Why is Wireless N good for online Gaming?

Dumb Question I'm sure, but I figured I would ask why Wireless N is supposed to be better for online Gaming. I undertand that If you have a full Wireless N Home lan then all your devices inside the the lan will be faster, but doesn't your cable or Fios router limit you to around 4-6 megs up/down? Wouldn't that cause a bottleneck of sorts? Or is it the QOS inside the routers which make online game play better. Just curious. I don't do much online gaming but I may get a console in the future, and If I need to go wireless (my home network is still wired) I want to make sure to get the right type of router for the job

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Comments

networker050184

I undertand that If you have a full Wireless N Home lan then all your devices inside the the lan will be faster

Thats not the case. A wired network will have better performance then a wireless one.

iowatech

but doesn't your cable or Fios router limit you to around 4-6 megs up/down? Wouldn't that cause a bottleneck of sorts?

Yes, it's just another selling gimmick.

Nik00117

Wireless is not for gaming, I mean a delay of a second or two can mean you loose a round, and this can happen often.

Hell not even a second or two, lets get into the milis of second. You got to compete with poeple who sometimes have better hardware/more bandwitdh/closer to server to be good you can't have that spilt mili second interupation as your putting your crosshair on his head.

I'm sorry I don't like wireless when it comes to gaming, simply hate it.

iowatech

Wireless works fine, I'm 23 and played quake (all 4 of them), CS, DoD, etc since I was 15 on various LAN setups and wireless never gave us a problem and that was with 6 to 10 people on a wired and wifi topology.

The throughput is enough for LANing, and more than enough to connect to an offsite server if needed.

dynamik

iowatech wrote:

The throughput is enough for LANing, and more than enough to connect to an offsite server if needed.

The issue is latency, not bandwidth. While I don't think the wireless gaming situation is quite as bad as nik does, there can be a noticeable difference between wired and wireless connections when dealing with talented players and games that require split-second reactions. You should also be encrypting your wireless traffic, and that will add a slight delay to your communications as well.

Darthn3ss

i'd still rather play wired... although i will admit that my ping wireless vs wired was always the same in CS/CSS, I might be screwed if i put a burrito in the microwave between rounds :P

iowatech

The issue is latency, not bandwidth

Yes, I realize this, bad choice of words but everyone posting knows what I mean. The point is whehter or not the LAN is wired or wireless your "latency" or "ping" will still be 3 to 10 ms in any video game.

Darthn3ss

iowatech wrote:

The issue is latency, not bandwidth

Yes, I realize this, bad choice of words but everyone posting knows what I mean. The point is whehter or not the LAN is wired or wireless your "latency" or "ping" will still be 3 to 10 ms in any video game.

3 to 10ms? if the servers hosted in the building next to you perhaps....

iowatech

Gee Really?!

Notice I said LAN....

Darthn3ss

iowatech wrote:

Gee Really?!

Notice I said LAN....

actually i didn't. :P

he-man

I dont want to flog a dead horse here but...when you said a full wireless n LAN, did you mean as oppossed to an 802.11b or 802.11g LAN? if so then yes i can see this being a damn sight better! The 802.11n standard employs MIMO technology which can be compared to full duplex connectivity in wired LAN, something the previous standards lack.

Again, you ain't gunna beat a wired LAN for gaming performance just yet though!