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If you truly love gaming, then a high-speed internet connection is a must. Gone are the days when you could play alone on your devices. This is the era of multiplayer games, the age of online collaboration and competition. Even the science-defying Jumanji could not ignore this important facet of gaming.
In the movie’s sequel, the first player is stuck for 20 years inside the game. Down to his last life and lacking the required skills to overcome a particularly tough level, he has to wait for the rest of the gang to arrive. Now, if only he had an internet connection, he’d be out much sooner.
Being part of the community is key. It opens you to a whole other level of gaming experience and a fast reliable connection is at the center of it all. This essential service is the difference between life and death. All it takes is one second of inactivity on your side for the enemy to slay you. We don’t want that now, do we? Well, if you have a wonky connection that’s a possibility you’ll have to contend with. However, with the right setup, you won’t have to deal with any of it ever again. Just keep reading and armed with the knowledge you’ll be able to get the most out of your internet connection.
Pro Tip: For gamers, relying on Wi-Fi for connectivity is a no-no. No matter what internet connection type you have, what hardware you use, and how fast your network is you’ll get a ton of lag with a wireless connection. There’s no best Wi-Fi for gaming so be sure to steer clear of that. Grounding yourself with an Ethernet cable then is the way to go.
Often people use slow speed to describe lag. While for laymen, this might not be of much consequence; however for gamers, to confuse the two is unacceptable. Speed and lag couldn’t be more different as you’ll shortly learn if you haven’t already.
Speed is how fast data travels through the connection. Meanwhile lag, or rather latency as it is called, is the time data packets take to travel from the server to your device and back. Measured in milliseconds, the unit of measurement is referred to as Ping. You might have a 1 Gig internet connection but if it is plagued with high latency, your dreams of smooth online gaming are in jeopardy. The only time you won’t have to worry about that perhaps is when 5G is up and running but until then, it pays to check the latency. Since it differs from area to area and among providers, you’d do well to check the same connection over at a friendly neighbor’s. Calling in for a refund is often a tough process that you could do better without.
Before we go into the setup details, it is essential that we understand what internet requirements for gaming are. While simple browsing and checking emails can be carried out on the most basic of connections, and streaming can be done on any decent internet, gaming requires much, much more. Here’s an estimate of minimum internet requirements for gaming to get you started:
A lot! That’s what many people will undoubtedly say when describing the number of data gamers need for their online activities. However, it all depends on your gaming habits and of course, the kind of games you play.
Bandwidth plays an important role in this online activity and sadly it is not the best understood. Bandwidth refers to how much data can be downloaded or uploaded from your computer while speed deals with how fast the data can be uploaded or downloaded. To help explain it better, we’ve simplified it into three categories via which you’ll find it easier to understand:
The image often associated with a high-tech gaming setup is that of neon glowing gear connected to a pure fiber-optic connection with latency in the single digits. And, while that is a coveted picture, it is in no way a must when it comes to gaming. If the ping doesn’t exceed 75ms and you have a connection that can sustain 2 Mbps speed at the very least, you’re covered. In fact, you can even beat the kid armed with the million-dollar setup. However, if you’re looking for an affordable fiber-optic connection, be sure to check out what RCN Internet or AT&T Fiber has to offer. With affordable plans, you’ll be able to get it all at a low price.
With that said, here are some other factors apart from the bandwidth that might be affecting your gameplay:
While there’s little you can do for the second pointer except for connecting to nearby servers, you can optimize your network for efficiency. To learn about network optimization, keep reading.
Most of the internet data is usually consumed when downloading the game. It eats into your data like no other and before you know it you have reached your limit. 50 GB is nothing when it comes to downloading games and once you factor in your other internet usage, like streaming and playing the game itself, you’ll find yourself with a big bill at the end of the month due to overage fees.
So, when subscribing to a plan make sure you know how much downloading you’ll be doing. For people that love to play different games, you’ll need an internet package that can keep up. A data cap of 500 GB and above is the way to go and unlimited data is the ideal option. WOW! Internet is free of data caps so if it’s available in your area, then it may be the best choice for you. WOW!’s hybrid Fiber-Coaxial Network with superfast speeds is every gamer's dream!
For single-player games that don’t require communicating and coordinating with team members online, low download bandwidth is a non-issue. A reasonably high ping won’t matter either. However, upload bandwidth is an important factor you’ll have to keep in mind. Given that many providers do not even advertise these numbers in their plans you’re sure to have a tough time figuring it all out. With Spectrum Internet though you’ll find ready customer support available so if you’re subscribed to them you should have no trouble at all navigating through these complexities.
The one sure way to know how much data you really need is by measuring your data usage. Your provider can help you with that. So if you want to ask them, go right ahead and give customer service a call. For TDS Internet users it’s easy-peasy.
However, if you’d like to do it yourself and come up with an accurate answer, we’d suggest that you use software like Glasswire to do the calculations for you. It helps with network monitoring so any setup you have at home, no matter how complex, this tool will be able to figure it out. Then again, if you have a quality router that has an in-built network monitoring feature, it too can provide you with the answers you seek.
Once you’ve subscribed to a plan compatible with your gaming needs, you should focus on getting the most out of your router. The right router can immensely improve your gaming experience so make sure you get one that has the following features.
While a wireless internet connection is great, it only acts as a hurdle when it comes to gaming. It is just an extra check post your data will have to get through so it’s better you go with a more direct connection and connect your device via an Ethernet port. It helps fight latency and more. However, there’s little it can do if it cannot handle the bandwidth of your connection. You might have the best internet for gaming, the likes of Cox Internet gigabit plan, but if you don’t have an Ethernet port to match, there’s no point. So, for best results make sure the router has Gigabit Ethernet ports.
Network Optimization and QoS settings can work wonders where lag time is concerned. Imagine this: your housemate has left their laptops to download hours upon hours of streaming content, leaving little to no bandwidth for you to do your thing. This may not happen oftentimes but doesn’t mean you cannot play games online whenever you want. With QoS, you can prioritize your usage so no matter who’s doing what, you will be the top priority and get the best connectivity among all connected devices. Between the manual prioritization and automatic prioritization settings, we’d suggest that you go for automatic. It’s less hectic and provides better results.
The router you get should at least be a dual-band. The 2.4Hz band manages light online activities like emailing and social networking, while the 5GHz band handles hardcore activities like 4K streaming and multiplayer gaming.
Armed with this feature, you can move other devices to a separate channel, clear the bandwidth for console gaming or PC gaming, or whatever it is that you’re into. What’s more, you’ll also be able to cut the interference in dense urban areas where you’re sure to be competing for bandwidth with dozens of Wi-Fi networks.
Another way by which you can improve your network performance is by optimizing your router. The right configuration can make you invincible in the online world. So if that is what you’re after, check out our optimization tips below:
Ethernet cables are the way to go when it comes to gaming. They ensure a strong, reliable low-latency connection that Wi-Fi simply cannot match.
In the case of a wireless connection, the closer you are to the router the better. So pick a place where you’re closest to the device. Also, ensure that there are no obstructions between you and the router. Walls, microwaves, all such things reduce signal strength. Make sure that the external antennae are in the right direction and placed vertically.
There you go, after reading this article you can make an informed decision on how to set up your gaming devices with ease. You’ll be able to choose a provider and plan that works best for you and use the router to your benefit. So, what are you waiting for? Head to BuyTVInternetPhone and start setting up!
Gamers should choose to have fiber or cable internet service instead of DSL, wireless, or satellite.
WOW! Internet is popular among gamers for downloading game files while Spectrum internet is the popular choice for streaming and communication.
Speeds within 50-100 Mbps are ideal for gaming.
Yes, it is enough. However, it definitely depends on other factors too.
Yes it is advisable that you have no data caps in your internet connection package for gaming.
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