Transform Your Online Gaming with SIRO 100% Fibre Broadband
If you’re into online gaming, you might have experienced it all: the lag, the stuttering, the dreaded ‘connection timeout’ message, the Fortnite game that takes hours to download…
The majority of these issues could come down to your broadband connection. In this article, we explore the critical factors required for online gaming, and explain why SIRO 100% fibre broadband is the fool-proof solution for online gaming aficionados.
Whether you’re into console or PC games, the below factors are key to an optimal online gaming experience.
Latency
Latency refers to how long it takes for a packet of data to get to its destination and return a response, which is crucial for fast reactions in gaming, especially First Person Shooter or Fighting games. Latency is usually measured in milliseconds (ms) and is commonly tested as ‘Ping’ in speed tests. In both the US and the UK, fibre connections have been shown to be superior in terms of latency (Source: pcgamer.com, broadband.co.uk). Generally, anything below 20ms is considered fantastic. SIRO aims to offer less than 10ms, allowing you to play, shoot, and kick the ball away without delay.
Packet loss
A good gaming experience requires a constant and steady stream of data. However, data frequently gets lost when transferred to or from a server. When a game becomes frozen or stutters, or when you get the dreaded ‘Connection timeout’ message on your PC, these are the results of packet loss. Packet loss can be particularly high during peak time, when many people are on the same network with multiple devices. You can measure packet loss as a percentage of data packets that get lost – this number should be as low as possible for a smooth gaming experience. When the level of package loss gets too high, this can results in a game being unplayable.
With SIRO’s extremely reliable 100% fibre-optic cables going straight into your home, you’ll experience no discernible packet loss, while traditional copper cables can experience a significant amount as the data rate increases. Copper cables are prone to damage from environmental factors, from heat and humidity, which will only exacerbate the issue of packet loss.
Jitter
Jitter is a measurement of the variation in latency, measured in millliseconds. Like latency, jitter should be as low as possible to ensure a constant, uninterrupted flow of data. The acceptable level of jitter should be below 30ms – a high level of jitter can cause even more frustration for gamers than high latency or other network issues.
The quality of the broadband line you are using can be the cause of jitter in gameplay. The more stable the broadband connection, the lower the jitter rate. Fibre connections are the most ideal for achieving low jitter – the jitter measurements on SIRO are consistently less than 5ms, which together with low latency and imperceptible packet loss ensure a smooth, consistent and overall pleasurable gaming experience.
Tech support
Good tech support is a major factor when considering new broadband for your online gaming. Gamers are more likely to run into complicated problems and require knowledgeable specialist support staff. SIRO partners with a wide range of retailers with excellent customer support – search your address to find out which retailers are available to you.
Download Speed
Even though speed is no longer the most critical factor for online gaming, would you rather wait 2 hours or 2 minutes for your favourite game to download? Some games can have very large file sizes – Grand Theft Auto V is 66GB, while Red Dead Redemption 2 is colossal at 99GB. SIRO’s 100% fibre connection offers download speeds of up to 1Gbps, while Ireland’s average is 38.81Mbps. In gaming terms, you’ll be able to download 99GB of the Red Dead game in 13 minutes with SIRO, as opposed to 5 hours 40 minutes on an average broadband connection in Ireland.
In a nutshell, the faster the download speed, the less time you’ll have to wait to play that game you’ve waited years for.
Convinced you need faster broadband? Take your gaming experience to the next level by switching to SIRO 100% fibre broadband with unparalleled reliability, imperceptible packet loss and speeds of up to 1Gbps. Search your address to see if your home is connectable.