Gamers logo

How much speed do I need for online gaming?

Internet speed is a crucial factor in online gaming.

By dalyn dalynPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
Like

How much speed do I need for online gaming?

You don’t have to have a high internet connection in order to play online games. Most games don't require a lot of bandwidth and an average speed is around 5 Mbps or higher.

But keep in mind that no amount 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 good gaming experience online than signing up for the fastest internet plan on the planet.

The best internet speed for gaming is 20Mbps download and 10Mbps upload.

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 internet to your device the graphics chip in your computer, game console, or mobile device renders (draws) the virtual world locally on your device and displays it on your screen. In fact, very little information passes between the gaming server and the gamer. Both sides exchange the following data:

Internet speed is a crucial factor in online gaming. A faster internet connection will reduce the waiting time between the player and the server, which will lead to smoother gameplay.

There are three important factors that affect your internet speed: download speed, upload speed and latency. Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another point on a network. If you have a high latency and less upload speeds, your gameplay experience will be worse than if you have a low latency with high upload speeds.

Is 100 Mbps fast enough for online gaming?

Internet speed is a crucial factor in online gaming. A faster internet connection will reduce the waiting time between the player and the server, which will lead to smoother gameplay.

There are three important factors that affect your internet speed: download speed, upload speed and latency. Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another point on a network. If you have a high latency and less upload speeds, your gameplay experience will be worse than if you have a low latency with high upload speeds.

The recommended internet speed for online gaming is 100 Mbps, but this may differ depending on what kind of game you are playing. For instance, if you are playing an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game like World of Warcraft or League of Legends, then 100 Mbps might not

Our speed recommendations for playing games online are :

1- Windows/Mac PC:

A lot of people use PCs to play games and consider them to be the standard for playing online. They do require a certain level of performance, but it's in the middle of the range.

Minimum Download Speed Required: 3-6 Mbps

Minimum Upload Speed Required: 1 Mbps

Maximum Latency/Ping Rate Allowed: 100-150 ms

2-PlayStation 5 & 4 (PS5 & PS4 ):

PlayStation 4, the most popular gaming console, lists in their manual that online gaming on PS4 requires a broadband connection. It does not work with dial-up internet.

They may be referring to the broadband connection, which needs at least 25 Mbps, but that is not the case. It works well with these minimum requirements:

Minimum Download Speed Required: 3 Mbps

Minimum Upload Speed Required: 1 Mbps

Maximum Latency/Ping Rate Allowed: 150 ms

3-Xbox One:

Xbox One makes it clear for everyone that how much speed it needs for online gaming. Along with the average speed rates, it also mentions the maximum ping rates allowed.

Minimum Download Speed Required: 3 Mbps

Minimum Upload Speed Required: 0.5 Mbps

Maximum Latency/Ping Rate Allowed: 150 ms

4-Nintendo Wii:

Nintendo does not provide any information on the minimum speed required to play games online, but if you check their troubleshooting guide, you'll see that they recommend a download speed of at least 1.5 Mbps.

Minimum Download Speed Required: 1.5 Mbps

Minimum Upload Speed Required: 1 Mbps

Maximum Latency/Ping Rate Allowed: 100-150 ms

5-Nintendo Switch:

Nintendo doesn’t mention anything about the speed required for gaming, but in their troubleshooting guide they recommend a download speed of 3 mbps and an upload speed of 1 Mbps.

Minimum Download Speed Required: 3 Mbps

Minimum Upload Speed Required: 1 Mbps

Maximum Latency/Ping Rate Allowed: 150 ms

If you have a connection with download speed of 3 Mbps+ and upload speed of 1 Mbps+ and Ping Rate under 150 ms, then you are good to go for online gaming.

The best internet connections for gaming online are

The best internet plan for gaming is a fiber to the home connection

1. Fiber 50–10,000 Mbps

2. Cable 15–1,200 Mbps

3. DSL1–100 Mbps

how to
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.