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What is a Good Home Internet Speed For Gaming? 

Tuesday, May 24, 2022 by Simon Poljsak

What is a Good Home Internet Speed For Gaming? 

The world of today would be hard to imagine without the Internet. We use the Internet for different aspects of our lives: communication, work, entertainment, shopping, education, etc. So when we open our computer and connect to the world wide web, of course, we want the best possible experience while browsing. A reliable internet connection with good speed is crucial in making our day-to-day life easier and more productive. 

When it comes to entertainment there is plenty of stuff we can do from watching our favorite shows through streaming services, listening to music or gaming. Quality internet connection will make those experiences easy and enjoyable, allowing you to stream in 4K, or download a large video game quickly. Internet Speed Required

Internet Speed Required for a Good Online Gaming Experience

In this table we can see a comparison of some of the larger games and the time needed to download them on a 1,000 Mbps VS a 50 Mbps connection:

Software Size 50 Mbps 1000 Mbps
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 175GB 13hrs 55 mins 28 mins
Final Fantasy XIV 107 GB 8 hrs 30 mins 17 mins
Call of Duty: Black Ops III 74.2 GB 5 hrs 54 mins 12 mins
Red Dead Redemption 2 60 gb 4 hrs 46 mins 9 mins
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare 100 GB 7hrs 57 mins 16 mins
The Witcher 3 30 GB 2 hrs 23 mins 5 mins

Best Download & Upload Speed for Gaming And Streaming 

Gaming and streaming your games have become extremely popular in recent years with streaming services like Twitch exploding in popularity. The key to a successful stream is of course good internet speed, more precisely – upload speed. When streaming, a video from your device is sent (uploaded) to a particular server – as opposed to downloading content from somewhere. 

Download Speed Guidelines

Download Speed What can you do
5–40 Mbps
  • Stream in HD on a few devices
  • Play online games
40–100 Mbps
  • Stream in 4K on 2–4 devices
  • Play online games with multiple players
  • Download big files quickly (500 MB to 2 GB)
500–1,000+ Mbps
  • Stream in 4K on 10+ devices
  • Download and upload gigabyte-plus–sized files at top speed

Upload Speed Guidelines

Upload Speed What can you do
5–40 Mbps
  • Streaming 1080p HD video
  • Basic gaming
40–100 Mbps
  • Online multiplayer gaming
  • 4K streaming on multiple devices – 5 maximum
500–1,000+ Mbps
  • Multiple video conference calls at the same time
  • Upload gigabyte-plus–sized files
  • Play online games with multiple players

Streaming 

For live streaming minimum upload speed that is recommended is 10 Mbps. The recommendation is to try to have 10–15 Mbps more upload speed than the minimum requirement for the quality of video for the specific platform you are streaming on. Different platforms have different minimum speeds that are required for different resolutions. On Twitch for 1080p minimum required speed is 6 Mbps, while Youtube requires 3 Mbps. 

Gaming

As for the best internet speed for gaming – a decent internet speed that will satisfy gamer needs is between 20-50 Mbps. However, if you want to speedily download large files or video games and experience gaming without any trouble, you’ll probably want at least 100 Mbps +. With higher speed – the experience will be better and smoother which is of course important for gamers, especially if there are multiple players and we are talking about big size games.

Download Speed and Upload Speed Explained

Let’s talk about different kinds of internet speed and what you should pay attention to when choosing your internet provider. 

Download speed represents the speed at which information flows from different servers to your smart device – computer, laptop, cell phone, etc. When you open any website – your download speed will determine how long it will take for content to appear for you to see it. 

Download bandwidth is crucial for browsing websites and social media, downloading files, and streaming music.

Upload speed is the reverse of that. It is the speed at which information flows from your device onto the server. For example, when we are uploading a picture on Instagram upload speed determines how fast will be uploaded and how quickly (or slow) it will appear on the feed. Upload speed is there when we use video conferencing, online gaming, social media, and sharing large files.

Best Download Speed and Upload Speed

Generally speaking, you would want to have as high as possible both download and upload speed, especially if you live with other people who use the internet simultaneously or regularly do high-bandwidth activities like streaming movies in 4K. In today’s world, you should have at least 100 Mbps download speed for your experience to be fast and smooth. For upload speed, it is recommended a minimum of 1.5Mbps. Gaming and streaming with this kind of speed will not be good enough though. A minimum of 20Mbps is highly recommended. The higher you go with speed – the better the experience. 

Latency factors affecting your gaming experience

Latency 

One of the biggest factors for a good gaming experience, besides fast internet speed, is latency. It basically represents the time it takes for a signal to travel from your computer to a server on the internet. We can look at it as the reaction time of your internet connection. Having high latency will cause delay in games or calls, more specifically in your reactions which is a determining factor in many games. The difference between actions gamers take and actions that are actually seen on screen should be as little as possible.

Ping rate

Another big factor is ping rate. Ping rate describes how quickly your device gets a response from your internet connection after sending a request. A low ping rate leads to low latency and this is exactly the situation you would need for a quality gaming experience.

Tips and tricks 

For managing to keep your ping and latency lower you should have as fast Internet speed as possible. Also, try to not use Wi-fi as much. Instead, ethernet cable should be plugged into your router directly and you will enjoy a faster, more responsive connection with less delay.

Latency factors affecting your gaming experience
Latency factors affecting your gaming experience

The Best Internet Provider For Gaming

Internet providers Melita, with the 1,000 Mbps connection, offers the best experience for your gaming and streaming experience and qualifies as one of the best internet providers for gaming. Top speeds of 1,200 Mbps are available in selected locations around Malta. That’s over 48x more data than a 25 Mbps internet connection. Downloading a HD film will take about 30 seconds. 1,200 Mbps downloads a new game in minutes. When it comes to updates, we’re talking seconds to get you updated and back in the game. Low lag and high reliability puts you ahead of your opponents!

Simon Poljsak

Simon Poljsak

Senior Manager - Fixed Services & TV Business development