Razib

TL;DR: Budget ~25 Mbps per 4K stream (35–50 Mbps for comfort) and add the same for each simultaneous stream. Most hiccups come from Wi-Fi, not your plan—use 5 GHz/Wi-Fi 6 or Ethernet, place the router well, and turn on QoS/SQM to control bufferbloat. Aim for 15–20+ Mbps upload, watch data usage, and pick a simple … Read more

TL;DR: Got one stubborn dead spot and a modest plan? Grab a dual-band extender and place it midway to the router. Want whole-home, one-name Wi-Fi with smooth roaming for calls and steady speeds across floors? Choose a mesh system—ideally tri-band or with Ethernet backhaul—on Wi-Fi 6/6E. Extenders are cheaper for quick patches; mesh costs more … Read more

TL;DR: For smooth WFH, prioritize upload (your voice/video) as much as download. Aim for at least 10 Mbps up for solo calls, 20–30 Mbps up for two people, and go higher—or fiber—if you send big files. Test speeds during meetings, add ~30% headroom, and try quick fixes before upgrading: Ethernet, pause cloud sync, enable router … Read more

TL;DR: Smooth online play comes from low ping, low jitter, and zero packet loss—not big Mbps. Aim for <30 ms ping, <5 ms jitter, and 0% loss (casual is fine up to ~50 ms ping and <10 ms jitter). Get there by using Ethernet (or strong 5 GHz Wi-Fi), enabling QoS/SQM to stop upload spikes, … Read more

TL;DR: Streaming needs steady bandwidth (about 5–10 Mbps for HD and 15–25 Mbps for 4K per screen), while gaming cares more about low ping (<30 ms) and low jitter (<10 ms) than huge speeds. Plans around 100–300+ Mbps feel great for busy homes, but even 100–300 Mbps is plenty if latency is stable. For the … Read more