How Much Internet Speed Is Actually Needed for a Smooth Gaming Experience

Gaming is a hobby enjoyed by billions all over the world. While some stick to only single-player offline games, plenty of others like to go online. This requires an internet connection to connect you to other players all across the planet.

There are plenty of service providers out there who you can get internet from, so how can you choose? One of the most common factors to influence this decision is how fast the internet is. Faster internet often means better gameplay that is much more smooth and refined.

But how fast do you need your internet to be to ensure you have a smooth experience while gaming?

How Much Internet Speed is Required for a Smooth Gaming Experience?

Well, the answer can depend on you and your expectations, but generally, a minimum speed of 5 Mbps is recommended for a decent experience while gaming. However, for best results, a speed of 10-20 Mbps is often ideal. Each provider will have different options for internet, with the faster generally being more expensive than the slow.

There are a few reasons why faster internet is better when it comes to gaming. It will not only make downloads and updates faster but will often provide a more reliable and snappy connection, with minimal lag.

Be sure to perform an internet speed test to get a better sense of how fast your internet is, and if it is good enough to game reliably. These are helpful tools that can tell you the current quality of your internet, and how it is performing right now in terms of speed.

Ways to Speed up Your Internet

Now that you know why faster internet is better and what speed is required, how can you speed up your internet if the speed is lacking? Perhaps the best way is to simply upgrade your internet. For a bit higher monthly cost, you can dramatically speed up your internet download and upload speeds, and get a better connection.

Also, the less people using your internet at one time, the faster it will be. If you try to play an online game over wifi, while your roommate is watching Netflix, you are likely to have a bad time. If possible, you will want to use ethernet to the game, as opposed to wifi. A hardwired connection will be faster and have many other benefits over a wireless connection.

Also, finding ways to reduce your lag and latency is generally a good idea. If you live far away from any servers from the game you play, a VPN can often help you get a more stable connection, for example. This can ensure your online gaming experience is fair, and you aren’t playing a second behind your opponents. This can also reduce your game from freezing or crashing in some cases, too.

In conclusion, we hope this article has helped you learn more about internet speed and how it relates to a better gaming experience.