Wireless network and gaming

Jon33

Jon33

Jon33

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18 Feb 2007
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Would using a wireless network card in a PC pretty much ruin any chances of online gaming?

If not which card would you recommend? Are internal cards better than USB adaptors?

Thanks
 
I've found that using wireless has a negligible effect on latency, getting a ping as low as 15-20 on CS servers. Sure it might be a little lower if it was wired, but unless you have low signal strength then it should be so low it doesn't matter.

Internal cards and USB cards don't really differ too much from what I've found, just get a decent brand like Netgear, Belkin, Linksys and you should be golden.
 
Cheers guys, wired isn't an option at the moment. Wont be too far away from the router so should be able to get a good signal. What wireless adaptors do you guys use/recommend?
 
They're much of a muchness. As Zefan said get one with recognised brand name so there's some decent driver support.
 
If your router is a particular make then I'd just stick to that.

Otherwise they're all pretty similar, I honestly don't think you'll find a "bad" one unless you go out of your way to track one down :D. If you're not bothered about anything but gaming don't spend anything more than you need to get a 54MBps G dongle/card, OcUk has them as low as £7 and you shouldn't need to be spending any more than £20-25. If you're really worried about quality, then stick to the main networking brands i.e. Linksys, Netgear, Belkin etc.

:Edit: I'd stick with USB by the way, that way you can always use it in other machines like laptops really quickly and easily.
 
Mine's a Belkin USB one

131178.jpg


Never have any drop-outs etc it's been good!
 
I used to use wireless, (netgear wpn111 usb adapter). It was fine for web browsing, but gaming for any extended period wasnt great, suffered a lot of connection dropouts and bsods due to the adapter heating up. Replaced it with a wired connection.
 
So I went out and got a USB dongle thing, setup fine and the internet is working.

However when I hover over the connection thing in the bottom right corner it says speed 54mbps but the USB can go up to 300mbps. Is this the router holding it back? The router is a Thomson TG585 which came from the internet company.
 
durbs said:
Swapped my wireless for homeplugs. Much much better! Consistent speed and faster than wireless.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I'm using them this week while house-sitting for someone. Router is two floors above and the front room coverage is patchy on wireless. Homeplugs work fine even over 30 year old house wiring!
 
Thanks for the replies, theres no problem picking up the connection and so far it hasn't dropped off. I was just wondering why it wasn't at the speed it should be.

So my next question, how do I find out if I need to get a cable or ADSL router? :confused:
 
I've just done a speed test using my PC with the USB dongle and the mrs laptop which also has a wireless connection. Her download speed comes in double that of my PC. Both connected to the same router, laptop and dongle are sat next to each other on my desk.

Is the dongle limiting my download speed here or is it something to do with the PC?
 
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