Gaming broadband

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	Hardware	Setup	Monthly price	Contract	Speed (Up to)	Downloads
1	98 reviews	FREE	£9.50 £21.50 after 3 months	12 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The All Rounder broadband + Evening/Weekend phone	Offer: Includes FREE broadband for 3 months Phone: Includes telephone line rental plus unlimited evening and weekend calls to UK landlines Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, free 24/7 support, 200 web texts/mth, McAfee security software (3 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £26.50/mth plus £25 setup fee
2	664 reviews	FREE	£34.50	12 months	50Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	Virgin XXL 50Mb Broadband + TV (M+ extra channels) + Phone	Offer: Free installation and activation TV: Virgin (M+) TV with 60 channels Phone: Unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobiles (+ £11.99/mth line rental) Extras: Enhanced performance Wireless "N" Router and V box (HD ready) V+ HD box available for £49 plus £5/mth
3	98 reviews	£29.99	£21.50	1 month	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The All Rounder broadband + Evening/Weekend phone	Phone: Includes telephone line rental plus unlimited evening and weekend calls to UK landlines Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, free 24/7 support, 200 web texts/mth, McAfee security software (3 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £26.50/mth plus an extra £25 setup fee
4	98 reviews	FREE	FREE £10 after 3 months	12 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The All Rounder	Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, free 24/7 support, 200 web texts/mth, McAfee security software (3 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £15/mth plus £25 set up fee
5	664 reviews	FREE	£10 £20 after 3 months	12 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	Virgin XL Broadband + Phone	Offer: Free installation Phone: Unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobiles (+ £11.99/mth line rental) Extras: Enhanced performance Wireless "N" Router
6	98 reviews	FREE	FREE £20 after 3 months	12 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The Works	Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, up to 2.5Mb upload speed, free 24/7 support, 500 web texts/mth, static IP address, McAfee security software (5 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £25/mth plus £25 set up fee
7	664 reviews	FREE	£15 £28 after 3 months	12 months	50Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	Virgin XXL 50Mb Broadband + Phone	Offer: Free installation and activation Phone: Unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobiles (+ £11.99/mth line rental) Extras: Super-fast broadband, enhanced performance Wireless "N" Router
8	98 reviews	FREE	£12.50 £32.50 after 3 months	12 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The Works broadband + Anytime phone	Offer: Includes FREE broadband for 3 months Phone: Includes telephone line rental plus unlimited calls to UK landlines, 600 minutes of calls to 0845/0870 numbers and 600 minutes of international calls/mth, plus 25% off mobile daytime calls Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, up to 2.5Mb upload speed, free 24/7 support, prioritised customer service, 500 web texts/mth, static IP address, McAfee security software (5 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £37.50/mth plus £25 set up fee
9	98 reviews	£29.99	£29.50	1 month	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The Works broadband + Evening & Weekend phone	Phone: Includes telephone line rental plus unlimited evening and weekend calls to UK landlines Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, up to 2.5Mb upload speed, free 24/7 support, prioritised customer service, 500 web texts/mth, static IP address, McAfee security software (5 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £34.50/mth plus an extra £25 set up fee
10	664 reviews	FREE	£33 £38 after 3 months	12 months	50Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	Virgin XXL 50Mb Broadband	Offer: Free installation and activation Extras: Enhanced performance Wireless "N" Router
11	664 reviews	FREE	£20 £30 after 3 months	12 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	Virgin XL Broadband	Offer: Free installation Extras: Enhanced performance Wireless "N" Router
12	98 reviews	FREE	£9.50 £29.50 after 3 months	12 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The Works broadband + Evening & Weekend phone	Offer: Includes FREE broadband for 3 months Phone: Includes telephone line rental plus unlimited evening and weekend calls to UK landlines Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, up to 2.5Mb upload speed, free 24/7 support, prioritised customer service, 500 web texts/mth, static IP address, McAfee security software (5 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £34.50/mth plus £25 set up fee
13	98 reviews	FREE	£12.50 £24.50 after 3 months	12 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The All Rounder broadband + Anytime phone	Offer: Includes FREE broadband for 3 months Phone: Includes telephone line rental plus unlimited calls to UK landlines, 600 minutes of calls to 0845/0870 numbers and 600 minutes of international calls/mth, plus 25% off mobile daytime calls Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, free 24/7 support, 200 web texts/mth, McAfee security software (3 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £29.50/mth plus £25 setup fee
14	98 reviews	£29.99	£24.50	1 month	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The All Rounder broadband + Anytime phone	Phone: Includes telephone line rental plus unlimited calls to UK landlines, 600 minutes of calls to 0845/0870 numbers and 600 minutes of international calls/mth, plus 25% off mobile daytime calls Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, free 24/7 support, 200 web texts/mth, McAfee security software (3 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £29.50/mth plus an extra £25 setup fee
15	219 reviews	£29.99	£14.99	18 months	24Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	TalkTalk Plus	Phone: Unlimited anytime calls to UK landlines and discounted calls to mobiles (+ £12.04/mth line rental) Extras: Free wireless 'N' router, free technical & customer support. Add International Boost - unlimited international calls £2/mth extra
16	98 reviews	£29.99	£32.50	1 month	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	The Works broadband + Anytime phone	Phone: Includes telephone line rental plus unlimited calls to UK landlines, 600 minutes of calls to 0845/0870 numbers and 600 minutes of international calls/mth, plus 25% off mobile daytime calls Extras: Enhanced wireless N router, up to 2.5Mb upload speed, free 24/7 support, prioritised customer service, 500 web texts/mth, static IP address, McAfee security software (5 licences). Non-O2 customers pay £37.50/mth plus an extra £25 set up fee
17	664 reviews	£40	£20 £30 after 2 months	9 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	Virgin XL Broadband	Offer (Ends 31 Oct): STUDENT DEAL Extras: Enhanced performance Wireless "N" Router
18	664 reviews	£40	£10 £20 after 2 months	9 months	20Mb	UNLIMITED	Go
	Virgin XL Broadband + Phone	Offer (Ends 31 Oct): STUDENT DEAL Phone: Unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobiles (+ £11.99/mth line rental) Extras: Enhanced performance Wireless "N" Router

Gaming broadband: give yourself the edge

Whether you prefer wielding a flamethrower in Modern Warfare 2, questing the night away on World of Warcraft, designing your new pad in The Sims Online or beating your lap times on Blur, you need to be sure you have a gaming broadband connection that can cope.

When you're looking for gaming home broadband, there are several things you need to think about: are you a hardcore player who needs a gamer specific package? If not, do the games you play need a consistent fast connection, a good ping rate, or lots of GB per month (bandwidth) to download files? Don't worry - all will be explained. There is also a description of some of the gaming terminology you'll come across at the bottom of this guide (ping, latency etc).

So what is the best broadband for gaming?

Right now, both BE Broadband and PlusNet are UK providers that offer specific gamers broadband to buy: cheap deals deliberately targeted at broadband gamers. If you haven't heard of these companies, don't worry. While they may not be household names, BE is part of the Telefonica group that is also home to O2 Broadband in the UK, while PlusNet is owned by BT Broadband. Both are run as separate companies though, with their own deals, customer service etc.

BE's 'Unlimited' deal offers unlimited downloads, download speeds up to 24Mb and upload speeds up to 1.3Mb, low pings, no traffic shaping, optional static IP and a control panel so advanced gamers can change the settings of their internet connection.

The PlusNet 'Pro' package claims to offer: all traffic priorities at all times, low latency and pings (see below), reliable and stable connection, access to gaming servers, up to 20Mb speeds, a static IP address, the option to turn interleaving on and off and a 20GB monthly download allowance, plus free usage from midnight to 8am outside of your usage allowance.

It should also be noted that both PlusNet and BE offer short-term contracts (one month for PlusNet and three months for BE), which means you can try them out for size. Also, they're ideal for short-term accommodation situations, such as student shared houses. Not that we're suggesting students spend all day playing games, of course!

However, choosing the best gaming broadband isn't always going to be your choice. Unfortunately, not all telephone exchanges will have the same equipment inside, especially in more rural areas. What this means is that while you may see adverts advertising up to 20-24Mb (or up to 50Mb on Virgin), you may only be able to access an 'up to' 8Mb broadband connection. And, if you're a long way from your nearest telephone exchange, that 8Mb line may only realise 2Mb, or even less.

Be sure to check the kind of line speed you will get before you purchase a deal – all home broadband ISPs should offer this service as standard now. Some, including BE, will only offer you a contract if they can guarantee a good speed, so don't get your heart set on a specific ISP before you know if they will service your area (our postcode checker above should let you know).

Do I need gaming broadband?

The simple answer is probably no. However, if you're serious about broadband gaming, you will certainly want to make sure you give yourself the best chance out there, while also getting the cheapest package. You can also read and compare customer reviews to compare experiences and see if the prices are worth it. Just click on 'reviews' under the ISP's name in the table above to check out what other people think, but remember these tend to be a little on the negative side overall – a lot of people just want a moan when something goes wrong!

• Broadband gaming speed: Simple connection speed can be really important, as it can give you the edge in a FPS game, so it is seriously worth considering a connection above 8Mb if you can afford it. If you have a slower connection, just try not to run other programs while you're playing games, as this can really slow things down. And don't forget other machines in the house that may be connected to the internet too.
  While Virgin Media doesn't specifically offer gaming broadband, it has the fastest broadband out there right now - if you're in a Virgin Media covered area, and can afford a 50Mb connection, it's always going to be a great choice. Also, the 50Mb option also offers some fantastic upload speeds, as well as downloads, which can be crucial when gaming too.
• Download allowance: Your monthly allowance should be less of an issue: playing World of Warcraft, for example, has been cited as using around 0.4KB/s, so even if you played 24/7 you would never reach the standard GB limits that are now common (10-40GB) - in reality, game playing might use up about 20-50MB of your allowance each day.
  However, be careful about game 'patches' (downloaded files that update the game). These can be massive, and can eat up your allowance very quickly. Also, if you're going to download a lot of games with the likes of Steam, rather than buy shop copies, this will also take up big chunks of your monthly download allowance.
• Traffic shapping: It is worth watching the Broadband Genie news page for stories about ISPs that use 'traffic shaping' - this is where you can have your broadband slowed down artificially by your provider, sometimes because it is peak hours or sometimes because they think you are using up too much bandwidth. Gamers should probably try to avoid traffic shaping ISPs where possible.

Happy gaming!

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