Unless you exclusively play offline or just love single-player games, having a decent broadband provider is almost as important as having a powerful graphics card.
Choosing a good broadband package for gaming isn’t just about the speed of the connection either. It’s also about latency rates, monthly download limitations, contention rates and more.
While your options may vary depending on your location, it’s worth investing in the best broadband plan available, especially if you want to enjoy seamless multiplayer gaming. Working with a trusted Internet Service Provider In Las Vegas or elsewhere, can give you access to high-performance connectivity tailored for gamers, helping to minimize lag, reduce buffering, and keep you in the game without interruption.
Broadband Speeds
Unsurprisingly, speed is an important consideration when it comes to choosing a broadband package to satisfy your love for gaming.
Whilst speed is not as crucial as many people assume it is when it comes to multiplayer gaming. It is important when it comes to downloading games, patches and user-generated content.
If you plan to buy and download games online using services like Steam or Origin, you’ll want the fastest connection available in your area.
Modern high-end video games such as Far Cry 4, The Witcher 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition typically weigh in at around 25 GB or more.
Even the fastest connections available will still take at least half an hour to download such a game, but it can easily take an entire day or more with a standard broadband package.
Connection Reliability and Latency
Even more important than actual download speeds is having a reliable connection that maintains a consistently low latency (also known as ping).
The latency rate is the time, measured in milliseconds it takes for your computer to communicate with the remote server. In online multiplayer games, you’ll ideally want a latency rate of no more than 50ms.
Higher latency rates mean slower reaction times, giving opponents with better connections a huge advantage.
Latency rates shouldn’t be a major problem with any reputable broadband provider, but they can be a concern when it comes to shared connections or providers that have poor traffic management or high contention ratios.
Unlimited Downloads
Given the amount of bandwidth that modern gaming uses, particularly when using platforms such as Steam to get your games and keep them up to date, having a flat rate connection is an absolute must for any gamer.
Many games also download updates and other content automatically, with some not even being playable until they’ve been updated.
Conclusion
However, you’ll want to make sure you have a router that supports the current 802.11n wireless protocol and provides ample Ethernet ports. Nonetheless, any serious gamer will prefer to use a wired Internet connection anyway, due to improved reliability and fewer interference issues.