Bandwidth requirements vary dramatically depending upon what kind of gaming you’re doing and what the resolution is. 4K UHD video, on the other hand, can require at least 25Mbps. High definition (HD) video requires about 5Mbps. To stream audio like music and podcasts, devices tend to download at least 2Mbps. Browsing the web doesn’t generally use a lot of bandwidth, but web sites can contain a lot of images, video and sound, which might require a faster connection to work properly-generally at least 3Mbps. These kinds of online activities require an almost inconsequential amount of speed. As with latency and jitter, you can reduce packet loss issues by upgrading your router or using an Ethernet cable to connect to the internet. Any packet loss over 2% can cause enormous problems for call quality. In short, packet loss is the enemy of Discord voice chats everywhere. Instead, you’ll have a moment of frozen or glitchy video and audio.

The information would come out of chronological order, making your video or audio even more confusing. But for real-time video or audio, that doesn’t do any good. Sometimes the network sends the packet again, like it does if a picture doesn’t load right in your browser. Sometimes information bundles get lost or deleted on the way back to your computer, usually due to network congestion, spotty Wi-Fi, or outdated software. No worries, they’ve got a magic copy of it, and they hit that at you instead. They hit that ball/packet back at you, and suddenly, it disappears. Imagine you’re playing ping-pong with your friend again.

Latency, jitter, and packet loss are equally important factors to consider for online gaming. With faster download speeds, your home internet can easily support more Zoom calls or Netflix sessions without running into performance issues.īut even if you have a fast internet plan, it’s no guarantee that you’ll have a smooth gaming experience. For larger households and families, upgrade to plans with a minimum download speed of at least 150 Mbps. We’d suggest at least a 50 Mbps internet connection if you’re getting internet for yourself. Think about download speeds like a birthday cake: splitting a 50 Mbps internet connection between two people means you both get a generous share, but when your household has five or ten people taking video calls or watching movies, your slice of cake will be split and split until it’s a pile of crumbs. But at the same time, internet speeds still matter if you’re not the only one who needs the internet. In reality, the only time gaming requires something faster than your average broadband internet (25–50 Mbps) is when you’re downloading a new game or update.Įven a fast-paced video game like Apex Legends requires only a 512 Kbps internet connection. Conventional wisdom might lead you to believe slow internet speeds are the cause of all your gaming problems.

What is good download speed