Bufferbloat?

[truoc]

Wasn't exactly sure where I should post this so I chose this forum. Feel free to move this if need be.

Anyways I've read a few articles on bufferbloat and I think I get the general idea, but I'm sort of confused if it actually applies to me and if it actually affects me. When I use a Google Wifi router and test for bufferbloat on dlsreports.com/speedtest I generally get a D or F grade in bufferbloat. When I do the same test with my WRT1200ac with LEDE installed and smartque enabled my bufferbloat is non existent and I generally get an A+ grade. I am the only person that uses the Internet in my apartment and I do generally play a lot of online multiplayer games so I'm wondering if it's only me using the Internet should I even worry about bufferbloat?

From what I've gathered it matters more if you have multiple people in your household online at the same time streaming videos, playing games, etc. or am I completely wrong about this? If there is no real benefit to using a router capable of enabling smartque for only one person (me) then I will just go back to the Google product. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Thanks.

 

[RMerlin]

Bufferbloat can become an issue only if you are saturating your Internet connection. So as long you don't start large downloads at the same time you are gaming, it will never be a problem.

 

[microchip]

I had previously, on my old modem, always a score of D. I had to change my modem due to an upgraded plan (500/40) so my old modem couldn't handle it. With the new modem, I get a solid A each time no matter how much I max out my connection

 

[truoc]

Bufferbloat can become an issue only if you are saturating your Internet connection. So as long you don't start large downloads at the same time you are gaming, it will never be a problem.

I kind of figured this was the case after everything I read, but wanted to be sure. I think I will just go back to Google Wifi to take advantage of automatic security updates. Thanks for the clarification!

I had previously, on my old modem, always a score of D. I had to change my modem due to an upgraded plan (500/40) so my old modem couldn't handle it. With the new modem, I get a solid A each time no matter how much I max out my connection

Which modem did you have and which modem did you switch to?

 

[microchip]

Which modem did you have and which modem did you switch to?

Modem provided by my ISP. It's a modified Motorola design by Compal Broadband Networks (CBN). IIRC, it was an 8x 4 streams. Now using also a CBN one but it has 24x
My ISP does not allow to use your own modem so I have no other choice

 

[Rich Brown]

... I do generally play a lot of online multiplayer games so I'm wondering if it's only me using the Internet should I even worry about bufferbloat?

It's true that latency from bufferbloat only goes up when you saturate the link, but this happens much more frequently than you expect:

* Do you ever go to web pages - most webpages these days are ~2MBytes - that's a two-megabyte file transfer for each page.
* Do you ever use VoIP while you're browsing? That can easily cause a stutter.
* Do you ever (when you're not gaming) upload or download files and have the performance of other services go bad?

So my advice is always: If you're happy, then I'm happy. But please remember that high latency caused by bufferbloat can affect all sorts of things.

 

[truoc]

It's true that latency from bufferbloat only goes up when you saturate the link, but this happens much more frequently than you expect:

* Do you ever go to web pages - most webpages these days are ~2MBytes - that's a two-megabyte file transfer for each page.
* Do you ever use VoIP while you're browsing? That can easily cause a stutter.
* Do you ever (when you're not gaming) upload or download files and have the performance of other services go bad?

So my advice is always: If you're happy, then I'm happy. But please remember that high latency caused by bufferbloat can affect all sorts of things.

Now you have me contemplating sticking with the WRT1200ac lol