Whether you have a home-built gaming PC or a standard model straight out of the box, you’re going to need a reliable internet connection if you want to play the latest, hottest games. And the harder you game, the more likely you are to need a high-speed broadband internet connection you can count on—if you don’t want to experience issues like lag, mid-game crashing, and long loading screens, that is. Read on to learn more about internet for gaming and why choosing the right connection is important.

What are some signs my internet isn’t up to speed?

Even if you have an awesome graphics card and a custom PC for the ages, you won’t get far in your favorite new online games with an underperforming internet connection. Here are some common signs it’s time for a service upgrade:

• Lag: We’re all familiar with lag. In fact, it’s every online gamer’s worst nightmare in a competitive setting. If your graphics card is compatible with your game of choice, there’s a good chance your character is stuck in one place because of lag.
• Connectivity issues: Is there anything more frustrating than your session dropping in the middle of a match? If you’re losing momentum due to this common network issue, it may be time to investigate other internet for gaming.
• Long load times: Load screens can be annoying even during the best of times. But if you’re experiencing long delays between online matches and everything else on your computer is running fine, your internet connection could be the problem.

How do I know if I need high-speed internet for gaming?

If you’ve experienced any of these issues, it’s probably time to investigate other internet options as soon as possible for the optimal gaming experience. When shopping around, you should consider the importance of symmetrical speeds. Symmetrical speed refers to your upload and download speeds moving at the same rate. For example, a 940 Mbps upload speed would be paired with a 940 Mbps download speed in a symmetrical model.

Choosing a provider with high download speed paired with low upload speed can cause major issues with video calls, VoIP, and of course, gaming. This is why it’s important to evaluate symmetrical speed, alongside these other key factors below.

You play online games with high latency

Latency is the arch-nemesis of online gaming. It’s the reason your character lags behind the rest in online matches, and it’s especially critical when you’re playing real-time matches in arena games or first-person shooters. Even if your connection is smooth most of the time, latency spikes can still cause issues that grind your optimal gaming experience to a halt. For max performance, you should aim for 30ms latency or below.

If you’re a fan of games that are generally known for high latency (like Overwatch or Elder Scrolls Online), an upgrade may be in order. Low latency leads to an awesome gaming experience, and you can achieve this by choosing the right high gig speed internet for gaming.

You live in a house with a lot of other gamers

Bandwidth measures the total amount of data your connection can handle at any given time (for example, 940 Mbps). This is critical if you live in a house with other gamers—or even people who like to stream in 4K. Even if your hardware is modern and top-notch, if you don’t have the right internet connection for gaming, your devices are all going to be fighting with each other. By increasing your bandwidth, you and your family will all be able to game, stream, and video chat with confidence. The best part is, with the right connection and hardware combo, you can do all of this and more at the exact same time!

You’re interested in VR gaming

With so many cool new wearable gaming devices on the horizon, it seems like everyone is talking about virtual reality these days. But even if you invest in one of these awesome new gadgets, you may be disappointed when you put it on and find your gaming experience is a bust. With VR, you should aim for a latency of 20ms or below for optimal performance. And with the Metaverse making major progress recently, you want to be prepared to experience the ultimate destiny of the internet in fully-immersive VR beauty!

You plan on streaming your gaming sessions

If you’re an aspiring streamer on a site like Twitch, symmetrical speeds are especially critical, as you’ll be uploading and downloading data at the exact same time. When running multiple applications like Twitch and guest chats alongside your gaming platform of choice, you’ll need low latency and high upload speeds for the best possible performance. Otherwise, you may find yourself dealing with lag, endless buffering, and an overall frustrating streaming experience.

What if I don’t play fancy new games?

Even if you aren’t into MMOs or FPS games that take up tons of bandwidth, you and your family can still benefit from a high-speed internet upgrade. Bandwidth is important for so many other things besides gaming. More bandwidth on your home network means that everyone will be able to stream, video chat, back up data, and download files in perfect harmony.

While backing up files, symmetrical speed comes into play again, as you’ll be uploading large amounts of data while others are downloading at the same time. This is another reason you should always look for a provider with symmetrical speeds, whether or not you’re a dedicated gamer.

With upgraded internet for gaming, you’re bound to see improvement in performance across all your network devices—even if you’re a “single gamer household” with only one kid who likes playing Overwatch after school.

Upgrade your digital life with high-speed internet for gaming

Now that you know how important it is to choose the right internet for gaming, it’s time to do some research. How much gig speed do you really need? Is your connection really the problem, or should you blame your graphics card instead? Read about all this and more in the Quantum Fiber blog, and don’t forget to bookmark our site!