Online gaming is serious business. The last thing you want to do is get between a gamer and a game. People have built YouTube channels and blogs about them. This is why we want to make sure that nothing gets in the way of our gaming experiences, especially when you’re about to reach a new level or hit the big time in an online casino.
More than a few people have been wondering if torrenting can affect their online gaming. This article takes a look at whether or not that is true.
What is Torrenting?
Torrenting has become an increasingly popular way of downloading and sharing various things from the internet for those who don’t know. Whether it is always legal is another matter, as a lot of content available on torrenting sites is often copyrighted and pirated.
Let’s go with the assumption that you are a law-abiding citizen who is using a torrenting site to download something perfectly legal. You will need to download a program like Utorrent or BitTorrent as your first step. Depending on whether the site you’re downloading from uses magnet links or not, you might have to open the file manually, but the process is pretty simple. After this, you simply wait for the program to download the files.
Internet Speed
This is where the trouble starts coming in. Torrent programs have a habit of swallowing your bandwidth up. Even if the connections are simply open, it can still be slowing down your internet speed. The result is your computer moving at a snail’s pace to complete even the simplest tasks. Although torrenting is likely not the only culprit, it is probably one of the programs on your computer that runs in the background, and together they are slowing it down.
But Does It Slow Down Online Gaming?
The short answer is yes, it potentially can, but many factors come into play. A lot depends on the type of internet connection you have, as well as the games you’re playing, the files you’re downloading, and the software you’re downloading them with. Online games also take up bandwidth, and if they have to compete for it alongside a torrenting program, they might have an uphill battle.
It is best to limit the maximum download rate on your torrenting software. If you do a lot of both online gaming and torrenting, it might also be a good idea to look at your internet plan, as slower plans will most likely struggle.
It is recommended that you either do one or the other to avoid the frustration of a lagging game or a slow torrent download. However, if your bandwidth is high, who are we to say you should do one or the other?
Conclusion
Although it can’t be pointed out as the only guilty party when it comes to affecting online games, torrenting does seem to have some blame for slowing down computers. However, it’s best to look at all the possible reasons your computer may be struggling, as they are likely working together.