimension flat.

Updates can exist data hogs too. For case, Bethesda'southward Steel Reign update for Fallout 76 weighs a hefty xv.ix GB when downloaded from the Microsoft Store, and 7.one GB when downloaded from Steam. ⁸ Bethesda'southward long-awaited Doom Eternal Update 6 patch calculation ray tracing to the visuals is around 4 GB on Steam.

Latency should still exist your number-one priority in choosing an cyberspace plan for playing games online , but choosing a plan with unlimited data will save you lot a lot of headaches. Fast download speeds also help out with those big new games. After all, having extremely long download times on Day Ane isn't much fun.

Livestreaming

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

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

Game streaming

Deject gaming services like Stadia and PlayStation Now shop 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 stream them from the cloud. 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 $4,000 desktop or the latest console to play these games. Instead, you just need a browser or an app, depending on the platform. For case, yous can stream Stadia on a low-end Chromebook or a Chromecast—Google's servers do all the heavy rendering, not your devices.

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

To play these services without any major bug, you demand a good net connection to support game streaming. Hither are the internet speed requirements for the iv 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 than is ideal.⁹

What virtually Steam Remote Play?

Valve Software suggests speeds only in regards to Steam Remote Play Together. This service allows one Steam gamer to run a purchased multiplayer game locally on a PC and and then invite four or more Steam friends to play remotely. Information technology's optimized to stream games to 4 other players at 1080p and 60 frames per 2d, so Valve suggests using a connection of ten–30 Mbps at the to the lowest degree.

This speed suggestion probably too applies to Remote Play Together+Anywhere, which still streams the multiplayer game from a PC, but 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 need to go beyond 10 Mbps.

Online games vs. playing games online

We spend a lot of time discussing games you tin play online, which are games that target the single-role player experience start and include multiplayer components. Games that fall nether the "play games online" umbrella would include Doom Eternal , Pokemon Sword and Shield , Destiny ii , 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 Elderberry Scrolls Online , World of Warcraft , and similar MMOs. The player count is typically high, which means both the server and the client (your game) must keep track of every player. This tin be a huge processing load even if you lot have the all-time connectedness available. Your frame rate may driblet and your input may feel slow.

The lesser line: go along your latency low

If gaming online is your principal concern when choosing an net plan, choice the one that gives yous the lowest latency, like Verizon Fios. Just keep in mind that other online activities like downloading games, livestreaming, or cloud gaming (not to mention things like watching video, working online, or doing schoolwork) have their own requirements that yous should consider.

Sources

Nintendo Customer Back up, "Troubleshooting Wearisome Download and Upload Speeds," Accessed December 3, 2020.
Xbox Support, "Troubleshoot your network connexion speed," Accessed December 4, 2020.
PlayStation Assist & Support, "PS4 Mistake Lawmaking NP-37667-9," Accessed December 4, 2020.
PlayStation Assistance & Back up, "PS4 Fault Lawmaking NP-38497-1," Accessed December 4, 2020.
Federal Communications Commission, "2015 Broadband Progress Report," Feb four, 2015. Accessed December 4, 2020.
Stadia Help, "Bandwidth, data usage, and stream quality," Accessed December five, 2020.
Federal Communications Commission, "Seventh Measuring Broadband America Fixed Broadband Study: Appendix F-1," May twenty, 2011, Accessed Dec 16, 2020.
Bethesda, " Fallout 76 Update Notes ," July 7, 2021. Accessed July 13, 2021.
Microsoft, "Understanding Your Remote Play Setup Examination Results," Accessed December 22, 2021.
Bungie, "Network Setup: Wifi vs. Wired Connections," Accessed Dec 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 reckoner programmer, 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 seven years, and she's edited all things internet for HighSpeedInternet.com for v years. She graduated with a BA in English language and a minor in editing from Brigham Young University. When she'due south non editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands like Pluralsight. She believes no one should feel lost in internet land and that a practiced internet connexion significantly extends your life bridge.

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