Playing games online is a great way to relax at home. However, games use audiovisual media to work. This means that you need to have a very powerful personal computer to play these games. Ideally, you should have a machine with a very powerful process and enough RAM. If the machine is too slow, the entire gaming experience could become quite unsatisfactory.
Factors to Consider
Besides having a powerful personal computer, you also need a very good internet speed. In most cases 5Mbps is usually enough to play games. However, this speed might be a bit slow for higher resolution games. A game that has graphics at 1080P will not stream well in a 5Mbps environment. It will prone to constant hanging, which can be quite irritating.
The best solution to this problem is to upgrade to a higher internet speed package from your ISP. The FCC considers 10Mbps to be the appropriate sped for people that stream media, which includes games. However, sometimes the problem might be directly due to a person’s faults. Other factors affect internet speeds besides what one subscribes for.
You can check your internet speed online and see if you have some problems. You can check speed connected by cable and later on your wi-fi and compare those speeds to see alterations.
The main culprit in slow internet speed is usually the router. If the router came with the house, it might be too old and thus, it is unable to put out a strong signal. Another common cause of slow internet is the location of this router. It needs to be located in a central location where there is little interference. This will include any physical and electromagnetic hindrances. For instance, the router may be located close to electrical wiring, which interferes with the signal. Using a wi-fi to play or to stream games can also be a problem.
A dual band router is usually the best solution for fighting interference. Switching to the 5GHZ in such a router could greatly reduce the interference. This solution is considered when simply shifting the router does not work. Another common remedy is switching everything off for a while. For instance, all internet-related equipment is shut off temporality for ten minutes. This quick fix solution has always worked for most people.
Another reason that may cause an upload to a site like a Twitch to stutter is the number of users. If too many people are using the router in the home, you may notice a slight decrease in the quality of streaming. As a result, you should choose a period when there are likely to be fewer people using the router if you need to be on a Twitch. However, it is important to remember that hardware is an important part of any quality streaming. You may also tweak your processor settings a bit. This can help ensure a better streaming experience.
The best speed for streaming video would be at 5Mbps and above. However, if you are going to be streaming heavy-duty videos, you definitely need a higher speed from your provider. The best recommend speed for seamless gameplay would be at 10Mbps on average. You can still expect good gameplay with less than this, but, anything below 3Mbps will be quite irritating and not worth it.