Online gaming has developed into a massive industry, with millions of people playing games online around the world. There are many decisions to make before you begin playing online games, including which console or platform you are going to use and what games you would like to play. However, there is one major consideration many people fail to fully consider and that is the quality of the internet connection for online gaming.
Check the Ping
Before doing anything else, you can check the quality of your internet connection and see what ping to expect when playing online games. There are several websites you can use to check your ping for specific games and servers around the world. The faster the ping, the more responsive the connection. So, if your ping is less than 20ms, that is perfect for online gaming but if it is between 100ms and 300ms, that is a poor ping range and means there will be a lot of lag when playing online games.
Internet Connection
This may seem obvious but the first thing you should do to ensure a good internet connection for online gaming is check the speed of your internet connection. You can check your internet speed yourself but to get the best internet connection you should contact your internet provider and ask them to check the speed and bandwidth. Most internet providers offer a series of packages based on your requirements and they are sure to offer something at the top end of the scale unless you live in a remote area. It will cost more money but if you are serious about online gaming it will be worth it.
The Router
The second thing you need to do in order to ensure you have a good internet connection for online gaming is check how many people are using your router. If your family are all using the same router to connect to the internet it can lead to slower speeds and milliseconds count when playing online games. There are several gaming routers available to buy and these can provide up to four times the usual internet speeds coming from a regular router. A gaming router provides a strong enough signal strength to keep everyone in the house happy. If you are playing online games using Wi-Fi, you could switch to Ethernet as this ensures a stable connection, with fewer interruptions. The last thing you want to happen is to be playing pokies online and missing out on a big win because the internet connection failed.
Close Other Apps and Programs
If you are playing online games using a personal computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, you may have other apps and programs running in the background. They are not visually noticeable when playing a game but if they are running in the background, it could slow down your internet connection. Any open page, app, or program you have when playing online games will slow down your internet speed, so make sure you close everything before you start playing.
