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When it comes to online gaming, your internet connection can have a significant impact on your performance.
As a result, you need to make sure you have the right devices in your home network.
One device that can play a big role in your internet connection is your modem.
So, how important is your modem when it comes to online gaming? Does your modem make a difference?
A modem that is used for gaming is no different than a modem that is not used for gaming. In both cases, the modem needs to be able to support the internet speed provided by the internet plan. If the modem is unable to do this, it can result in poor internet performance and reduced network speed.
In this post, I’ll detail the affect your modem can have on your gaming performance. I’ll also explain how you can ensure your modem isn’t restricting your gaming performance.
Do Modems Affect Gaming?
If the right modem isn’t used in a network, it can have a negative impact on your gaming experience.
Taking it one step further: if you aren’t using the right modem in your network, it can have a much greater impact than just limiting your gaming performance. It can limit the speed of your entire network.
In other words, a modem doesn’t just matter for online gaming. The modem you have in your network matters equally for everything you do on the internet.
With this in mind, it’s important to understand the importance of having a modem that’s a good fit for your network.
So what exactly does a modem that’s a good fit for your network look like?
The bottom line is, your modem needs to be able to support the speed of the internet plan provided by your internet service provider (ISP).
How Modems Affect Network Performance
Let’s run through the factors that determine a modem’s impact on a network.
To start, all modems will have a maximum internet speed they can support.
In addition, when you sign up for an internet plan, your internet plan will have a maximum internet speed it will provide.
If the maximum speed supported by your modem is less than the speed provided by your internet plan, it’ll limit the speed of the entire network. In these cases, the network will only be able to operate at the modem’s maximum speed.
To put it another way, if a modem can’t support the speed of your internet plan, it’ll serve as a bottleneck for your entire network.
If your modem is serving as a bottleneck for your network, it greatly increases the chances of your gaming experience being affected. Especially if you have multiple people using the internet at the same time.
On the other hand, if your modem’s maximum speed is greater than the speed provided by your internet plan, you won’t experience any restriction on your network. You’ll be able to utilize all the bandwidth provided by your internet plan.
If your internet plan is sized correctly for the internet needs of your home and your modem allows you to utilize the full scope of your internet plan, you shouldn’t have to worry about your modem limiting your gaming performance.
At the same time, a modem that’s much faster than your internet plan won’t help you either. In these cases, the fastest your network will be able to operate at is the speed provided by your internet plan.
The best approach is to make sure your plan meets your internet needs, and your modem can support the speed of that plan.
There’s no need to go overboard here, it won’t upgrade your gaming experience.
How to Ensure You Have the Right Modem for Gaming
If you use your internet connection for online gaming, it’s worth ensuring that your modem isn’t limiting your connection.
So how do you go about doing that?
Let’s take it step-by-step based upon the outline in the section above.
The two numbers we need are:
- The maximum speed provided by your internet plan
- The maximum speed supported by your modem
We’ll start with the speed of your internet plan first.
This should be fairly easy for you to determine.
One way to go about determining your current internet plan is to look at your latest monthly bill. Your bill should detail the internet plan you’re paying for.
As you can see, my internet plan provides me with speeds up to 600 megabits per second (Mbps).
An alternative here is to log in to your account with your ISP. By accessing your account information, you should be able to get information about your current internet plan as well.
Ok, now that we have your internet speed, let’s turn to your modem.
When it comes to determining the maximum speed your modem supports, you have a few options you can choose from.
If you’re not sure what maximum speed your modem supports, I’ve written an article detailing the different ways you can find out. I suggest you check out this article to make sure you know what your modem’s maximum supported speed is.
Once you have the speed provided by your internet plan and the speed supported by your modem, you have everything you need.
Let’s say your modem doesn’t support the speed provided by your current internet plan. What should you do?
If this is the case, you might want to upgrade your modem to one that supports a faster internet speed.
Another option to consider is if you aren’t experiencing any issues with your current network setup.
If your internet plan provides speeds much faster than your modem can support, you may be able to scale back your internet plan.
This might give you the opportunity to save some money on a monthly basis, while still experiencing the same internet performance.
You’ll just need to make sure you don’t scale back your internet plan too much. In this instance, you’ll want to make sure the reduced internet speed is still at least as fast as the maximum speed your modem can support.
That way, you know your network will still be operating at the modem’s maximum speed.
Do I Need a Special Modem for Gaming?
There are a few important things you should know when it comes to modems and online gaming.
For starters, you don’t need to buy a fancy, expensive modem for gaming. All modems function the same way and do the same thing.
If you see marketing material that states that a modem is a “gaming modem”, don’t fall for it. There’s nothing special about those modems. They function the same way as any other modem on the market.
How do I know this?
I know this because a modem’s performance is really based on one main factor.
The speed the modem can support.
All a modem really does is provide your network with an internet connection at a specific speed.
What you do on your network with that available bandwidth is up to you.
It doesn’t matter if you’re streaming, gaming, surfing the web, or sending email. Your modem doesn’t know the difference between these online activities.
So if your modem can support the bandwidth provided by your internet plan, that’s all you need to worry about.
Wrap Up
If this point isn’t clear by now, it should be: your modem needs to support the speed provided by your internet plan, regardless of what you’re using the internet for.
If you have any specific questions about your network or the information presented above, please drop a comment below.
If you’d like to learn more about similar topics, I invite you to check out some of these previous posts I’ve written:
Does a Modem Provide WiFi? The Facts You Should Know
Modem Speed Limits: What You Might Be Missing
How Many Ethernet Ports Are on a Modem? A Complete Analysis
What Are Modem Channels? How They Affect Network Speed
Can I Just Buy a Modem and Have Internet? What Else You Need
