How fast of Internet do I actually need?

[striker477]

So I'm getting ready to move into a new house and my internet options would be 

download/uplaod

5/1
15/2
100/10
300/30

How fast would be the practical amount for a single guy that plays online games occasionally and watches youtube/netflix? I was thinking about the 15/2 but was unsure if that would be sufficient for online gaming without having lag issues. Or would I be better off looking at like 100/10?

[NoRomanBatmansAllowed]

Agreed. Somewhere in between 15 and 100 would be the sweet spot.

 

40Mb would do very nicely, but you could probably live off less.

[striker477]

Just now, Alexsolo said:

If there's anything between 15 and 100 go for that, 15 may not be enough, but if that's the case you can always ask to upgrade.

Unfortunately that is the only options, from reading I have had other places say it's not so much about the speed as online gaming is more a function of ping ("distance" to server) and hops (the number of nodes/switches your packets go through to get where they're going) than throughput speed

[Harrisonf]

Quote

 

Here's the real issue man. Most often the speed tiers given are "top" speeds however that is calculated. Expect to receive only 60 to 80 percent during normal use if it is a good isp area. You feel the hurt more with lower speed tiers. I also noticed lower speeds often went lower than 60 percent of what advertised speed.  I always go for highest. But I'm anal at this point. I only want gigabit! Just my two cents from experience. 

 

Remember it's also mpbs not mb. Gigabit is about 125mb/s.

1 mpbs =. 125mb/s

 

 

[dizmo]

I'd go for the 100. 15 can be a liiiittle low, especially if you have a phone or tablet also connected.

Really, 25 or 50 would be ideal, but since those aren't available it's better to have too much than not enough.

 

[Pnmerk]

if you are a cord cutter & Gamer  get the fastest, if not 15 should do 

 

don't know in your region but here 100 is only 30USD 

 

*small 2 BR apartment just me and my wife 2 computers, 2 Phones  Android Mi Box, 3 laptops 3-4 devices on at a time *  

Edited November 28, 2017 by Pnmerk
adding information

[striker477]

2 minutes ago, Pnmerk said:

if you are a cord cutter & Gamer  get the fastest, if not 15 should do 

 

don't know in your region but here 100 is only 30USD 

I am a cord cutter but I own so much video content that I have plenty to watch and would most likely only be doing one or the other at a time. 
I wish 100 was that cheap they told me that speed would be $79+ taxes and fees. 

[Pnmerk]

2 minutes ago, striker477 said:

I am a cord cutter but I own so much video content that I have plenty to watch and would most likely only be doing one or the other at a time. 
I wish 100 was that cheap they told me that speed would be $79+ taxes and fees. 

so what do you have now?

 

[Pnmerk]

2 minutes ago, striker477 said:

I am a cord cutter but I own so much video content that I have plenty to watch and would most likely only be doing one or the other at a time. 
I wish 100 was that cheap they told me that speed would be $79+ taxes and fees. 

you said own are you streaming or just passing it through your router?

[striker477]

1 minute ago, Pnmerk said:

so what do you have now?

 

100/10 only because it's cheap like you were saying, but it's done more than I ever exaclty needed and that with 3 people living in the house where as when I move it will just be me. 

[striker477]

Just now, Pnmerk said:

you said own are you streaming or just passing it through your router?

most of my video would be watched locally but I like to watch youtube a lot and once in a blue moon look at netflix only because it doesn't cost me lol. My main concern was playing online games. 

[Daniel Z.]

1 minute ago, striker477 said:

100/10 only because it's cheap like you were saying, but it's done more than I ever exaclty needed and that with 3 people living in the house where as when I move it will just be me. 

I think 15 would be a bit slow. Get 100 if the price is ok

[striker477]

Just now, Daniel Z. said:

I think 15 would be a bit slow. Get 100 if the price is ok

That's what I was wondering, was wanting to get the bills as low as possible as anyone probably does but also didn't want to be cursing at my internet all the time. 

[Pnmerk]

1 minute ago, striker477 said:

100/10 only because it's cheap like you were saying, but it's done more than I ever exaclty needed and that with 3 people living in the house where as when I move it will just be me. 

I'm sure that if you tell  your ISP to start you off with the slowest and a week later offer them more money they won't say no 

[striker477]

Just now, Pnmerk said:

I'm sure that if you tell  your ISP to start you off with the slowest and a week later offer them more money they won't say no 

True I could always try that method too just to test how well it works. 50 is the slowest I have ever had and that has been 10+ years ago so I've never had much experience with anything less. 

[Pnmerk]

1 minute ago, Pnmerk said:

I'm sure that if you tell  your ISP to start you off with the slowest and a week later offer them more money they won't say no 

call ahead and find out if they have a grace period for choosing plans or if you can switch at any time

 

[Pnmerk]

1 minute ago, striker477 said:

True I could always try that method too just to test how well it works. 50 is the slowest I have ever had and that has been 10+ years ago so I've never had much experience with anything less. 

it can be tedious with large files at slow speed or be streaming 4K  anything under 25Mbps

 

[PETRGangKing]

22 minutes ago, Harrisonf said:

 

 

Remember it's also mpbs not mb. Gigabit is about 125mb/s.

1 mpbs =. 125mb/s

 

 

You've got the right numbers, wrong terminology. It isn't mpbs,it's Mbps.  It's the difference between Mb and MB. 

1Mbps=0.125MBps

 

Lower-case b is bit, uppercase is byte.

[Pnmerk]

1 minute ago, PETRGangKing said:

You've got the right numbers, wrong terminology. It isn't mpbs,it's Mbps.  It's the difference between Mb and MB. 

1Mbps=0.125MBps

yikes

 

[striker477]

2 minutes ago, Pnmerk said:

it can be tedious with large files at slow speed or be streaming 4K  anything under 25Mbps

 

Well wouldn't have any 4k as I don't own anything above 1080p.

[Pnmerk]

Just now, striker477 said:

Well wouldn't have any 4k as I don't own anything above 1080p.

call ahead ask all the contractual questions, I'm sure your ISP would love to answer all the questions for a new customer write down all your concerns and make sure they explain them well  

hold on.... /Search Google: Questions to ask your ISP    there has to be a doc out there 

[PETRGangKing]

35 minutes ago, striker477 said:

So I'm getting ready to move into a new house and my internet options would be 

download/uplaod

5/1
15/2
100/10
300/30

How fast would be the practical amount for a single guy that plays online games occasionally and watches youtube/netflix? I was thinking about the 15/2 but was unsure if that would be sufficient for online gaming without having lag issues. Or would I be better off looking at like 100/10?

I wouldn't go any lower that 100 personally, that's my bare minimum.

[Pnmerk]

here is the first one i found https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/20-questions-to-ask-your-isp/

 

[Pnmerk]

1 minute ago, Pnmerk said:

here is the first one i found https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/20-questions-to-ask-your-isp/

 

it's actually pretty good any suggestions for more questions?

[Pnmerk]

by the way, I do use my own cable modem and it's much better than the ISP.