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Okay, so do you ever notice how it’s always like right at the worst possible moment your internet’s like nope not today Right, like you’re one hit away from victory, you know about to pull off that legendary combo and BAM Frozen screen lag spikes out of nowhere game over the worst. Oh, it’s just it’s infuriating it is but what if I told you that achieving like gaming nirvana With a connection so smooth. It’s practically magic.
Okay, it’s totally within your reach. It is it totally is doable Yeah, and for this deep dive we’re looking at Mark Ferguson’s Broadband for gaming in 2024 to guide us. Okay, and he’s a gamer himself.
Oh, I like him already So he knows they gets it knows the pain point. Yes, and all the things that make a difference you’ve been there Yeah So what’s Mark’s take on why having a rock-solid connection is so crucial for gamers like us? So he emphasizes that a stable connection. It is the absolute bedrock of a good gaming experience Okay, and it all comes down to this thing called jitter jitter.
Are you just trying to use big words to sound impressive right now? No, not at all. Okay. It’s actually pretty simple Okay, jitter is basically how much your ping which is the reaction time of your connection Varies from moment to moment.
Okay, so high jitter means your ping is all over the place Okay, leading to those dreaded lag spikes that can ruin a game. Oh, tell me about it, right? So stable connection equals low jitter equals smoother more responsive exactly gaming experience Got it. That’s it.
That’s why he spends a lot of time comparing fiber optic connections to satellite Internet Oh, which reminds me I remember back in the day when I thought my 510 millipedes connection was like, yeah The peak of technological advancement how things have changed right and he even talks about this in the guide he does Yeah, he talks about how different it is. Yeah, it’s totally different because games are so much more data intensive Yeah, so what used to be considered fast just doesn’t cut it anymore, right? That’s like night and day exactly so naturally he dives into the nitty-gritty of Speed requirements for different types of gamers. Okay, so let’s talk speed how much is enough? Well, it depends what you’re playing and how you’re playing it Okay, so he provides a handy table in the guide that kind of breaks it down So if you’re casually enjoying something like Stardew Valley, yeah, you don’t need a crazy amount of speed Okay But the moment you jump into the world of high-resolution Action-packed online games right or you’re streaming your gameplay to your fans.
Yeah, your speed needs skyrocket I can only imagine because I mean I can tell you just as like even just as a player, right? Yeah, I recently upgraded to a 900 megabit fiber connection and honestly, it was a game-changer Wow It’s like everything is just so much smoother now I bet and it’s not even just about you know, making sure that like the enemies aren’t teleporting around or whatever, right? But even just like downloads are so much faster. Oh, yeah Which speaking of why does mark emphasize download and the upload speeds they’re both important they are both important So download speed is how quickly you receive data which affects how fast you load into games how fast you download updates all that Kind of stuff. Yeah, imagine waiting an eternity for a game update to download Faster download speeds mean you spend less time staring at loading screens, right and more time actually playing makes sense And upload speed is all about how fast you send data.
Okay, this is crucial for things like voice chat with your team Okay, and streaming your gameplay sure No one wants to sound like a robot or have their stream buffer every five seconds. No, that’s the worst So both are very important. Okay, so it’s a two-way street.
You got to have good traffic flow in both directions Exactly. Gotcha. Okay, that makes a lot of sense But let’s be real a lot of us love the freedom of gaming Wirelessly, of course.
Yeah is Wi-Fi ever gonna be good enough or are we stuck with cables forever? I understand the appeal lounging on the couch Conquering virtual worlds, right and mark acknowledges that he even talks about how 5g is a promising development in the world of wireless Internet, okay. However, he’s also realistic Okay right now for the absolute best gaming experience a wired connection using an Ethernet cable is still the way to go So wired reigns supreme for now for now, okay, I can accept that Yeah, but I think it’s time we demystify a term that gets thrown around a lot. Okay latency Yes, what exactly does that mean? And why should gamers care? So imagine you’re playing an online shooter, okay, and you turn a corner and you come face to face with your opponent Okay intense, right and you both fire.
Mm-hmm at virtual the same time But with lower latency your action reaches the game server first giving you the winning shot. Oh, wow So that’s why it’s so crucial. It’s those milliseconds.
It’s those milliseconds that could be the difference between victory and defeat Exactly. Absolutely, and it’s not just those split-second decisions in action games either, right? Mark explains how different genres are impacted as well. Okay, so for instance in Strategy games where you might be commanding entire armies, right? High latency can create this really frustrating delay Oh, yeah between issuing commands and seeing them actually play out So it’s that feeling of like I’m actually in the game world if you’ve got low latency exactly Versus I’m telling you to move but you’re taking your sweet time.
Yeah, you’re lagging behind Okay, I’m convinced. I need all the low latency I can get you do but how do we know which UK providers are delivering on? That front. Well, luckily mark did all the heavy lifting for us.
Okay, he breaks down all the major players Okay in his guide, so hit me virgin media BT Sky Talk-talk plus net he even looks at Vodafone and a W broadband shell energy broadband the whole gamut Okay, so he’s looked at all of them. So what’s he saying? What are kind of what are the ones that are catching his eye for gamers specifically? Well, virgin media is a powerhouse when it comes to speed. Okay, he mentions that they’re averaging a whopping 1130 millil beaky download which is insane.
It’s like downloading an entire game in the blink of an eye pretty much Yeah, Wow He also points out BT’s focus on whole home coverage Which is a huge plus if you’re gaming in a household with multiple users or a larger space, right? You don’t want to be limited to certain rooms. Yeah. No whole home coverage sounds like a dream Yeah, especially when you’re battling for bandwidth, right? Other people in the house.
Yeah. Okay. So what about gamers who are working with a tighter budget though? Sure, are there any affordable options that don’t skimp on the performance? Yeah, he definitely doesn’t leave those gamers in the dust Okay, he highlights talk-talk as a great option for those looking for low-cost fiber plans Okay, they might not have all the bells and whistles right but their network can still hold its own Okay, when it comes to gaming he also mentions plus net especially for their truly unlimited data plans So if you’re worried about hitting data caps, they could be a good choice.
Okay, so it sounds like no matter what your budget There are options out there. There are options that can support your gaming habit. Yeah, I love that It’s like he’s giving us a cheat sheet for broadband Which is amazing, but I also love that he doesn’t stop there right because he also dives into all sorts of optimization strategies Yes that we can use to level up our setup even beyond just picking the right provider.
Absolutely It’s like he’s giving us the tools to become our own network superheroes. Exactly. So what are some of his top tips? Well, he stresses that even with the fastest plan.
Yeah, an outdated writer can hold you back You know what I’ve been meaning to look into that yeah, because mine’s a little old Yeah, it might be a worthwhile upgrade. Okay, and as much as it pains me to say it He really emphasizes the importance of a wired connection, especially for gaming you and mark both. You’re killing me I know I know but it’s true deep down I know that like ditching the Wi-Fi would probably make a world of difference It really does but I’m not quite ready to give up the freedom I get it of being able to game from the couch sometimes Yeah, are there any compromises for those of us who are clinging to our wireless setup? Yeah, like can we make it work? So he has some great tips for managing ping and latency even on a wireless connection Okay So first of all, he suggests exploring your routers quality of service settings Okay, or QoS for sure OS guy, which allows you to prioritize gaming traffic.
Okay on your network So even if my housemaid is, you know streaming all the shows I can still hopefully Enjoy a lag-free gaming session. You got it. Amazing.
He also talks about just optimizing the setup within your home Okay. So for example, if your router is tucked away in a corner right far from your gaming setup You’re not gonna get the best performance It’s like trying to talk to someone from across a crowded room Exactly the signal is just not gonna it gets lost along the way, right? Okay, and for larger homes, he suggests looking into Wi-Fi boosters or mesh systems Okay to kind of extend that range see now that reminds me when I upgraded my plan with Vodafone a while back Yeah, they actually it came with like a package. Okay, where they gave me a new router is a Wi-Fi 6e router nice, and they also gave me these boosters and Honestly, it has made a world of difference Especially for devices that are further away from the router.
That’s a great point It’s great. And he actually talks about those new Wi-Fi 6 6e routers as he he says they offer Significant improvements in speed and range compared to older models. Oh interesting Which is something to keep in mind if you are due for a tech upgrade, right? Yeah, maybe it’s time Yeah, look into some of that new stuff.
It can make a world of difference Okay, so it sounds like there’s a lot we could do to kind of take control of our you know Internet destinies. Absolutely, but I imagine there are still things Kind of outside of our control, right? Right. So even with the best tech Even with the best tech there are things outside your control.
Yeah So he talks about how network congestion especially during peak hours, right when everyone’s online Everyone and their mother is streaming exactly. Yeah Can temporarily impact your connection speed and latency So it’s like even if you’ve got the fastest car on the road, right? You’re still sharing the road Yeah, I can’t there’s no avoiding rush hour even in the digital world. Exactly Exactly.
It’s so true. But the good news is yeah by understanding these factors You can be a more informed consumer right and troubleshoot issues more effectively. Okay, so knowledge is power.
I like it exact That’s why I love deep dives like this. It’s like yeah, so empowering to kind of you know Go beyond just like the surface level and really kind of understand the why the ins and outs of something that like Impacts our lives so much, you know for sure. But before we wrap up, what’s marks like final piece of advice? Yeah for gamers who are looking to achieve, you know that lag free Gaming utopia.
He leaves us with this. He says even with the fastest broadband Okay, and a top-of-the-line router and often overlooked factor is your actual gaming hardware? Oh, you mean like my gaming PC? Yeah or my console itself exactly. He uses a great analogy in the guide Okay, he says it’s like having a Formula One race car.
Okay, but running it on bicycle tires Oh, no, it just won’t perform at its best. It’s not gonna work. So it’s not just about the internet connection Okay, it’s about that whole ecosystem whole ecosystem working together.
So you gotta you gotta upgrade the whole shebang exactly So upgrading your gaming rig might be just as crucial as upgrading your internet plan. Oh, wow Okay, if you’re serious about taking your gaming to the next level mind blown It’s like building the ultimate gaming machine. Yes, but for your internet, that’s a great way to put it There you have it folks another deep dive conquered.
He did it. We explored the world of gaming broadband we did demystify the tech and armed you with the knowledge to choose the right plan and Optimize your setup for peak performance. Absolutely.
So go forth conquer lag and game on
