Best Latency for Gaming

Online gaming is categorized as a bandwidth-intensive application and which requires faster speeds that are measured in latency. The best latency for gaming,should be low, to enable faster responses more especially in competitive gaming. Lower latency is preferred in gaming because the delay between taking an action and seeing results will be minimal.

In essence, therefore, the best latency for gaming would be 100ms, but if you can get 20 or 40ms then that would even be better as it will give you a better chance to beat your opponents. High latency, on the other hand, is a disadvantage to any online gamer, because it means that the system will take longer before you can see results but after initiating an action.

Anything above 150ms is considered high ping and not welcome for any online gamer,so anytime that a gamer experiences delay or lag, then it means that the latency is high and could be caused by a variety of different issues. For example, lack of sufficient power in the central processing unit or the graphics card, or a poor memory capacity on the VRAM or the RAM.

Other Reasons for High latency

Wired vs Wireless connectivity – wired connections don’t suffer from interferences when compared to wireless, and that is why when gaming it is better to have a wired connection because then the protocol suite will be transmitted directly to the gaming device. Wireless connections, on the other hand, use the airwaves to achieve a connection, and is, therefore, susceptible to delays when the network has accommodated other devices that are equally engaged in the bandwidth-intensive activities.

Ideally, therefore, faithful gamers stand to enjoy the best quality streaming via an Ethernet connection known to guarantee a consistent and solid connection.

Router or modem– technology evolution happens by the minute and a new technology today can become obsolete in two weeks, which then means that gaming enthusiasts have to keep up with the current router and modem technology. Routers provided by service providers tend to be limited in functionality and will, therefore, not be exactly sufficient for gaming.

Upgrading your router could provide options for adding more devices to your network, users also get the option of prioritizing devices in their networks, and which means that they could prioritize their gaming devices so that the internet speeds are directed to the current gaming device.

Quality offered by your ISP

ISPS offers varied packages and each of which comes with different price ranges and speeds, not to forget the data caps. If you have, therefore, subscribed to a lower package and the network gets jammed the speeds will be reduced. Let us also not forget that not all games utilize bandwidth the same, especially when we consider games that require for gamers to communicate via video.

The latter are bandwidth-intensive and will quickly bring you to your monthly limits or the data caps;gaming enthusiasts will, therefore, be required to review their packages and upgrade to a package that can better handle their gaming needs. So, as you settle with the different ISPs be sure to check on latency, speeds, reliability, and the data caps.

Websites and programs running in the background- Bandwidth intensive applications when left running in the background, tend to encourage high latency, the above also goes for the updates and downloads that are running in the background. Gamers must, therefore, ensure that all applications have been closed and the updates suspended. If gaming over Wi-Fi then the number of connected devices must be reduced so that more bandwidth can be released for use in gaming.

Final Thoughts

High latency is the slow response experienced when gaming, and which is a great disadvantage to a player in a competitive scenario. The gaming speeds that a particular player will be exposed to, are subject to their device’s memory capacity, the power in the CPU, and the Graphics card. But if all the above are in order, then the steps outlined above could help eliminate latency when gaming, things such as QoS helps in prioritizing gaming traffic, and which is available in most of the updated routers.

FAQ’s

1. How good is 100ms for gaming?

100ms will enable the gaming enthusiasts to experience gaming without a lot of interruptions. Anything lower than 100ms is also good for games like the First Person Shooter (FPS).

2. What are some of the causes of high latency?

The three primary factors that encourage latency are routing, switching, and propagation delay.