is high pings bad?

Hi, i have just switched from bt fixed line where i was getting 12-13 mbps download and 0.91-0.95 upload ping 10-20 ms, i am now tethering with the 3 network with a apple i5 which is capable of 4g when it comes along the speed are between 15mbps - 23mbps download and 2.32 - 3.01 mbps upload, BUT my ping is quite high about 60 but have seen go as low as 45 and high as 100, is this bad for gaming?

If it is a nice consistent 60 then you will get used to it, but generally the lower the better.

What is worst is if it is very variable

yes it is variable very but speeds are usually consistant atleast over 15mbps download, what doesa it mean when the ping varies?

Edited by deleted (Fri 14-Jun-13 08:24:53)

3G\4G should never be used for gaming. The variability of latency on those products can make online gaming impossible. If you try and host a game (ie COD) people will leave as they will not tolerate the horrendous lagging\warping etc.

As dummerjohn mentions you will find that the experience is variable.

Online gaming, e.g. CoD, Battlefield rely on stable reasonably low pings. The speeds required to actually play a game are actually very low .25 Mbps in both directions will be enough.

With a ping of 10ms you get better hit detection and a smoother experience, with a variable ping you will die sometimes even though you had ducked, or worse you will see people jump across the screen

What games? If it is MMOs then probably OK (although you can get major ping spikes that cause disconnects). If it is facebook games then fine. Turn based games fine. Frist person shooters - not good with variable/high latency.