powerline vs wireless

para08 · 7 Apr 2013 at 23:05

I thought i'd try out one of those powerline connections as I can't get an ethernet wire from my downstairs router to the upstairs PC.

It connected up fine, no probs. So I ran a ping test comparing my wireless to the powerline connection..

Powerline

Wireless

Also did couple of other tests that had powerline slightly slower. So what do you think?

All I ever hear is: Ethernet > powerline > wireless.

Looks like for me wireless..

*edit*here's what I was using..

- powerline used: TP-link TL-PA411KIT - 500Mbps
- powerline connected with supplied cat5 cable (2m)
- motherboard LAN: broadcom netlink gigabit ethernet
- Wireless pci card: Edimax EW-7728In 802.11n
- wireless was connected at N speed to a belkin router
- electrical wiring around 40 years old

para08 · 7 Apr 2013 at 23:11

btw wireless card is PCI

bremen1874 · 8 Apr 2013 at 00:13

In general Powerline is going to give better results than wireless, but it depends on many local factors. It really is a matter of trying both and seeing which works best for you with your circumstances.

The Ping should obviously only a small part of any comparison, but try the same test when the network is doing something. Also make the same comparison when there are multiple wireless devices connected and working.

horrorxpunk · 8 Apr 2013 at 01:25

wireless range is normally effective between 15 - 30 metres. Ethernet is effective (CAT5) upto 75m before it begins to lose signal strength.

So if wireless is dependant on radio signal and broadcasting strength
ethernet is dependant on cable length and quality
powerline is dependant on cable quality, length and the quality of the adapters seen as you can get ones that operate much better than others and also the quality of the wiring in your house / and how it is wired is going to be a major factor.

In some places you may have a terrible wireless signal due to radio interferance... especially if you live in a built up area like a block of flats where there are 50 people with wireless routers; your wireless connection is going to suffer terribly and you will never be able to get a decent wireless connection without spending £100+ on a very strong router or additional access points.

It also depends on what you are using the connection for. Sometimes latency isn't as important as overall download speed and vice versa. ~i.e. sharing files across a network versus playing a LAN game.

The wireless strength of something like the PS3 console I would consider really poor so I use powerlines for console to connect it to the network. ( even though my TiVo has it's own 10mbps connection that would be great for a console as it actually runs off a seperate network with less utilisation than the fttc network )

There are some devices that will only operate on wireless, phones, tablets etc which may make investing in a decent router with powerful signal strength and wireless adapters for your home computers more worth it.

I like the powerlines though they are very cheap for what they do and the level of performance they can achieve if you are only trying to connect one or two additional devices via ethernet which may otherwise have a poorer connection. I'd say wireless can sometimes become a more expensive option. But both these entirely depend on how complicated or how many devices are in your network setup.

d_brennen · 8 Apr 2013 at 01:29

Consistency is more important for gaming and such. I'd take a 3/4ms hit over wireless every day (are you sure you have those figures the right way round because mine always show more latency over wifi than powerline?)

horrorxpunk · 8 Apr 2013 at 01:30

I think it's difficult to state that wireless is better than powerline through one set of test results it will be good if we can get benchmarks of more products, with different devices and also range. Because the effective range of wireless may not be quite as far as powerline or I may be wrong. I am assuming the wireless was tested while quite close to the router?

bremen1874 · 8 Apr 2013 at 01:36

horrorxpunk, where did you get that 75m for Ethernet figure from? If a Cat5e cable (Cat5 has been defunct for many years) won't run a full rate (Gigabit) to at least 100m it's either not to spec. or hasn't been installed properly.

MagicBoy · 8 Apr 2013 at 01:43

bremen1874 said:
horrorxpunk, where did you get that 75m for Ethernet figure from? If a Cat5e cable (Cat5 has been defunct for many years) won't run a full rate (Gigabit) to at least 100m it's either not to spec. or hasn't been installed properly.

Yep. We cable at work to a maximum of 95m, which allows a 2m patch lead in the comms cabinet and a 3m patch lead to the desktop for the full 100m segment length.

EnviableOne · 8 Apr 2013 at 09:55

Para, you got to be comparing apples to apples.
If you got 200Mbps Powerline and N450 or N300, the wireless will be quicker, but less consistant.

but if you got N300/450 and 500Mbps Powerline you will see the difference.
Just done this at home for streaming video. Less jitter, less buffering via the powerline, and no extra cables.

bledd · 8 Apr 2013 at 10:03

This is another good test to do with them..

http://www.totusoft.com/lanspeed1.html

-You need a shared folder with write access to preform the test.

Run 3 tests..

Powerline
Wireless
Gigabit

para08 · 8 Apr 2013 at 15:42

bremen1874 said:
In general Powerline is going to give better results than wireless, but it depends on many local factors. It really is a matter of trying both and seeing which works best for you with your circumstances.

The Ping should obviously only a small part of any comparison, but try the same test when the network is doing something. Also make the same comparison when there are multiple wireless devices connected and working.

I tested when there were 2 other wireless devices also connected. Also tried when a laptop was connected to wireless. Of course the differences between powerline/wireless are minimal, but wireless still seemed better to me. Even loading webpages felt slightly 'snappier' imo.

horrorxpunk said:
wireless range is normally effective between 15 - 30 metres. Ethernet is effective (CAT5) upto 75m before it begins to lose signal strength.

So if wireless is dependant on radio signal and broadcasting strength
ethernet is dependant on cable length and quality
powerline is dependant on cable quality, length and the quality of the adapters seen as you can get ones that operate much better than others and also the quality of the wiring in your house / and how it is wired is going to be a major factor.

In some places you may have a terrible wireless signal due to radio interferance... especially if you live in a built up area like a block of flats where there are 50 people with wireless routers; your wireless connection is going to suffer terribly and you will never be able to get a decent wireless connection without spending £100+ on a very strong router or additional access points.

It also depends on what you are using the connection for. Sometimes latency isn't as important as overall download speed and vice versa. ~i.e. sharing files across a network versus playing a LAN game.

The wireless strength of something like the PS3 console I would consider really poor so I use powerlines for console to connect it to the network. ( even though my TiVo has it's own 10mbps connection that would be great for a console as it actually runs off a seperate network with less utilisation than the fttc network )

There are some devices that will only operate on wireless, phones, tablets etc which may make investing in a decent router with powerful signal strength and wireless adapters for your home computers more worth it.

I like the powerlines though they are very cheap for what they do and the level of performance they can achieve if you are only trying to connect one or two additional devices via ethernet which may otherwise have a poorer connection. I'd say wireless can sometimes become a more expensive option. But both these entirely depend on how complicated or how many devices are in your network setup.

good post/info. I should have said I was concentrating more on latency from a gaming perspective rather than pure download speed.

d_brennen said:
Consistency is more important for gaming and such. I'd take a 3/4ms hit over wireless every day (are you sure you have those figures the right way round because mine always show more latency over wifi than powerline?)

100% right way round. tested a few times to be sure.

para08 · 8 Apr 2013 at 15:54

horrorxpunk said:
I think it's difficult to state that wireless is better than powerline through one set of test results it will be good if we can get benchmarks of more products, with different devices and also range. Because the effective range of wireless may not be quite as far as powerline or I may be wrong. I am assuming the wireless was tested while quite close to the router?

Wireless and powline were tested same distance. router is ground floor, wireless connection 1st floor. It's almost directly above so has to pass through floor/walls.

EnviableOne said:
Para, you got to be comparing apples to apples.
If you got 200Mbps Powerline and N450 or N300, the wireless will be quicker, but less consistant.

but if you got N300/450 and 500Mbps Powerline you will see the difference.
Just done this at home for streaming video. Less jitter, less buffering via the powerline, and no extra cables.

It IS a 500Mbps powerline, not a shabby one either. sorry should have said. I think it's the quality of my electrical wiring.

bledd. said:
This is another good test to do with them..

http://www.totusoft.com/lanspeed1.html

-You need a shared folder with write access to preform the test.

Run 3 tests..

Powerline
Wireless
Gigabit

thanks for that when I get time i'm gonna try to compare the 3.

para08 · 8 Apr 2013 at 16:08

Like has already been said there are multiple factors involved. tbh my purpose for this thread was to hope people research and don't just follow the usual negativity directed at wireless connections as it's not always true.

horrorxpunk · 8 Apr 2013 at 17:12

para08 said:
Like has already been said there are multiple factors involved. tbh my purpose for this thread was to hope people research and don't just follow the usual negativity directed at wireless connections as it's not always true.

I commend your research it has given me good insight. I think I would most likely consider wireless while using a gaming PC especially with 802.11AC availiable.

I understand the maximum length of ethernet is 100 metres effective range however the speed can deteriorate slightly after around 75 metres or so I have discussed with some networkers at work. I guess you could take that with a pinch of salt it depends on cable quality... not all cables are bang on.