The mobile broadband experts at 3Gstore/EVDOinfo answer countless questions from our customers and from the EVDO Forums community every day - from general mobile broadband questions ("what the heck does 3G mean?") to specific questions about products to more advanced inquiries about what one can do with their mobile broadband service. The "mobile broadband FAQ" series addresses these questions in depth one FAQ at a time. To view ALL of the FAQs we've addressed in this series, visit EVDOinfo.com/faq.
Can I play the PS3/360/Wii with 3G or 4G?
Rather than tell you that gaming is possible, we wanted to actually show you a live game play video from the popular Call Of Duty Black Ops game. A big concern of gamers is latency, which is the communication from your home to the server or host you're joining. With a Cable/DSL connection most connection ping servers around 25-50ms where a 3G connection is around 100-150ms (4G connections can offer latency as low as 45ms!), so you will be at a slight disadvantage, but at least you can finally play online right? With our 3G/4G routers you'll be able to tweak your settings to finally get a Nat Type 2 open connection, which is ideal for joining parties and ensuring you have the best gaming experience. Using a phone as a hotspot or a MiFi 2200 or Samsung SCH-LC11 may get you online, but you'll be stuck with a Nat Type 3 connection and have a less than ideal gaming experience. We hope you guys enjoy the demo video below!
Please Note: Select carriers make it impossible to get a fully open Nat type 2 connection. AT&T physically blocks ports at the carrier level, which makes it impossible to open the connection through the router. 3Gstore recommends using a USB 3G/4G modem for gaming as opposed to MiFi type devices to avoid secondary firewalls and typically yield better in game latency.
Below you'll find a 4G LTE gameplay video to compare to the 3G demo:
In game menu displaying latency to host by signal bars - This is not your signal to the cell tower
What does having a higher latency mean for you?
This means that you will be playing slightly behind the action that is actually being displayed on the screen. In long distance combat you won't notice it, however, when up close the lag can become more apparent when somebody appears to jump around on you a little bit. If you've watched the demo video you'll notice that for the most part this is negligible and any good gamer can still play competitively. With the newer 4G WiMAX technology through Sprint and Verizon's new 4G LTE network the problem with a wireless connections latency are further diminished. If you're looking to game and have 4G available, Verizon's network is the king in this department hitting as low as 45ms in some areas, while Sprint's 4G WiMAX is around 80-125ms (better than 3G on average but not as good as LTE 4G). Below you'll find a breakdown of latency based on the type of connection you have.
- Satellite Internet: 1000-2000 ms - It's impossible for gaming due to the huge delay that occurs from the time you move till the server actually receives the instructions
- Dial Up: 200-250 ms - Believe it or not but you can actually game "somewhat" over dial up. Your biggest limitation is the lack of bandwidth, which causes the server to chock
- 3G Wireless: 100-150 ms - This is an acceptable range to game on, you may notice moments of lag but it's playable
- 4G Wireless: 45-125 ms - This is a much better latency where you won't notice much lag at all and should be almost on par with a high end Cable/DSL connection
- Cable/DSL: 25-50 ms - This is ideal for minimum delay while gaming
What type of games can I play with 3G or 4G?
With a 3G or 4G wireless connection you'll have access to playing most of the popular genres. The most popular being FPS (First Person Shooters) will work without much issue although MMORGP (Massively Multiplayer online Role Playing Games) and RPG (Role playing games) will work better because they don't require ultra low latency. Driving games like Gran Turismo 5, Forza motor sport and other racing games also play really well through a 3G or 4G connection. The only games that you will have trouble with when using a 3G/4G connection are fighting games. Why exactly can't you play a fighting game? The reason is because a fighting game is real time and requires ultra twitch movements and responses. If somebody throws a punch at you, you'll literally be hit before the action ever hits your screen.
How much bandwidth will I use when I'm gaming?
With most users stuck on either a 5GB or 10GB cap a lot of people have concerns that gaming will eat through their monthly usage to quickly. This is actually a common misconception because gaming doesn't use a lot of data (even when you're using voice). A combined download/upload stream typically yields around 17.5kB/s, (17.5kB/s X 60 seconds = 1.05 Megs per minute). This works out to roughly 63MB per hour or approximately 81.26 hours of gaming per month. Of course this is just an average, you'll find that some games can use more bandwidth per month, while others don't use as much. You should find that most games on the market will use around 50-75MB per hour, which means you'll have plenty of time to game and still have data leftover for other activites on the internet. We have created a chart called "What does 5GB get me?", which will show you exactly how much data a lot of popular web based activities will use. All of our routers do offer diagnostic tools that allow you to view real time network traffic, which means you can play a round and look at the chart to see what type of usage you're getting. You can then calculate exactly how much data a particular game is using so you know how many hours you have to get your frag on.
With Multiplayer gaming become much more popular, we've made it much easier for customers to quickly find a router that is gaming compatible. We have created a router advisory tool with an option for "Supports Gaming" under "Show networking features", that shows you all routers that support gaming and are compatible with your device! All you need to do is select your country, carrier and wireless modem you're using and you'll instantly see all the router models that are compatible with your hardware. You'll notice that a lot of different models do support gaming, so we wanted to highlight some popular options for gamers. Below you'll find some great options from entry level to higher end products to meet your gaming needs.
Popular Gaming Routers:
Pro's:
- Offers wireless B,G and N radios for excellent WiFi range (100-150 feet)
- 4 Ethernet Lan ports for multiple system owners - Hardwire your PS3/360/Wii for optimal performance
- Wide support for Verizon, Sprint, CLEAR, T-Mobile and more!
- Supports 3G EVDO, 4G WiMAX and 4G LTE
- WiFi as WAN to grab open WiFi to save on bandwidth for game patches, DLC (downloadable content) and demo's
- Expensive if you're only looking for gaming functionality
Pro's:
- Offers wireless B,G, and N radios with a high WiFi range (100-200 feet)
- 4 Ethernet Lan ports for multiple system owners - Hardwire your PS3/360/Wii for optimal performance
- WiFi as WAN to grab open WiFi to save on bandwidth for game patches, DLC (downloadable content) and demo's
- No configuration needed, plug and play
- No support for Sprint or CLEAR 4G WiMAX devices
Pro's:
- Small portable form factor
- WiFi as WAN to grab open WiFi to save on bandwidth for game patches, DLC (downloadable content) and demo's
- Cost - Lowest price Cradlepoint 3G/4G capable router
- Only 1 Ethernet LAN/WAN combined port - If you want to use Cable/DSL you loose the ability to hard wire console
- This router supports B,G and N wireless radios, however, doesn't have the range of higher end models
Pro's:
- Extreme Speed Optimization - Allows for a better download/upload speed compared to Cradlepoint/WiFi Ranger
- iPhone Tethering - If you've already got an iPhone enabling tethering and you can get online with your phone
- Wireless B, G, N with a high WiFi range (100-200 feet)
- Only 1 Ethernet LAN out - For multiple systems you'd need a switch like our Level One 8 Port Switch
- With advanced features this router costs more than our more basic routers
The nice thing about our products is that they'll also work with a Cable/DSL connection. So, if you're having issues with a strict Nat on you Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, you'll be able to optimize your gaming experience too! These routers will allow you to game on your 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii, PSP, iPad and any other networked devices that offer online gaming. Even if you don't want to game, you can use this new connectivity to download new updates for your favorite offline games, patches, chat with friends or even watch Netflix or download Blu Ray live content. If you've ever thought that you were out of luck because Cable/DSL doesn't reach you think again, 3Gstore is here to meet your gaming needs and help you stay connected!
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