Wifi 6 vs Ethernet
Wifi 6 vs Ethernet
Hi Everyone, I've been thinking about this for a while. I'm wondering if running a direct Ethernet cable to my PC will really make a difference. Most people say Ethernet is the best option, but I'm not sure where it would help in a switch. Since my Wi-Fi 6 Archer AX73 AX5400 is in another room, I'd have to run the cable under my carpet to reach my PC, which sounds like a lot of work. I live alone, so I don't mind any stability problems, and my Wi-Fi router only has one gigabit port. It's close enough to the 6GHz network, and Windows shows me around 1800/800 Mbps. If I check with tracert, the jump to my router is just 1ms. My actual internet speed is only 100 Mbps, so I'm nowhere near the maximum speeds. Could running Ethernet really make a noticeable change?
Wired Ethernet offers steady low latency and a bit lower CPU demand. Even with a 1ms gap between the wireless card and router, the delay includes time the driver and card spend turning bits into signals before transfer begins—this happens in nanoseconds, surpassing standard Ethernet. You might opt for a flat Ethernet cable, though it may not justify the cost. If your wireless performs well, it’s fine, but consider wired if you plan to play multiplayer games that are sensitive to latency changes.
To observe the changes in latency, use ping for a few seconds. On wired connection I notice: 64 bytes from Router.lan (192.168.1.254) with times ranging from 0.126 to 0.136 ms. Over WiFi the response is slower at around 2.5–6 ms depending on the packet. Watching trends helps spot fluctuations more clearly.
The performance data shows strong results. Over 30 seconds the connection sent and received packets were nearly identical (115 each), with no loss detected. Round-trip times ranged from a minimum of 0ms to a maximum of 7ms, averaging just about 1ms. It seems the latency is very low, so you likely won’t notice any noticeable delay in gaming or other tasks.
My Ubiquiti AC lites introduce only 2-3ms delay, even when many smartphones are connected. They're not top-tier APs.
Ethernet typically offers faster connection speeds compared to Wi-Fi, though not always by a large margin. The decision to install wiring depends on your specific needs.
For Ethernet, connecting several wired devices with available PCIe ports on a desktop PC allows you to boost the LAN speed to 10Gbps using affordable used Mellanox cards and a budget TP-Link switch.