If you enjoy playing video games you'll know only too well just how frustrating online gaming can sometimes be. Stutter and lag, random disconnections, painfully slow downloads: they're all a seemingly unavoidable part of the multiplayer experience. Expect they aren't - your choice of broadband provider and package can have a huge impact on your Fortnite or Call of Duty sessions.
To help you out we've got a brand new guide on how to find the best broadband for gamers. It shows you what to look for in a broadband deal, and how to understand some of the jargon you might come across when comparing packages. It's well worth checking out - even if you aren't a gamer yourself you might have someone in your household who uses a Playstation or Xbox and who is struggling along with unsuitable broadband.
Before you delve into the full guide, here's a quick heads-up on some of the main things you need to know.
Download speed is important
Your broadband speed matters, but not in the way you might expect. You don't need fast internet for actual gaming - even a cheap standard broadband deal will be fast enough for almost everyone. But downloading massive files is another part of modern gaming. Triple-A games - the industry's blockbusters - will easily clear 50GB in size, and their regular updates might add another 10GB or more to the mix. If your broadband's too slow you'll be looking at a good 10 to 20 hours of continuous downloading before you can even start playing. Upgrade to a fast fibre deal (or something even faster) and you can slash that to a more serviceable couple of hours tops.
Want to upgrade? Check out the latest fibre broadband deals now.
Lag and stutter
Anyone who's ever played an online game will have at some point found that games can start to stutter or lag, where they don't feel as responsive as they should be. These problems are most likely caused by technical issues like latency (or ping rate) and packet loss. Ofcom research shows that all major providers perform well overall in these respects. Yet there are so many things that can cause them - problems on the gaming server, with your broadband provider, or even on your own Wi-Fi network - that there's really no guarantees.
What you can do is use our Speed Test tool to check the latency on your existing broadband connection, and also read the reviews of any providers you're switching to to see if your fellow gamers are reporting any concerns. You can find out more about these technical issues in our guide.
Reliability matters
Good old fashioned reliability also shouldn't be overlooked when it comes to finding the best broadband for gamers. It's annoying enough when your internet drops at any time, but if you're about to smash in an open goal in FIFA a dropped connection will leave you smashing your controller in rage instead.
You can totally relate, right? Then take a look at our guide on speeding up slow internet for tips on making sure your Wi-Fi network is set up properly. If the problem is still there, it may be time to switch to more a reliable broadband supplier. You can check out broadband deals in your area based that have the highest customer satisfaction rating.
4G and 5G home broadband are okay
Finally, if you're thinking of switching to 4G or 5G home broadband, then you can rest assured that both of these are absolutely fine for online gaming. In fact, in some cases they might even be better than the fixed line broadband options available to you. The only caveat is that you should try and avoid broadband plans that have a strict data allowance in place, or those that slow down your speed once you pass a certain usage level. One or two game downloads a month could eat through your data in no time at all.
For more information on how to find the best deal take a look at our in-depth guide to broadband for gamers. It'll help you pin down everything you need in a broadband package, and also shows you the best deals that are available in your area right now.
Posted by Andy Betts on in Features