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Broadband for gaming

By Chris Davies · Updated

For online gaming, raw download speed is only part of the story. What matters most during play is how quickly your connection responds, and how stable it is.

Latency (ping) is king

Latency is the time it takes data to reach the game server and back, measured in milliseconds. Under 20ms feels instant; over 60ms you'll notice lag in fast games. Full fibre generally gives the lowest and most consistent latency because there's no copper section to slow it down.

Download speed for game updates

Modern games and updates can be 50-150GB. On a 70Mbps line, a 100GB download takes over three hours. On 900Mbps full fibre it takes around 15 minutes.

Upload speed for streaming

If you stream to Twitch or YouTube, you'll need at least 6-10Mbps upload for good-quality 1080p, more for higher quality. Full fibre packages often have much higher uploads than copper or FTTC.

Wire it if you can

WiFi adds latency and can drop out. An ethernet cable from the router to your console or PC gives the most stable connection. If that's not possible, mesh WiFi with a wired backhaul is the next best thing.

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