If you enjoy playing online video games alone or with others, you’re not alone. The fact is that billions of people globally enjoy gaming.
It’s not just little kids either; people from all walks of life enjoy playing their favorite puzzle games, multiplayer games, and role-playing games. That’s just the tip of the iceberg since there are many game types.
But while it’s fun to consider popular titles that captivate gamers, it’s also worth considering the best ways to play online games.
Two popular options for gaming online are WiFi and wired internet. While it doesn’t have to be one or the other — you can enjoy both methods — here are five things to know when scrutinizing WiFi vs wired internet.
1. Stability
The last thing you want when gaming is to lose your connection in the middle of gameplay. That’s one of the top sources of headaches for gamers. It’s one thing if you’re playing by yourself. But it’s another thing entirely if playing with others. Losing your connection can cost you — and possibly your team — the game.
WiFi is a great way to enjoy online gaming, but signal drops because of other devices, walls, or other things are possible.
It might not be a big deal if you are gaming solo. Even so, WiFi is more prone to signal drops than wired internet. Wired internet offers a stable and consistent internet connection so gameplay can continue without any unplanned or unexpected downtime.
2. Speed Differences
When gaming online, you’ll want to consider speed. You can get good speed with WiFi, but that speed can decline depending on how far your gaming machine is from the router or network congestion.
That might get bothersome if playing games with others. However, you’ll get maximum speed when gaming via wired internet.
3. Latency
Latency is another factor to consider. On the one hand, WiFi has more latency than wired internet. Latency refers to delays or lags in online gaming. It can seriously jeopardize how much enjoyment you get out of gaming sessions. Just like you don’t want to sit through a movie plagued with lags and delays, you don’t want to go through that with gaming. Wired internet has lower latency – that means gameplay is smoother.
4. Interference
WiFi encounters more obstacles than wired internet connections. So, if you’re gaming online using WiFi, gameplay could be jeopardized based on interference or obstructions from other networks, microwaves, metal objects, Bluetooth devices, walls, and other things.
You won’t run into such problems with wired connections. So, if you want to maximize uptime, wired internet is a better option than WiFi.
5. Packet Loss & Jitter
When gaming via WiFi, the potential for packet loss and jitter is greater than when using a wired connection. The problem with higher packet loss and jitter is that it translates into more lag spikes. Wired internet, meanwhile, reduces lag through a more consistent data transfer.
While wired internet is a better option overall than WiFi for online gaming, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a consistently high-quality gaming experience going the WiFi route. That’s especially true if you understand how to reduce lag in online gaming. WiFi 6 for gaming is one option. It can help you enjoy your favorite online games using WiFi without worrying about lag.
Gaming is an activity enjoyed by billions of people worldwide. While you can play games on consoles or smartphones, online gaming is also popular. Your best bet if going that route is to use a wired internet connection.
But you can experience great gameplay with WiFi, stripping out some of the downsides associated with WiFi, if you go with WiFi 6.
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