Is Vdsl Good for Gaming?

Is Vdsl Good for Gaming

VDSL, also known as very high bit rate digital subscriber line, is a very popular choice for gaming as it is available in most areas where pure Fiber Optics or Cable is not. This leaves the question to many gamers. Is VDSL good for gaming?

VDSL is good for gaming and is an excellent choice. Latency shoulder be under 100ms for the best gaming experience. VDSL on average will provide you with about 25-40ms during gaming.

I would recommend getting at least 25 mbps download and at least 2 mbps upload for gaming if you are planning on using VDSL. Although download and upload speeds aren’t directly correlated with latency or ping, having a decent download and upload speed will help you download games, perform updates, and use voice chat at a good user experience.

Does VDSL Lower Ping?

The only way VDSL will lower ping is if you’re coming from a very outdated internet service like ADSL or if you were using a hotspot over the cellular network to game.

What Ping Can You Expect if You Use VDSL for Gaming?

If you game using a VDSL internet service, then you can expect to have ping anywhere from the 20ms-40ms range. Latency can even reach 70ms – 100ms if the host or server is on the opposite side of the world as you or in a different country.

How to Lower Ping Using VDSL Internet

Here are a few tips you can try to help lower your ping when using VDSL internet:

Hardwired Connection

Make sure all your gaming devices are directly connected to your modem via an ethernet cord. Having your gaming device hardwired will always yield the best speeds and ping.

If your gaming peripheral has very good WiFi capabilities already, then using a hardwired connection may not make much of a difference, but it can help prevent disconnects and lag spikes.

Wifi Extender/Boosters

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If you are primarily using your internet over Wifi, then you may benefit from using a Wifi extender if you are at the farther end of your modems WiFi range. A WiFi extender will help you maintain a good and fast connection over the air, even when you are far away from your modem.

We recommend using a Netgear Dual Band Wifi Extender like this one from Amazon. Using a Dual Band extender will ensure that you will be able to obtain 90-100% of your internets speed through WiFi. This is especially true if your internet speed is 50Mbps or above.

Contact Your ISP

If you are experiencing lag spikes or constant dropouts, then this may be an issue with your ISP. Trouble on your internet line or having faulty equipment can lead to High Ping/Latency or worse, dropouts or total outages of your internet service.

Even if you are not experiencing any issues, it’s always a good habit to contact your ISP on a quarterly basis to have them run test on your internet line to make sure everything is running up to par and passing their quality tests on their systems.

Is VDSL the same as Fiber?

VDSL and Fiber are not exactly the same thing. However, both types of internet do run on a Fiber Optic Network.

VDSL

In short, VDSL is essentially a weaker version of Fiber. It’s fiber to a Node. From this Node, the Fiber optic signal is transmitted and pushed through a twisted copper wire pair that goes all the way to the customers modem and is turned into what the internet company calls VDSL.

The reason VDSL has higher ping and lower speeds is simply due to the fact that the signal being sent through the copper wire degrades with distance. The farther the user is away from this “Node” the slower their internet will inherently be.

This explains why not all VDSL packages are available in certain areas. Some areas may only qualify for 25mbps download, while others will qualify for greater speeds like 75mbps or 100mbps.

Fiber

Fiber eliminates the issues with distance from VDSL by bringing the signal right into your home. This is called FTTP, or Fiber to the Prem.

Fiber to the prem, which is just a fancy way of saying fiber to your home, is when your internet is transmitted fully through fiber optics. This is in the form of light. Your signal starts from the PFP. The Primary Flexibility Point is a cabinet or box where the fiber signal transitions into cables that go to the customers house.

Once at the customer house, the fiber will either be at the top of a telephone pole, or come in underground into a NiD or box in your home. From there, the fiber is routed into your house to a small device called an ONT. The ONT is essentially your own little Fiber connection point which is inside of your home.

Having the signal so close to your modem is how Fiber Optic internet is able to reach speeds of 1GB and beyond for both the download and upload speeds. On average with fiber, you can expect your latency/ping to be under 20 ms.

Is VDSL Bad?

VDSL is definitely not bad when it is running as intended. However, with the copper wire network getting older every year, more and more maintenance needs to be performed to keep the internet lines clean and free from excessive errors.

The more errors you have on an internet line, the more lag spikes, packet loss, and internet outages/dropouts will occur. Some areas have this worse than others and that’s the reason you will have people saying VDSL is horrible, and others will say it’s fine. The quality of your VDSL service relies heavily on the area you are in, and the condition of the telephone lines.

Final Thoughts

VDSL internet is actually very good for gaming. Even though Fiber is better as you will have a lower ping/latency, gaming with VDSL will be a pleasant experience as 20ms-40ms is well under the 100ms threshold for gaming.

VDSL usually comes in a number of different packages. We recommend getting at least 25mbps down and 2mbps up. If that is not available in your area, then just go with the highest possible.

Also be sure to follow best practices with your internet and modem. Install WiFi extenders as needed, or use a hardwired connection to get the most out of your internet.

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