Gaming has changed a lot over the years with games now becoming more realistic, both in terms of graphics and mechanics and more demanding than ever. A lot of games nowadays also incorporate multiplayer gameplay, which means having a good internet connection is almost a necessity.
In this article, we’re talking about what internet speeds you need for modern games, and would a 300 Mbps connection suffice.
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The importance of internet speed in gaming
If you’re multiplayer games, you don’t really need super fast internet. What matters more than your download and upload speeds is the ping or latency of your connection. Since this is mostly controlled by your geographical location relative to the game’s servers, it’s not something you can do much about.
That said, getting a better line for your internet such as a fibre optic connection will definitely help make the connection between you and your ISP faster and more stable, which can result in an overall drop in ping and will reduce lag spikes that usually over unstable connections. This is especially true for coax or copper cable connections that are often susceptible to external interference whereas something like fibre optic will ensure a stable connection.
For most multiplayer games, a 15-20 Mbps connection will be more than enough in terms of download and upload speeds. Downloading games, however, is a whole different ballgame. Modern games are often over 100 GB in size and can be a hassle to download over slower connections. Upgrading to a 300 Mbps connection will cut down on downloading times significantly, not to mention you’ll mostly be running a fibre optic line meaning you get the aforementioned benefits.
This is true for cloud gaming as well. If you’d like to try out cloud gaming, you will need at least a 20 Mbps connection to play on 1080p 60FPS. GeForce Now, one of the most popular cloud gaming services in existence recommends at least a 15 Mbps connection for 720p at 60 FPS or 25 Mbps for 1080p at 60 FPS. If you want to play at a higher resolution, the speeds can go as high as 50 Mbps.
What about streaming?
If you want to stream your games, you’ll definitely need more bandwidth on your internet provided your game needs to run and the PC needs to stream that captured footage at the same time. Once again, a 300 Mbps connection is more than enough here.
When it comes to streaming, your CPU, GPU, and overall system specs play a huge role. If you’re getting a choppy stream or your PC’s performance degrades when you stream, it’s best to upgrade your hardware first before you think about getting a faster connection.
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What about streaming, downloading and browsing?
Of course, with a faster connection, your streaming, downloading and overall internet browsing experience will significantly improve. As mentioned before, you’ll be able to download larger games and files much faster and stream 4K or even 8K video without any lag whatsoever.
Your overall browsing experience will improve as websites will open almost instantly. Having a fast internet connection is also beneficial for all the background tasks that run on your PC and update different programs at different times. With a 300 Mbps connection, you won’t have to worry about your games and programs auto-updating themselves while eating your bandwidth.
This also means that you’ll be able to access the internet on more devices simultaneously without impacting individual speeds. If you have more than one device in your house that might be used for streaming or just accessing the internet in general, it’s always a good idea to have some extra headroom to avoid bandwidth issues.
So is 300 Mbps enough?
300 Mbps is more than enough speed for gaming, streaming, downloading and just about anything else you want to do. Keep in mind that multiplayer games are affected more by your ping rather than your speed.
If you want the best possible performance in online games, your focus should be on getting the best ping possible instead of the highest speed.
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