Broadband for gaming

Not all broadband is built for gaming. To get the best experience, focus on key factors that impact your gameplay:

• Download and upload speeds – Faster speeds mean quicker game downloads, seamless updates, and smooth multiplayer gaming. We recommend at least 500 Mbps for serious gamers.
• Connection stability – A full fibre connection reduces lag, buffering, and sudden dropouts, keeping you in the game.
• Latency (ping) – The lower, the better. Anything under 30ms ensures quick response times and smooth gameplay.
• Multiple devices – If you share your connection with other gamers, streamers, or smart home devices, you’ll need enough bandwidth to keep everything running smoothly.
• Wired connection availability – A wired connection is always the most stable and reliable choice for gaming. Our Wi-Fi 6 mesh routers come with Ethernet ports, so you can easily connect your gaming device directly.

Yes, using an Ethernet cable can significantly improve your gaming experience. It provides a direct, wired connection to your router, offering a more stable and reliable connection than Wi-Fi. This stability reduces the chances of lag, signal dropouts, and interference that can occur with wireless connections.

Ethernet also typically results in lower ping times and faster response rates, which are crucial for smooth, lag-free gameplay, particularly in fast-paced online games.

Additionally, Ethernet supports higher speeds, allowing for faster downloads and smoother gameplay without the performance dips often seen with Wi-Fi, especially when multiple devices are connected.

With GoFibre, you get a router designed for gaming performance. Our Standard Router includes two Ethernet ports, perfect for connecting a console and PC directly. Our Advanced Router features four Ethernet ports, ideal for serious gamers who need multiple devices connected for the ultimate gaming setup.

Essentially, using an Ethernet cable helps eliminate common Wi-Fi issues, ensuring the best possible connection for gaming.

Yes, our 500 Mbps full fibre package is enough for most gamers. This speed can easily handle lag-free online gaming, even for multiplayer games, streaming in 4K, and downloading large games or updates quickly. It’s ideal for households with multiple devices connected simultaneously, as the speed ensures that other users or devices won’t slow down your gaming experience.

While some serious gamers or streamers might benefit from higher speeds, 500 Mbps provides excellent value for money and a smooth, uninterrupted gaming experience for the vast majority of players.

Yes, certain online games can use more broadband than others, depending on various factors like the game type, its graphical demands, and how it interacts with online servers. For example, graphic-intensive games like first-person shooters (FPS), Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs), and battle royales tend to require more bandwidth due to the high-quality visuals, large maps, and frequent data exchanges between players and servers. Games that have large open worlds or complex environments (like open-world action games) can also consume more bandwidth because they need to constantly load and update the game world, especially in multiplayer settings.

On the other hand, simpler games or mobile games may use less bandwidth because they often have smaller file sizes and fewer live updates. However, even those can experience spikes in data usage if they include online multiplayer or frequent updates.

In general, the more complex and multiplayer-oriented the game is, the higher the broadband usage will be.

• Ethernet vs Wi-Fi for gaming: Connect your gaming device directly to the router via an Ethernet cable. This provides a more stable, faster connection and avoids the potential interference that can occur with Wi-Fi.
• Upgrade your router: Invest in a more advanced router, which provides better coverage, higher speeds, and reduced latency.
• Limit background apps: Close any unnecessary apps or programs that use up bandwidth, such as streaming services or large downloads.
• Disable automatic updates: Turn off automatic updates for games, apps, or the operating system while you're gaming to avoid interruptions and slowed speeds.
• Limit devices on your network: Disconnect devices not in use to free up bandwidth for gaming.
• Reduce interference: Keep your router away from electronic devices like microwaves and Bluetooth gadgets that can interfere with Wi-Fi.
• Prioritise your internet traffic: Got a busy household but want your game to take top priority? There are tools to help with that! If you're a GoFibre customer, you can add Wi-Fi Wizard to your plan, an add-on that lets you prioritise your connection, ensuring your game always gets the speed it needs. For example, you can set 80% of your internet speed to power your game, while the remaining 20% keeps the rest of the house connected.