From humble beginnings to a global force, gaming is one of the largest entertainment industries today. Backed by multi-million dollar budgets, it has become far more than just a niche market and is now enjoyed by many people – young and old. Initially games were just single player only requiring a person to own their own computer or console but it has now evolved, with the help of the internet, to an experience that is shared with thousands of other players and friends online. In order to experience gaming at its best, a reliable and fast internet connection is required. No form of internet does this better than broadband. In this article, we will discover what makes a good broadband for gaming.
Download limit
Almost every on the market today is available through download. However, the size of games is larger now than ever before. Games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 will use up to 70 gigabytes of data on your computer, all of which require downloading. To put this into perspective, 100 songs are around 0.3 gigabytes when stored on your computer. Along with acquiring the game initially, regular updates provide new game data and fixes, which you have to download. Patches are required to play online and they can range from a few megabytes to many gigabytes. All of this means that if you plan to game online, you will need a substantial download limit.
Broadband packages can range from just a few gigabytes allowance to unlimited download capacity. Depending on how active of a gamer you plan to be, you will need to adjust your options accordingly. Affordable unlimited broadband is available at many internet service providers, such as Broadband Choices, and with the ever increasing size of games, choosing this option is advised. Having no limit will help you to avoid nasty surprises in the end-of-month bill.
Connection speed
Every online gamer will tell you that a fast internet connection is very important. Delay caused by slow speeds can cause certain games to be unplayable. Furthermore, if the download speed is slow, you can expect to wait a long time for a game to update or download. Broadband is inherently fast and speeds can start at just a few megabytes per second to over a hundred megabytes per second.
Priority connections are also important too. If you do not have priority, you may experience reduced speeds due to the load the area currently has, load here being how many people are online. This means that at peak times, your gaming experience may be adversely affected. The speed at which you are able to install a game from a server can also be severely affected during peak times, making an hour download into a five-hour download, or worse. If you are serious about playing online, a high priority line is advised. Business internet connections are usually the highest priority depending on the ISP. If you do not mind waiting an extra day to finish getting a game, then the overall speed of your connection is not that important.
Performance
While some reliability issues are out of the control of your internet service provider, choosing a reputable ISP before signing up for a contract can save many hassles. While gaming online, your response time to the server is called “ping”. The higher your ping, the longer it takes to perform an action while playing. In competitive games, you would want the lowest ping you can get. This is made possible with priority connections as well as upgrading to the best technology. For example, fibre internet is extremely fast and very reliable for the most part.
Apart from having a consistent connection to the game server, you also want to be sure that the company you choose has high uptime. Losing connection during the middle of a gaming session with friends can be frustrating. Ensure that you look at reviews of the ISP you are thinking of using before getting locked into a contract.
It is never too late to join the fun that thousands of people are having online with gaming. Getting a reliable broadband connection is the first step to a journey that will take you to many fantasy worlds waiting to be explored.