Online video games have massively gained popularity in the last two decades. This has been made possible due to the easy accessibility of the latest technology. You don’t have to go to your nearby internet café to play an online video game. Nor do you lock yourself at home for that. Now, you could be anywhere in the world and still be able to play your favorite game. In the last two years, it has become a prime means for people to spend time online.

 

However, if you are still a beginner or thinking of joining the exciting world of online video games, then you must familiarize yourself with the basics first. This is why we have created this guide. So, keep reading and start learning about this fantastic online world.

The internet controls practically everything that we do. The same is the case with video games. Our lives have intertwined with this technology. And a poor internet connection is no less than an enemy of the players. You should be aware of the fact that to play efficiently, you must have an internet connection that provides excellent speed.

If your current internet service provider is not delivering you the desired speed, then you might want to check out Spectrum internet and its impressive plans. The download speed goes up to 200 Mbps, which as a result, provides a quality experience to its subscribers, especially those who are avid gamers and heavy streamers. Moreover, their customer support is available around the clock, and this makes them one of the preferred choices for online gaming.

Having said that, let’s move forward and talk about the basics of online video games. The next section of this article contains everything you need to know before jumping into this pool.

Speed Requirements for Online Gaming

Most of the time when you purchase a gaming console, it comes with a recommended internet speed. This is done so that the gamers would have a clear idea of what should be the speed they must opt for to have a good experience while playing.

You might have seen that manufacturers like Xbox and PlayStation propose a download speed of a minimum of 3 Mbps and an upload speed of a minimum of 0.5 Mbps to 1 Mbps. This is more like generalized numbers as every gaming platform has its own requirements because data obviously varies from one to another. However, we have done our research and mentioned the common requirements that you typically find in almost all games.

Download Speed

Usually, download speed is the main guy that makes sure that your online experience turns out flawless. But when it comes to gaming, download speed and upload are given almost the same importance due to their function.

No matter how well-trained your reaction time is, if your download speed is not up to the mark, then you will constantly face lags and buffering, which is of course a huge bummer.

If you are still unclear as to what really is download speed, then let us walk you through this concept. Essentially, this is the speed that determines how fast you will be able to pull data from an external server to your own.

If you begin to notice your online activity then you will realize that most of our tasks involve more downloading than sending or technically speaking, uploading the data. Similarly, gaming also heavily relies on a good download speed. This is why most manufacturers recommend a minimum download speed between 3 to 6 Mbps.

Upload Speed

Whenever you subscribe to any internet plan, you might have noticed that upload speed is also always mentioned with download speed. Although it is not given as much attention and credit as it should be. It is generally agreed that upload speed is more important for online gamers than it is for any other online activity.

An upload speed is basically the rate at which your system can transmit or transfer data to the internet. It tells how long it takes for data to be transmitted from your computer or device to the internet server. A basic task such as sending an email comes under the realm of upload speed.

The reason why it is considered more important for gaming is that while playing, you are constantly sending data to the server. It could be during the in-game actions or while you are communicating with other players during a multiplayer game. Generally speaking, most ISPs deliver a 1 Mbps upload speed for a decent online video game experience.

Ping Rate or Latency

In the online world of video games, you have probably heard the term ‘ping rate’ and ‘latency’ frequently. These terms are casually thrown in the gaming communities. This might have got you thinking about what it is. Well, it is the period between performing an action and seeing its result on the screen. Latency is used to measure the reachability of a host on a network.

In other words, it measures how many milliseconds your device or system takes to send a message to another server and then receive a response. If anything goes wrong with your internet connection, it can consequently affect your latency or ping rate greatly. Some gamers consider it even more important than download speed.

To have an optimal online gaming experience, your latency should be 50 milliseconds or lower. This, as a result, influence your gaming performance and provides you with an enjoyable experience.

Final Words

If you are planning on dipping your toes in the online world of video games, then you need to first familiarize yourself with its basic requirements of it. In this article, we have walked you through the required internet speed, which involves download and upload speed, along with latency. All three of them are highly crucial in achieving a top-notch gaming performance.