Internet Speed

[Rob G 62]

Hi folks. I currently pay $100 a month for gigabit internet service. I am a retired computer engineer so I love fast internet. However, I am moving about 50 miles away to an area which has all fiber connections, which is a good thing, but costs $150 a month for the same speed service. I know you don't need nearly those speeds to just stream 4K video. But I wondering what your thoughts are on what speed you need to use MSFS without internet constraints?

 

Thanks,

Rob

[edpatino 1,988]

On my experience, 100/100 Mbps should be good enough to run MSFS. If you're away from a big city, check also the connection has a low latency (lower than 10 ms).

Edited November 12, 2023 by edpatino

[MrBitstFlyer 3,910]

I have Starlink satellite internet. Speeds are up to 350MBs with low latency for satellite internet - around 20ms.  I've had the service for over two years, with excellent reliability  I live miles from the nearest town so I'm very pleased with the service.

I online game without any issues.

[David Mills 4,774]

1 hour ago, Rob G said:

I wondering what your thoughts are on what speed you need to use MSFS without internet constraints?

I have about 130 down and 20 up. I run MSFS at 4K with everything on Ultra, and the sim performs perfectly with those internet speeds.

[MrFuzzy 2,124]

I agree with the other users above... 50 MBps is "ideal" according to MS, therefore 100 MBps should be more than sufficient in any conditions.

And the speed is throttled by the server side anyway. If you want to save money you can settle with 500 MBps. Certainly you don't need more for MSFS.

[psychedelic_tortilla 171]

I have 250/50 Mbps, my router is in the hallway and I have a cheap WiFi dongle on my PC in another room, which means in actuality I'm getting around 150 Mbps of the rated speed, and I have absolutely no problems in MSFS whatsoever.

A setup like mine just would not work at all playing multiplayer FPS or racing games, but for MSFS it's absolutely non-critical. 

[cianpars 1,222]

MSFS ran fine for me at 50 mbs.  Ideally, I think it needs 60 to 80.  I now have 150 mbs and really haven't noticed much difference in the way msfs runs now.

The problem is that you will always be limited by the speed and reliability of ms servers and I don't recall them ever being above 80 mbs and the norm seems nearer to 50/60

[MrBitstFlyer 3,910]

25 minutes ago, psychedelic_tortilla said:

A setup like mine just would not work at all playing multiplayer FPS or racing games

I drove on iRacing for five years using a connection giving me an average of 20-30MBs without problems 😊

[bobcat999 8,542]

I managed to get a 5G connection just recently as they have postponed my fibre connection again for god knows how long.  

I was on an old copper connection that varied between 3 - 5 MBs.  It was just about manageable in MSFS without photogrammetry, but the updates were an overnight job. 

The 5G is giving me up to 50MBs now, but can drop to about 20 at peak times or in bad weather.  I am right on the edge of the 5G area looking at the map. 
When I have experimented holding the 5G modem outside of an upstairs window I have seen speeds of around 200MBs!  So I might get an external antenna for it.

I find even at the lowest (20MBs) MSFS loads quickly and streams data just fine.  I also stream 4K HD movies alright.  I was told about 12MBs minimum is needed for that, so all good.

For those in the UK, my new system is with Three Mobile 5G, £20 a month with the first 3 months free, 24 month contract, totally unlimited data. It's about the best deal you can get in the UK at the moment. 
Starlink would have been my next choice, but much more expensive! £75 p/m plus hardware cost (£300?).
I was paying £43 per month before with the old BT package, because of the landline fees - a very poor deal now looking back.

Edited November 12, 2023 by bobcat999

[SierraHotel 994]

My current Internet speed is 48MBs

My current performance in MSFS is:

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxoXwilnEKG4VNjPj8l3CkZ4-yzziJPuET?si=RwbzszxpP5JwfdJi

[psychedelic_tortilla 171]

3 hours ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

I drove on iRacing for five years using a connection giving me an average of 20-30MBs without problems 😊

I was referring more to ping and/or packet loss than to bandwidth with that remark. In interactive/reactive applications like FPS or racing games, bandwidth isn't the problem (the amount of data iRacing multiplayer is sending is most likely negligible for modern connections), but rather latency/reliability is more critical. Those are also the two metrics that suffer most when trading a rock-solid wired Ethernet connection for a WiFi signal that has to traverse multiple walls. 

[Ixoye 1,847]

I have 250/250 MPs and I've never felt like I need more, the MSFS updates are done while I'm making a cup of coffee.

[Rob G 62]

Thank you all for the feedback 🙂

[Egbert Drenth 258]

Ouch.... $150 for a Gigabit fiber connection?
That is a lot of money, at least in the Netherlands. I pay $55 per month for 1Gb up/down over fiber.
I always thought the US had very cheap mobile & cable/fiber prices but I guess I was wrong.

[sniper31 654]

1 minute ago, Egbert Drenth said:

Ouch.... $150 for a Gigabit fiber connection?
That is a lot of money, at least in the Netherlands. I pay $55 per month for 1Gb up/down over fiber.
I always thought the US had very cheap mobile & cable/fiber prices but I guess I was wrong.

It all depends on where you are located. Where I live in Colorado I am paying $65 per month for 1 Gb fiber connection. Each state is different, and also can depend on how close or far you are from more populated areas. There are different taxes in different states etc.