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INTERNET & WIFI
The Best Internet Speed for Gaming and Streaming Live
6:00 Minute Read
6:00 Minute Read
Your Internet speed can make or break your competitive edge when it comes to online gaming.
Whether you’re playing on a PC, next-gen console or mobile device, a reliable, fast Internet connection is essential for optimizing your gaming experience. But how much speed do you really need? What are some ways you can reduce lag?
Understanding the key factors that affect your connection can help you minimize lag and enjoy smoother gameplay.
Before diving into Internet speed requirements, let’s define essential terms that impact gaming performance.
Download Speed: The rate at which your connection receives data, measured in Mbps. This impacts how quickly you can download games and updates.
Upload Speed: The rate at which your connection sends data, also measured in Mbps. Important for activities like live streaming.
Latency (Ping): The time it takes for data to travel from your device to the game server and back, measured in milliseconds as “ping.” Lower latency results in more responsive gameplay.
Lag: A noticeable delay between a player's action and the game's response, often caused by high latency, insufficient bandwidth or network congestion.
While many online games require low bandwidth, your overall internet speed should account for multiple devices and activities.
Keep in mind that if there are multiple devices and users on your home WiFi network while you’re gaming, Internet speeds can lag. That creates a frustrating gaming experience.
So, whether you’re a casual or serious gamer, choosing the right Internet plan for your household can help maintain a consistent, stable connection for online gaming. Spectrum offers gamers the best gaming experience with Internet Gig, featuring ultra-fast speeds up to 1 Gig.
Speed isn’t the only thing that matters in online gaming. You want to keep your response time high, which means reducing lag. While casual gamers can play with moderate lag (ping of around 50 ms), competitive gamers should seek ping less than 20 ms to maintain game responsiveness.
Choosing Spectrum can help reduce lag in online gaming, with plans featuring Internet speeds of 500 Mbps and up to 1 Gig.
While the FCC says a modest 3 to 6 Mbps download speed is sufficient for most online gaming, Spectrum offers plans with speeds up to 1 Gig to ensure a smooth, lag-free gaming experience.
However, there are three notable exceptions: cloud, real-time rendering and livestreaming games, which can require speeds from 5 to 50 Mbps to play.
Most modern games store files locally, meaning only small amounts of data are transmitted through your Internet connection.
Download speed matters most on release and patch days. As more games go digital, a slow connection can result in longer wait times.
You’re consistently using your upload speed while gaming. But the good news is that you’re only using about 1 Mbps at any given time. This is the same for PCs and consoles. Since most modern games host the game files on your local computer or console, only a small amount of data is sent at a time.
Unlike most online gaming, cloud gaming services can use 5 to 20 Mbps at minimum depending on the device or console you’re using. If you’re considering a subscription cloud gaming service like PlayStation Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming, a faster download speed, such as 50 to 100 Mbps (or higher), is beneficial for playing in HD and downloading large game files without significant slow-down.
Whether you’re a competitive gamer, rising in rankings or you’ve got the hottest takes on your Discover server, you likely want to share your gaming journey via live streaming.
Because streaming involves sending video from your computer, you need anywhere from 3 to 9 Mbps of available upload speed (depending on the quality and frame rate of the video and hosting platform).
Gaming with the latest hardware can increase demand on your Internet connection. If you’re sticking to older games or last-gen consoles, your current Internet speed may be sufficient. But if you’re planning to upgrade your gaming PC or use a PS5 or Series X, you may need to boost your speed.
When considering a hardware update, keep these gaming advances in mind:
Large file size: Downloading Triple-A games can become painfully slow with low download speeds. For large gaming files, seek faster speeds—200 Mbps or higher.
Cloud gaming: New services like PlayStation Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming require, at a bare minimum, 5 to 20 Mbps depending on your device.
HD streaming: A slow, glitchy livestream can tank your cred. Livestreaming quality is all about having the right upload speed to ensure your followers don’t miss a frame of gameplay. For the best HD livestreaming experience, a minimum upload speed of 10 Mbps is recommended.
High-bandwidth games: 4K and live-rendering games like Microsoft Flight Simulator can push your graphics card – and your bandwidth – to the limit. The “ideal” Internet speed for the average 4K video stream, according to Microsoft, is 50 Mbps. But, and even faster connections provide better experiences.
No matter the game or platform, a fast Internet connection with low latency and a low ping rate is critical to seamless gameplay. High download speeds ensure quick game and patch downloads, while low latency minimizes lag, keeping your experience responsive.
Here are some key takeaways from the article:
- Gaming uses 3 Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed on average.
- While downloading games, you’ll want at least 50 Mbps dedicated for quick downloads.
- Ping of around 50 ms is good for casual gaming, but you want less than 20 ms to play competitively.
- Ready to start streaming? You’ll need at least 4 Mbps of dedicated upload speed – 3 Mbps for the stream and 1 Mbps for the game.
Ready to test your current connection? Check your PC or gaming system’s upload and download speeds, by visiting the Spectrum Speed Test. First, check your speed using a WiFi connection and then retest it with a direct Ethernet connection (if possible) to see the difference.
While you might only need 3 Mbps for a basic gaming experience, speeds of at least 50 Mbps should be sufficient for your home’s Internet needs while you play. Spectrum customers can expect minimum Internet speeds of 500 Mbps and up to 1 Gig. Explore Spectrum Internet plans available in your area today.